you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's "am and these are the main stories this morning. theresa may tries to sell her brexit deal to the public as eu diplomats meet this morning to finalise the agreement amid last—minute spanish concerns about gibraltar. the prime minister will be taking your questions on brexit in a special programme right here on the bbc news channel and radio 5 live at 12.30. the united arab emirates‘ ambassador to the uk defends the trial of british academic matthew hedges, sentenced to life imprisonment, but says his government is studying a request for clemency. everyone can request a pardon from our president. mr hedges‘ family have made a request for clemency and the government is studying that request. the government is set to fail in its target of installing smart energy meters in every home by 2020, says the public spending watchdog. shoppers hitting the black friday sales are being urged to check that the deals are worthwhile.

good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the prime minister will try to sell her brexit deal directly to the public today, as eu diplomats meet in brussels to finalise details of the agreement and address the 11th—hour objections raised by spain about gibraltar. theresa may will answer questions about the plan in a special programme here on the bbc news channel and 5 live at 12.30. the spanish prime minister has threatened to veto the deal, unless his country has a greater say on gibraltar‘s future status. eu rules mean that no single country is able to block the agreement, and it's expected to be signed off by member states at a summit on sunday, but continued

spanish opposition could be politically awkward. in a moment we'll talk to gavin lee in brussels but first to westminster and our political correspondent, nick eardley. we know that spain cannot veto sunday's planned summit sign off theresa may unduly worried compared to difficulties at home? she certainly has both. she wants to get older european countries on side so when it comes to a later treaty there are no potential problems for hire. you are in saying that spain cannot hire. you are in saying that spain ca n not veto hire. you are in saying that spain cannot veto what happens this weekend over gibraltar, their withdrawal agreement cannot be vetoed, nor can the political declaration but will be a treaty hopefully when the future

arrangement is settled and spain will have to ratify that so i expect the prime minister will be very keen to get some sort of closure on this issue in the next few days and will work hard to do so. even if she does and even if the eu 27 come on board on sunday she faces a gargantuan task at home in selling that deal. she will try to do that straight to the public i am sure, we will see some this afternoon on the bbc, but she is also struggling to get it through parliament. we saw yesterday when mps from opposition and her own parties got up and raised concerns about what she was planning so at the moment it is hard to see how she can geta the moment it is hard to see how she can get a majority in parliament to get on—site with what she's to get signed off this weekend. and some prominent conservatives will be at a dup conference this weekend and it

will be fascinating to find out what comes from those discussions. it is a reminder of how improbable their arithmetic is for theresa may when it comes to that key vote. arithmetic is for theresa may when it comes to that key votelj arithmetic is for theresa may when it comes to that key vote. i suspect the message will be there on message for the government. controversially for the government. controversially for the government. controversially for the prime minister is boris johnson speaking there tomorrow, someone we johnson speaking there tomorrow, someone we know has railed against what the prime minister is planning. the dup are not happy, as we know, so there will be some common cause. the absence of dup support and support from the backbenchers makes it very hard to see how the prime minister gets this through. dominic raab, the man who until last week was the brexit secretary, was on the bbc this morning talking about the arithmetic. he says it is almost impossible to see how it gets through parliament but he also warned what the prime minister

agreed for people like him, brexiteers who campaigned for this for a long time, the deal the prime minister is proposing is worse than remaining in the eu. he does not wa nt remaining in the eu. he does not want that, he wants to get out but he thinks this is such a bad deal it would be worse than continued membership. there are many who disagree and say it takes us to far away from the eu and we should stay closer, but the prime ministerfaces attacks from all sides on this plan and has an uphill battle in convincing people otherwise. thank you. from london to brussels and our correspondent gavin lee is there. remind us what our spain's concerns around gibraltar. basically spain wants to negotiate separately with the uk overany wants to negotiate separately with the uk over any future deal involving gibraltar. the specific issue is that the spanish

negotiators say they were lying cited by the withdrawal agreement, the force agreement between the eu and uk, because they saw a copy last wednesday they were happy with then it went to london and two extra articles tagged up towards the end of the 585 page document, and one of them, article 184, there is no mention of gibraltar being negotiated with the uk and the spanish, but it is an anodyne statement about how things should be wrapped up and the spanish say it should be expanded. the spanish prime minister is threatening to veto, even though it legally can't, at the summit in two days. right now, it is a moment of truth, according to a spanish diplomat.

they have been told there will not be any changes to the legal agreement because the british and germans, particularly angela merkel, say you cannot open this now, and the germans say they would not turn up the germans say they would not turn up unless there was something to agree to. so they may placate the spanish in future but that is going on right now. i hope this is not going to be the final issue on the table because we worked very hard and have reached agreement with spanish colleagues in respect of gibraltar‘s role in the withdrawal process and that has been drawn out but in good faith we have worked together and delivered. what people should note is that spain does not need an article in the treaties in the future declaration or the withdrawal agreement to bring gibraltar to the table. gibraltar has demonstrated we want a direct engagement with spain on issues. spain is the physical and geographical gateway to europe for gibraltar. we recognise that and there is no need for us to be vetoed

into being brought to the table. that is interesting. that is fabian picardo, cheeseman as of gibraltar, speaking to the today programme. he is the third party, representing gibraltar, he says he wants to dig a shape with spain, and in fact there have been separate bilateral arrangements and they have been happy. the spanish prime minister told me recently he was happy with the situation so this is a last—minute blip. we are 48 hours away in theory to the moment of history where the agreement is signed. the first act will end, the divorce deal is done and it goes to westminster. of course if the spanish issues sorted by then. that

is why things are so important in brussels today. what is your hunch about whether spain will sign on sunday or not? from talking to eu officials here the feeling is there can be some wording in the political declaration, the future text towards a relationship which might placate the spanish. the talk about nipping and tucking the document. it is open to interpretation as to what that means. if you start to open it up, the french, belgians, danish, portuguese, what about fishing rights? other rights. angela merkel has said no, let's get it done. that is why it is key today as to whether they can make any sort of a deal. and theresa may will take your questions on brexit in a special programme right here on the bbc news channel and radio 5 live at 12.30.

e—mail your questions to askthis@bbc.co.uk. you can text them to to 85058 or use the hashtag #bbcaskthis. the uae ambassador to london has said the life sentence for spying, given to a british phd student in abu—dhabi, came about after a full and proper legal process. the family of matthew hedges say he is innocent and have appealed to the emirati government for clemency. the ambassador said, like the uk, the uae‘sjudiciary is independent from the government. matthew hedges was not convicted after a five—minute show trial as some have reported. over the course of one month, three judges evaluated compelling evidence in three hearings. they reached the conclusion after a full and proper process. this was an extremely serious case.

we live in a dangerous neighbourhood and national security must be a top priority. this was also an unusual case. many researchers visit the uae freely every year without breaking our laws. under uae law everyone has the right to appeal after conviction and everyone can request a pardon from our president. mr hedges' family have made a request for clemency and the government is studying that request. the british foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, had a good conversation with our foreign minister. i also met him yesterday privately. as mr hunt said, we have an extremely close partnership with the uk. because of the strength of that relationship, we are hopeful that an amicable solution can be reached. thank you very much. joining us now from outside the uae

embassy in central london is our correspondent, jon donnison. 0ne senses in that statement from the ambassador, the response of a country which has been stung by international criticism since the life sentence for matthew hedge is. yes, and also a country whose diplomats have been busy in the last few days, as we heard, right up to the foreign secretary gemma raby hunt —— jeremy hunt, meeting with the ambassador. i think for the family and friends of matthew head is, they will hope there is a pathway beginning to form —— matthew hedges, hoping that he can be released. an appeal for clemency,

hedges, hoping that he can be released. an appealfor clemency, a pardon, to the uae president has been launched and they are studying this request. the press statement was in two halves, the ambassador defending thejudicial was in two halves, the ambassador defending the judicial process in the uae, saying it was not a five—minute short trial —— short show trial. then he talked about finding an amicable solution. could this be a writ for the uae to save face —— away for the uae to save face —— away for the uae to save face rather than changing position on the sentencing and also to preserve the relationship between the uk and uae? i thinkjudging from their statements they want to say they are following the judicial process. in their view they had our

fair trial and there is the possibility of an appeal which has to be launched in 30 days, and the ability to appeal for a pardon. but this appealfor clemency ability to appeal for a pardon. but this appeal for clemency could be a possible way out. we have had a statement from daniel, matthew head is' -- statement from daniel, matthew head is' —— hedges' wife who has been quite scathing saying it was a show trial and she saw what happened in court and how she was upset he was held in an undisclosed location to await the trial for more than five months, often in solitary confinement. thank you. gunmen have killed at least four people in an attack on the chinese consulate in the pakistani city of karachi. police shot dead three attackers. separatist militants who oppose chinese investment projects in western pakistan say they carried out the attack. i'm joined now by the bbc‘s secunder kermani in islamabad. tell us how this attack unfolded.

reasonably there was a lot of security around the chinese consulate. yes, and karachi is the commercial capital of pakistan. the attack happened around 9:30am local time here when three militants armed with assault rifles and grenades, and according to some reports suicide vests, tried to enter the consulate building but were prevented by security forces. they killed two police officers, two civilians. no chinese nationals or consular staff were harmed. a separatist group called the ball

like a stone liberation of army —— baluchistan liberation army. the pakistani government says that chinese funded projects in the baluchistan will be good for the economy but the militants said the estate and chinese state are trying to exploit the national resources of baluchistan. —— natural resources. what is the reaction from the pakistani government and from beijing? the pakistani prime minister imran khan has called for an investigation and he said these attacks will not undermine the country's relationship and the chinese foreign ministry condemned

the attack and called for greater security for chinese workers but they also said that the attack would not prevent further investment in pakistan. both countries are becoming increasingly close over the past few years and neither country wa nts past few years and neither country wants that to end. the headlines on bbc news... theresa may tries to sell her brexit deal to the public as eu diplomats meet to finalise the agreement amid last—minute spanish concerns about gibraltar. the united arab emirates' ambassador to the uk defends the trial of british academic matthew hedges, sentenced to life imprisonment, but says his government is studying a request for clemency. the government is set to fail in its target of installing smart energy meters in every home by 2020, says the public spending watchdog. and in sport, england's women's

cricketers tarmac england's women just love the shortest form of the game. they're the 50—overs world champions and new they've reached the final of the world t20, beating india by 8 wickets they'll face australia for the title tomorrow. three's a charm — jonny bairstow is back in england's batting order and his century has helped england to 283 for 6 nearing stumps on day one of the third and final test against sri lanka in colombo... and max verstappen leads a red bull one—two in first practice ahead of fromula 0ne's season ending abu dhabi grand prix. britain's lewis hamilton is back in 4th. i'll be back with more on those stories later. the former english defence league leader tommy robinson has been appointed as an advisor to the ukip leader gerard batten. the party said mr robinson, whose real name is stephen yaxley—lennon, will advise on rape gangs

and prison reform. mr robinson is banned from joining ukip under rules which bar former english defence league and british national party members. well ukip's former leader, nigel farage, is calling for a vote of no confidence in mr batten after the appointment of mr robinson. he's been outlining his objections tojustin webb on bbc radio 4's today programme. no, i want to talk about real issues, issues that politicians are afraid of, issues about uncontrolled mass immigration, illegal immigration, the growth of terrorism across europe, the huge mistakes that the eu made... but he had posters with syrian refugees... how do you know they were syrian refugees? why were they refugees when almost every single one of them was a young male? hardly any of them would have qualified as refugees. i wanted to have these conversations. but to do so from a political party... but that is the point, it is a conversation that leads to this and leads to the appointment of tommy robinson. if you don't have this

conversation, you don't get parties like ukip doing well, you don't get referendums, and then the far right does exist. if i have one real achievement in british politics, i did pretty much single—handedly kill off the bnp. let's go over now to our correspondent jonathan blake, who's with mr batten in westminster. iam i am pleased to say that mr batten joins us in westminster. let me ask you to respond to what nigel farage says that you are taking the party ina says that you are taking the party in a shameful direction and he they should get rid of you. i'm surprised he has such an interest in ukip seeing as he walked away two years ago and hasn't showed an interest some is and recently said he would give all his efforts to a leave party and none to ukip. i have done

a good job because we have membership rising, money rising, donors giving us money and we are up in the polls so i think i am making the right decisions. he says you should be focusing on the broader issue of immigration. should be focusing on the broader issue of immigrationlj should be focusing on the broader issue of immigration. i have been focusing on the brexit which is why we are focusing on this big brexit betrayal march on the 9th of may. we are trying to get tens of thousands of people out and i encourage people to come and join ukip because the only thing that makes any difference in this whole debate is how many votes can you take away from the tories and labour at the next general election, that's the only thing they care about, and that is what i am doing. why are you pointing tommy robinson as an unpaid adviser? he is merely a personal adviser? he is merely a personal adviser on two different issues, the rape gang phenomenon and conditions

in prison and prison reform. i have advisers on all kinds of subjects. he doesn't need to be a member of the party to do that but he will help me in that so we can develop policy going forward. people would call him islamophobic and he has blamed the religion of islam as a whole for terrorist attacks in the uk. are you not islamophobic in the same way? islamophobic is a made up word that doesn't mean anything. i do not have an irrationalfear of islam. we have never said anything about muslims, tommy robinson doesn't, we talk about secular ideology. the reasons we have these terrorist attacks all round the world is because they deride those ideas from islamic ideology. there

are plenty of other people you could ask for advice on the phenomenon of child sexual abuse in the uk, and life in prison. why are you asking tommy robinson? he put his life on the line and he is high—profile and he can bring a lot of people to the march. everyone knows what he stands for. he has been persecuted by the state for his views. i was in court when it was referred to the attorney general because they knew there was no case. he was in solitary confinement forfour no case. he was in solitary confinement for four months. a lot of people respect his stand on things and his courage. it isn't about him or nigel farage. you are appointing him as an adviser and responding to criticism so it is about that. he is a convicted criminal. you have convicted criminals sitting in the house of lords making laws over as and no one seems bothered. he has minor

convictions. lots of people have had criminal convictions in the past and it doesn't mean to say they can't do something good in the present and future. by bringing him into the fold of the party you are flying in the face of your own rules which bans former members of the bnp and edl. it is not in the party. we have prescribed list. there are ex—bnp members sitting as labour and conservative councillors. we have a proscribed list. in the spirit of democracy i said this should be put to the members and they should vote on it so i to the members and they should vote on itsoiam to the members and they should vote on it so i am proceeding in a democratic way and it will be the members who decide if he is a member or not. finally, if there was a vote of no confidence in you as nigel

farage suggested, do you think you would when it? round the table at the nec meeting last sunday, eve ryo ne the nec meeting last sunday, everyone of them acknowledged that i said the party and put it back on a strong footing. some may disagree on this issue but they know it is down to me this party has survived, not nigel farage, and they will want me to continue. thank you forjoining us on to continue. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. let's get some of the morning's other news now. two brothers wanted by police in merseyside over suspected drug trafficking offences have been arrested in thailand. joseph and gregory mulhare from wirral were detained on the 17th of november in pattaya by thai immigration police. they are suspected of trafficking cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamine in the uk. junk food adverts are to be banned on the entire transport for london network, in a bid to reduce the childhood obesity. nearly 40% of 10 and 11—year—olds in the capital

are overweight or obese. the scheme is backed by child health experts but the advertising association said it would have "little impact". if you think about the impact of this particular ban, it will have an impact on tube travellers, for example. this will lose revenue from advertising for tfl, and that will potentially have an impact on the fair is that passengers have to pay. so in a sense, tfl passengers may be suffering from this. fiona bruce is in talks with the bbc about taking over as presenter of the discussion programme question time. ms bruce currently presents the news at six and ten as well as the antiques roadshow. current host david dimbleby will leave the show in december after 24 years. there's no realistic prospect of the government meeting its own deadline to install smart energy meters, according to a report from the national audit office. every home in britain is supposed to have a smart meter by 2020. they allow readings to be made remotely and are supposed to help customers save money and energy. michael kell from the national audit office

explained why the governnment would miss the deadline. i think there are two reasons for that, really. the first and probably most important is that when the government was deciding what kind of smart meter system to adopt for the country, they went for a technically more complicated system. they underestimated to the complexity and that means the roll—out has taken longer than they expected. the other reason is that consumers have not been as enthusiastic in adopting smart meters as the government hoped they would be. and also you have these first—generation smart meters and second—generation smart meters and there is an issue there, isn't there? tell us about what happens if a consumer, a customer, has a first—generation smart meter but then wants to switch energy suppliers. so what happens with the first—generation smart meters is, in around 70% of cases, people who have a smart meter and then decide to switch suppliers, the first—generation smart meter stops working fully so it then

becomes like a traditional old—style meter, or it operates in dumb mode. so in all there are nearly a million first—generation smart meters that aren't working properly. so people then have to choose either between sticking with a more expensive tariff or losing the benefits of having a smart meter in the first place. that's right, so it's undermining the rationale of the programme. so do you think that has put a lot of people off actually saying to their energy supplier, "yes, let's fix an appointment to have this new meter fitted," because they're holding off and waiting for those second—generation meters perhaps? that may be part of what is going on. we know that most people are happy with their smart meters. so a government survey said around 74% of people that have smart meters are happy with them. so you don't think the government will be on track to meet its deadlines but how will it get this programme rolling out more effectively, in your opinion? i think the main thing it needs to do is to make sure that when a smart meter is installed that people get the energy efficiency

advice they are meant to get at the time the meter is installed, so they can really make best use of it, and they are more likely to change their energy consumption as a result of having a smart meter. a leeds gymnast has set a guinness world record by propelling himself nearly 20 feet between horizontal bars. ashley watson, who's 26, set the feat at leeds gymnastics club, with two independent witnesses present and a chartered surveyor measuring the distance. mr watson, who has been in the great britain squad since he was 15, said he was "surprised no—one had tried it before". he succeeded on his eighth attempt. 0ne

one more time. why not? astounding. whether it is a regular speed or slow motion, that is incredible. now it's time for a look at the weather with simon king. i don't think you will be jumping forjoy for the i don't think you will be jumping for joy for the weather at the weekend. it was a fairly cloudy. some outbreaks of rain as well. a rather misty and murky start to the day, with some mist hanging around in. some heavy showers in south england in south—west wales, and north wales. some of those could be heavy and thundery. showers also in the east of scotland. brighter skies in northern areas, temperatures 7—10 or 11 degrees. south—west showers continue overnight, the risk of heavy and thundery showers. lots of

cloud, misty and murky into saturday morning. temperatures not really getting to freezing. some rain expected in southern coastal counties on saturday, mostly clearing by sunday. further north some breaks in the cloud but eastern scotla nd some breaks in the cloud but eastern scotland remaining fairly cloudy with some showers. hello, this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines: theresa may tries to sell her brexit deal to the public as eu diplomats meet this morning to finalise the agreement amid last—minute spanish concerns about gibraltar. the prime minister will be taking your questions on brexit in a special programme right here on the bbc news channel and radio 5 live at 12.30. the united arab emirates' ambassador to the uk defends the trial of british academic matthew hedges, sentenced to life imprisonment, but says his government is studying a request for clemency. everyone can request a pardon from

out everyone can request a pardon from our president. mr hedges family have made a request for clemency, and the government is studying that request. the government is set to fail in its target of installing smart energy meters in every home by 2020, says the public spending watchdog. sport now... england's women just love tarmac the shortest form of the game. they're the 50—overs world champions and new they've reached the final of the world t20, beating india by 8 wickets world cup finals are becoming a bit ofa world cup finals are becoming a bit of a habit for england's women. they make this look very simple. they struggled to bad as the bowlers dominated. heather knight led from

the front taking three wickets, sophie ecclestone and kirsty gordon finished with two pieces, england and india are all out for 112. the world cup final was calling. the batters got off to a tour start. then danny wyatt was dismissed early on. a combined total ofjust nine. amyjones were made of sterner stuff, and an aspiring partnership followed with both making half centuries. they led the team to an accomplished victory as they sealed england's place in the final, having claimed the one world cup just last year, england are now just the one world cup just last year, england are nowjust one game away from being crowned double world champions. something they haven't done since 2009. victory against australia on saturday will seal their place in the history books. 0ur preparation has been clear, we knew our game plan. i was feeling

pretty confident, you know, the total wasn't really high so i knew total wasn't really high so i knew to just bat through. and total wasn't really high so i knew tojust bat through. and i've total wasn't really high so i knew to just bat through. and i've got a good partnership, in a good place. so england will take on the three—times champions australia for the title. they thrashed the hosts and defending champions west indies, alissa healy, recovering from concussion to hit an impressive 46 off 28 balls before they ripped through the windies batting order, bowling them out forjust 71 — exactly half australia's total. the final starts at midnight our time on saturday. it's always exciting to play in a final, and it's always a good game against australia. we know each other very well now, it'lljust be a case of, you know, who winds it on the day. it's always a lot of fun and a lot of drama. i'm sure there will i'm sure there will be more. england are going for a series whitewash in sri lanka,

and they've been making steady progress on day one of the third and final test. after a sluggish start, with rory burns and keatonjennings both going cheaply, jonny bairstow and skipperjoe root settled things down. root went for 46 but bairstow — returning from injury — made a century, guiding england to 278 for 6 approaching the close. chelsea midfielder n'golo kante has signed a new five—year deal. he's scored three goals in 81 appearances since joining from leicester two years ago, helping chelsea to the league title in his first season and winning the pfa's player of the year honour. he said he'd "completely improved" as a player at the club. kante was a member of france's world cup winning squad in russia this summer. max verstappen leads a red bull ‘one—two' in first practice ahead of formula 0ne's season ending abu dhabi grand prix. he was four—tenths of a second quicker than teammate daniel ricciardo. britain's lewis hamilton is back in 4th.

he seemed to be having some problems but seems it is quite an unhappy car at the moment. we're heading into the final weekend of autumn internationals, with wales hoping to make it a clean sweep of autumn wins, they've made 13 changes to the side that beat tonga last weekend and victory over south africa in cardiff would be their ninth test triumph in a row. they are really motivated, and they wa nt to they are really motivated, and they want to do well. you know, ijust see the effort they put in, on and off the field, and i keep saying we are ina off the field, and i keep saying we are in a really good place. we've been a good place for the debt that we are creating, the squad, i'm pretty confident it. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour.

300 up for england in schumacher, you can follow all that on the bbc sport website. the detective investigating the novichok poisoning in salisbury, has told the bbc that the amount of nerve agent found near the scene could have killed thousands of people. the bbc‘s panorama programme has also revealed new cctv images showing two russian military intelligence officers believed to be responsible for the attempted murder of former spy sergei skripal and his daughter, yulia. police officer nick bailey ended up in intensive care while investigating the case. he's been giving his first interview since it happened. such an outrageous, dangerous way of doing something that it angered me as well. i said all along, "i want to walk out of hospital with my wife," which we did in the end. and being able to do that, to walk out of hospital after two and a half weeks of going through what i went through, was incredible. jane corbin from panorama

carried out that interview with detective sergeant bailey — she told me how he is doing. he told me that, physically, he was doing well, you know, recovering well. but psychologically it's a much longer haul, he unwittingly contaminated his police station and his home, because, remember, he went to the house of sergei skripal. he was the first person in the house and he touched the door handle. so, he's not sure, he is wearing a full forensic suit, but he contaminated his hands, his gloves, his face when he adjusted his goggles, and he was very ill. he contaminated his family home. everything had to be destroyed. they had to move, everything in the house had to be

destroyed. everything that belonged to his children had to be destroyed and that has taken they have had to literally start over, but they are extremely thankful that he has recovered from this? yes, extraordinarily he remained conscious throughout. he was in hospital for two and a half weeks, and knew what was happening to him. he found it very confusing because so he found it very confusing because so little is known about this nerve agent but no one knew how to not only treat the patient, but to protect themselves. nurses to foot protective gear to give him a sandwich, and then his wife and children would be allowed in. it was very confusing for him. i think he is doing well, he is out, and he hopes to hopes to return to work. that's what i think is the goal. you have the impact on him as an individual, on the family, and then

you take into consideration the possible attack, what could have happened to many thousands of people if the nerve agent contained in this perfume bottle had spread over a wider area. as you know, the nerve agent was in a fake bottle, they put it onto the door handle and left the house, throwing it away. the police aren't sure where, but it was found in a bin by charlie rowley, who sadly poisoned himself and his partner, dawn sturgess, who died. we were told by the police that the amount of novel chalk in that bottle was significant, and could possibly, if exposed to the wider public, could have killed probably thousands of people, which is indeed, it shows how reckless this act was. the majority of african artefacts in french museums should be sent back to their countries of origin — that's according to a new report being published on friday.

the report, which was commissioned by president emmanuel macron, argues it's unacceptable that around 90 percent of africa's artistic heritage is outside africa and says french law should be changed to make restitution possible. the bbc‘s hugh schofield reports. nearly 90% of africa's artistic heritage lies not in africa but in places like here, the branly museum of non—european civilisations in paris. debates over the rights and wrongs of that have reached the years, but this official french report breaks new ground. basically says that most of what is here should go back. it is reckoned that fully two thirds of the museum's africa collection is concerned by the report's findings. these were pieces acquired in france during the colonial period either by acts of outright pillage or, and here is the crucial in controversial point, in trades, which the reports as were unfair because of the dominance of the acquirer — that is the french colonial power. it was emmanuel macron himself, a year ago, on a trip

to africa, who opened the way. speaking in burkina faso, he said it was wrong for only europeans and americans to have access to african art. in five years he wanted to start the process of temporary or definitive restitution. applause. the report, which she commissioned then, has been welcomed by those who campaigned for a return of africa's cultural inheritance, like this marie—cecile zinsou — half french, half beninese — who runs an art centre in benin. if you go to abomay, which is an important museum in benin, you can't find the doors of the palace, because the doors of paris. you cannot find the thrones of our kings because the thrones are in paris. you cannot find the statues because the statues are in paris. you can't find anything. we need that back. the report's premise is that any art brought from africa in colonial times, and that includes these pieces on saturday in a private gallery in paris, was almost

certainly acquired without informed consent. but for critics that's a wildly sweeping generalisation. translation: once you start on the premise of the whole colonial period was a crime, then immediately every work of art, whether it has been donated or collected or bought, it all becomes a case of fraud. that is the heart of their argument. it is really extreme and an assault on museums. so could the musee branly and its equivalents in london or berlin be giving up their objets? it's an idea that is no longer to them. —— the idea is no longer to do. in a moment we'll have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news... theresa may tries to sell her brexit deal to the public as eu diplomats meet to finalise the agreement

amid last—minute spanish concerns about gibraltar the united arab emirates' ambassador to the uk defends the trial of british academic matthew hedges, sentenced to life imprisonment, but says his government is studying a request for clemency the government is set to fail in its target of installing smart energy meters in every home by 2020, says the public spending watchdog. here's the business news. it's black friday and retailers will be hoping the cut prices and mega deals will lure shoppers into a spending spree, to help boost business in the pre—christmas period. but as shoppers spend big a warning from gchq. the uk's cyber—security defence agency says black friday sales could be targeted as "prime pickings" for cyber—crime. the national cyber security centre, is issuing advice to shoppers of the risk of "malicious" online threats. and oil prices just keep on falling.

brent crude dropped to its lowst level this year. and the drop is begining to be felt at the petrol pumps, as supermarket chain asda announces it's lowered the price of unleaded and diesel at its forecourts. it's one of the biggest days of the year for retailers, yes, black friday is finally here. though for many the discounting began at the start of the week. retailers will be hoping that consumers will be spending big in the run up to the crucial christmas shopping period. but can retailers actually make money by discounting so hard and so early? and are these deals really a deal? richard lim, ceo of retail economics joins me. thank you forjoining us. first of all, talk me through, can you hear me? richard? idon't

all, talk me through, can you hear me? richard? i don't think... all, talk me through, can you hear me? richard? idon't think... i think we have a slight problem with him being able to hear us. hello, richard, can you hear me? sorry, a technical gremlin there. talking about black friday, of course, black friday began for many retailers earlier on in the week, are there any indications of how well things are going so far? of course, we are still in the day here, it's still very early in the day. what we have seen from some of our research is that there is still a lot of excitement surrounding black friday, consumers are really engaged in it. what we found is that one fifth of consumers said they would be purchasing something during black friday, there are three major trends, this continued migration towards online, so one line continues to becoming more important channel for black but old david

mcgoldrick consumers seem to be less enamoured by the event, and they have an increasing propensity to shaft by younger consumers. and there is the concentration of spending towards electrical, apparel and ties. these retailers who cut their prices so early and so hard, how are they making any money, it seems to me that there is always some sort of sale somewhere? this time around retailers have adopted a much more considered approach, so what we expect to see as discounts are not necessarily so widespread, and this kind of discount are deeper. consumers are becoming more acclimatised to the event, so when we asked consumers whether they thought deals would be as good this year, compared to last year, 40% thought that the deals wouldn't be as good this year. looking ahead to what is obviously a very important part of the shopping

calendar, so to speak, what part does black friday have to play in the uk retail? this is an american tradition that's been taken over in the uk, how important is black friday in being the starting gun for christmas shopping season? it's emerged as a really, really important event in the retail calendar. what we've seen over the last few years is that the distribution of sales leading up to christmas has changed. what we've seen christmas has changed. what we've seen is that lots of the spending that would typically occur in 0ctober that would typically occur in october is being delayed until november because consumers are anticipating black friday deals. it's coming at the expense of traditional christmas sales in december. so overall, if you look at november and december in aggregate, we still see it and upward trajectory in terms of sales, but it probably isn't as great as black friday. it probably doesn't have the significant impact many would expect. many people talk about the fact that

some retailers and up, well, some deals aren't as good as they seem. some raise their period before this period and nowhere them. is that the case or not? well, there are lots of different marketing strategies that retailers may adopt. i think there are genuinely good deals to be had out there, there are some savvy retailers who are shopping around, looking online for those deals. like i say, you know, retailers are approaching black friday in a much more considered way. we don't really expect to see the deep and widespread discounts that we saw in 2014, which was really the start of the event in the uk. so good to talk to you, thank you very much. so good to talk to you, thank you very much. dodgy and cabana products have been followed from the chinese e—commerce sites after a controversial ad

campaign. the firm posted videos suing a chinese model struggling to eat pasta and pizza with chopsticks. the campaign was accused of trivialising chinese culture and promoting unflattering stereotypes. the controversy risks alienating them from one of the world? biggest luxury markets. a fall in either prices mean savings at the petrol pumps according to asda. they have lowered unleaded petrol prices by 1p, and diesel is down two p. the supermarket chain said that further decreases in the wholesale market mean they aren't able to reduce their prices. campaigners say new laws going through parliament will not go far enough to stamp out all hidden fees and charges for renters. the tenant fees bill, passing through parliament, will effectively cap or ban the extra and avoidable charges tenants in england and wales incurred. wales has similar rules, scotla nd incurred. wales has similar rules, scotland have outlawed freak

tendency fees back in 2012. groups say banning the fees will not solve the problem. more on those stories on our website. a brief look at the markets... it's been a pretty busy week all around. that's your round—up. back to you. she's one of the oldest nominees of the bbc‘s 100 women series this year. setsuko takamizawa is 90, and yet, she's decided to learn a language which was banned when she was at school because of the second world war. the bbc caught up with her in tokyo and asked why she decided to learn english now. what's your favourite colour?|j what's your favourite colour? i like red. what did setting a rather wonderful example. thousands of people left homeless by devastating wildfires in california, have been taking part in annual thanksgiving celebrations. chefs from across the country travelled to the state

to rustle up turkey, pumpkin pie and all the trimmings. organisers said they served up to 15—thousand people. now it's time for a look at the weather. simon has the latest. hello, simon. hello. if you've been outside today it's rather drab. misty and murky, and this is the scene still across worcestershire. it's very misty over the hills. a bit of sunshine breaking through in northern areas, but largely cloudy. some share was down towards the south west. this area of low pressure sticks around into the weekend as well. for the rest of today, we continue with a lot of cloud, breaks across northern parts of england, northern ireland and the south—west of scotland. she was continue across the east of scotland. the heavy showers continue

this afternoon, hail, and thunder, some showers moving away into dorset. and across wales. the sunshine in the north—west of england, northern ireland and the south west of scotland, otherwise scotla nd south west of scotland, otherwise scotland quite cloudy. and easterly wind with maximum temperatures up to about seven to 10 celsius. the heavy showers continue overnight across the far south—west, gradually they edged their way into other southern coastal counties. 0therwise tonight, with all the cloud around, a knot of frost for many of us, temperatures above freezing. into the weekend, no pressure on saturday, that weather front is still there, so everywhere south of the m4 corridor likely to see some rain. the north of that, we could see the odd shower, mostly dry, they will be some breaks in the cloud, a bit of sunshine from time to time, maximum temperatures up to

about seven to 9 degrees. by sunday, that area of rain around the english channel, it could affect south—eastern areas of england. otherwise, the further north—west you go, drier and otherwise, the further north—west you go, drierand brighter, a bit otherwise, the further north—west you go, drier and brighter, a bit of sunshine. temperatures remaining about seven to 10 degrees. we've had an easterly wind so far this week, that's why it's been so cold. next week we took that weather systems moving on from the atlantic and the wind direction changes. a south—westerly with quite deep areas of low pressure moving in. on monday it starts relatively settled, turning much more unsettled as the week goes on. some gales likely. those temperatures will be coming up into the low teens. milder next week as the risk of some heavy rain for some of us and strong winds as well. it's worth staying tuned to the forecast. that's all from me, goodbye. you're watching bbc newsroom live. these are today's main stories at midday. theresa may tries to sell her brexit

deal to the public as eu diplomats meet to finalise the agreement amid last—minute spanish concerns about gibraltar. the prime minister will be taking your questions on brexit in a special programme right here on the bbc news channel and radio 5 live at 12.30. the united arab emirates' ambassador to the uk defends the trial of british academic matthew hedges, sentenced to life imprisonment, but says his government is studying a request for clemency. everyone can request a pardon from our president. mr hedges' family have made a request for clemency and the government is studying that request. the government is set to fail its target of installing smart energy meters in every home by 2020, says the public spending watchdog. nigel farage criticises ukip leader gerard batten for appointing former english defence league leader tommy robinson a personal adviser.

iam i am surprised that nigel has such an interest in what ukip is doing seeing as he walked away two years ago and has not displayed any interest in it whatsoever since and recently said he would give 100 sent effort to life means life which means “— effort to life means life which means —— leave means leave. shoppers hitting the black friday sales are being urged to check that the deals are worthwhile. good afternoon. welcome to bbc newsroom live. i'm annita mcveigh. the prime minister is continuing her push to sell her brexit deal to the public, as eu diplomats meet in brussels to finalise the details of the agreement and address last minute objections raised by spain. in the last few minutes, the prime minister's spokeswoman said theresa may will work with spain on brexit, but added that britain has worked openly with the european union on gibraltar and wants to ensure a good deal for the "whole of the uk family".

meanwhile theresa may will answer questions about the plan in a special programme here on the bbc news channel and 5 live injust half an hour's time, at half past 12. a little earlier our political correspondent, nick eardley, explained what the spanish obbjections were. she certainly has both. she wants to get all european countries on side so when it comes to a later treaty there are no potential problems for her. you are right in saying that spain cannot veto what happens this weekend over gibraltar, the withdrawal agreement cannot be vetoed, nor can the political declaration but there will be a treaty hopefully when the future arrangement is settled and spain

will have to ratify that so i expect the prime minister will be very keen to get some sort of closure on this issue in the next few days and will work hard to do so. even if she does and even if the eu 27 come on board on sunday she faces a gargantuan task at home in selling that deal. she will try to do that straight to the public i am sure, we will see some this afternoon on the bbc, but she is also struggling to get it through parliament. we saw yesterday when mps from both opposition and her own party got up and raised concerns about what she was planning so at the moment it is hard to see how she can get a majority in parliament to get on side with what she's to get by the eu this weekend. and some prominent conservatives will be at a dup conference this weekend and it will be fascinating to find out what comes from those discussions. it is a reminder with opposition

of how improbable the arithmetic is for theresa may when it comes to that key vote. the chancellor philip hammond will speak at that conference. i suspect the message will be on message for the government. controversially for the prime minister is boris johnson speaking there tomorrow, someone we know has railed against what the prime minister is planning. the dup are not happy, as we know, so there will be some common cause. the absence of dup support and support from the backbenchers makes it very hard to see how the prime minister gets this through. dominic raab, the man who until last week was the brexit secretary, was on the bbc this morning talking about the arithmetic. he says it is almost impossible to see how it gets through parliament but he also warned what the prime minister had agreed for people like him,

brexiteers who campaigned for this for a long time, the deal the prime minister is proposing is worse than remaining in the eu. he does not want that, he wants to get out but he thinks this is such a bad deal it would be worse than continued membership. there are many who disagree and say it takes us too far away from the eu and we should stay closer, but the prime minister faces attacks from all sides on this plan and has an uphill battle in convincing people otherwise. gavin lee is in brussels for us. bring us up—to—date with the discussions happening there and whether spain's concerns can be satisfied before the sunday summits of the eu 27 can all sign of on this deal. 48 hours from now, in theory, the agreement after the summit would

be finished around mid day uk time, signed, sealed and delivered. a historic deal. a belgian newspaper said it was last straight line of act one of brexit. the issue is there is a meeting between civil serva nts there is a meeting between civil servants trying to resolve the spanish issue. another news agency reports that has just ended. i have had a text from an eu diplomat to say they haven't solved the eu issue. pedro sanchez the spanish prime minister is deeply unhappy. it is article 184, six lines, are fairly anodyne statement talking about the eu and the uk working quickly to engineer a good trade relationship after they leave in march next year. spain says they saw this document when it left brussels and they were happy. it went to

london last weekend then they have not seen this new articles so they say anything on the future of gibraltar which has —— gibraltar has to be between spain and britain. the germans are saying you cannot have any more additions to the text. it would be like political whack a mole. as you mentioned, theresa may says she will work with spain before she comes here tomorrow when she is meeting jean—claude juncker so there is still time but they want a deal by sunday. the spanish prime minister has hinted this could be dealt with through discussions with the uk so is this more for domestic political consumption ought to reposition spain at the top of the european table? two things to

consider with spain. i asked pedro sanchez if gibraltar was a problem and he said no. they have been told this morning categorically that they cannot change the withdrawal agreement at the last minute. i am told the other way is to look at the political declaration, a nonlegal document on future relationships. that could happen although it has not yet. theresa may arrives tomorrow in brussels. andalusia borders with gibraltar and there are 10,000 spanish workers that go across the border every day and pedro sanchez has been accused of being too soft on brexit. elections, politics, domestic politics perhaps playing out here. and theresa may will take your questions on brexit in a special programme right here on the bbc news channel and radio 5 live at 12.30.

email your questions to askthis@bbc.co.uk, or you can text them to to 85058 or use the hashtag #bbcaskthis. the uae ambassador to london has said the life sentence for spying given to a british phd student in abu dhabi came about after a full and proper legal process. the family of matthew hedges say he is innocent and have appealed to the emirati government for clemency. the ambassador said, like the uk, the uae‘sjudiciary is independent from the government. matthew hedges was not convicted after a five—minute show trial as some have reported. over the course of one month, three judges evaluated compelling evidence in three hearings. they reached the conclusion after a full and proper process. this was an extremely serious case. we live in a dangerous neighbourhood and national security must be a top priority. this was also an unusual case.

many researchers visit the uae freely every year without breaking our laws. under uae law everyone has the right to appeal after conviction and everyone can request a pardon from our president. mr hedges' family have made a request for clemency and the government is studying that request. british foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, had a good conversation with our foreign minister. i also met him yesterday privately. as mr hunt said, we have an extremely close partnership with the uk. because of the strength of that relationship, we are hopeful that an amicable solution can be reached. thank you very much. 0ur correspondentjon donnison told us more

about the uea reaction to pressure to release matthew hedges. a country whose diplomats have been busy in the last few days, as we heard, right up to the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, has been bashing the phones, talking to counterparts, meeting with the ambassador. i think for the family and friends of matthew hedges, they will hope there is a pathway beginning to form to which he could be eventually released. confirmation from the ambassador that an appeal for clemency, a pardon, to the uae president has been lodged and they are studying this request. the press statement was in two halves, the first the ambassador defending the judicial process in the uae, saying it was not a five—minute show trial. he said three judges studied the case for a month. the second half of the statement we didn't hear so much there, was talking about the strong relationship between britain

and the uae and again wanting to restore that and find an amicable solution. could this be a route for the uae to save face rather than changing position on the sentencing and also to preserve the relationship between the uk and uae? i thinkjudging from their statements the uae wants to say they are following thejudicial process. in their view they had a fair trial and there is the possibility of an appeal which has to be lodged in 30 days, and there is the ability to appeal for a pardon. so they say they're going through the judicial process. but this appeal for clemency could be a possible way out. we have had a statement from daniela tejada, matthew hedges' wife, who has been quite scathing, insisting

it was a show trial lasting no more than five minutes, and she saw what happened in court, and how she was upset he was held in an undisclosed location to await the trial for more than five months, often in solitary confinement. two brothers wanted by police in merseyside over suspected drug trafficking offences have been arrested in thailand. joseph and gregory mulhare from wirral were detained last week in pattaya by thai immigration police. they are suspected of trafficking cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamine in the uk. more on today's main stories coming up on newsroom live here on the bbc news channel, but now we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two.

gunmen have killed at least four people in an attack on the chinese consulate in the pakistani city of karachi. police shot dead three attackers. separatist militants who oppose chinese investment projects in western pakistan say they carried out the attack. 0ur pakistan correspondent secunder kermani in islamabad told me how the attack on the consulate unfolded. karachi is the commercial capital of pakistan. the attack happened around 9:30am local time here when three militants armed with assault rifles and grenades, and according to some reports suicide vests, tried to enter the consulate building but were prevented by security forces. they killed two police officers, two civilians. no chinese nationals or consular staff were harmed. a separatist group called

the balochistan liberation army claimed responsibility. they have waged a low—level insurgency in the province of balochistan and have attacked chinese assets before. the pakistani government says that chinese funded projects in balochistan will be good for the economy but the militants said the state and chinese state are trying to exploit the area's natural resources. what is the reaction from the pakistani government and from beijing? the pakistani prime minister imran khan has called for an investigation and he said these attacks will not undermine the country's relationship

and the chinese foreign ministry condemned the attack and called for greater security for chinese workers but they also said that the attack would not prevent further investment in pakistan. both countries are becoming increasingly close over the past few years and neither country wants that to end. the headlines on bbc news... theresa may tries to sell her brexit deal to the public as eu diplomats meet to finalise the agreement amid last—minute spanish concerns about gibraltar. the united arab emirates' ambassador to the uk defends the trial of british academic matthew hedges, sentenced to life imprisonment, but says his government is studying a request for clemency. the government is set to fail in its target of installing smart energy meters in every home by 2020, says the public spending watchdog. sport now.

good afternoon. they've already won, the 50—overs world cup and now england's women are through to the final of the world t20. england bowled out india for 112, before cruising home for a massive eight wicket win. they'll play australia in tomorrow night's final, after they thrashed west indies. 0ur prep coming into this game has been so clear and we knew our plans so been so clear and we knew our plans so it is just as feeling pretty confident and, you know, the total wasn't really high so we had a good partnership and we were in a good place. england's men are going for a series whitewash in sri lanka. a century from jonny bairstow was the highlight as england made a solid start on the opening day of the third and final test. england won the toss and chose to bat.

after a sluggish start, with openers rory burns and keatonjennings both going cheaply, 46 from skipperjoe root and 110 from bairstow, who was returning to the side after injury, helped guide england to 312 for seven at stumps in colombo. chelsea midfielder n'golo kante has signed a new five—year deal. he's made 81 appearances since joining from leicester two years ago, helping chelsea to the premier league title in his first season and fa cup in his second... kante said he'd "completely improved" as a player at stamford bridge and was a key member of france's world cup winning squad in russia this summer. formula one is in abu dhabi for the final grand prix of the season and it's the red bull's who have set the pace in first practice. max verstappen was quickest, four—tenths of a second faster than teammate daniel ricciardo, ahead of mercedes' valterri bottas. lewis hamilton back in 4th seemed to be having problems, saying, "it's quite an unhappy car at the moment."

we're heading into the final weekend of autumn internationals, with wales hoping to make it a clean sweep of autumn wins. they've made 13 changes to the side that beat tonga last weekend and victory over south africa in cardiff would be their ninth test triumph in a row. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. the former english defence league leader tommy robinson has been appointed as an advisor to the ukip leader gerard batten. the party said mr robinson, whose real name is stephen yaxley—lennon, will advise on rape gangs and prison reform. mr robinson is banned from joining ukip under rules which bar former english defence league and british national party members. mr batten defended his decision to appoint tommy robinson when he spoke to our correspondent, jonathan blake, a little earlier. i'm surprised he has such an interest in ukip

seeing as he walked away two years ago and hasn't showed an interest since and recently said he would give all his efforts to a leave party and none to ukip. i have had thejob of i have had the job of saving the party from disappearing into oblivion. i have done a good job because we have membership rising, money rising, donors giving us money and we are up in the polls so i think i am making the right decisions. he says you should be focusing on the broader issue of immigration. i have been focusing on the brexit which is why we are focusing on this big brexit betrayal march on the 9th of may. we are trying to get tens of thousands of people out and i encourage people to come and join ukip because the only thing that makes any difference in this whole debate is how many votes can you take away from the tories and labour at the next general election, that's the only thing they care about, and that is what i am doing.

why are you appointing tommy robinson as an unpaid adviser? he is merely a personal adviser on two different issues, the rape gang phenomenon and conditions in prison and prison reform. i have advisers on all kinds of subjects. he doesn't need to be a member of the party to do that but he will help me in that so we can develop policy going forward. people would call him islamophobic and he has blamed the religion of islam as a whole for terrorist attacks in the uk. are you not islamophobic in the same way by association? islamophobic is a made up word that doesn't mean anything. i do not have an irrational fear of islam. it isa it is a prejudice against a

religion. we have never said anything about muslims, tommy robinson doesn't, we talk about islamic ideology. the reasons we have these terrorist attacks all round the world is because they derive those ideas from islamic ideology. there are plenty of other people you could ask for advice on the phenomenon of child sexual abuse in the uk, and life in prison. why are you asking tommy robinson? he put his life on the line and he is high—profile and he can bring a lot of people to the march. everyone knows what he stands for. he has been persecuted by the state for his views. i was in court when it was referred to the attorney general because the judge knew there was no case. he was in solitary confinement for four months. a lot of people respect his stand on things and his courage. it isn't about him or nigel farage. you are appointing him as an adviser and

responding to criticism so it is about that. he is a convicted criminal. he was convicted of contempt of court. you have convicted criminals sitting in the house of lords making laws over as and no one seems bothered. he has minor convictions. lots of people have had criminal convictions in the past and it doesn't mean to say they can't do something good in the present and future. by bringing him into the fold of the party you are flying in the face of your own rules which bans former members of the bnp and edl. he is not in the party. we have a proscribed list. there are ex—bnp members sitting as labour and conservative councillors. we do not do that. we have a proscribed list. i have asked the party to consider

waiving that list. in the spirit of democracy i said this should be put to the members and they should vote on it so i am proceeding in a democratic way and it will be the members who decide it, not me. there's no realistic prospect of the government meeting its own deadline to install smart energy meters, according to a report from the national audit office. every home in britain is supposed to have a smart meter by 2020. they allow readings to be made remotely and are supposed to help customers save money and energy. i think there are two reasons for that, really. the first and probably most important is that when the government was deciding what kind of smart meter system to adopt for the country, they went for a technically more complicated system. they underestimated to the complexity and that means the roll—out has taken longer

than they expected. the other reason is that consumers have not been as enthusiastic in adopting smart meters as the government hoped they would be. and also you have these first—generation smart meters and second—generation smart meters and there is an issue there, isn't there? tell us about what happens if a consumer, a customer, has a first—generation smart meter but then wants to switch energy suppliers. so what happens with the first—generation smart meters is, in around 70% of cases, people who have a smart meter and then decide to switch suppliers, the first—generation smart meter stops working fully so it then becomes like a traditional old—style meter, or it operates in dumb mode. so in all there are nearly a million first—generation smart meters that aren't working properly. so people then have to choose either between sticking with a more expensive tariff or losing the benefits of having a smart meter in the first place. that's right, so it's undermining the rationale of the programme. so do you think that has put a lot of people off actually saying to their energy supplier, "yes, let's fix an appointment to have this new meter fitted," because they're holding off and waiting for those

second—generation meters perhaps? that may be part of what is going on. we know that most people are happy with their smart meters. so a government survey said around 74% of people that have smart meters are happy with them. so you don't think the government will be on track to meet its deadlines but how will it get this programme rolling out more effectively, in your opinion? i think the main thing it needs to do is to make sure that when a smart meter is installed that people get the energy efficiency advice they are meant to get at the time the meter is installed, so they can really make best use of it, and they are more likely to change their energy consumption as a result of having a smart meter. in the next few minutes here on the bbc news channel

and on radio 5 live theresa may will continue her efforts to win public support for her brexit deal, as she answers questions from the public. her appearance this afternoon comes as european union officals met to finalise the wording of the brexit withdrawal treaty and the draft political declaration on future relations. 0ur reality check correspondent, chris morris, who has been poring over those documents, joins me now. this is very much part of a structured strategy from the prime minister since she announced her withdrawal deal, and it is very much her deal, to appeal and talk directly to the public. we heard yesterday she had an rough ride in the house of commons and took more than half an hour before her own mps stood up to support the deal so one of her strategies is to go to the people directly to explain why she thinks it is the best deal we can get and then hope in constituencies people begin to say to their mps to

get on with it. we still do not know how a majority in the house of commons will emerge but downing street still says it believes it can be done. it did not help that e—mails were leaked overnight to suggest the cbi, the employers' federation, the confederation of british industry, were not as happy behind the scenes with the video as they suggested in public. behind the scenes with the video as they suggested in publicm behind the scenes with the video as they suggested in public. it is a fine art to explain the detail but ta ke fine art to explain the detail but take us through where we are. we have two documents, one is the 500 plus page withdrawal agreement which ever ratified will be a legally binding treaty, and the document which came outjess lee, 26 —— came out yesterday, 26 pages to say what the future relationship might look like. we have some things from that

and a lot of it is concerned with the future trading relationship. this sets out a couple of the red lines on both sides. for the eu, the indivisibility of the four freedoms, the free movement of goods, services, capital and people, which the uk will move out of. on the uk said, any deal in the future must ensure the sovereignty of the uk. in terms of details on trade, one of the words frictionless was asked whether it would appear and it has not. the sides want as close as possible a relationship but it is not frictionless. the only way to haveit not frictionless. the only way to have it frictionless at the moment is to stay in this angle market and customs union, which theresa may says she is going to leave. looking

at the bits of text to the brexiteers do not like, has there been any movement in the last few days? when an outline of this document came out last week, one sentence was what people talked about, the relationship between an ambitious customs arrangement in future and the single customs territory provided for in the withdrawal agreement. that refers to the details of the potential backstop. it was mentioned specifically by dominic raab when he resigned as brexit secretary, and the sentence is still in there. we have had a lot of comment from those