you're watching bbc news at nine with me, ben brown. the headlines... the united arab emirates issues a presidential pardon with immediate effect forjailed british academic matthew hedges. in full consideration of the historic relationship and close ties between the united arab emirates and the united kingdom, his highness has decided to include mr matthew hedges among the 785 prisoners released. theresa may begins the big sell of her brexit deal, warning of division and uncertainty if mps oppose it. the prime minister has secured the deal — a very good deal for the united kingdom. it is now the job for all of us in the cabinet to make the case. but an uphill struggle awaits — the dup, dozens of tory backbenchers and all opposition parties say they won't support it. i do not accept this is the best deal, it is a bad deal and i am not alone.

you would say, "you are the opposition, you would say that." but look what is happening! mps from all parties are saying this is not a good deal. tensions escalate in waters off the crimean peninsula as russia seizes three ukrainian ships. these pictures appear to show a russian ship ramming a ukrainian naval vessel during the incident. calls from the royal college of surgeons for every medical device implanted into a patient to be registered. mission to mars — nasa hopes to land a robotic probe on the red planet today after a 90—million—mile journey. and coming up in sport... england's cricketers are closing in on a series whitewash in sri lanka. jack leach removing three batsmen on day four in colombo. they need one more wicket to win. good morning and welcome to the bbc news at nine.

in the past hour, the united arab emirates has granted a presidential pardon to the british academic, matthew hedges. the durham university phd student was jailed for life last week for spying. his wife, daniela tejada, said she couldn't wait for him to return home. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, said he was grateful to the uae government for resolving issue speedily. in response to a letter from the family of mr hedges requesting clemency, and in consideration of the historical relationship and close ties between united arab emirates and the united kingdom, his highness has decided to include mr matthew hedges among the 785 prisoners released. mr hedges will be permitted to leave

the country once all the formalities are complete. that was an official of the uae government making that announcement that mr hedges was being pardoned. his wife, daniela tejada has been giving her reaction this morning to the today programme. to be honest, i was not expecting it. it took me by surprise. i am so happy and so relieved and really incredulous that this is all happening finally. it has been an absolute nightmare this six, seven months. i cannot wait to have him back. do you know when you will see him? i do not know yet. the news has just been announced and we're trying to coordinate the details. i'm going

to coordinate the details. i'm going to see if i can him up. we're absolutely elated at the news. what was the last time you saw matthew and what did you think?” was the last time you saw matthew and what did you think? i saw him on the day of his hearing, and sadly the day of his hearing, and sadly the last time i saw him we were both walking out of the court room. we we re walking out of the court room. we were not able to say goodbye. i am glad that it will not be long to say hello again. that was the wife of matthew hedges speaking a little earlier. well, as we heard, the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, has welcomed the news. in a tweet he said... "fantastic news about matthew hedges". he added that he was "grateful to the uae for resolving the issue speedily". he then went on to say.... "it's a bitter—sweet moment as people like nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe and others are still detained in iran and justice won't have been done until they‘ re all brought home safely." our correspondent paul blake has been following the story,

hejoins us from dubai. thank you for being with us. the united arab emirates, although they have pardoned him and they are still insisting that matthew hedges was a spy. insisting that matthew hedges was a spy. it is interesting. they a p pa re ntly spy. it is interesting. they apparently showed a video to journalist before the press conference. in the clip which is a purported confession by matthew hedges he says he is a member of mi6. the video shows him saying he was looking into the military systems the uae was purchasing and saying he was approaching his sources under the cover, the guys, ofa sources under the cover, the guys, of a phd student. they have maintained his innocence since he was first detained on the 5th of may and throughout these hearings in the past few weeks. now they are saying they are looking forward to having

him coming home. the uae is sticking by its original claim he was hearing gauging in espionage and the family maintaining the innocence but it does look like matthew hedges is on his way home in the next few days, possibly weeks. it is clear there has been a lot of diplomatic pressure on uae from britain, which is an ally of the united arab emirates. jeremy hunt was making clear his anger in the last few days. they are using this national days. they are using this national day when they release prisoners as a way of giving him a pardon. that is right. we heard yesterday from the official state news agency run by the government that they are pardoning 785 prisoners as part of the national day celebrations. we do not know it at you hedges is included in that list. there was a press c0 nfe re nce included in that list. there was a press conference at oh 800 british

time today. it follows a strong diplomatic effort on the part of the british government and the uae authorities, certainlyjeremy hunt last week was saying there would be strong, diplomatic repercussions on the relationship between the uae and the relationship between the uae and the uk. the verdict came down last week and i was in the core outside. it was the surprise there was quite a strong reaction in the days after. since then there have been multiple contacts between the british government and the iraqi government trying to find an amicable solution. —— the emma ratti. theresa may is beginning a campaign to rally support for her brexit deal, urging mps to get behind her or risk going back to square one when she addresses parliament later today. mps are likely to vote on it on december 12th. mid—morning, the prime minister will hold a cabinet meeting ahead of making a statement to the commons. speaking to the bbc this morning, the brexit secretary, stephen barclay, acknowledged that

getting the deal through would be a challenge, but said it was the right course for the country. opposition parties, the dup and many of her own backbenchers have already said they will oppose the plan. our political correspondent alex forsyth reports. theresa may arrived home yesterday with the ink fresh on the deal that will take us out of the eu. in brussels, she got the backing of eu leaders. now she must sell it to sceptical mps and the public. there were those who said that reaching a brexit agreement that worked for both sides was an impossible task. from the start, i rejected that counsel of despair and set about negotiating a deal that worked for the uk and the eu, one that delivered on the result of the referendum and set us on course for a prosperous future. there's two parts to this deal. the withdrawal agreement deals with our exit. there will be a transition period after we leave in march when not much changes until december 2020 so new arrangements

can be worked out. it settles the divorce bill and guarantees the rights of eu and uk citizens living abroad and it contains that controversial backstop plan to avoid a hard irish border if there is no trade deal. then there is a political declaration which talks about an ambitious future partnership in trade, free movement will end, but the details have not been agreed and this document isn't legally binding. the prime minister and other eu leaders say this deal is the best it gets but back home, many disagree. what she has created is something that satisfies very, very few people. so, the chances of getting through, this deal through parliament i think is effectively nil. here, all the opposition parties and many conservative mps have said they will not support this deal. so, the challenge for the prime minister is to try to win them round before a crucial vote in a few weeks. alex forsyth, bbc news.

our chief political correspondent, vicki young, is in westminster. the prime minister is back from brussels and the big sellers on. the prime minister is back from brussels and the big sellers onm would be a monumental task over the next few weeks. —— the big sellers on. theresa may were the house of commons to make her case. the last few occasions she has done that there has been widespread criticism of the deal. she will be hoping that having signed off with eu leaders at the weekend summer meant really really get behind that as she makes the case. —— some momentum really gets behind. some people want to make their case to the public and businesses around all the corners of the united kingdom. there will be a big push. we had a letter to the

people from the prime minister at the weekend. she is going to be visiting various places around the uk. there will be a social media push as well studied almost feels like a push as well studied almost feels likea mini push as well studied almost feels like a mini general election campaign. we will see whether she manages to get the message out there. it is clear a lot of the focus is onjobs. today there. it is clear a lot of the focus is on jobs. today the there. it is clear a lot of the focus is onjobs. today the newish brexit secretary was asked what would happen and how they could sell the deal and what would happen if it we re the deal and what would happen if it were rejected. the fact is this is the only deal on the table. it has taken two years of tough negotiation to get to this point. the deal delivers on the referendum and the biggest democratic vote in our history would be highly damaging for our democracy not to deliver on that vote but we need to move forward in a way that maintain security cooperation with europe and protects jobs, protectst the supply line, which is so important to manufacturing and other industries. the cabinet will be meeting this

morning from yet another meeting to discuss all of this. several members of the cabinet have been outselling the deal. some have not been seen so publicly putting the case. there is still some anxiety among some of them. they fear the future relationship is not part of this deal. that is not pins down and it is still an issue for some of them. the thorny issue of the northern ireland should backstop that may or may not come into being used. the understanding and i hope on both sides is that is never needed because there will be a new trade deal in place, that this will be a close working relationship in the yea rs close working relationship in the years going forward. that is not enough for some. one who has been out and very supportive this morning is amber rudd, recently brought back to the cabinet as the work and pensions secretary.

secretary of state, how is the prime minister going to be able to get this deal through parliament? by selling it successfully to members of parliament and to the country and i'm confident that she will. is cabinet united around the deal? cabinet is united around the deal and that is why we are meeting this morning to make sure that we all understand it fully and know why it is in the best interests of the country, which i really believe it is. thank you. is no deal an empty threat? the thing is that anything could happen if this deal does not get through and that's my concern. that's why i want to back this agreement and urge all my colleagues to do the same. thank you very much. the idea of that kind of uncertainty is theresa may because my deal is voted down is what ministers hope will focus the mind of mps in all parties, the idea that no one can be sure of what might happen if that we re sure of what might happen if that were the case. there are some pushing for another referendum, others pushing for a plan b if you like, ajoining others pushing for a plan b if you like, a joining was staying in the

european economic area is staying very closely aligned with the single market. there are some including amber rudd who in the past has talked about that as another option. that is being put to labour mps and the dup talking about a third way. the uncertainty of the deal is to be voted down is what we will hear a lot about. as for the position of labour, so far they have been saying all options must be on the table. this is what they're brexit spokesman had to say today. this is a bad deal, a lot better than this could have been negotiated if the prime minister had started in a different place and i do not accept that this is the best deal. it is a bad deal. you would say, "well, you're the opposition, you would say that," but look what's happening. mp5 from all parties are saying this is not a good deal and we cannot pretend that it is and that's why it's almost certainly not going to get through. that is circular star. there are suggestions today that the prime

minister might want the tv debate with opposition leaderjeremy corbyn. -- sur keir starmer. this is being floated in a couple of the newspapers. the idea that she would wa nt to newspapers. the idea that she would want to go head—to—head withjeremy corbyn in a televised debate about the deal she has brought back. the attraction for downing street is probably nobody is across the detail of that document as much as the prime minister, having worked on it closely in the negotiations for so long. you can imagine many others will be looking at this saying this is the prime minister who does not really wa nt is the prime minister who does not really want to do debates with other party leaders head to head with jeremy corbyn during the general election and why would you want to do that now? there has been no formal confirmation of any of this. it is part may be of her desire to get out there and get to a wider audience thanjust get out there and get to a wider audience than just the 650 mps in the house of commons. the response

from the labour party has been to say they would relish the opportunity to debate with the prime minister on all of this we will have to see if it to pass. and this afternoon we'll be trying to get answers to some of your questions about the latest brexit developments, with a panel of experts. if you have a question — get in touch. text 61124 or e—mail askthis@bbc.co.uk — or tweet using the hashtag bbc ask this. this afternoon, the prime minister is making that statement to mps in the house of commons. the earliest will be 3:30 p:m.. we just have some breaking news coming in from the film world. bernardo bertolucci, director of the last emperor, which won nine oscars at the 1988 academy awards, has died of cancer at 77, his publicist has confirmed. that news is just being confirmed

that news isjust being confirmed by his publicist. he also directed the controversial last tango in paris, starring marlon brando. bertolucci, who was born from the northern italian town of parma, had been ill and died at his home in rome, media said. that is just coming into us. we will be bringing you more throughout the day. that death hasjust be bringing you more throughout the day. that death has just been earned. —— been confirmed. a look at some of the other news today. the royal college of surgeons is calling for compulsory registration of any implant or medical device in the uk. the proposal comes after an investigation by media organisations around the world found evidence of inadequate testing and faulty equipment.

the devices include heart pacemakers, rods to correct spines, and artificial knees and hips. you can see more on the investigation in tonight's panorama, at 8.30pm on bbc one, and afterwards on iplayer. ukraine's president has described the seizure by russia of three ukrainian navy vessels yesterday as an act of aggression. russian special forces opened fire and took control of two gunboats and a tug boat as they tried to pass through the kerch strait off the coast of crimea. both nato and the eu have called for restraint, and for ukraine's access to the waters to be restored. this stretch of water is the only way in and out of the seed shared by

russia. three rue crane your vessels are legally entered its waters. first it blockaded them, then it fired at them. ukraine says six of its sailors were hurt, while the russian security service says only three were wounded and were getting medical care. in kiev, ukraine's president, petro poroshenko, described the russian actions as unprovoked and crazy. mps there will vote on whether to introduce martial law on monday. martial law would be introduced in order to strengthen the defence capabilities of ukraine. a cold act by the russian federation. it does not mean our refusal to resolve the issue by political and diplomatic means will stop —— diplomatic means. ukraine's key ports are in the sea of azov, but since russia annexed crimea four years ago, it is able to block access in and out of the kerch straits.

overnight in kiev, there were protests outside russia's embassy, these events like salt in wounds that have not healed. both sides have asked for an emergency meeting of the un security council, which will be held on monday morning, the hope being that this crisis doesn't escalate any further. lebo diseko, bbc news. we arejust going we are just going to show the moment of impact when the ukrainian vessel was apparently rammed by the russian vessel. you can just was apparently rammed by the russian vessel. you canjust see it was apparently rammed by the russian vessel. you can just see it here. that is the moment of impact. this has sparked real tension once again between russia and ukraine. the former soviet republic of ukraine. we can speak now to ta ras berezovets. he's a former ukrainian government national security and defence advisor and is now a political analyst.

thank you for being with us. what to make of the flare—up? how worrying is it? —— what do you make? make of the flare—up? how worrying is it? -- what do you make? the situation has been degenerating since 2014 when the russians illegally annexed the crimean peninsular. obviously, was this situation predictable? absolutely. one reason why these naval vessels have been deployed was because of actions which russian government and the russian fleet had been taking over the last months. they have been blocking both ukrainian and international vessels which were going to ukrainian ports. for that reason, losses of the ukrainian

government and international companies have been huge. basically the ukrainian government, according to an official statement, warned the russian side that these three vessels would be removed. what we see now today at 4pm kiev time, i would say 100% they would declare martial law for the next 60 days which would effectively have immediate effects on the whole country. that is the ukrainian president we arejust country. that is the ukrainian president we are just seeing chairing a meeting of his government officials and his national security council. the russians, their foreign ministry, has accused ukraine of deliberately provoking this incident. moscow says it will summon a senior ukrainian diplomat to complain about it. what do you think will be the consequences of all of this? that is a good question. tonight we will see in new york and

urgent session of the un security council and, of course, the russians would say it was the ukrainians who should be blamed for this situation. to put it bluntly, ukrainian sailors do not open fire on russians but russian state. it was not the russian state. it was not the russian army that was involved in this incident. it is one example of how russians are acting. i think everybody saw video footage of the incident which was filmed. the footage clearly shows they committed an act of aggression, absolutely without any reason because a russian naval vessel was rammed by a russian naval vessel was rammed by a russian naval ship which resulted in

injuries to three ukrainian sailors and three military ships have been relocated. what will be the consequences? locally here in ukraine, first of all, we will definitely see a new day for presidential elections. according to ukrainian law, presidential campaigns should last at least a 90 days. as soon as this martial law is imposed, it will last until the end of january. effectively presidential election is quite likely would be held somewhere end of april next year. apart from that, ukrainian military ministry of defence may impose additional measures. the president said we do not talk about general mobilisation of the country but we will see some action as to what this would be. we will expect

possibly more military escalation where russian troops have been deployed on a large—scale and they have been put on alert. so the biggest danger is not in the straight but that biggest danger is elsewhere. very good to get your analysis. thank you for being with us. analysis. thank you for being with us. the former ukrainian government national—security and defence adviser. thank you. rail passengers, who are not happy with how operators have dealt with their complaints, will now be able to appeal to an independent ombudsman. all of the uk's national train operators have signed up to the independent body, which means they will be obliged to take action if failings are identified. our business correspondent joe miller reports. delays, cancellations and crowded carriages — britain's long—suffering rail passengers have had plenty to complain about. 500,000 aired their gripes in the past year, butjust 28%

were happy with the outcome. from today, disgruntled passengers and those who have waited more than 40 working days for a response will be able to appeal to an independent ombudsman, paid for by the franchise owners themselves. we're very aware that we've lost the trust of many of our passengers, especially after what happened with our may timetable, and we're going to work hard to try to get it back, and this is part of that process. effectively, it means that if a train operating company hasn't dealt with the complaint to the satisfaction of the passenger, or the passenger feels that the train operating company has dragged its feet and not replied within eight weeks of their original complaint, then there will be an independent body that will force the train operating company to take that complaint seriously. the launch of a new complaints procedure has been welcomed by passenger groups and the government, although both say they hope a better rail service will mean it is seldom used. but, if last year's christmas—time

disruptions are anything to go by, the new ombudsman may have its hands full very soon. more now on the death of the italian film director bernardo bertolucci. with me is our entertainment correspondent, lizo mzimba. a huge figure in the world of films. exams. the last empress swept the oscars in the 1980s. it won best director and best picture and was seen as an incredibly important film. it was the first film about china that was actually filmed in china. they went into the forbidden city with the cooperation of the chinese government for them it was the first time a film about china

had been allowed in something like 30 or 40 years. the result was an epic but swept the oscars and took the cinematic world's the way. it portrayed the biographical story of the emperor. one of the cinematic great movies. on the other side you have something like the last tango in paris, possibly one of the most controversial movies if people think about it in those terms were starring marlon brando and the way he explored sexuality, sexual politics through his imagery, through his filming style. that is something that film—makers and critics and audiences still talk about today. what was his cinematic style a nd about today. what was his cinematic style and what is his cinematic legacy? the way he moved the camera, his colourful imagery. he first came to prominence with a film called to

the conformist around 1970. he wrote the screenplay. it was an adaptation ofa the screenplay. it was an adaptation of a story set in fascist italy. even at that young age his style was seen as even at that young age his style was seen as breathtaking. other directors have said in particular that was a film that influence them. they were very young directors just forging their own style was when you look at the careers of how they have progressed, they possibly would not have made the same kind of films in the same way if it were not for what they had absorbed from the work of bertolucci back in the 1970s, late 19605. bertolucci back in the 1970s, late 1960s. he will be seen as one of the cinematic greats, particularly the last emperor, one of the few films that has... when it was at the oscars are actually swept the board. it won every single category it was nominated for. that happens to so

few films and that will really stand the test of time for him. it was not the test of time for him. it was not the easiest of circumstances and it was rewarded at the most important ceremony in the world. it was embraced by audiences as an enthralling epic. a huge loss to the world of film. bernardo bellucci has died. in a moment, the weather, but first let's join victoria derbyshire to find out what she's got coming up in her programme at 10am. the programme today is presented by joanna gosling. as matthew hedges, the student jailed joanna gosling. as matthew hedges, the studentjailed for life in the uae after being accused of spying, gets a pardon, we will hear from uae after being accused of spying, gets a pardon, we will hearfrom one of his colleagues and his constituency mp. and we will have the last in our brexit blind eight series as tv presenter ulrika jonsson and deal—maker dustin lance

black, neither of whom were allowed to vote in the referendum, find some common ground. i had envisaged it would be difficult to leave but i'm so would be difficult to leave but i'm so passionate about this country, i'm so passionate about its produce and what it can do. now i can't deny that i feel a little bit scared. you sound like a remainer! like in trouble. join us at ten o'clock on bbc two and the bbc news channel. thank you, joanna. now it's time for a look at the weather. we can cross the newsroom to matt taylor. it is pretty chilly at the moment, a frosty start in many areas and while we start the week on a cool theme, it will be a week of change with something much milder on the way after tomorrow. but some heavy rain

with it and potentially disruptive winds on wednesday. at the moment, easterly winds bringing in showers into central and eastern scholars, rain showers in eastern england, a few in the midlands and north wales and northern ireland which will continue but many western areas after a start have a lot of sunshine this afternoon but the showers coming into eastern districts, heaviest on the coast and rather chilly. but there are changes afoot. look at the south—west, rain and stronger winds edging in before they get to us, still some showers tonight in eastern coastal counties. more mist and fog in central and southern england and mid wales. a bit of frost tomorrow morning but tomorrow, only a few showers in the east, brighter but in the west it will turn wet and windy with gales possible for many. hello, this is bbc news with ben brown. the headlines... the united arab emirates has issued a presidential pardon with immediate

effect for the british academic matthew hedges who was jailed for spying. theresa may begins her campaign to sell her brexit deal, warning of division and uncertainty if mps oppose it. but an uphill struggle awaits her as politicians on all sides say they'll vote against it in parliament. tensions escalate in waters off the crimean peninsula as russia seizes three ukrainian ships. these pictures appear to show a russian ship ramming a ukrainian naval vessel during the incident. bernardo bertolucci, the oscar—winning director of last tango in paris and the last emperor, has died of cancer aged 77. and coming up... ten years after the climate change act was signed, leading scientists warn that we still need to do more to protect the future of our planet. time now for the morning briefing,

where we bring you up to speed on the stories people are watching, reading and sharing across the bbc. as we've been hearing, the united arab emirates has granted a presidential pardon to the british academic matthew hedges. the durham university phd student was jailed for life last week for spying. his wife, daniela tejada, said she couldn't wait for him to return home. here's what she had to say, when she spoke to radio 4's today programme in the past hour. to be honest, i was not expecting it. it took me by surprise. i am so happy and so relieved and really incredulous that this is all happening finally. it has been an absolute nightmarish six, seven months.

i cannot wait to have him back. do you know when you will see him? i do not know yet. the news has just been announced and we're trying to coordinate the details. i'm going to see if i can pick him up. we're absolutely elated at the news. what was the last time you saw matthew and what did you think? i saw him on the day of his hearing, and sadly the last time i saw him we were both walking out of the court room. we were not able to say goodbye. i am glad that it will not be long until we say hello again. that was the wife of matthew hedges speaking a little earlier. also this morning — still lots of talk about brexit as theresa may begins a campaign to rally support for the withdrawal plan. mps are likely to vote

on it on december 12th. in the next hour, the prime minister will hold a cabinet meeting before making a statement to mps in the commons this afternoon. but the opposition parties, the dup, and many of her own backbenchers have already said they will oppose the plan. let's get more on this now from hilary benn, the labour mp who chairs the exiting the eu select committee. hejoins me now from westminster. thank you for being with us. if you think the prime minister has any chance whatsoever of getting this through parliament? given the position that so many mps have taken, so many parties, it is very ha rd to taken, so many parties, it is very hard to see how this is going to go through. from my point of view, the fundamental problem with the agreement, the reason why i will vote against it, is that it offers us vote against it, is that it offers us absolutely no clarity or certainty about our long—term economic relationship with the

european union after we have left. it is not because it was not possible to have offered that certainty, it is just that the prime minister at the beginning of the process set out her red lines that will be seen, i think, when history is written, as a catastrophic mistake because you should not go into a negotiation of this sort boxing yourself in at the beginning and that is why she has come back with something which, when we read the political declaration, we have a transition period and that buys of time but where will we be in the long term? time but where will we be in the long term ? the time but where will we be in the long term? the honest answer to that question is we have no idea whatsoever and that is not in the economic interests of the country, of the people, and the jobs that depend on our economy. she says the jobs of this economy depend on certainty and she wants to bring the country together and there is no alternative. the eu have said they will not renegotiate, this is the only deal so are you not playing with fire by saying you will vote against it because the alternative

is possibly a no—deal brexit and all the chaos and uncertainty that that could bring? no, i'm not, and i have said throughout this process there is absolutely no chance that parliament will allow britain to leave the eu with no deal and therefore the prime minister is trying to offer us a full —— make a false choice. if the deal offered certainty about our economic future, i think the position would be rather different. so you think the eu will renegotiate? john hodge unger has said they will not. you have to disable it —— my coat distinguish between the two parts agreed yesterday two jean—claude juncker. there is the withdrawal agreement that deals with citizens, money and the backstop for northern ireland, which incidentally is only required because the prime minister made the mistake of saying we are leaving the customs union and single market and the moment you do that you create a problem in northern ireland and put at risk the frictionless trait on which a lot of british industry

depends. the truth is that i'm sure that if parliament or the government we re that if parliament or the government were to take a different approach, it would be possible to amend the political declaration because that is separate from the withdrawal agreement. when europe says that's it, they are really talking about the withdrawal agreement. if there isa the withdrawal agreement. if there is a change in britain then i have no doubt from the discussions we have had as a select committee with michel barnier that they would welcome greater clarity from the uk about what kind of future economic relationship we want rather than this menu of options which leaves us with no idea which one is eventually going to be chosen and that is bad for the future of the economy, for tax revenues, jobs, communities and families. do you want a second referendum, another referendum? does your party leader wants that, mr corbyn? all the indications are that he does not. i have not been calling for a people's photo because none of

the options are very easy. it is possible if we find they will not be an election and the government is not prepared to take its approach that we might end up with one —— peoples vote. we are not at that stage at the moment and the labour party position is clear, set out in the resolution passed at our conference in september, take it each stage at a time. the real challenge today for the prime minister is that she used to talk about achieving frictionless trait, thatis about achieving frictionless trait, that is what the chequers proposals we re that is what the chequers proposals were intended to do before the eu did not agree to them but i did not hear her talk about that over the weekend at all and the reason why she can't is because she is determined to leave the customs union and single market and she knows you cannot have frictionless trait if you are doing that, and you also create the problem in northern ireland. i don't think she is being honest with the british people about the choice we have to make at some point. the government has failed to do that in two and a half years of negotiation, to be honest that there are choices and consequences and

trade—offs. in the end, not everyone will get what they want will stop those who voted leave or remain, i think we leave at the end of march but if we get an economic deal or a commitment to one which will ensure frictionless trade that deals with the problem of northern ireland, helps to secure jobs and investment in the future, that would be the best outcome. if the government is not prepared to contemplate that then maybe we will have to end up putting it back to the british people for them to make the final choice. hilary benn, thank you for being with us this morning. more now on the rising tensions between russia and ukraine, after russia captured three ukrainian naval vessels off the coast of crimea. moscow says the ships had breached its territorial waters but the ukrainian president has described it as an act of aggression. well, natalia galiabarenko, ukraine's ambassador to britain, has been speaking to martha kearney on bbc radio 4's today

programme this morning. let's have a listen. what we witnessed yesterday night was actually an open act of aggression. so, three ships who were heading from port, it was absolutely an ordinary raid and the russian federation was duly informed of that. they were in fact intercepted and one of them even attacked by the russian fleet ships. despite what happened in crimea, for example, or the east of ukraine when russia was trying to hide actually their aggression, this time we have an open act. so, russia is not hiding any more. we heard from a russian analyst earlier that russia had just closed off the kerch strait for two hours so was it provocative to send ships through there? it was not provocative on our site because, you know, according to the legislation and according to the agreement dated 2003, azov sea is the internal sea of both ukraine and russia. so, we possess the same rights.

and if our ships are going somewhere, we are just informing the russian federation and vice versa. we did all the procedures on our side. let's take a look at one of the most read stories across the the bbc this morning. nasa's mars insight mission heads for ‘seven minutes of terror‘. this is the first spacecraft designed to study the internal structure of mars, attempting a difficult landing on the planet tonight and nasser says the probe will have minutes to slow down from more than 12,000 down to just five miles an hourto more than 12,000 down to just five miles an hour to avoid crashing into the surface —— nasser. more on that ina that's it for today's morning briefing. the united arab emirates has issued

a presidential pardon with immediate effect for jailed a presidential pardon with immediate effect forjailed british academic matthew hedges. theresa may begins a campaign to sell her brexit deal but a tough task awaits her as politicians from all parties say they'll vote against it in parliament. bernardo bertolucci, the oscar—winning director of last tango in paris and the last emperor, has died of cancer aged 77. sport now. and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's sally nugent. good morning. england need just one more wicket to complete only their third series whitewash away from home, but sri lanka are closing in on what would be an extraordinary victory themselves in the third test in colombo.

the home side had been frustrating england and were dreaming of an unlikely victory until a brilliant run out from jack leach turned the day in the tourists' favour. then the wickets started to fall regularly, with keatonjennings pulling off another stunning catch. he's been doing that all series, as has moeen ali. the all rounder removed roshen silva after a review to leave sri lanka nine down at tea on day four, but they only need 43 runs to win. ireland coach joe schmidt will step down after next year's world cup, and he'll be replaced by andy farrell. schmidt's taken the team up to second in the world rankings, and they're one of the favourites for the tournament in japan. farrell has been ireland's defence coach under schmidt, after holding the same position with england up until the 2015 world cup. it'll be his first head coach role, taking overfrom the new zealander who has won the six nations three

times with ireland. and ireland's success was recognised with a clean sweep at the world rugby awards. johnny sexton was named player of the year. he's the first irishman since keith wood 17 years ago to win the coveted prize. they also won team of the year, and schmidt was named best coach. lewis hamilton says he's hoping for more competition next year, after winning the grand prix of the season, in abu dhabi. he'd like a six—way battle between mercedes, ferrari and red bull. but it was the renault driver, nico hulkenberg, who created the drama yesterday. he flipped his car on the first lap and was left hanging upside—down. it took them quite a while to get him out but he was fine. he said the race was "much shorter" than he'd planned. hamilton had already won his fifth world championship, of course, and he took inspiration from a tatoo on his back,

quoting the maya angelou poem "still i rise." and after his final race in f1, fernando alonso said simply, "gracias". arsenal manager unai emery says he still expects more from his team, even though they've extended their unbeaten run to 17 games. they went ahead against bournemouth with a really unfortunate own—goal from jefferson lerma — great volley. wrong end. and the home side equalised before pierre—emerick aubameyang put away the winner. that win came after three draws in a row, though and that's what emery wants to put right. huddersfield are off the bottom of the table, thanks to their first away win of the season. aaron mooy scored both goals as they beat wolves 2—0 — that acutally shot huddersfield up to 14th place. arsenal's women have

maintained their 100% start to the season, beating brighton 4—1. they're now six points clear of manchester city, who beat yeovil. that nico hulkenberg crash in abu dhabi is on some of today's back pages. the express calling it a "great escape." they also talk about mauricio pochettino's revelation that he uses "tough love" to inspire dele alli. the mirror pick up on unai emery‘s decision to leave mezut ozil on the bench yesterday. he says they needed players who could cope with the "physicality and intensity" of the game against bournemouth. and the times focus on eddiejones saying england are desperate to beat ireland in the six nations next year — more so than winning the whole competition. england's third test against sri lanka is getting very close to a finish. you can follow it on the cricket social on the bbc sport website.

and the latest boxing podcast from mike costello and steve bunce is on radio 5 live, with build—up to saturday's world heavyweight title fight between tyson fury and deontay wilder. we were talking about lewis hamilton's success earlier. and there's someone who'd rather like a piece of the action. hamiton posted this video on his twitterfeed — showing him tied up by none other than will smith, who told him he needed to let someone else win for a change. you already won! save it for other people! let's go! your black and i am black and nobody is going to know the difference! seriously! needless to say, hamilton somehow broke free! that's all for now. don't forget sportsday at 6:30pm on bbc news. more from the bbc sports centre throughout the day. thank you.

it's been ten years since the climate change act was signed and the uk became the first country to introduce legislation to cut carbon emissions. a decade on, leading scientists are warning that we still need to do more to protect the future of our planet. john maguire reports. this would have been a big pile of coal seven years ago, getting ready for winter. make ring this is the biggest power station in the uk, providing providing around 7% of our power. in recent years, there has been a fundamental change in the fuel used to fire the boilers — switching from coal to biomass woodchips. we want to get off coal so we believe coal is a fuel of the past. everything we've done here is part of that ambition to get away from coal. over time, we hope to be off coal in the next five years. and today, trials start on carbon capture technology, which could see this plant become not just carbon neutral

but carbon negative, taking even more co2 out of the air. by reducing the reliance on fossil fuels in this way, the uk has cut its greenhouse gas emissions. ten years ago the government set targets. from 1990 levels, a reduction of 80% by 2050. and we are on target but only because of changes in power stations in the supply. when it comes to demand, electric vehicles or green homes, we're lagging behind. but not here at eddington — a village of 3000 people being built by cambridge university. claire, can i buy you a coffee? i'll have a tea, actually. claire was one of the first to move in and is embracing the opportunity to reduce her carbon footprint. i've always commuted to work in a car historically so when i moved here, i got rid of my car and got on my bike and, yeah, i feel much better for it. from recycling water and waste to green heating,

making eddington as sustainable as possible was always part of the vision for this community. we are a long—term partner in the future of the city and wanted to make sure that the development not only managed its impact in terms of reducing the impact on the surroundings and the environment and our neighbours but also thought about raising the bar for environmental and sustainability in the development industry in the uk. and because it's newly built, many of the green living decisions have already been made. when you moved in, all of the light bulbs are already led, things like that. so you are already at a good starting point. the government said emissions per person are being reduced here faster than in any other developed country but that we can't afford to stand still. as we are switching from coal to biomass, change must be radical and widespread if we want to secure a future that is green. a spacecraft launched by nasa, six months ago, will attempt to land

on mars later today. the probe, called insight, carries a number of instruments to help explore the internal structure of the planet. our science correspondent, victoria gill has more. they call it seven minutes of terror. at this last stage of its journey to mars, nasa's insight lander will need to slow itself down from almost 20,000 kilometres an hour to a safe landing speed. so, this is the full—size model? this is the full—size, life—size model of the insight lander. these are our beautiful solar arrays that are gorgeous. they will power everything on the lander. insight is doing amazing science on the surface of mars. we like to say we are giving mars its first checkup in four billion years. before any martian science can begin, though, the pressure of a safe touchdown will trigger a beacon to be sent back to earth — insight‘s first call home.

once we land, we'll get a message back from the spacecraft that says it thinks it's safe and then we have to obviously check up on our spacecraft as well and make sure that it really is in a safe state but, man, when we get that first indication our hearts are just going to explode! it will be really exciting. insight‘s robotic arm will carefully put down a seismometer, detecting any vibrations from martian earthquakes or mars quakes and this will be the first robot to drill deep into mars' surface in an effort to understand the structure of this planet. it is kind of like a meditative spacecraft. we had to sit there and listen for mars quakes. all these other instruments have set the stage but now we are going beneath the surface. we have only scratched the surface previously. back at mission control, these measurements will allow scientists to step back in time and work out exactly how rocky bodies like mars, earth and the moon actually formed 4.5 billion years ago.

something of a tradition here at nasa mission control, whenever there is an attempt to land on another planet, the whole team at mission control eat peanuts apparently because the first of nasa's attempts to land on the moon, they had six failures. on the seventh attempt, the chief engineer was eating and sharing peanuts with the entire team. just one more detail in the effort to help this spacecraft land on its feet on a planet almost 150 million kilometres away. victoria gill, bbc news, at nasa's jet propulsion laboratory, california. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. good morning. a rather chilly start but through the next wendy for hours we will see some changes in the weather. —— 24—hour is. we have had an easterly wind bringing chilly air from the near continent but gradually we are switching to a south—westerly wind and the oranges move in and by mid week the

temperatures will be much higher than they are now. with that milder weather it will turn quite windy, potentially quite disruptive winds with some gales and heavy rain. right now, chilly at this morning, some sunshine out there particularly in western areas of the uk and we will continue with sunny spells in the western areas this afternoon. further east, quite a bit more cloud and showers affecting parts of north—east england, into eastern scotland. for most of us, it is a dry afternoon and temperatures will get up to 7—9dc. this evening and tonight, we keep clear spells which means it could be quite chilly. a patchy fast developing here or there. some mist and fog as well in central and southern parts of england in particular. in the west, this band of rain moving in will spread through the isles of scilly into the west of cornwall by the early hours of tuesday morning. temperatures for holding up above freezing but in one or two places

with clear it spells it could be a touch below. on tuesday, the best sunshine will be in northern and eastern parts but in the west, this area of rain moves through northern ireland, wales, some snow in the high ground of north wales. temperatures up to nine celsius but in the south—west, they will start to rise up to 11 or 12 degrees. that system will move through going into wednesday but then this area of low pressure m oves wednesday but then this area of low pressure moves in closer to the uk. the isobars close together and that means it will be windier on wednesday with some gales in exposed coastal areas. heavy rain moving through, particularly in scotland and north—west england. elsewhere, some showers but a few bright spells. windy and gusty for all of us, winds on wednesday there but it is drawing in milder conditions so look at the temperatures, 12—15d and

we have not had that for a while. but be aware, on wednesday, with the strong winds and heavy rain, they could be some disruption. goodbye. hello. it's monday, it's 10 o'clock. i'm joanna gosling. within the last two hours, british academic matthew hedges — who was convicted of spying in the united arab emirates and jailed for life — has been given a presidential pardon. his wife says she's suprised but delighted. it has been an absolute nightmare six, seven months already. i cannot wait to have him back. theresa may begins a two—week campaign to persuade mps to vote through her brexit withdrawal plan. i will take this deal back to the house of commons. in parliament and beyond it, i will make case for this deal with all my heart. this afternoon, the prime minister

will speak to the commons —