at the last few days here at westminster. coming up, with debate about to begin on theresa may's brexit agreement, mps ask if she's really ready for no deal if the commons rejects her plans. ijust don't believe that if your deal goes down, you are the kind of person who would contemplate taking this country into a no—deal situation. a labour mp reveals he's living with hiv, and urges others to get tested. it is better to live in knowledge than to die in fear. hear, hear. also on this programme: i will be at the political studies association annual awards. but first, theresa may has been out and about all week trying to drum up support for her brexit plans. on tuesday, the prime minister visited the winter fair agricultural show in powys, to chat to farmers. then it was on to northern ireland where she met the five main political parties at stormont after a visit to queen's university belfast. and finally to scotland to talk

to factory workers in renfrewshire. her message was the same at every stop — there is no better deal available, and it's time to back the proposals or go back to square one. but of course, the people theresa may really needs to persuade are the 649 other mps at westminster. coming to the commons to make a statement, following the signing off of the withdrawal ageement by the eu, the prime ministerfaced a hostile reception. her former foreign secretary said it was hard to see how the deal could provide certainty to business or anyone else. you have half the cabinet going around reassuring business that uk is effectively going to remain in the customs union and in a single market the prime minister herself continuing to say that we are going to take back control of our laws, vary our tariffs, and do as he said just now "real free trade deals". they can't both be right. the prime minister has tried her very best.

are we not nonetheless being asked to take a huge gamble here? paying, leaving, surrendering our vote and our veto without any firm commitment of frictionless trade? by refusing to make choices now about our future economic relationship with the european union than what the prime minister's done what the prime minister's done is to put off the moment when we will have to make those choices to a time when the eu will have much greater leverage over this country. because any future trade agreement will require the unanimous approval of every european member state. the ink hardly dried on this agreement before the french president was saying that he would be using the legally binding provisions of this agreement to lever further concessions on fishing and other issues from the uk government. we cannot play games with business. we want to at the same time leave

the eu and surely my right honourable friend, this deal addresses both of those. and there were repeated calls for a second referendum. can i politely suggest that she's not knocking on enough doors and would she commit to giving the nation a final say on the exact terms of her deal? at prime minsiter's questions on wednesday jeremy corbyn challenged the government over figures released by the treasury showing the economy would be nearly 4% smaller than if the uk had remained part of the european union. the prime minister said, "this is the best possible deal. "it's the only possible deal". well, i mean, to say... it's not hard to be the best deal if it's the only deal! by definition... therefore, by definition, mr speaker, it's also the worst deal! laughter. what the analysis shows — it doesn't show that. this deal that we have negotiated is the best deal for ourjobs

and our economy which delivers on the results of the referendum for the british people. what does labour have to offer — six bullet points? my weekend shopping list is longer than that! it is now clear that parliament will not back this plan. so isn't it time for her to accept that reality and make way for an alternative plan that can work for the whole country? today we celebrate lies behind labour's apart. ——today we saw. last night the shadow chancellor told an audience in london that he wanted to seize upon a second referendum and vote remain. so now we have it. they want to cause chaos, frustrate brexit, overturn the will of the british people and that would be a betrayal of the many by the few.

does the prime minister agree her deal will leave people poorer than the status quo? the analysis shows... no. laughter. what the analysis shows... the analysis does not show that we will be poorer than the status quo today. what it shows... no, it doesn't! it doesn't. what the... what the analysis shows is that this is a strong economy which will continue to grow and that the model at which actually delivers best on delivering the vote of the british people and for ourjobs and our economy is the model the government has put forward, is the deal that the government is proposing. well, next day, theresa may was defending her plans again. by this point the bank of england had also released four different scenarios warning that a no—deal could lead to recession and tumbling house prices. at the liaison committee of senior mps, all eyes turned to what would happen if the commons voted against her deal on december the 11th.

knowing you for 20 years, ijust don't believe that if your deal goes down, you are the kind of person who would contemplate taking this country into a no—deal situation. am i wrong? it will be a decision for parliament as to whether they accept the deal that i and the government have negotiated. and more than that, mrs may wouldn't say — except that there was a process for the government to come back to parliament and make a statement on next steps if the commons voted down her deal. so the debate on the withdrawal agreement, which has been dubbed the uk's brexit divorce, and the much shorter political declaration on our future relationship with the eu begins on tuesday. the "meaningful vote" will come after five days of debate on december 11th. i spoke to dr hannah white from the institute for government and professor tim bale from queen mary university of london, and began by asking hannah white what a meaningful vote actually meant. it is not binding in a legal sense. everyone thinks it will

have political weight. but the real key thing is that it is a motion that mps can discuss and table amendments to. they don't getjust a yes—no vote on what the government proposes. they could to put down their own ideas, alternative plans and to test whether the rest of the houses of parliament and the comments ——commons agrees with them or not. so we have five long days of debate on this. what do you think the tactic is here? is the government trying to build a consensus, grand people down, a chance for everyone to have their say, what is going on? i think it is a measure of strength for all the various factions within the commons. i think the eventual result does matter and in the sense that it will give

us all a clue as to how possible it will be for theresa may to pass the withdrawal bill on the second attempt. and i think we are already assuming that this first attempt will make a difference. for the government i guess it gives her another chance to sell to the country, perhaps, the withdrawal bill. it will feature on the news headlines every night for five days. if she can make some good arguments and get her colleagues to make some good arguments for the withdrawal bill, perhaps that will help her in what is effectively a long—term war of attrition. it is notjust about the run—up to december 11th. it is about what happens, possibly, and into january. hannah, you have mentioned mps will have a chance to amend this. now that they want to have an option to vote on the deal as it stands. how much say will mps have? how much would they be able to amend what is in front of them? we have now known that the government has revised its proposal. following a report from the procedure committee, they went

with what the committee suggested which is that the amendments should be dealt with first. the speaker can select up to six amendments and then those will be dealt with. and then the house will get to vote on the motion either as amended or as it stands, if none of the amendments are made. and what happens if for example the house backs a labour amendment, what then? the question at the end of the day will be whether or not the house has a majority to back that. then the government will have to go away and see what that means for its plants. ——its plans. it depends whether that means going back to the eu to seek a renegotiation, some type of renegotiation are much easier than others. getting tweaks to the political declaration would be much more plausible than to trying to reopen the whole withdrawal agreement. if the government loses on december

iith, what are the options? at that point, i think there will be a question about how badly it loses and whether the conservative party decide that having a majority in the house that they want to have another go at replacing theresa may as leader. if that doesn't happen and she stays as leader she has various options. she can certainly try again. if there is a bad reaction, if markets react very badly, she might pretty much just try again with same deal saying "well, this is going to be really bad. are you really sure?" or she could change something and say "i will go straight into the eu". she could go back and ask for something specific and see if she could get a slightly different deal and try again. what she will get is a no from the eu. the problem for brexiteers

is that they objected that it is nonbinding anyway. the eu could send us an brexiteers would not believe it. the only thing that will work as far as they can be concerned is something on the backstop but we have already seen how hard it is to get movement on that. it is hard to say what would be enough for the people who don't like this agreement. one question for you tim, with your historian hat on, if we live to be 100 and look back on this particular period of time, what will history say about it? that depends on whether we leave the eu or not. if we leave, then i think it will disappear into the overall story of us leaving. if we end up having a second referendum and staying, we will look on it as a really bizarre two years, in which in some ways britain had to recognise the limitations of its power. all right, we shall see. thank you both very much indeed for coming onto the programme. now let's take a look at some

other news from around westminster in brief. a government plan to ban high—powered military—grade rifles has been formally dropped. ministers had intended to outlaw the 50 calibre weapons which have the power to immobilise a medium—sized vehicle from a mile away. but after pressure from its own mps, the government moved to water down part of the offensive weapons bill, which is also designed to tackle knife crime and acid attacks. these guns are very expensive, costing around £20,000 each. there are therefore very few in number, with only some 150 in private hands. they are extremely bulky, heavy at 30 pounds and slow to load, with large, hand loaded ammunition. in fact, one could hardly find a less likely firearm that might be used in a crime. they are simply too big. this should have been a comprehensive and honest response to the horrifying surge in violence we are seeing in every community in our country. instead, it is a relatively meagre

collection of proposals that, rather than being strengthened as they have made their way through this house, have actually been watered down as the government has rolled over in response to its backbenchers. 2a politicians from nine different countries joined forces to question facebook as part of an inquiry into "fake news". the self—styled "international grand committee" wanted to speak to the company's founder, mark zuckerberg, but he said he wasn't able to be in london and the committee left his chair empty. instead, one of his employees — who's also a member of the house of lords — faced the group. the corporate decision of facebook to blow off this meeting with mark zuckerberg, was that... how was that arrived at? who gave mr zuckerberg the advice to ignore this committee? i wouldn't characterise the decision as a blowing off. it was a decision that we took to try and understand... so you say it's not blowing off, you're trying to understand. we're trying to understand who advised mr zuckerberg.

was that his decision, or did facebook say, to protect mr zuckerberg, "stay away from this meeting"? i will take responsibility for decision—making around appearances in front of committees. we just, for the record, have appeared in front of numerous committees this year of different institutions, including mr zuckerberg himself appearing before two congressional committees and the european parliament. peers joined condemnation of russia after it seized three ukrainian naval ships and 23 crew members. the vessels were captured off the coast of crimea, the territory annexed by russia in 2014. ukraine called it an act of aggression by moscow. russia said it was defending its territory, saying the ukrainian ships had illegally entered russian waters. this act by the russians is not, like all the other things they do in eastern ukraine, deniable in any way, because it is an act by the russian navy. and is it not also the case that to use force to enforce a blockade

is in fact an act of war? this is no accident of timing. in the kremlin, they don't take these actions unless they have a very clear understanding of what the consequences may be. it's no secret that mr putin hopes to destabilise nato and to undermine the european union. should the use of fireworks be confined to just organised events? fireworks safety has been a long—running issue, following the many injuries that have resulted from accidents on or around november 5th. now, an e—petition backed by nearly 300,000 people is calling for a complete ban on the sale of all fireworks to the public. i am not personally the owner of a dog or a cat, but to be honest, if i was, i would live in terror of what it must be like for them every time there is a noise, every time there is a bang, every time someone thinks it's funny to have an informal display in the middle of the night.

low—cost clothing retailers have been challenged to explain how they manage to sell dresses and t—shirts for under a fiver. the environmental audit committee is examining whether the fast fashion industry is encouraging a throwaway attitude to clothes and profiting at the expense of under—paid workers. we do no advertising. so you'll see no billboards, no television advertising. primark has never done any significant advertising at all. and that can save us, in any year, i don't know, £100—150 million compared to some of our larger rivals. that goes straight into price, so that keeps our pricing low. our arrangements with our factories, we often buy on longer lead times, in quiet periods for the factories, and then we pay the factories early. so, if you're a factory owner, you will be able to give primark a better price to reflect that. tributes were paid in the commons to lady trumpington, who's died at the age of 96. the charismatic peer made guest

appearances on the tv show have i got news for you and famously flicked a v sign at another peer when he made a comment about getting older. from her time at bletchley park as a code—breaker during the second world war, through to her time in government and public service, she led an extraordinary life and she will be sorely missed. there were warm words, too, for world war ii veteran and political activist harry leslie smith, who's died at the age of 95. in his later years, he campaigned against austerity and had more than 250,000 follows on twitter. harry also served in the war. he was an irrepressible campaigner for the rights of refugees, for the welfare state and for our national health service. he was passionate about the principle of health care for all as a human right. we thank harry for his life and his work. labour's lloyd russell—moyle revealed in the house of commons chamber that he is hiv—positive. he made the announcement in a speech ahead of the 30th hiv and world aids day.

next year, i will be marking an anniversary of my own. ten years since i became hiv—positive. it has been a long journey, from the fear of acceptance, and today, hopefully advocacy, knowing that my treatment keeps me healthy and protects any partner that i may have. when you are first diagnosed, you get that call from the clinic and theyjust say, "you need to come in." they don't tell you the details. and you know immediately something is going to be wrong. so, all the different worst—case scenarios flash through your mind. and of course, being someone who was a sexually active young man, hiv is one of those things that flashes through there. and so you kind of know going in there something is wrong and it might well be serious. but at the same time, you are working out all the ways that this is just some joke, this is some technical error, this is some tiny thing that they're going to tell you that you'll be

laughing about later on. you try and imagine the ways that you're going to get out of this. and then in that nhs room, with those cream carpets and the plastic seating that we all know, they tell you. and it hits you like a wall. and though you've prepared yourself for it in your mind, nothing quite prepares you for when they say those words. and i remember looking up at that ceiling, those false ceilings that you get, and wishing that one of those tiles would just go away and suck you up and you'd wake up, and it would all be a dream. he said the uk was "on the cusp" or eradicating new hiv transmissions, and he explained why he was speaking out. i wanted to be able to stand here in this place and say to those that are living with hiv, that their status does not define them, that we can be whoever we want to be. and to those who have not been tested, maybe because of, out of fear, i say to you, it is better to live in knowledge

than to die in fear. mr deputy speaker, hiv in this country is no longer the death sentence it once was. a recent study led by the university of bristol found that due to the advances in hiv treatment, people living with hiv can expect to live a near—normal life. unusually, the labour leader took part in a back bench debate. we just need to send a message out from this house of commons, this country's changed its attitudes. we have done a great deal medically to help people. we need to ensure that the rest of the world understands that we can do the same in every other country in the world. during his speech, lloyd russell—moyle was congratulated for his bravery in speaking out by a number of labour colleagues and by the deputy speaker lindsay hoyle, who didn't interrupt the applause when he'd finished his speech. can i just say?

we shouldn't clap in the house, but i understand why people have. can ijust say, from the chair, i think it's a very brave, a very moving speech, and it's given hope to a lot of people around the world. the minister praised lloyd russell—moyle‘s decision to speak out. the turnout of his friends and his colleagues around him for the speech was testament to the power of his speech and how much they obviously think of him. clapping is not right in the chamber, but even i did clap at his speech. and that's... i don't like to clap in the chamber or in church. it was an incredible speech. it was a very brave thing to do. now, what's been happening in the wider world of politics this week? richard morris has our countdown. at 5, a famous name returns to the other house. lord carrington, son of the former foreign secretary, wins the hereditary peers byelection. the successful candidate was lord carrington. at 4, all backbenchers

must be careful around chief whip julian smith. and so, it seems, must ministers. at 3, laughter at the liaison committee, as the pm is asked exactly what kind of new relationship the uk must expect from the eu. we're going to be very good friends, working closely, working together... friends with benefits? sorry? i missed your quip, i'm sorry. friends with benefits, prime minister. at 2, norman french is ok in parliament, but not its modern equivalent. so michael gove tries a french accent. le president... you're not allowed! sorry. i'll translate. the french president is, on this occasion, wrong. and at 1, happy holidays. here's the white house's festive video featuring melania trump and some very red christmas trees. richard morris there.

now, it's awards season here at westminster, so we sent jack fenwick to the red carpet to catch up with some of the winners. here's his report. i'm in church house in the heart of westminster. as you can see, the tables are dressed, the goodie bags are ready and the guests are just starting to arrive. tonight, famous figures from the world of politics, journalism and academia will gather to discover who has won the annual political studies association awards. the best use of evidence award went to tracey crouch, who quit as sports minister when the budget delayed plans to crack down on high—stakes, fixed odds betting terminals. the government later backed down. with the government u—turning so quickly after you resigned, did you feel somewhat hard done by that you no longer have a ministerialjob? no, not at all. i was just really pleased that common sense prevailed on the issue. and i'm just pleased that the government saw sense and that, actually, they will bring it forward to april 2019, and i genuinely believe by doing so, it will save lives. bbc europe editor katya adler

was named broadcaster of the year. what has reporting on brexit taught her about uk—eu relations? i think what strikes me most of all is how much the eu and uk just talk past one another, don't quite get one another. i mean, for example, let's talk of the political processes. it's so cut—throat in westminster. you can live and die by the word, you're up on your feet. prime minister's questions time? it's something that european prime ministers have nightmares about at night. they find it quite intimidating. and in the rest of europe, it's more about consensus politics. and politician of the year was david lammy, for his campaigning on behalf of the windrush generation and those affected by the grenfell tower fire. for me, it's very much about being true to myself and true to the people that i represent, and by proxy, people beyond just the constituency of tottenham. and i think it says that you can be a backbencher and actually make a difference. david lammy.

and you can see more from the psa awards on bbc parliament on saturday night at 9pm and on the bbc iplayer. and that's it from me for now, but don't forget there's a round up of the day in the commons, the lords and on the committee corridor every weeknight on bbc parliament at 11pm. david cornock will be with you on monday evening. but for now, from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. good afternoon. it has been a bit of a disappointing sunday with lots of cloud, the sunshine broke through in some sports and central and southern and eastern areas. it has been quite breezy across southern part of the country. lighter winds further north

but we have weather front arising with the rain increasing in western scotla nd with the rain increasing in western scotland and northern ireland, breezy in the south. double figures in the south, much more mild than the average for the time of year but quite chilly across the north—east of scotland. overnight, what places see some rain as the weather fronts pass through to the north sea. england and wales remain breezy and mild, further rain and western alias botticelli into the night for scotland, and some wintry showers. the pressure chart from monday shows further rain moving into england and wales, north—westerly winds across the northern half of the country. chilly start, early ice across scotland, the sunny weather filters southwards into england and wales through the afternoon but will not reach the midlands and remaining

breezy. cold air moving southwards over the night. the chilly night, the coldest of the week, in fact, those blue collars are very much in control but the orange colours across the south will win out across england and wales as the next weather system moves in. many places start cold, sunny with frost on tuesday morning, some mist and form, that will clear and fine and dry across the northern half of the country, england and wales will see cloud moving in ahead of this next weather system with more mild conditions brought into the far south—west but for most weeks stay in single figures. quite chilly. this wet and windy weather continues to move into england and wales on tuesday night. summerhill snow possible over the pennines —— hill

snow. that rain and snow should clear away and brighter for england and wales into the afternoon, mild and wales into the afternoon, mild and breezy for the sewers but scotla nd and breezy for the sewers but scotland and northern ireland having defying, albeit, chilly day. this is bbc news. the headlines at 3pm: environment secretary michael gove says theresa may's brexit deal isn't perfect but is the only choice. we have got to recognise that if we don't vote for this deal, the alternatives are no deal or no brexit. labour say they'll call for a vote of no confidence if mps reject the deal and say the government must publish its legal advice tomorrow. if they don't produce it tomorrow then we will start contempt proceedings. this will be a collision course between the government and parliament. boos as president macron visits the scene of riots in paris. he warns a state of emergency could be re—imposed in france.