at the eu's economic look at the eu's economic relationship with canada —— canada or norway, that is not clear because the negotiations have onlyjust begun, is that the so just sojust one thing so just one thing i think the secretary of state has aurally mentioned but let me amplify a bit. it is not a legally binding document, the political declaration, but it is extremely unusual, unprecedented i think it might very and is fora unprecedented i think it might very and is for a political declaration like this to be explicitly referred to in an international treaty. article 184, it is the one that specifies the declaration dated, as this declaration is, is the basis for the negotiations to proceed. the secretary of state was saying earlier that is not just secretary of state was saying earlier that is notjust a moral moment and a political commitment but actually a failure to proceed in good faith with the decisions taken

in that declaration would be ultimately something that is internationally enforceable. the second thing is i would say that this declaration does give actors in the uk and the eu a lot more confidence than they would have had before its signature. for a start, some of the basics of the economic relationship that were in doubt until we had achieved this declaration are now certain. there shall be no tariffs, no fees, no quantitative restrictions, a whole series of things which in a standard third country relationship would not be there, sorry would be there, are declared as not going to be part of oui’ declared as not going to be part of our future declared as not going to be part of ourfuture economic declared as not going to be part of our future economic relationship. and i think it is fair to say and european officials have said this for their side, once the union makes an offer like this it is very hard for it to step back from it and adding one of the achievements ministers should be justly proud of over the last few months is that in its march guidelines european union attached a long list of conditions to such a close economic relationship. some of those,

frankly, were a bit extravagant, and what this declaration does, it appears these down to a much more common sense level. there are some areas, particularly in regulatory cooperation on goods, whether true extent of how far away we can manage away some of the checks and controls and frictions of some of the things that might be a standard working relationship is not fully bottomed out. but the key achievement in this document is that this is still to play for in the second phase of negotiations, and indeed in mentioning the spectrum of outcomes in the way the european union has jointly signed up to doing, it conceives of there being a relationship between the kinds of obligations the uk and the eu are frequently going to enter in with one another and the degree of friction within the trade relationship and stop as the secretary of state said a moment ago basically both sides have agreed this is not quite the binary situation some people made out, if you are either norway or canada, if you are either norway or canada, if you forgive the caricature. can i

first ask you about today's daily telegraph and a couple of extremely interesting comments that are attributed you too, which you may wa nt to attributed you too, which you may want to disassociate yourself from, andi want to disassociate yourself from, and i at least want to give you the opportunity. first of all, he, that is to say you, it would provide a more cast—iron escape route, is that your view? you will expect me to say that i am not going to comment on an apparently leaked document, but it is certainly true that if the uk we re is certainly true that if the uk were to enter into an extension into the implementation period, some of the implementation period, some of the other negative consequences of being the backstop that the chairman referred to the unit would not apply. thought you would say you wouldn't comment on a leaked document, so i will ask your view on the next quotation, we should not forget that the backstop would, even with a uk eu customs union, is a bad outcome with regulatory controls needed somewhere between gb and ni.

serious and visible fictions and processes between gb and the eu and no security cooperation provided for. is that broadly your view? all ican do for. is that broadly your view? all i can do is reiterate that the backstop is definitely an uncomfortable outcome for both sides. well, at least for one side. for both sides. i am not at all convinced about that, that they have acid accuweather want us. secretary of state, i'll come to you now, you mentioned this would only be temporary, but temporarily in eu times can be quite a long time, can't it? norway remained in a temporary agreement the 22 years, so when the government says temporary, it is not a time—limited temporarily? you are correct that people can take different adaptations of temporary. what i alluded to earlier, the incentives, would the eu 27 the comfortable with

losing all access to our coastal waters on day one of a backstop? i don't think they would come i think there would be politically difficult. would they be comfortable with the fact that businesses would have access to the single market without the vast sums that you and i campaigned against, without the freedom of movement? i don't think they would. would they be co mforta ble they would. would they be comfortable with the litigation risk of firms claiming agents route to store show? i don't think they would. so it is not perfect for either side. and if one doesn't because i can see from your reaction access any of those safeguards, their resource, this follows the work of a number of colleagues in government, a clear language in the political declaration, in terms of things like

the use of technology to expedite a solution, because actually what we are solution, because actually what we a re really solution, because actually what we are really debating here is the huge focus on the withdrawal agreement, which is the winding down element, and the backstop is a part of that, but the key opportunity for us is the future trade agreement. that is the future trade agreement. that is the way we try and avoid going into the way we try and avoid going into the backstop in the first place, but if that were to arise, and there are ways of avoiding it with the implantation period, but if were to arise, the keys to move into the future trading relationship. your point on the backstop being so unattractive for them, surely it is lightly contradicted by your suggestion earlier that no deal is possible without a backstop? if it is so bad, why did the eu insist upon it? , you know, because the eu cannot enter into a permanent relationship whilst we are still a member, and therefore we need to have exited in order to reach that future agreement. if i mayjust finished the point please, one of theissues finished the point please, one of the issues i am sure as brexiteers you and i have often been lobbied

about from business is they don't wa nt about from business is they don't want two sets of changes, they want to have one change. now if you come out on a no deal situation with the world trade basis, then one assumes one is also looking in the future for a free trading arrangement, well, you are then into having more than one change. one of the attractions of the prime minister's deal through having the implementation period is not only do we give businesses greater certainty in the short—term, up to the end of 2020, but then beyond that, when a change is made, based on that future arrangement, it is done because we have left at the end of march. but that assumes that no changes are made in the uk, ex—northern ireland, post the uk implementation period under the backstop, because you are saying there would only be the one change, and therefore you are saying that the backstop would not allow gb to use its flexibility to change

regulations. otherwise there will be two changes. what i am saying is, what i hear all the time from business is they want certainty, that they want as much clarity as possible. in parliament, we have had over the last week or so a huge focus on the withdrawal agreement, in essence the winding down of our relationship. what needs to be the focus and what the phase two discussions were about and the mandate set out in the political declaration under locks is actually the future relationship, and it is slightly paradoxical that we have had all this fixation on the backstop and the withdrawal and the winding down provision, when actually as a brexiteer, as an optimist of the future, someone who wa nts to optimist of the future, someone who wants to trade with the globe and look to the wider globe, what we should be looking at is that future trading relationship. there is an inherent contradiction there, saying

that the eu couldn't use the facility under article 50 to negotiate a future framework, that it can have a backstop without an end date but it can't go further than that. that seems to be that the eu can do what it feels like. than that. that seems to be that the eu can do what it feels likelj a lwa ys eu can do what it feels like.” always fear this when i read the correspondence on the european union, ——i correspondence on the european union, —— i always feel this, what is striking is how much their approach is informed by the legal process , approach is informed by the legal process, and that is something we don't give sufficient weight to within the uk and it is the legal process in europe that a permanent relationship, a permanent trading relationship, a permanent trading relationship cannot be reached until we have left. and i am committed to ensuring and the prime minister is committed to insuring that we do deliver on that, we do leave the eu on the 31st of march will stop by that point we are in a position to then be up to agree a trade agreement. we can't do that before we have left. it is not quite what

your predecessor but one that said, he said the trade agreement could be agreed a nanosecond after we have left. it could be negotiated. with respect, you are splitting hairs there, because the point i was making is we couldn't agree it until we have left, one could argue as to how quickly after leaving it can be agreed, but the point of law, as a former lawyer, the point of law still stands. the eu takes an approach as i understand it where it's approach as i understand it where its legal process is very important to it, and the point is you cannot agree as a matter of law european law, until we have left, that is the point. the history of the eu is that it has managed to adjust its legal process when it leads to. the law does evolve of course. let's come to some specific points of annex two,

article three, subsection two. the united kingdom will apply for its customs tariff... when previously has the uk allowed for taxation without representation? because the eu will be setting our customs taxes, and we will have no say on it, once we've left. you are talking in terms of the northern ireland protocol? no, after the backstop, taxation without representation.” don't have that precise text in front so i will pick that up and happily write to you on it. but we have covered why the backstop is undesirable, why we have no desire to go into it, and we have covered the safeguards there are in order to allow us to exit from it. but if the eu raises tariffs, we will have to

follow and we will have no vote on that at all, so it is taxation without representation, is it the fundamental constitution are given away in the backstop?” fundamental constitution are given away in the backstop? i don't accept it at all. 0k, away in the backstop? i don't accept it at all. ok, but you don't seem to know about it, which is a bit of a problem. cammy kerr to article 171i, disputes raised in european union law, because the government has persistently says the jurisdiction of the ec] will no longer apply once we have left, with the exception of citizens's rights. but this says that the arbitration panel shall not decide on such a question. in such case, it shall request the court of justice of the european union to give a ruling on the question. this is not discretionary, this is absent. but when you look at some of the things that will be included in the things that will be included in the backstop, for northern ireland, specified eu law in the and excise,

they will all be subject to the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice. can jurisdiction of the european court of justice. can you jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice. can you explain how this squares with the government's stated view that we will be out of the jurisdiction of the ec]? view that we will be out of the jurisdiction of the ecj?” view that we will be out of the jurisdiction of the ec]? i think there is a limited area in terms of northern ireland, so the electricity market, that was able by lateral movement before. that wasn't actually done through the commission. it is now coming under the ec]. it will. so it comes back to my earlier point, in terms of winding up issues. in terms of this applies also to goods which was inherent in your question, which is that there are certain areas, the same applies in terms of citizens, where as part of the winding down arrangements, there are certain rights in place, certain

arrangements in place, which are currently within the jurisdiction of the european court, and that will continue in the backstop. within europe itself, vat is not harmonised, there are variances within europe, so vat is not something that is static. what european law says on vat is it is around the minimum rate rather than the constant rate. in the backstop, northern ireland would have to maintain the minimum vat, which goes to the debate for example such as the tampon tax and whether that could be changed. there is an issue in terms of northern ireland in terms of the minimum rate, but the uk can obviously align with that, so from a unionist point of view that doesn't mean there is a distinction. but i think it would be misleading to suggest there would be more than one vat rate across europe because

it is the minimum. you mention the tampon tax, that can be removed in northern ireland under this, nor could vat on domestic fuel be removed in northern ireland and the european court of justice removed in northern ireland and the european court of]ustice would adjudicate on that. that is all correct. one final point. on that issue, the european court will be ruling, so when the government says things, are we to assume there is a footnote saying except in certain circumstances, because the government doesn't particularly footnote its comments. one final point is to bring your attention to article four, which is at the heart of this. it establishes this treaty as superior law, and requires inconsistent or incompatible domestic provisions may be to

supply. so the suggestion that some embers of the government have put in that if we don't like the backstop, we could simply pull out of it, we would then be breaking domestic law because we have agreed that this treaty would have the same status, the usual —— unusual constitutional status as the european treaties? millar parliament will get a in terms of how that applies, you are correct, in that there will be a direct effect element to those provisions, and so there will be an in essence reach into the bill. the bill will give direct effect to that element, but it is a very limited element. it really goes to the heart of my reply to mr crabb, which is there have been some limited, misers within this. but what matters here is the bigger picture. the specific circumstances of northern ireland have required some compromises, both

because of the land border and in terms of the good friday peace agreement but that is very limited in its scope. some of those actually predate, such as the single electricity market, predate this and we re electricity market, predate this and were done on a bilateral basis, some relates to a common travel area. so there are specific issues in terms of northern ireland first one can ta ke of northern ireland first one can take a very purist approach and say that none of those compromises should be entered into, one should not have arrangements distinct to the northern ireland situation, but i think actually, rather than my comments on this, if you look at the views of the business community in northern ireland, the ulsterfarming union, the biggest manufacturer in northern ireland, bombardier, and the belfast plant, what you hear consistently from the business community in northern ireland is, yes, there have been some compper misers, yes, there are some very

limited areas, very limited, and we can all play at picking out individual bits of all—weather courts have reached, but the bigger picture here is this is a deal that the business community in northern ireland support, this is a deal that he ulsterfarmers ireland support, this is a deal that he ulster farmers support, ireland support, this is a deal that he ulsterfarmers support, and that is because they see the benefits and indeed the same benefits that some in the eu 27 are concerned that businesses in northern ireland will have the best of both worlds, and that's why they supported. thank you very much. we do need to move on. going back to something the secretary of state said, he referred to the information period... studio: we will pull away from that particular select committee, but as you have just heard, particular select committee, but as you havejust heard, the brexiteer jacob rees—mogg asking the bracket secretary about —— brexit secretary about various aspects of the withdrawal bill. if you keep want to watching that, the bbc parliament channel is the place to go, they

have continuous coverage of that but let's talk about what is happening there and later today. let's cross now to parliament, where the commons' this is go my colleague ben wright. hello macro a very busy day in westminster on the eve of the five—day debates on the withdrawal bill, we have that select committee that will go on for a while now. very interested in hearing all of the robbins and stephen barclay being quizzed about the finer points of the northern ireland protocol, but the big feature later will be this big skirmish over the legal advice underpinning all of this. and pressure from opposition parties and some tory mps for the government to publish that in full. the attorney general will be on his feet at about 5pm this afternoon. with me is anne—marie trevelyan, conservative mp who resigned from the government a couple of weeks ago when the government signed up to the deal

theresa may had secured. on the issue of the legal advice, do you think there is an argument for this to be published in full, and why? so lama to be published in full, and why? so i am a supporter of robert courts's position, which is that i don't think it is a change we should be taking it as a step into a very different framework if government can't take it's most senior law officer's advice when it needs to. this is such an important constitutional moment in the future of our country, that when he makes his statement this afternoon i hope very much that he will be absolutely honest with the position, and answer the questions that he's asked, so that colleagues really can assess for themselves, for the areas that are of concern to them, and they va ry are of concern to them, and they vary from college to colleague, whether or not the attorney general believes this is a good deal, a deal that ensures our sovereignty, a deal that ensures our sovereignty, a deal that gives us flexibility as we become a new sovereign nation. many of your brexiteer colleagues suspect the government is hiding something

within this legal advice, not wanting to be honest about how particularly the irish backstop will work. do you share those fears?” particularly the irish backstop will work. do you share those fears? i do come in the sense that the house of commons legislative review that seems to have made its way to brexit central this morning sets out those concerns, central this morning sets out those concerns, and they are concerned that those of us who have read the document back to back, as i did the night after cabinet approved it, because i wanted to be to say i would either support the prime minister or not, sol would either support the prime minister or not, so i read the document, it just is minister or not, so i read the document, itjust is not one that tells me that we would have unilateral control of our country or the future trading arrangements that we both committed to those people who voted for the referendum to leave and indeed the whole country agreed to meet that referendum. stephen barclay was just trying to explain to jacob rees—mogg that this was necessarily a compromise, of course it is, it is what michael gove said yesterday, appealing to brexiteers like you to understand that and accept this is as good as you are going to get if you want an orderly brexit in four months' time.

solam orderly brexit in four months' time. so i am very relaxed about compromised on many things, and meant show the liberal agreement has beenis meant show the liberal agreement has been isi meant show the liberal agreement has been is i am not terribly keen on, that the meps will get their pensions paid by us now forever tax—free, no one else does. do you know what? i will live with it, its legacy, it's fine. but the withdrawal agreement is the basis on which a future trade arrangement is set. it's very clear in the political declaration again and again it says so. so the withdrawal agreement has to give us the correct rates that we are genuinely free of the eu, and i don't believe we are. just quickly, in the next few days is there anything the ministers or the prime minister could say to you that will persuade you to better this? sadly not because i had been told very clearly by the prime ministerand told very clearly by the prime minister and others all the way through that this is not changing, so as through that this is not changing, so as it stands i cannot support it. anne—marie trevelyan, thank you very much indeed. the attorney general will be facing questions from mps, an unusual event, it must be said, at about five o'clock in the chamber

of the commons. let's speak to drjack simson caird, senior research fellow and constitutional spceicalist at the bingham centre for rule of law. we keep hearing this phrase "constitutional crisis". are we facing one or are we already in one? i would say that we already in one, and there are a few reasons why. the first reason is that the legal default is that on 29th of march 2019 the uk will cease to be a member of the eu, and the only can avoid that, it seems, is to agree the withdrawal agreement. the meaningful vote gives mps a legal veto to reject that deal if they don't agree to it, and the deal the government has brought back is incredibly unpopular on both sides of the table. and what is making it a real sense of crisis is the solution is people are putting forward don't actually offer a guaranteed solution to the fact that the uk will leave on 29th of march 2019. and you include in that a

so—called people's vote? hello macro gas, obviously, we don't know what the question would be, or how it would go. therefore we don't know whether it would enable the government to get the withdrawal agreement through. as a matter of law. the fact is the withdrawal agreement is the primary way we can ensure we leave the eu in an orderly way with the transition on 29th march. so in strictly legal terms, the prime minister theresa may is right to say it is my deal or it is chaos? i think to a certain extent thatis chaos? i think to a certain extent that is correct, because the withdrawal agreement is a legal treaty, and the noises from the eu is that there is very limited scope to change that at this late stage. i think the government does have some wiggle room on the future relationship, the non—binding element of the deal, but the difficult with that is that mps don't seem to be interested in taking the opportunity to change the nature of the future relationship at this stage with the meaningful vote. so the debate starts tomorrow, vote on the 11th, is there any wiggle

room in the withdrawal discussion? is there anything that could be suggested that might give theresa may, even if she loses it, the possibility to say, well, that may be worthless and yet, let me come back and in a few weeks? the primary contender is on the non—league lee binding element of the deal and the suggestion by some mps that we could join the eea, which would be a closer relationship arguably than the one proposed by theresa may. this is a norway option. yes, so the suggestion is from the advocates of that particular approach is that we would use this meaningful vote discussion to negotiate with the government said the government changes its position on the future relationship, and that could offer a way through for the government. but the government hasn't given any indication yet that it is willing to change its position. it always intrigues me that we talk about a constitutional crisis, we don't actually have a written constitution, so how does that work? there is no standard definition of a

constitutional crisis, but most people would accept we are in an unprecedented situation and that is largely due to the fact that if mps can't agree a treaty by 29th of march, we have a new deal exit, or there are other options on the table but no one is sure what they are or whether or not the eu would accept them. so instructor legal terms, whether or not the eu would accept them. so instructor legalterms, on them. so instructor legalterms, on the 29th, if there is a no deal more what are we operating under? that is a good question. the government did supply the withdrawal act last year which gave an idea of some laws that would carry on. the government explained that legislation would provide a certain degree of legal certainty, a core element of the rule of law that would need to carry on but there are other things the government would also need to do between now and exit data make sure there was an orderly no deal. so one scenario if you talk to people down in westminster is that the vote, she loses the vote this time round, that there may be the possibility of, as

we said earlier, going away and coming back and then mps would perhaps change their mind, but they had made their point in that initial vote, as far as their constituents are concerned? i think that's right. one thing to look out for is the amendments that will be discussed during the meaningful vote debate, there will be up to six amendments, and ifany there will be up to six amendments, and if any of those six amendments gets particular attraction and perhaps get approved or gets a large and above supporters, that could offer an indication to the government of a way forward or perhaps for a compromise. ]ust interesting, looking at the committee meeting there, olly robbins, a figure we have all heard the name, we don't necessarily put a face to it, but as was pointed out come he has been working on this three—year is, and i mean, he knows anything about it. there was a bit weird having a brand—new brexit secretary sitting next to him and jacob rees—mogg just picks up and says you clea rly jacob rees—mogg just picks up and says you clearly don't know that particular aspect. olly robbins does, doesn't he, pretty much by the

sentence. i think there is a sense of frustration that the draft withdrawal agreement holds published backin withdrawal agreement holds published back in march and mps have known for a long time what was going to be in the agreement, why and by, the four main areas, now the final version has been published, all of a sudden people are discussing the detail of the agreement. what was good about that hearing was that you had some proper scrutiny and engagement, that is what the meaningful vote is supposed to provide, mps have a chance to do theirjob to leave the eu in an easily way. thank you very much for coming in. two other news. sir david attenborough has described climate change as humanity's greatest threat in thousands of years. the naturalist and broadcaster said it could lead to the collapse of civilisations and the extinction of "much of the natural world". he was speaking at the opening ceremony of the united nations—sponsored climate talks in poland. the meeting is seen as the most critical on climate change since the 2015 paris agreement and is being attended by around a0 heads of state and government. our environment correspondent matt mcgrath is at the summit. all across the world,

the disastrous impact of a changing climate can be clearly seen, say scientists. from fires, to floods, droughts and deadly storms, the fingerprints of humanity's use of fossil fuels continues to emerge. against this worrying background, the celebrated broadcaster sir david attenborough came to tell un negotiators the harsh truth about the threat posed by climate change to humans and animals alike. right now, we are facing a man—made disaster of global scale. our greatest threat in thousands of years. climate change. if we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon. leaders of the world, you must lead. the continuation of our civilisations and the natural world

upon which we depend is in your hands. sir david is not the only one raising his voice. in demonstrations around the world, young people have made it clear that this meeting must deliver significant action on cutting emissions. some of the negotiators here agree that the issue is one of life and death. the most important, critical, one of the key messages coming out of the ipcc is that the world needs to act. we literally have 12 years, and we need massive investment on financial flows. if we don't have that financial flows, we are doomed. put one of the big hurdles to progress on rising emissions is the dependence of many nations on coal. many delegates believe that to avoid deadly climate change, coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, has no role in the future. the polish government disagrees vehemently. they say it is a key part

of the economy in this part of poland and it is literally under ourfeet here at this conference. the pressure on the negotiators here has perhaps never been greater. but scientists believe that, equally, the threat to our fragile planet has never been more intense. that was matt mcgrath reporting from poland. let's look at the weather, it has been raining cats and dogs for some and on the theme chris robbins is here. i thought we would take a look at some weather watcher pictures today as their owners took the pooches for a walk andi owners took the pooches for a walk and i will do the weather and tell you where the pictures are from and you where the pictures are from and you can tell me what the dog breed is. ifi is. if i can't do this, you should message in to my twitter handle because this could be a theme for the afternoon. this is woolacombe. you can see we have some sunshine and it's quite

windy. the dog? i have no idea, is it an afghan? this is a white and brown long—haired dog. yeah, right. somebody shouting retriever. that's not a retriever in anybody‘s book. the viewers will get me out of this. that is a cocker spaniel. here is a job for me, that's saint helens in north—west england underneath the grey cloudy skies from the start of the day. you get a double hit now. it is 2-1 the day. you get a double hit now. it is 2—1 at the moment. that is a collie. i think you're right. do you know the answers? no, i'm doing the weather bits. i guess that is a collie and is that a pug? i had a pug? ihada a pug? i had a pug run across the road the other day and it was only a puppy andi other day and it was only a puppy and i had to rescue it. how bad was it? what did you rescue

it from? the road, it was about to run out in the road in school traffic. this is going well. we will probably leave it there for the dogs. do tweet and let me know what i can say next time. good luck. we have mixed fortunes as we saw in those pictures with the dogs, bit of sunshine, cloud and rain today and through the next few days we will see the rain returned, particularly mid week onwards and also it will become windy towards the end of the week with the risk of severe gales and potentially disruptive weather. for the time being we have this band of rain pushing eastwards across england and wales. it is breaking up into showers across east anglia in south—east england now. we have clear skies in the north but a few showers sneaking down the irish sea. still, where the best of the sunshine is in northern ireland and scotla nd sunshine is in northern ireland and scotland we have glorious pictures like these. looking at the weather over the next few hours, we talked about the showers working in to east anglia in south—east england, this

line of showers down the irish sea, showers for the north coasts of northern ireland and scotland, a big contrast in temperatures. mild in the south, in degrees, cold air in scotland, highs of five or six. this evening and overnight the cloud will melt away pretty quickly and allow temperatures to drop, there will be a widespread frost but with showers continuing to full, running into the cold air there is a chance of seeing icy surfaces across western scotland, and as well as that some of the showers will be wintry in nature up over the high ground, so something to bear in mind. lowest temperature is —5 or so in the country but even the towns and cities will drop below freezing in places. so it is a cold one to start the day on tuesday. plenty of sunshine but there will be showers across the north and west of scotland, and as we go through the day we will see cloud moving across england and wales tending to trap the cold air near the surface. it is going to be the coldest day of the week ahead, temperature struggling in single figures for most, 5—7, may be nine in london and mild in the

south—west as cloud and rain spills in. the rain will push in across the uk yes we go through wednesday accompanied by strengthening south—westerly winds. the winds will drag in milderair, south—westerly winds. the winds will drag in milder air, temperature is rising, double figures for many of us, but still chilly across the far north of scotland where the weather should be brighter with some sunshine, may be a bit of snow on the northern edge up over the highest parts of the southern uplands. towards the end of the week asi uplands. towards the end of the week as i hinted at before we are looking ata as i hinted at before we are looking at a spell of windy through friday actually, thanks to the area of low pressure. i could bring severe gales across north—western areas, so a risk of disruption to transport and perhaps power. as well as strong winds it will be fairly wet with the rain easing later on to showers. a very windy end to the week with a risk of localised disruption. we will keep you up—to—date on the latest on that nasty area of low pressure as we end the week. that's it for now. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. time is against us — as the most critical un climate

talks since the 2015 paris agreement begin in poland — naturalist sir david attenborough says climate change is humanity's greatest threat in thousands of years. the deal is the deal and i will see it through: theresa may says she still expects to be prime minister in two weeks' time — even if she loses the brexit vote in the commons. oliver robbins, the top civil servant who's been advising theresa may on brexit, tells mps that the irish backstop is not the future relationship either the uk or the eu want. out of the shadows: the boss of mi6 — the man known as c — warns russia "not to underestimate our capabilities" in a rare speech to potential spy recruits. sport now with olly foster. you are a manager of southampton and get a draw against manchester united. most would say that is a good result but not mark hughes, they got rid of him. it didn't buy him much time, just 48 hours or so. the writing was on the

wall already for mark hughes, no matter how they got on against manchester united. they were 2—0 up but drew 2—2. sacked by southampton today, been there just eight months. in march he helped keep the saints up in march he helped keep the saints up so got them through their relegation battle but he leaves them in another one. they are in the relegation zone, one point from the bottom of the table. they haven't won since the beginning of september. they earned a really good draw against man united but they have only won one of their 14 games this season. the assistant first—team manager kelvin davies will takes out of the trip to spurs on wednesday night. saints say the search for a new manager to take the clu b forward search for a new manager to take the club forward is already under way. who would take on the club? before hughes, the club went through four foreign managers in five years, they could be going that way again,

ralph hasenhuttl is believed to be the front runner to take over. the austrian had a really successful spell in charge of red bull leipzig before leaving them in the summer. he is out of work. he was linked with arsenal a couple of years ago. that was when alison banga had the first of his wobbles. nd the saints are said to be keen. aaid to be keen on a return, to the prmier league is the former watford boss oique sanchez flores. they won't be short of candidates no matter how precarious their position, but they've got a tough month coming up, after spurs, in there are matches aginst arsenal, in their matches aginst arsenal, coming up, after spurs, in their matches aginst arsenal, manchester city and chelsea in the next month. england know who they will play in the semifinal now. yes, the netherlands. the draw was made in dublin. england will face the netherlands in their semifinal nextjune and portugal

who are hosting this mini tournament will face switzerland. they are four teams who finished top of their groups in the top tier of the nations league. england came out on top against croatia and spain. gareth southgate has certainly been won over by the new tournament. he says, "the quality of the matches for our development has been exceptional." holland at a similar stage to us. lots of exciting players on both sides. and another exciting game to look forward to. gareth southgate has also been speaking to damejessica ennis—hill. ahead of the bbc sports personality of the years awards in just under a fortnight, the olympic champion has interviewed some of the headline—makers of 2018 — southgate was certainly one of those and he told her that their semifinal defeat still hurts. the disappointment would always be

there until we go and win something but that has got to be balanced with the reaction from our supporters at the reaction from our supporters at the end. where we just saw this sea of england fans, we been on a brilliantjourney together, maybe we weren't quite ready to win collectively, myself as well as the players at that moment. uefa have confirmed that england will stage the 2021 women's european championship. they were the only nation that had bid to host the tournament. 16 teams will take part with group matches played at eight venues across the country. wembley will be used for the final. the fa chief executive martin glenn says it will be a tremendous opportunity to celebrate women's football and will allow us to amplify our significant commitment to growing the game. the england rugby league team are up to second in the world rankings. they won the recent test series against new zealand 2—1 and that sees them jump above the kiwis and close the gap on the world number one australia. they next face the kangaroos in 2020. scotland have slipped a place to 8th.

that's all the sport for now. backin back in the next hour. see you then. thanks very much. a vegan man is bringing a landmark legal action in which a tribunal will decide for the first time whether veganism is a philosophical belief, akin to a religion — and therefore protected in law. jordi casamitjana claims he was discriminated against by the league against cruel sports because of his vegan beliefs — after he was fired for disclosing it invested pension funds in companies that carried out tests on animals. our legal correspondent clive coleman has been to meet him. if these were puppies, do you think people should have the choice to kill them this way? this is veganism in action. it shows you the whole life of the animal, how they are killed... jordi casamitjana is an ethical vegan, who regularly takes to the streets of london to inform and persuade others they should take up the vegan lifestyle. some people only eat a vegan diet but they don't care

about the environment and all the animals because they only worry about their health, for instance. i care about the animals and the environment and my health and everything. that's why i use this term ethical veganism because for me veganism is a belief and affects every single aspect of my life. jordi worked for the league against cruel sports and claims that to his surprise, he discovered it was investing its pension funds in companies that carried out animal testing. he says he drew this to his bosses' attention, but when nothing changed, he informed other employees and was sacked as a result. jordi is now bringing a legal case, claiming he was discriminated against on the basis of his vegan belief. in a statement, the league against cruel sports said... whether ethical veganism can amount in law to a philosophical belief,

is the issue at the heart of this dispute. for veganism to qualify as a philosophical belief, it has to meet a number of criteria. so for instance, it has to be a genuinely held belief, it has to cover a substantial part of a person's life and it has to be worthy of respect in a democratic society. so that means it can't interfere with the fundamental human rights of everyone else. butjust how practical is the legal recognition of everyone's beliefs? the irony in all this is that rights are intended to be liberating. but if we are all turned into rights bearers with my rights clashing with your rights, we end up having to appeal to the courts to sort out our differences. that can become oppressive for everybody. next year, a tribunal will, for the first time, decide if veganism is a philosophical belief protected by law.

the case could provide vegans with protection against discrimination in employment, education and the provision of goods and services. clive coleman, bbc news. mariam is here to bring us the business news in a moment but first the headlines on afternoon live. time is against us — as un climate talks begin in poland they're described as the most critical since the 2015 paris agreement. the deal is the deal and i will see it through. theresa may says she still expects to be prime minister in two weeks' time — even if she loses the brexit vote in the commons. oliver robbins, the top civil servant who's been advising theresa may on brexit, tells mps that the irish backstop is not the future relationship either the uk or the eu want. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. thomas cook shares are down almost another 20% today. you might remember that last week the travel firm warned that profits would be weaker than expected this year. that was its second profit

warning in two months. since last week's warning, shares have plunged almost 50%. crisis on our high streets — figures compiled by bbc news suggest 40,000 jobs have been lost or put at risk in the retail sector this year. qatar has announced it is pulling out of the organisation of oil exporting countries — or opec — just days before the group meets in vienna. the gulf state joined in 1961. it plans to leave injanuary and said it would focus on gas production rather than oil. we will chat about qatar in a moment. first, let's chat about china and the us. the relationship between xijinping china and the us. the relationship between xi jinping and president trump. they met in one of cyrus and the markets were wondering whether they would meet over dinner and

whether there would be some resolution. they haven't got any food yet. they are hangry. have you never been hangry? i'm in a permanent state of it. no more ta riffs permanent state of it. no more tariffs for 90 days. this doesn't affect the $200 billion of chinese goods on which tariffs have already been slapped but it means there will not be tariffs on a further $250 billion of chinese goods. had that happened in january as billion of chinese goods. had that happened injanuary as planned, it would have meant every single dollar of chinese goods coming to the us would have had tariffs on it so it isa would have had tariffs on it so it is a big deal to a degree. president trump tweeted today to say beijing will reduce and remove the 40% ta riffs will reduce and remove the 40% tariffs it places on us cars being imported to china. we have not had any confirmation from the chinese about that, that is just a tweet from president trump so it remains to be seen whether or not it is the whole story. he wouldn't live, come

on. i'll tell you who does know the whole story and never lies, our north american business correspondent michelle fleury. as always, i'm coming to you for the truth. what is going to happen between the us and china? we will talk about cars in a minute but first, this temporary truce, pretty important, isn't it? it is. most people are taking this as good news which is why markets around the world have ta ken which is why markets around the world have taken a sigh of relief but no one assumes anything is a done deal. all this does is hit the pause button for 90 days, gives them a bit of breathing room to see whether they can come up with anything, and at the end of that, if not, you could see tariffs imposed again, or some variation stopper has been some speculation there could be gradual tariffs if the us doesn't get what they want. the key sticking remain things like intellectual property, cyber theft,

remain things like intellectual property, cybertheft, cyber attacks, all these things the chinese have not really said much. they have said they will go away and discuss these things more. when it comes to cyber attacks they haven't admitted that it is a problem at all. the two sides making public appearances of coming closer together but come and willingness to doa together but come and willingness to do a deal, the question remains whether they can. what about the ta riffs whether they can. what about the tariffs on us cars imported to china? we tariffs on us cars imported to china ? we have tariffs on us cars imported to china? we have had a tweet from president trump but as far as i know no confirmation from beijing. no confirmation from beijing. if you try and speak to the us trade representative's office it is hard to pin down an office. it is a level of detail we have not seen in the communique when they talked about the fact that china was going to buy more american goods from the energy, agriculture and industrial sector but it mentioned nothing about tariffs. those sort of details we have yet to see. leading up to the meeting we had the chinese say that the normal tariffs on imported cars would be around 15%. at the moment, asa would be around 15%. at the moment, as a result of the trade tiff

between the two countries, in retaliation they have imposed up to 40%. perhaps there is some movement. we just don't know at this point what the reduction might be in for what the reduction might be in for what period of time. have we had some figures out in terms of car sales in america today?” some figures out in terms of car sales in america today? i think that's the backdrop to all of this, isn't it? we expect car sales in the us to show the continued trend that people in america are moving away from small car is big cars and addicts about the rising interest rates, that is putting pressure on car— makers and we rates, that is putting pressure on car—makers and we expect a drop in sales, figures from honda show 9% of reduction in sales from a year ago. when the administration talks about the car industry, the announcement la st the car industry, the announcement last week gm said it was under pressure and closing several plants in north america, that's the backdrop to which these conversations are happening. michelle, thank you very much indeed. now, qatar says it is leaving opec. qatar is a small all

the producing nation but it is not insignificant. it has been saying it is leaving the oil producing cartel opec and what it wants to do is concentrate more on producing gas, which is its main kind of forte, what qatar does best. sincejune 2017, qatar has been cut off by some of its more powerful arab neighbours, particularly in saudi arabia, because of accusations it has been funding terrorism so there isa has been funding terrorism so there is a political backdrop to this. has been funding terrorism so there is a political backdrop to thism has been a member since 1961.. is a political backdrop to thism has been a member since 1961. a long time but it's not the biggest oil producer, farfrom it. leaving opec comes at a difficult time for the oil cartel because we have seen oil prices extremely volatile. for example, they recently dropped below $60. they have risen slightly today. as spencer welsh from ihs markets, the oil market remains very volatile. crude has been falling for eight weeks and it hits a peak of $86 per barrel and dropped below $60 per barrel last week. yes, it has

picked up a little bit. that is mainly because of the 620 meeting la st mainly because of the 620 meeting last week and china and the us reducing the escalation on the trade war. so not ramping that up as planned in january, so war. so not ramping that up as planned injanuary, so that makes the global economic growth slightly more positive which should stimulate more positive which should stimulate more demand for oil. that's spencer welsh. i did that interview earlier while basil brush was in the room with me and my guest complained it was quite noisy in the background but everyone was trying to line up and takea but everyone was trying to line up and take a photo with him. basil brush? he came into the business unit to talk about chinese markets and growth. the boom boom? i'm here all week! monday morning and you are on fire, it will get worse. and it's the afternoon! as i said earlier, down nearly 20%, thomas cook, its

profit warnings have worried investors. the heatwaves affected summer bookings and bookings for next year. ted baker in the news over the weekend. accusations about staff complaints. complaints about the bass's behaviour. the company is setting up a committee of directors to consider the allegations. unsurprisingly the markets do not like that used, ted baker's market price is suffering because investors are worried about what the future holds for this company. it is a big company, global brand. and it employs a lot of people in this country. the london market is shrugging off those small issues. why? the big news is china and the us, that 90 day truce, so to speak, has sent investors... so to speak. easy for you to say! another reason we have seen the market is improving as oil prices are up significantly

meaning stocks that rely on the cost of oil and stuff, they are on a positive note. also in london, we are looking at brent crude up around 496 are looking at brent crude up around 4% but i have not got the figure. something to look forward to later on. yes, exactly. thank you very much. you're watching afternoon live. her visit nine years ago had a profound impact on many of those she got to meet — and now former first lady michelle obama is returning to london to to be reunited with some of the schoolgirls who described her as an inspiration back in 2009. mrs obama — who's just published her memoirs — will be speaking at an event in front of nearly 3,000 people tonight. our community affairs correspondent adina campbell reports. i like michelle obama because she is a strong woman. to see her succeed like she has makes me feel like i can succeed in life. michelle obama isa can succeed in life. michelle obama is a legend. she has shown people that she can get to where she is now. michelle obama is notjust beautiful on the outside but on the

inside as well. they have secured what many say is a golden ticket. tonight, these girls will be in the same room as michelle obama. has it sunkin same room as michelle obama. has it sunk in yet? like, literally, when i told my mum my mum was so jealous, so excited. i feel special right now because i'm going to meet michelle obama. i know a lot of people are not going to get that opportunity. with emotions and expectations running high, all eyes will now be on the clock. but this isn't the first time the former first lady has created a buzz among young people here in the uk. cheering in 2015, she made a surprise visit to this school in east london. and the impact of that day is still being felt. when michelle obama walked in... so what difference has it made three years on? just seeing her in real life and her speaking

about it has influenced me so much more, i wanted to do it before i saw her but after seeing her it inspired me even more. inspiring young people of colour is one of michelle obama's top priorities, and despite her own success she often talks about the challenges and stereotypes she's had to endure. something other leading black women say is still a problem. we need to own up to the impact of discrimination and prejudice and what this means in the way that our society works, in the way that our institutions work, in the things that we take for granted.” institutions work, in the things that we take for granted. i just feel like i love her. for these girls, they are looking forward to meeting the woman who means so much to them. adina campbell, bbc news. headlines coming up and we will give you going to the commons at 3:30pm for a statement from theresa may on the 620 for a statement from theresa may on the g20 summit in argentina. that is all to come but now look at the weather with chris fawkes.

we will see some big changes this week day by day, it will be cloudy, the rain returns midweek and we have a windy end coming up. some of us have seen some rain today already, at its wettest across northern england, this was the scene on the m62 going over the top of the pennines near huddersfield. the rain on the radar picture pushing eastwards, we have showers in the south and some showers to the north—west, a lot of cloud for england and wales, scotland and northern ireland have had the best of the sunshine today so far. underneath the sunny skies, a beautiful picture sent in by i am a camera showing clear skies in dumfries and galloway early in the day. tonight the clear skies will spread southward thanks to north—westerly winds and with showers in the forecast across western scotland, some of which will be wintry across the higher ground and temperatures dropping well below freezing, there is a risk of icy stretches building and across this pa rt stretches building and across this part of scotland as we go through

the night and into the first part of tuesday morning. it will be a cold night with a fairly widespread frost developing, even in towns and cities. heading into the countryside it will be a cold one underneath clearing skies. on tuesday, after actually start to the day, what will happen is we will see an of cloud working in a cross and that will trap some of the cool air near the surface. so it's going to be the weekend for many parts of the country. a few showers again across scotland, temperatures looking at highs of around six or seven celsius, something like that. towards the middle of the week we will see the atlantic live on about outbreaks of rain working on. wet weather on wednesday, northern ireland, wales and england, brisk south—westerly winds developing. those south—westerly winds once again will drag those south—westerly winds once again willdrag in those south—westerly winds once again will drag in mild air, so temperatures rising, highs of 12 in london, 13 in plymouth, chilly in the far north of scotland, temperatures around 5 degrees in aberdeen. towards the end of the

week we have a big area of low pressure that will spin up off the atla ntic pressure that will spin up off the atlantic and this will bring in some strong winds by the time we get to friday across the north—west of the country with severe gales in the forecast. rain easing to showers but it will be a blustery day nationwide. still pretty mild in the south with highs up to 14. that's your weather. hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 3pm... oliver robbins, the top civil servant who's been advising theresa may on brexit, tells mps that the irish backstop is not the future relationship either the uk or the eu want. it is an uncomfortable position for both sides, and the reality is you know on evidence from us and in your meetings in brussels, there is not a withdrawal agreement without the backstop. the attorney general — who's due to speak to mps this afternoon — has released a summary of his legal advice to the government, but won't publish the full document.

time is against us — as the most critical un climate talks since the 2015 paris agreement begin in poland — naturalist sir david attenborough says climate change is humanity's greatest threat in thousands of years. if we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisation is, and the extinction of much of the natural world, is on the horizon. and all the sport with olly foster. we had another premier league sacking, no surprise it has come at southampton. they have got rid of mark hughes after eight months in charge. we will look at the possible favourites to take over. thank you very much. we have a beautiful sunset to look forward to, chris? for some of us across the northern half of the uk, there will be some red skies denied, but a cold one tonight, frost and a risk of ice in the north—west, cooler tomorrow, tonight, frost and a risk of ice in the north—west, coolertomorrow, but further on the north—west, coolertomorrow, but furtheron in the north—west, coolertomorrow, but further on in the week, potentially

some stormy weather coming up for friday. also coming up... as michelle obama returns to the north london school she visited nine years ago, we'll be talking to some of of the girls she has inspired. just to bring you breaking news here on afternoon live. in the past half hour, the man who admitted murdering stoke—on—trent midwife samantha eastwood has been sentenced to 16 years in prison. a life sentence with a term of 16 yea rs a life sentence with a term of 16 years minimum. ms eastwood's body was found in a shallow grave in caverswell, staffordshire, eight days after being reported missing. soa so a life sentence with a minimum

term of 16 years is what the court has just, that is the sentence that has just, that is the sentence that has just, that is the sentence that has just been handed has just, that is the sentence that hasjust been handed down has just, that is the sentence that has just been handed down to has just, that is the sentence that hasjust been handed down to him. 32—year—old michael stirling from bucknall pleaded guilty to the murder — he is the brother—in—law of ms eastwood's ex—fiance. jo black has the background to the case. why are we jumping out of an aeroplane today? to raise money for two charities, one is called for louis and the other one is for children's hospice where we live called donna louise. samantha eastwood, living her life to the full. she was a much—loved daughter, sister and friend to many. the 28—year—old was a midwife, a career she had set her sights on since she was 12. but after a night shift at the royal stoke university hospital, she vanished. her colleagues never saw her again. she was murdered — suffocated during an argument by this man, michael stirling, a man she was in a relationship with. he was married, a family man and also the brother—in—law of herformerfiance. it was here at this isolated spot were samantha eastwood's body was discovered.

she was buried in a shallow grave, wrapped in a duvet with tape around her eyes and face. cctv captured the landscape gardener driving around in his van. he was panicking, looking for somewhere to dispose of her body. as searches for samantha began, stirling helped with those efforts and even offered comfort to her distraught family. he also secretly used her mobile phone to send messages to them, suggesting she needed some time alone. to go to those levels of deceit to the family, it's just unthinkable really, and i liken his actions to that of ian huntley. who was the ever—helpful person in the initial enquiries of the police and family. and i can't begin to say how enraged gemma, samantha's sister, is in terms of the effect of that hug, that it has had on gemma, its huge.

because it's one thing killing somebody but then to go and sympathise with the family and lay false alibis out to falsely suggest she's still alive is just horrendous. once arrested, stirling gave little away, but when he got to court he pleaded guilty to murder. we all wanted to find her alive and we didn't. to have somebody who delivers so much life into this world through being a midwife, to have her life taken so tragically is awful and i'd like us to finish on remembering her and not michael stirling. that was amazing, thank you. stirling said he was deeply sorry, not for himself but for all the others who are victims of his crime. those words will mean very little to samantha eastwood's family, who are now facing their first christmas without her. jo black, bbc news. this afternoon — theresa may's chief brexit adviser, olly robbins, has told mps the northern ireland the northern ireland

backstop is a ‘slightly uncomfortable necessity‘. his comments came as the government published the summary of its legal advice over the uk's withdrawal from the european union, ahead of a statement to the commons this evening. earlier, theresa may dismissed the possibility that she could resign if she loses the vote on her brexit deal in parliament next week. mrs may will be on her feet in the commons in the next half hour — to report back on the weekend's g20 summit — we'll bring you that live. first, chris mason reports. from a factory outside glasgow, to an agricultural show in paris, to a g20 summit in argentina. brexit has followed the prime minister around the country and around the world for the last week. and so... you must be knackered. it is a tough time, there has been an awful lot of work. the big sales pitch for her brexit deal chugged on to the itv this morning sofa, but what happens if she loses? in two weeks' time will you be booking a holiday? will you still have a job?

i will still have a job. definitely? myjob is making sure that we do what the public asked us to. we leave the eu, but in a way that is good for them. so, what is happening in the coming days? the row today is over whether the government publishes all of its legal advice about its brexit deal, or just a summary. tomorrow, mps begin five days of debating the prime minister's plan. at the weekend, there might be a tv debate featuring the prime minister and the labour leader, jeremy corbyn. but they're still arguing about that. and then there is the big vote, a week tomorrow. so, to today's skirmishes about the legal advice. the crux of it is what it says about the so—called backstop. could the uk be trapped in a customs arrangement with the eu against its will? if the house of commons is being asked to make a decision of such enormous importance, long—term importance for the country, the house of commons should see the attorney general‘s advice. the government has good reason not to publish the advice and,

as a previous attorney, i am entirely sympathetic to its view that if you start having the publication of attorney's advice then it becomes very difficult for the attorney to produce advice that covers all the bases in a proper fashion. the people have voted! inside parliament, the current attorney general will face questions from mps later. outside, the noise of those wanting to shout about their visions of the future, if, when, the prime minister's version is rejected. including a 1 million—strong petition handed into downing street, calling for another referendum. let's cross to westminster — and join our political correspondent ben wright. in the last few minutes, the government has published a summary of the legal advice, not the whole thing but a precis of it, confirming what we know because we can read the

withdrawal agreement, that the uk doesn't have some unilateral right to get out of the backstop if it wa nts to, to get out of the backstop if it wants to, it has to be agreed by both the uk and the eu, but that is something of course the attorney general will be quizzed on when he is in the house of commons chamber later this afternoon. it is a busy day in westminster and already a select committee has been quizzing both the latest brexit secretary stephen barclay and also olly robbins, the prime minister's chief brexit adviser, civil servant, who has been at the heart of all of this now for more than two years, and he was pressed on precisely how the backstop woodwork, and this is what he told mps. i think that the backstop is not the future relationship that either the uk orthe eu future relationship that either the uk or the eu wants to have with one another, and so it is an uncomfortable position for both sides. and the reality, as you know,

i think, chair, in evidence from us, but also in your meetings in brussels, is that there is not a withdrawal agreement without a backstop. that reflects of course also, as i have said to this committee before, ministers's commitments to northern ireland and to avoid a hard border on the island of ireland rather than being something imposed upon us, so it is a necessity, and a slightly uncomfortable necessity for both sides. olly robbins, uncomfortable necessity, is how he described the backstop, but as he explained, it was essential in his view for there to be any withdrawal agreement reached at all. with me is a new conservative mp, gillian keegan, you have been in the house of commons since last year, one of the tory winners from the snap general election. it looks as though this vote goes against the government, if it does, in nine days' time, it will all be because so many conservative mps hate the way this backstop is written into the withdrawal agreement. can you convince them in the days left to get behind it?”

agreement. can you convince them in the days left to get behind it? i am not sure i agree with your analysis is completely because there are so many groups against this deal for various many groups against this deal for various reasons, many groups against this deal for various reasons, and i am hoping that as they get more detail and get to understand the deal better, they will be more pragmatic in their approach. so far you have a lot of people wanting a people's vote, people wanting a people's vote, people calling for norway options, and people who don't like the backstop, so actually there are a number of reasons why the numbers might not get through, but between now and the nine days i am hoping, and many of those reasons are not that logical, either. if! and many of those reasons are not that logical, either. if i listen to some of the argument i don't follow the logic completely, so i am hoping there can be something between now and then, a lot more discussion, which enables colleagues to get more co mforta ble which enables colleagues to get more comfortable with the deal. the tory backbenches are certainly very fractured, but brexiteers, you talk to them and they want the backstop gone altogether and that is the condition they would put on their support for this deal, but that's simply not going to happen, is it?” think that probably has been requested many times. i'm sure there was a lot of discussion around this

backstop, trying to time limit it, or have a time period except, i'm sure that was the case. i do know why it has been so difficult but i would imagine it is very much tied to the nature of the belfast agreement and the fact those two have been seen together. if you put the backstop in context and thought how likely is it this backstop will be used and under what terms, and also what benefits it actually gives to the northern ireland business community, and the disadvantage of gives to the rest of europe, you can see that pragmatically it will only be temporary in time, and actually article 50 points to that, it can only be a temporary solution. the problem is there is a big distrust about the word temporarily as rated to the european union. you wanted the uk to stay in the european union, you back remain, but now support the prime minister's plan. what do you think of brexiteers in your own party who looked like they are so determined to vote this down in nine days' time, and i impact of,

when brexit is actually within reach? i think if they looked around and looked at the whole picture, they would see a deal that is workable, not perfect, but workable, andi workable, not perfect, but workable, and i feel workable, not perfect, but workable, and ifeel quite workable, not perfect, but workable, and i feel quite confident we could negotiate. you can see quite clearly if you read the political declaration where the deal lies, so i feel quite declaration where the deal lies, so ifeel quite confident we declaration where the deal lies, so i feel quite confident we could negotiate a decent deal. but if they looked around to all of the other voices in parliament, they will see that actually this deal is probably the best shot at brexit at all, because there is much, much larger groups now, particularly if you add all the opposition groups together, who are calling either for a second referendum, a so—called people's vote, or are calling for a cut and paste brexit, which is something thatis paste brexit, which is something that is not really in the best interests, and not living at all. or leaving with no deal, and if we are in that scenario after december 11, i will put you on the spot, where would you stand? could you see

yourself swinging behind calls for another referendum to resolve this, if parliament can't? no, i honestly think it would be the wrong thing to do, ithink think it would be the wrong thing to do, i think it is the wrong message to send, and it is so disrespected or to the voters, i voted to remain by pretty much everyone around me in my family by pretty much everyone around me in myfamily and by pretty much everyone around me in my family and friends, they voted to leave, and they are people i respect, and they did it sincerely and they have not changed their minds. i think it does undermine our democracy, and what does it do for any future votes we have? we just try again and again? the only argument you could have for any kind of different boat is not asked the same question again, but even that i think isjust too same question again, but even that i think is just too compensated. it is supposed to be a ribs and two parliamentary democracy and that is ourjob to get our heads around it and do the best for the country. thank you very much indeed, the attorney general will be on his feet we think at about five o'clock, explaining and answering questions about the legal advice underpinning all of this. let's try and unpick the constitutional issues at stake here with the publishing of this legal advice....

paul craig is professor of constitutional and eu law at oxford university. good afternoon to you. good afternoon. i am punching well above my weight in talking to you, but at the heart of this is the issue of what the public have a right to know, and what lawyers presumably say is protected, ie privileged information they are handing over? that is correct, though i think it is necessary here to unpick two different issues, which are related, and both of which have played out very extensively in the coverage which you have had on this issue during today. so we've got two different issues, one is that there is undoubtedly a constitutional convention of some kind, which privileges the information which law officers give to the government, and the general rationale behind that is the general rationale behind that is the idea that if that information we re the idea that if that information

were made public, it would have a chilling and negative affect on the honesty and integrity of the advice, which the law officers could give all would give, and that they would feel constrained. so that's one issue, and that's been put very strongly by some of the people who have been speaking to this during the course of today. there is another issue, though, which has been put by those on the other side, which is that on november 13, there was an opposition day motion, and in that opposition day motion the result of it was a resolution whereby parliament requested the provision of full information concerning the legal advice, which the government had received, concerning the withdrawal agreement. now on that, the debate on the 13th of november, it was actually an extremely good debate. it was

parliament at its very best, and while people disagreed, there was a very informed debate, including legal officers past and present, and asi legal officers past and present, and as i said, i think it really did show parliament working at its very best in a non—adversarial manner. and the result of that, sorry to interrupt, but the result of that was a ruling that was passed by the commons, it was accepted by the speaker, and i think your argument is, well, on that basis, they have to give the information today? well, exactly. i am not being partisan about this at all, but just speaking about this at all, but just speaking about this at all, but just speaking about this from a constitutional perspective, the way i look at it is that everyone accepts that the constitutional convention about legal privilege for government legal advisers is not an absolute one, there can be exceptions. the way i see this from a constitutional perspective is that the commons

engaged in a very formal deliberative process by which it decided that on this occasion the full legal advice, and it is a quote from the actual resolution, which was passed on november 13, that the full legal advice concerning the implications of the withdrawal agreement and concerning the backstop arrangement for northern ireland should be provided. on that basis, it seems to me as a constitutional lawyer that the full legal advice should indeed be provided. taking you back to your earlier comment, professor, that there could be a chilling effect on future advice, is that play any role in this, or that is just an u nfortu nate in this, or that is just an unfortunate by—product of this decision? well, i think people disagree both within the legal system and across legal systems about how serious search a chilling effect might be. the house of lords has in the past albeit in a related context considered the issue about

the chilling effect of revealing information given to government ministers, and on at least one important occasion, the majority of the house of lords was not persuaded by the chilling effect argument. it was not in exactly the same context as this, but it was the same general type of issue which was on the table. so the issue is really even if, i think the issue is if you know that there may be a chance, an exceptional chance that the information that you might provide might be made public, that a lot of mights, would that have a serious chilling effect? and people could well disagree about that. but equally what has played out on this occasion, and it has been evident from the commentators you have had speaking about this issue during today, what is evident here is that this is a very important issue, and the legal advice is not

interstitial, it is not peripheral, it is central to the outcome of these deliberations, and i think thatis these deliberations, and i think that is why the house of commons passed the resolution, which is of binding effect, as noted by the speaker. finally, as professor of constitutional and eu law at oxford university, is it your view that we already in a constitutional crisis? i would not categorise this as a constitutional crisis at present. i would think that this is a situation where when you have an unwritten constitution, and even when you have a written constitution, there can be times of constitutional tension. i think this is a time of constitutional tension. i would think this is a time of constitutional tension. iwould not yet use the nomenclature or the appellation of constitutional crisis. it is nice to hear a calming voice in the middle of all this!

professor for craig, thank you very much for your time. you are watching afternoon live and the headlines. oliver robbins, the top civil servant who's been advising theresa may on brexit, tells mps that the irish backstop is not the future relationship either the uk or the eu want. the attorney general — who's due to speak to mps this afternoon — releases a summary of his legal advice on brexit to the government, but won't publish the full document. in other news — the man who admitted murdering stoke—on—trent midwife samantha eastwood is jailed for life. in sport, southampton olive oil new manager. they've sacked mark hughes after eight months in charge. the clu b after eight months in charge. the club lie one point off the bottom of the table in the relegation zone. england will face the netherlands in the nations league finals next summer. portugal play switzerland in the other semi. and england will stage the women's european championship in 2021.16 stage the women's european championship in 2021. 16 teams will play matches at eight different venues play matches at eight different venues around the country before the

final at wembley there. i will be back with more a little bit later. more on michael stirling who has murdered semantically stood. he was sentenced to life. we have been hearing how michael stirling lost control and in a fog of anger killed samantha is put. he put her body into his landscape gardening van after he killed her and drove to his family house where he had a family dinnerand family house where he had a family dinner and appeared normal and cheerful. when it became apparent later on that day she had gone missing, he pretended to go out and look for her, when in truth he was actually looking for somewhere to bury her body. he then went back to the family and to her house where the family and to her house where the police were of course. he acted

like this anxious friend come he supervised with the family, offered support to the family and comforted them. thejudge described support to the family and comforted them. the judge described that as sophisticated and a mendacious cover—up and that he weaved an extraordinary web of deception, acting delivery without remorse. we also heard in court how he sent text m essa g es also heard in court how he sent text messages from samantha eastwood's phone, pretending that she was still alive and simply had gone away because she needed some space. the judge here at stafford sentenced him to 17 years injail, he judge here at stafford sentenced him to 17 years in jail, he will serve 16 because of time already spent in custody on remand. we also heard today from samantha eastwood's family in court, we heard about her mother, carol, how her health has declined as a result of what has happened. she can hardly go out, hardly leave the house any more, but she does go out every day to her daughter's grave to talk to her and get some comfort. she says she doesn't know how she can carry on and live without her. jenna is to it

is samantha's sister, she went and stood at —— gemma klindt gemma is her sister. she was hoped by michael stirling and says that has haunted her. we arejust waiting to see if some of the family will come out and give us a reaction to the sentencing today. as with so many of these cases, it is cctv images that tend to stick in the mind and there was that image of what turned out to be her last day at work. yes, you probably saw that ina lot at work. yes, you probably saw that in a lot of newspapers, this image of her leaving the royal university stoke hospital where she was a midwife. she had wanted to do that job since the age of 12, and she realised that dream and got a job as a midwife and loved herjob and was very good at it by all accounts. she

was walking out of work at the end ofjuly, just finished a night shift, she would normally go home, had a sleep and later on return to work. she didn't return to work and thatis work. she didn't return to work and that is when the alarm was raised, because colleagues knew it was so out of character, and they contacted herfamily who out of character, and they contacted her family who in turn contacted the police. and a complicated relationship, in terms of ex—fiance ‘s and relationships, other than that? yes, michael stirling is the brother—in—law of a man called john peek, who is the former fiancee of samantha eastwood, so yes, quite a complex picture, but they had been having a relationship for a few yea rs. having a relationship for a few years. mr peek and samantha eastwood. their relationship had ended. at mr stirling and samantha eastwood were in a rage and cheer for a few years. it seemsjohn peek had their suspicions about the relationship with might have been one of the reasons why their relationship ended, but michael stirling was in a relationship with samantha eastwood for a few years. it was described as a long—standing

affair but not a very intense affair. i am in your hands, do we pull away, are you expecting something to happen imminently? we are inspecting someone to come out in the next few minutes. i willjust reiterate, it is a 17 year sentence handed down to michael stirling, he will serve 16 years because he has already spent some time in custody on remand. he pleaded guilty back in october two samantha eastwood's murder. she went missing at the end ofjuly, her body was discovered around eight days later in a place called pa pa ‘s around eight days later in a place called papa ‘s wall in staffordshire. she had been buried ina staffordshire. she had been buried in a shallow grave, part of her body only covered by about six inches of soil. she had been wrapped in a duvet, she had tape around her eyes and face. people raised the alarm that she was missing, people were looking for her, including michael stirling. he went out looking for her, acting like this anxious friend, but in reality he was

responsible not only for her disappearance but for her murder. we will come back to you as soon as the family emerge from behind you. thank you for now. sir david attenborough has described climate change as humanity's greatest threat in thousands of years. the naturalist and broadcaster said it could lead to the collapse of civilisations and the extinction of "much of the natural world". he was speaking at the opening ceremony of the united nations—sponsored climate talks in poland. the meeting is seen as the most critical on climate change since the 2015 paris agreement and is being attended by around 40 heads of state and government. our environment correspondent matt mcgrath is at the summit. all across the world, the disastrous impact of a changing climate can be clearly seen, say scientists. from fires, to floods, to droughts and deadly storms, the fingerprints of humanity's use of fossil fuels continues to emerge. against this worrying background, the celebrated broadcaster sir david attenborough came to tell un negotiators the harsh truth about the threat posed by climate change to humans and animals alike. right now, we are facing a man—made disaster of global scale.

our greatest threat in thousands of years. climate change. if we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon. leaders of the world, you must lead. the continuation of our civilisations and the natural world upon which we depend is in your hands. sir david is not the only one raising his voice. in demonstrations around the world, young people have made it clear that this meeting must deliver significant action on cutting emissions. some of the negotiators here agree that the issue is one of life and death.

the most important, critical, one of the key messages coming out of the ipcc is that the world needs to act. we literally have 12 years, and we need massive investment on financial flows. if we don't have that financial flows, we are doomed. but one of the big hurdles to progress on rising emissions is the dependence of many nations on coal. many delegates believe that to avoid deadly climate change, coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, has no role in the future. the polish government disagrees vehemently. they say it is a key part of the economy in this part of poland and it is literally under ourfeet here at this conference. the pressure on the negotiators here has perhaps never been greater. but scientists believe that, equally, the threat to our fragile planet has never been more intense. time for a look at the weather with

chris fawkes. looking at our weather this week, it is often going to be pretty cloudy. we will see outbreaks of rain returning for many of us from mid week onwards, and we have a windy end to the weakening up as well. today, some rain has moved eastwards a cross well. today, some rain has moved eastwards across parts of wales, northern england, but that is long out of the way now. clearing skies overnight, allowing temperatures to plummet, and with showers coming into western scotland, some of which will be wintry over the high ground, there is a risk of icy surfaces developing where we see though showers fall on frozen ground. it will be a cold night with a widespread frost in the countryside but even some of our towns and cities will see temperatures dipping below freezing. tuesday, after a cold start, cloud will move in fairly quickly, trapping that cold at the surface, so for many of us tuesday promises to be the coldest day of the week, with temperatures struggling in single figures. there will be a few more showers coming

and going across the north west of scotla nd and going across the north west of scotland and temperatures typically five to 7 degrees. that is your latest weather, goodbye for now. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. oliver robbins, the top civil servant who's been advising theresa may on brexit, tells mps that the irish backstop is not the future relationship either the uk or the eu want. it is an uncomfortable position for both sides. and the reality, as you know, i think, in evidence from us and also your meetings in brussels, is there is not a withdrawal agreement without a backstop. the attorney general — who's due to speak to mps this afternoon — has released a summary of his legal advice to the government, but won't publish the full document. sir david attenborough has told an international summit on climate change that without action, much of the natural world could become extinct. if we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisation is, and the extinction of much of the

natural world, is on the horizon. the man who murdered stoke—on—trent midwife, samantha eastwood has been jailed for life. michael stirling admitted killing ms eastwood, after a long—standing affair. i've got one eye on the commons and we might have to go there because theresa may is scheduled to speak in the next few minutes. understood. breaking news in the last few minutes. juergen klopp could be in trouble. the german has been charged in the last couple of minutes with misconduct by the football association. this is after liverpool's dramatic win against everton yesterday at anfield. it was because of this. divock origi in the 90th minute scored the winner and he raced onto the pitch, celebrating

with his keeper alisson, and he's apologised for his overexuberant celebrations and apologise to the everton manager marco silva and we are awaiting the referee's report, and they have decided to charge him with misconduct because you are not allowed onto the field of play. he is likely to get a slap on the wrists and possibly a touchline ban. he has until thursday evening to respond to the charge. he is pretty much bang to rights and cannot say he didn't do it but that is a misconduct charge forjuergen klopp. one can imagine exactly how he was feeling. if you go on social media, lots of people say, for goodness' sake, let the man celebrate, this is what the game has been missing, it is not sterile, the passions in a merseyside derby and they get a winner in the 96th minute. but he has apologised and realises he shouldn't have done it. i'm looking

over here to see if theresa may is standing up but she isn't yet so we have time for one more question. and it involves a sacking. you want a short answer? mark hughes at southampton, in the relegation zone, they got the draw against just relegation zone, they got the draw againstjust united relegation zone, they got the draw against just united but relegation zone, they got the draw againstjust united but it didn't save hisjob so againstjust united but it didn't save his job so they have sacked him after eight months in charge, they arejust one point after eight months in charge, they are just one point of the bottom of the table. they got that draw but they have only won one of their 14 games this season. the assistant first—team manager kelvin davies will take for the trip to spurs on wednesday. saints say the search for a new manager to take the club forward is already under way. before hughes, the club went through four foreign managers in five years, they could be going that way again, ralph hasenhuttl is believed to be the front runner to take over. another one in the running.

the austrian had a really successful spell in charge of leipzig before leaving them in the summer. he was linked with arsenal a couple of years ago and the saints are said to be keen said to be keen on a return, to the premier league is the former watford boss qique sanchez flores. over to the commons. theresa may is on her feet. this was the first visit to buenos aires by a british prime minister and only the second since 2001. it came at a time of strengthening relations between our countries when we are seeking to work constructively within done it with the president. as we leave the european union i have always been clear that britain will play a full and active role on the global stage asa and active role on the global stage as a bold and outward facing trading nation. we will stand up for the rules —based international order, strive to resolve with others challenges and tensions in the global economy, work with old allies and new friends for the mutual benefit of all of our citizens and remain steadfast in our determination to tackle the great challenges of our time. at this summit, we showed the international community is capable of working through its differences

constructively and the leading role the uk will continue to play in addressing shared global challenges. we agreed along with the other g20 leaders on the need for important reforms to the world trade organisation to ensure it responds to international trade. we pursued our objective in making sure the global economy works for everyone and the benefits are felt by all. we called for greater action in the fight against modern slavery and tackling climate change and i held discussions with international partners on security and economic matters, including on the progress of our exit from the european union and the good deal an orderly exit will be for the global economy. let me take each of these in turn. at the summit! me take each of these in turn. at the summit i came with a clear message that britain is open for business and we are looking forward to future trade agreements. once we leave the eu we can and will strike ambitious trading deals for. ambitious trading deals we leave the eu we can and will strike ambitious trading deals we will have an independent trade policy and continue to be a passionate advocate for the benefits of open economies

and free markets. we will forge new and free markets. we will forge new and ambitious economic partnerships and ambitious economic partnerships and open up new markets for our goods and services in the fastest growing economies in the world. during the summit i held meetings with the leaders who are keen to reach ambitious free trade agreements with us as soon as possible. this includes argentina with whom i discussed boosting bilateral trade and investment, and i announced the appointment of a new uk trade envoy. i also discussed future trade deals with canada, australia, chile, and japan with whom we want to work quickly to establish a new economic partnership based on the eu japan economic partnership agreement. on the global rules that govern trade we discussed the importance of ensuring an equal playing field and the need for the rules to keep pace with the changing nature of trade and technology. there is no doubt the international trading system to which the united kingdom attaches such importance is under significant strain. that's why i have repeatedly called for urgent and ambitious reform of the world trade organisation and at this

summiti trade organisation and at this summit i did so again. and in a significant breakthrough we agreed on the need for important reforms to boost the effectiveness of the wto with a commitment to review progress at next year's g20 summit injapan. on the global economy, we recognise the progress made in the past ten yea rs the progress made in the past ten years with this year seeing the strongest global growth since 2011. but risks to the global economy are re—emerging. in particular, debt in lower income countries has reached an all—time high of 224% of global gdp. i called on members to implement the g20 guidelines on sustainable finance that we agreed last year, and which increase transparency and encourage cooperation. at this year's summit i continue to pursue our mission to make the global economy work for eve ryo ne make the global economy work for everyone and the need to take action in ourown everyone and the need to take action in our own countries and collectively to ensure that the benefits of economic growth are felt by all. around the world we are on the brink of a new era in technology which will transform lives and change the way we live. this has the

potential to bring us huge benefits but many are anxious about what it means forjobs. but many are anxious about what it means for jobs. that but many are anxious about what it means forjobs. that is why the uk alongside creating the right environment for tech companies to flourish through our modern industrial strategy, we are investing in the education and skills needed so that people can make the most of the jobs and opportunities that will be created. we made strong commitments to improving women's economic empowerment and alongside this i called on g20 leaders to take practical action to ensure that by 2030 all girls, not just practical action to ensure that by 2030 all girls, notjust in our own countries, but around the world, get 12 years of quality education. to build fair economies and inclusive societies we must tackle injustice wherever we find it. around the world we must all do more to end the horrific practice of modern slavery and protect vulnerable men, women and protect vulnerable men, women and children from being abused and exploited in the name of profit. two yea rs exploited in the name of profit. two years ago i put modern slavery on the 620 years ago i put modern slavery on the g20 agenda at my first summit and this year was pleased to give my full support to the g20's strategy

to eradicate modern slavery from the world of work. i announced that next year the government will publish the steps we are taking to identify and prevent slavery in the uk government's supply chains in our own transparency statement. this is a huge challenge. last financial year the uk government spent £47 billion on public procurement demonstrating how important this task is and i urged the other leaders around the g20 table to work with us and ensure their supply chains are free from slavery as we work to bring an end to this appalling crime. on climate change i made clear the uk's determination to lead the way on the serious threat this poses to our planet. we need a step change in preparing for temperature rises, to cut the cost and impact of climate —related disasters, and secure food, water and jobs for the future. as a un champion on climate resilience of the uk will continue to pursue this agenda at next year's un climate summit. 19 of us at the g20

reaffirmed our commitment to the paris agreement but it remains a disappointment that the united states continues to opt out. i also announced the uk will be committing £100 million to the renewable energy performance platform which will directly support the private sector in leveraging private finance to fund a renewable energy projects in sub—saharan africa. mr speaker, this summit also gave me the opportunity to discuss important matters directly with other leaders and raise concerns openly and frankly. in that context i met crown is mohammad bin salman, first to stress the importance of a full, transparent and credible investigation into the terrible murder ofjamal investigation into the terrible murder of jamal khashoggi and investigation into the terrible murder ofjamal khashoggi and for those responsible to be held to account. a matter which i also discussed with president oda won. and second, to urge an end to the conflict in yemen and relief for those suffering from starvation and to press for progress at the upcoming talks in stockholm. ——

erdogan. our relationship with saudi arabia is important to this country but it doesn't prevent us from putting forward robust views on these matters of grave concern. i also discussed the situation in ukraine with a number of g20 leaders. the uk condemns russian aggression in the black sea and calls for the release of the 24 ukrainian service personnel detained and there are three service vessels. mr speaker, at this year's summit we reached important agreements demonstrating continued importance of the g20 and international cooperation. it also demonstrated the role that a global britain will play on the world stage as we work with our friends and partners around the world to address shared challenges and bolster global prosperity and i commend this statement to address shared challenges and bolster global prosperity and i commend this statement of the house. speaker: jeremy corbyn. thank you, mr speaker, i thank the prime minister for the advance copy of her statement. this 620 summit met ten years after the global financial crash and the 20 nations that control 85% of the world's gdp have

been too slow to reject the failed neoliberal economic model that caused the crisis in the first place. but, mr speaker, there are signs of change. there are signs of change. on saturday i attended the inauguration of a 620 leader, president lopez of ecuador who has won a significant mandate for change to the corruption, environmental degradation and economic failure of the past. of course, mr speaker, some 620 countries have no such democratic mechanisms. so while economics are important, our belief in universal human rights and democratic principles must never be subservient to them. the prime minister told the media she would...

speaker: do be quiet, it's awfully boring and terribly juvenile. speaker: do be quiet, it's awfully boring and terriblyjuvenile. the... order. the prime minister was heard and overwhelmingly with courtesy. the same will apply in respect of the leader of the opposition. it doesn't matter how long it takes. i've got all the time in the day. that is what will happen. please try to grasp this rather simple truth. jeremy corbyn. thank you, mr speaker. the prime minister told the media she would sit down and be robust with cramp and is mohammad bin salman. the chief architect of the brutal war in yemen which has killed 56,000 people and brought 14 million to the brink of famine, the crown princess is believed to have ordered the murder of jamal khashoggi. rather than be robust as she promised, we learned the prime minister told the dictator, please don't use the weapons we are selling

you in the war you are waiting and asked him nicely to investigate the murder he allegedly ordered. leaders should notjust murder he allegedly ordered. leaders should not just offer warm words against human rights atrocities but back up their words with action. germany, the netherlands, norway and others have stopped bare arms sales to saudi arabia. when will the united kingdom do the same —— stopped their arms sales. on ukraine, as nato said, we need both sides to show restraint and de—escalate with international law adhered to, including russia allowing unhindered access to a ukraine's ports on the sea of a's of. britain's trade policy must be led by clear principles that do not sacrifice human rights. —— azov. the international trade secretary said trade deal between the uk and eu would be the easiest in human history and yet all we have is 26

pages of vague aspirations. it seems neither has it got very far on the 40 trade deals, he would be ready to sign the day will leave next year, unless the prime minister can update us in her response. and in light of la st us in her response. and in light of last week's report from the foreign affairs committee, how does the prime minister intend to ensure the 240 expert trade negotiations she promised by brexit day will be in place, given they have had two years and there are only 90 currently in post? mr speaker, did the prime minister speak again to president trump at the 620? he seems to have rejected the prime minister's brexit agreement because it doesn't put america first. the international trade secretary claimed bilateral us and uk trade could rise by £40 billion a year by 2030 if we are able to remove the barriers to trade that we have. his words. the prime minister claims that under her deal

we can and we will strike ambitious trade deals. this morning we learned that britain's top civil servant in charge of these negotiations wrote to the prime minister admitting there is no legal guaranteed to being able to end the backstop. however, it was clear that some of her government do want to remove barriers. just this weekend the environment secretary said with regard to the brexit deal and workers' rights, it allows us to diverge and have flexibility. our flexible labour market already means that the uk has the weakest wage growth of all of the 620 nations. did the prime minister ask the other leaders how they fared so much better? uk capital investment is also the second worst in the 620. the previous chancellors slashed uk corporation tax to the lowest level in the 620 telling us it would... in

doing so, mr speaker, he told us it would boost investment. it didn't. so, did the prime minister ask the other 620 leaders why, despite higher corporation tax, they attract much higher investment? given the 620'5 much higher investment? given the 620's responsible for 76% of carbon dioxide emissions, i welcome the fa ct dioxide emissions, i welcome the fact that building consensus for a fairand fact that building consensus for a fair and sustainable development was the theme of the summit. why, then, did her government vote against labour's proposal to include sustainable development goals as a reference point when the trade bill was reference point when the trade bill was put before parliament earlier this year? if present trends continue, many 620 nations will not meet their paris 2015 commitments. and i'm glad the government will

pursue this agenda at next year's un climate summit and hope that this government is pursuing it all so this week in the talks in poland in katowice. as climate change is the biggest issue facing our world, it is imperative that a sustainable economic trade model is put forward that puts people and the planet over profit. our country has the lowest wage growth in the 620, the lowest investment, and poor productivity. ten years on from the global financial crisis, this prime ministerand financial crisis, this prime minister and too much of the 620, have simply failed to learn the lessons of that crash. speaker: prime minister. thank you, mr speaker. the right honourable gentleman ranged over quite a number of issues in his response. perhaps i canjust pick of issues in his response. perhaps i can just pick out some of those key ones. first of all, as i made

absolutely clear, both i, with cramp and is mohammad bin salman, the foreign secretary, with king salman himself and in my conversations with king salman and other interactions with saudi arabia, we have been absolutely robust in our response in relation to the terrible murder of jamal khashoggi and very, very clear about the need for those responsible to be held to account. he referenced the war in yemen. i might remind the right honourable gentleman that the coalition intervention in yemen was requested by the legitimate government of yemen and has been acknowledged by the united nations security council. he asks dominic asked whether i spoke to president trump. idid asked whether i spoke to president trump. i did speak to president trump. i did speak to president trump in the margins of the meeting andi trump in the margins of the meeting and i was clear we can indeed do a trade deal with the united states of america with the deal that is on the table with the european union. and we recognised the work that the working group that is in existence

between the uk and the usa looking at those trade arrangements for the future has been making good progress in those. the right honourable gentleman also made various other references to the issues around trade. i did discuss trade with a number of the other leaders i met, particularly prime minister shinzo abe of japan was clear particularly prime minister shinzo abe ofjapan was clear in his remarks that he looks forward to discuss the united kingdom's possible membership of the cp tpp, and that was echoed with whom others i spoke at the g20 summit. he also made various references to the issue of trade in his remarks. i'm interested that he made so many references to trade because he used to wa nt references to trade because he used to want to do trade deals with other countries and put it in his ma nifesto countries and put it in his manifesto but last week he said he didn't want to do trade deals after all. those trade deals will be

important to the economy of this country in the future and we are committed to those trade deals around the rest of the world. he talked about corporation tax. i might remind him we have cut corporation tax, a benefit to businesses, employers and jobs in this country. and guess what, we cut corporation tax and we are raising more money from it. we have employment at record levels and we are the first choice in europe for foreign direct investment. one thing idid foreign direct investment. one thing i did perhaps omit from mentioning in my statement was that some of the other conversations i had with the leaders of countries in south america was them reflecting on the migration problem caused by the terrible situation of the economy in venezuela. speaker: mr kenneth clarke. speaker, as the prime

minister apparently did discuss with president trump the question of future trade arrangements with america, did the president indicate any area of the american market, such as public procurement, or financial or other services, that he might be considering opening up to us? and if he repeated his request that we should open ourselves up fully to food imports, did she explain to him that we are unwilling to abandon the european standards we have developed over the years to acce pt have developed over the years to a cce pt lower have developed over the years to accept lower standards set by congress as he wishes, and that he really must adjust to the fact that we cannot forfeit all our other overseas markets in order to allow him to export food to this country? my right honourable learn it friend raises two aspects of a potential trade deal with the united states of america and i have been very clear indeed to a number of people in relation to this issue on agricultural products that actually

this isn't a question of our membership of the eu or adoption of eu standards, it was a question for everybody, will be a question for everybody, will be a question for everybody in this country about the standards we want to continue to have in terms of agricultural products in future. on the issue of opening up the american market in terms of public procurement of financial services, these are exactly the issues that the working group that is operating between us and the united states are looking at. speaker: ian blackford. thank you, mr speaker, at. speaker: ian blackford. thank you, mrspeaker, and at. speaker: ian blackford. thank you, mr speaker, and can i thank the prime minister for advanced sight of her statement and join her on congratulating president mauricio macri of argentina on his presidency of the 620. it is pleasing to hear that moritz —— mauricio macri have had talks on investment. perhaps they could share the details. given they could share the details. given the strains on international diplomacy at the time, it is welcome that the 620 was able to come together and deliver a joint statement of endeavour. the

communique itself is clearly a compromise agreement but fall short in several areas, compromise agreement but fall short in severalareas, in compromise agreement but fall short in several areas, in particular the pledge to look at the wto requires further explanation in terms of what reforms she believes is needed and why. also, in terms of the refugee crisis and our responsibilities, it seems the communique has the bare minimum commitment rather than ambition. mr speaker, this is particularly shocking given that this week marks the 80th anniversary of the kindertransport, the children who fled the nazis. we should still have that generosity of spirit for refugees in this country today. i do, however, agree with the prime minister's sentiments about how important the 620's to international economic cooperation and welcome that commitments have been made to work together on economic opportunities and the greatest threat to our generation, climate change. however, i know the press release the prime minister explained

how the summit gave her the opportunity to update leaders on her brexit plans. did the prime minister share with world leaders any concern that her deal is a lame duck? there are many questions... studio: we will pull away from the commons, the leader of the snp questioning theresa may on her visit to argentina. we will bring you that further in the afternoon. i want to go back to one of our main stories, the jailing of a minimum term of 17 yea rs of the jailing of a minimum term of 17 years of michael stirling who admitted killing samantha eastwood after what was described as a long—standing affair. the court was red and impact statement by her sister gemma who came onto the steps of the court afterwards to describe the impact the murder had had on the family. this is gemma eastwood. justice has been served today, no matter the outcome nothing can bring my sister back. i've lost my best friend and sister, my mum has lost a kind and caring and loving daughter and our lives will never be the same. we'd like to

thank our close friends and family for their love and support in this tragic time and thank staffordshire police for putting such a strong case together in such a small space of time and thank ourfamily case together in such a small space of time and thank our family liaison officers for constant support and guidance and ask everyone respects our privacy throughout this difficult time. samantha is gone but will never be forgotten. that was gemma eastwood who in court describe the moment that the killer had given her a hug on the day after her sister went missing. she said that that moment would forever haunt her. we will bring you more from stafford crown court. but now on afternoon live it is time for the weather and the forecast with chris fawkes. we will see some big changes in our weather day by day, often the weather day by day, often the weather will be cloudy, there will be rain returning from mid week onwards. we have a windy end to the week coming up. some of us have seen some rain today, it has been at its wettest across northern england, this was the scene on the m62 going

over the tops of the pennines near huddersfield. the rain on the radar picture pushing eastwards, we have showers in the south and showers to the north—west. a lot of cloud for england and wales, scotland and northern ireland have had the best of the day's sunshine so far. underneath those sunny skies, beautiful pictures sent in by i am a camera showing clear skies in dumfries and galloway earlier in the day. overnight tonight the clear skies will spread southward thanks to these north—westerly winds with showers in the forecast across western scotland, some of which will fall wintry over the high ground and temperatures dropping well below freezing. there is a risk of icy stretches building in across this pa rt stretches building in across this part of scotland as we go through the night and the first part of tuesday morning. it is going to be a cold night with a widespread frost developing even in towns and cities. in the countryside it will be cold underneath clearing skies. on tuesday, after actually start to the day, what will happen is we will see an area of cloud working in a cross

and that will trap some of the cool air nearthe and that will trap some of the cool air near the surface so it's going to be the coldest day of the week ahead for many parts of the country. a few showers again across scotland, temperatures looking at highs of around six or seven celsius. towards the middle of the week we will start to see the atlantic liven up and start to see outbreaks of rain working on, wet weather in the forecast on wednesday, for northern ireland, wales and england, fairly brisk south—westerly winds developing as well. those south—westerly winds once again dragging in mild air so temperatures are rising, looking at highs of 12 in london and 13 in plymouth but still quite chilly in the far north of scotla nd still quite chilly in the far north of scotland with temperatures around 5 degrees in aberdeen. towards the end of the week we have a big area of low pressure spinning up off the atla ntic of low pressure spinning up off the atlantic and this will bring some strong winds by the time we get to friday across the north—west of the country with severe gales in the forecast, rain easing to showers but it will be a blustery day nationwide. still pretty mild in the south with highs up to 14. that's your weather. hello, you're watching

afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. today at 4pm. oliver robbins, the top civil servant who's been advising theresa may on brexit, tells mps that the irish backstop is not the future relationship either the uk or the eu want. it is an uncomfortable position for both sides, and the reality is, you know, i think from a chair, in evidence from us, but also from your meetings in brussels, is that there is not a withdrawal agreement without a backstop. the attorney general — who's due to speak to mps this afternoon — has released a summary of his legal advice to the government, but won't publish the full document. in other news — the man who admitted

murdering stoke—on—trent midwife samantha eastwood is jailed for life. time is against us — as the most critical un climate talks since the 2015 paris agreement begin in poland — naturalist sir david attenborough says climate change is humanity's greatest threat in thousands of years. if we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisation is, and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon. and all the sport with olly foster. there has been a lot of fallout from the whee kim's football. jurgen klopp has been charged with misconduct by the fa. arsenal and totte n ha m misconduct by the fa. arsenal and tottenham have also been charged with failing to control their players. all the details coming up. and chris fawkes looks at the weather. a cold night, the risk of ice from western scotland and tomorrow promises to be a much cooler day. there will also be

casting iif over the next few days, severe gales towards the end of the week could cause some disruption, so week could cause some disruption, so we will be casting an eye on that later on. also coming up — the price of the decline of the high street — 20,000 jobs have been lost this year — with thousands more under threat in 2019. hello everyone, this is afternoon live, i'm simon mccoy. this afternoon, theresa may's chief brexit adviser, olly robbins, has told mps the northern ireland backstop is a ‘slightly uncomfortable necessity‘. his comments came as the government published the summary of its legal advice over the uk‘s withdrawal from the european union, ahead of a statement to the commons this evening. earlier, theresa may dismissed the possibility that she could resign if she loses the vote on her brexit deal in parliament next week. and in the last half hour, mrs may has been reporting to mps on the weekend‘s g20 summit — she says she had talks on trade deals with a number of other countries.

let‘s cross to westminster — and join our political correspondent ben wright. a very busy afternoon here. theresa may is on her feet at the moment in the chamber, reporting back on that 620 in argentina. not much discussion of brexit so far, updating them on her talks about trade more broadly, discussion she had about saudi arabia, but she did mention she had spoken to president trump about brexit and the potential in the future for trade deals with the uk, because you will remember a week or so ago, president trump made what seemed like pretty disparaging and dismissive remarks about the withdrawal agreement the prime minister is selling at the moment. he didn‘t think it was a good deal for the uk. this is what the prime minister said about her, session with the us president.” minister said about her, session with the us president. i did speak to president trump in the margins of the meeting. iwas to president trump in the margins of the meeting. i was clear with him that they can indeed do a trade

guild of the united states of america with the deal that is on the table of the european union, and we recognised the work that the working group that is in existence between the uk and the usa, looking at those trade arrangements for the future has been making good progress in those. so the prime minister there, she will be followed in about half an hour by the attorney general, thatis an hour by the attorney general, that is the real big billing in the commons chamber this afternoon, where he is making a rare appearance in front of mps at the dispatch box, and will be blaming his understanding of the government‘s legal advice that they are obviously not intending to publish in full, but he will be sketching out for mps what he has been advising the cabinet on, regarding the legal underpinnings to the withdrawal agreement. and i imagine he will face pretty tough questioning, particularly from tory brexiteers, about what that legal advice says, regarding the northern ireland protocol in the withdrawal treaty, the backstop arrangements. that is

causing considerable anger as we know across the house but particularly those conservative brexiteers who are determined to vote against this withdrawal deal in just nine days‘ time. and the uk civil servant behind much of this work, olly robbins, was in front of a select committee a couple of hours ago, and was asked about that backstop and what he thought of it and this is what he told them. i think that the backstop is not the future relationship that either the uk orthe eu future relationship that either the uk or the eu wants to have with one another, and so it is an uncomfortable position for both sides. and the reality as you know, i think, chair, in evidence from ask but also in your meetings in brussels, is that there is not a withdrawal agreement without a backstop. that reflects of course also, as i said to this committee before, ministers‘s commitments to northern ireland and to avoid a hardboard on the island of ireland,

rather than something imposed on us, so it is a necessity and a slightly uncomfortable necessity on both sides. olly robbins there, and that seems to be the message from ministers too, that it is a compromise document and appleby the message they will try to sell in the coming daysin they will try to sell in the coming days in an attempt to chip away at this very high wall of resistance that clearly exists on the tory backbenches at the moment. in the past hour... the man who admitted murdering stoke—on—trent midwife samantha eastwood has been sentenced to 17 years in prison. ms eastwood‘s body was found in a shallow grave in caverswell, staffordshire, eight days after being reported missing. 32—year—old michael stirling from bucknall pleaded guilty to the murder, he is the brother—in—law of ms eastwood‘s ex—fiance. jo black has the background to the case. why are we jumping out of an aeroplane today? to raise money for two charities,

one is called for louis and the other one is for children's hospice where we live called donna louise. samantha eastwood, living her life to the full. she was a much—loved daughter, sister and friend to many. the 28—year—old was a midwife, a career she had set her sights on since she was 12. but after a night shift at the royal stoke university hospital, she vanished. her colleagues never saw her again. she was murdered — suffocated during an argument by this man, michael stirling, a man she was in a relationship with. he was married, a family man and also the brother—in—law of herformerfiance. it was here at this isolated spot were samantha eastwood‘s body was discovered. she was buried in a shallow grave, wrapped in a duvet with tape around her eyes and face. cctv captured the landscape gardener driving around in his van. he was panicking, looking for somewhere to dispose of her body. as searches for samantha began, stirling helped with those efforts and even offered comfort to her distraught family.

he also secretly used her mobile phone to send messages to them, suggesting she needed some time alone. to go to those levels of deceit to the family, it‘s just unthinkable really, and i liken his actions to that of ian huntley. to that of ian huntley, who was the ever—helpful person in the initial enquiries of the police and family. and i can‘t begin to say how enraged gemma, samantha‘s sister, is in terms of the effect of that hug, that it has had on gemma, it‘s huge. because it‘s one thing killing somebody but then to go and sympathise with the family and lay false alibis out to falsely suggest she‘s still alive is just horrendous. once arrested, stirling gave little away, but when he got to court he pleaded guilty to murder. we all wanted to find her alive and we didn‘t. to have somebody who delivers so much life into this world,

through being a midwife, to have her life taken so tragically is awful and i‘d like us to finish on remembering her and not michael stirling. that was amazing, thank you. stirling said he was deeply sorry, not for himself but for all the others who are victims of his crime. those words will mean very little to samantha eastwood‘s family, who are now facing their first christmas without her. jo black, bbc news. speaking outside the court gemma eastwood, samantha‘s sister, said her family‘s lives would never be the same again. justice has been served today. no matter the outcome, nothing could bring my sister back. i have lost my best friend and sister, my mum has lost a kind, caring, loving daughter. our lives will never be the same. we would like to support —— thank our friends and family for their love and support during this time, and staffordshire police are putting such a strong case together

in sucha putting such a strong case together in such a short space of time, and ourfamily in such a short space of time, and our family liaise and offices for support and guidance. we ask that people respect our procedure in this difficult time. samantha is gone but will never be forgotten. senior investigating officer, detective inspector dan ison, said samantha‘s body was treated like dead animal. my my opinion on michael sterling is this was a man who was cruel and callous and arrogant, i don‘t say lightly, and i said it on previous interviews this week. his cruel nurses from the way he has laid lies and alibis and allowed the family to believe that samantha was still alive in those first few days of her going missing. his callousness in the way he does grow —— dispose of the way he does grow —— dispose of the body, like a dead animal, burying it to be hidden forever in our view, and his arrogance to think you would get away with something like this, and those of us investigating. you are watching afternoon live. sir david attenborough has described climate change as humanity‘s greatest threat in thousands of years. the naturalist and broadcaster said it could lead to the collapse of civilisations and the extinction of "much of the natural world".

he was speaking at the opening ceremony of the united nations—sponsored climate talks in poland. the meeting is seen as the most critical on climate change since the 2015 paris agreement and is being attended by around 40 heads of state and government. our environment correspondent matt mcgrath is at the summit. all across the world, the disastrous impact of a changing climate can be clearly seen, say scientists. from fires, to floods, to droughts and deadly storms, the fingerprints of humanity‘s use of fossil fuels continues to emerge. against this worrying background, the celebrated broadcaster sir david attenborough came to tell un negotiators the harsh truth about the threat posed by climate change to humans and animals alike. right now, we are facing a man—made disaster of global scale. our greatest threat in thousands of years. climate change. if we don‘t take action,

the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon. leaders of the world, you must lead. the continuation of our civilisations and the natural world upon which we depend is in your hands. sir david is not the only one raising his voice. in demonstrations around the world, young people have made it clear that this meeting must deliver significant action on cutting emissions. some of the negotiators here agree that the issue is one of life and death. the most important, critical, one of the key messages coming out of the ipcc is that the world needs to act. we literally have 12 years, and we need massive investment on financial flows. if we don‘t have that financial flows, we are doomed.

but one of the big hurdles to progress on rising emissions is the dependence of many nations on coal. many delegates believe that to avoid deadly climate change, coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, has no role in the future. but the polish government disagrees vehemently. they say it is a key part of the economy in this part of poland and it is literally under ourfeet here at this conference. the pressure on the negotiators here has perhaps never been greater. but scientists believe that, equally, the threat to our fragile planet has never been more intense. on the basis we are always the first to tell you when we make a mistake, because you normally callous, the huff post have said, they have deleted an earlier version of the video that incorrectly described sir

david attenborough as a naturist. we of course meant to describe him as a naturalist, and we regret the error. these things happen. the head of mi6 has warned russia "not to underestimate our capabilities". delivering a rare speech, at st andrews university, alex younger described to students how intelligence agencies are developing a "fourth generation of espionage" , as adversaries take advantage of the "blurred lines" between the cyber and physical worlds. our correspondent richard galpin has more details.... he has been in post as head of mi6 forfor he has been in post as head of mi6 for for years, he has been in post as head of mi6 forfor years, and he has been in post as head of mi6 for for years, and this he has been in post as head of mi6 forfor years, and this is only his second speech in public. and i think inevitably after what happened in this country in salisbury with the novichok attack carried out by russian agents, russian has been a major focus. and he russian agents, russian has been a majorfocus. and he came out russian agents, russian has been a major focus. and he came out with this phrase, he said that russia seems to believe it is in a state of perpetual confrontation with the united kingdom. and he then went on toissue united kingdom. and he then went on to issue this warning to the kremlin. we will be successful,

nonetheless, and i urge russia or any other state intent on subverting our way of life not to underestimate our way of life not to underestimate our determination and our capabilities, or those of our allies. we can do this to any opponent, at any time. now, another pa rt opponent, at any time. now, another part of the speech was very much what seemed like a recruitment drive. obviously, it was in front of a lot of young students, aspiring, antidote about the need of much greater diversity in mi6, and he said people from all sorts of different backgrounds and should now apply to step forward, he said, to ta ke apply to step forward, he said, to take upa apply to step forward, he said, to take up a role, even if they had never considered doing anything like spying for mi6. another key point he talked about the need to strengthen security ties ahead of brexit. this isa security ties ahead of brexit. this is a really vexed issue, obviously a lot of work is going into that, but there is a real concern that the

intelligence agencies here will mellor log have access to databases within europe, and obviously that is something which is being worked on. you‘re watching afternoon live, these are our headlines: oliver robbins, the top civil servant who‘s been advising theresa may on brexit, tells mps that the irish backstop is not the future relationship either the uk or the eu want. the attorney general — who‘s due to speak to mps this afternoon — releases a summary of his legal advice on brexit to the government, but won‘t publish the full document. in other news — the man who admitted murdering stoke—on—trent midwife samantha eastwood is jailed for life. a vegan brings a landmark legal case against his former employer, over claims he was sacked on the basis of his beliefs, which he says are akin to a religion. and in sport there has been a lot of fallout from yesterday‘s premier league football. the football association has charged arsenal and totte n ha m association has charged arsenal and tottenham with failure to control their players during the north

london derby. arsenal won it 4—2. jurgen klopp has also been charged for misconduct for this celebration on the pitch following liverpool‘s injury time winner against everton in the merseyside derby. southampton have sacked their manager mark hughes after eight months in time. the club lie one point of the revision —— one point the bottom of the table in the relegation zone. if you want to see how bad things are for the retail sector — just go out and look at your nearest high street. rising costs, sluggish sales, and online competition just some of the factors blamed for the demise of names such as maplin, toys r us and poundworld. the consequences for those working in the sector are severe: research carried out by the bbc reveals that 20,000 jobs have already been lost since the beginning of the year — with another 20,000 under threat. our business correspondent, theo leggett has more. john brailsford has worked in retail all his life.

he‘s been made redundant five times. watch that rug. most recently earlier this year by carpet right, which has closed a swathe of its stores. he‘s since found anotherjob and he says others should be encouraged by his example. if you are made redundant, don‘t panic, just take a step back. find the company you want to work for, there‘s plenty ofjobs out there. if you have to take a lower position, take one. if i can do it, anybody can do it. john is one of thousands of retail workers who‘ve been affected by a chill wind blowing down the high street. household names like toys ‘r‘ us and bhs have disappeared. while other chains such as debenhams and house of fraser say they will close stores. the retail sector is a major employer in this country. it still accounts for 2.8 millionjobs. but the industry is changing. last month, 18% of all transactions are carried out online. ten years ago, it was just 5%. the growing popularity of online shopping is undoubtedly one reason why traditional stores are struggling. bbc research suggests 20,000 retail jobs have gone so far this year and another 20,000 could be at risk. we have been calling for some time now for a strategy

from the politicians and employers and communities to look at in more detail what we can do to firstly secure the high street, look at the change and habits taking place in retail in general. it also get this message across that retail is a real job, it‘s a properjob. many of those who lose theirjobs leave the retail sector altogether. but recruiters say most of them will have skills that can be used just as effectively elsewhere. there's so much opportunity for people to change careers, do lots of different things and really take those transferable skills with them into other sectors and to you know, have other careers. but equally, for people that love retail, there's still some fantastic opportunities still in retail. the government insists it is acting to support the high street, setting aside money to improve town centres and offering discounts on business rates for small retailers. but analysts say changes

within the industry mean furtherjob cuts are inevitable and many more people will have little choice but to look for work in other parts of the economy. theo leggett, bbc news. a court has ruled that a man who claimed he was the victim of an alleged vip paedophile ring can now be named. the man, revealed as 50—year—old carl beech, had previously been known by the pseudonym, ‘nick‘. he‘s been charged with twelve counts of perverting the course ofjustice and one count of fraud. he made allegations against the ex chief of the defence staff, lord bramall and the politicians, sir edward heath, lord britton and harvey proctor. the claims led to a £2.5 million inquiry by scotland yard but no action resulted from his allegations. this afternoon‘s ruling came from newcastle crown court. a vegan is bringing a landmark legal action in which a tribunal will decide for the first time whether veganism is a ‘philosophical belief‘, akin to a religion — and therefore protected in law. jordi casamitjana claims he was discriminated against by

the league against cruel sports because of his vegan beliefs — after he was fired for disclosing it invested pension funds in companies that carried out tests on animals. our legal correspondent clive coleman has been to meet him. if these were puppies, do you think people should have the choice to kill them this way? this is veganism in action. it shows you the whole life of the animal, how they are killed... jordi casamitjana is an ethical vegan, who regularly takes to the streets of london to inform and persuade others they should take up the vegan lifestyle. some people only eat a vegan diet but they don't care about the environment and all the animals because they only worry about their health, for instance. i care about the animals and the environment and my health and everything. that's why i use this term ethical veganism, because for me veganism is a belief and affects every single aspect of my life. jordi worked for the league against cruel sports and claims that to his surprise, he discovered it was investing its pension funds in companies that

carried out animal testing. he says he drew this to his boss‘ attention, but when nothing changed, he informed other employees and was sacked as a result. jordi is now bringing a legal case, claiming he was discriminated against on the basis of his vegan belief. in a statement, the league against cruel sports said... whether ethical veganism can amount in law to a philosophical belief, is the issue at the heart of this dispute. for veganism to qualify as a philosophical belief, it has to meet a number of criteria. so for instance, it has to be a genuinely held belief, it has to cover a substantial part of a person‘s life and it has to be worthy of respect in a democratic society. so that means it can‘t interfere

with the fundamental human rights of everyone else. butjust how practical is the legal recognition of everyone‘s beliefs? the irony in all this is that rights are intended to be liberating. but if we are all turned into rights bearers, with my rights clashing with your rights, we end up having to appeal to the courts to sort out our differences. that can become oppressive for everybody. next year, a tribunal will, for the first time, decide if veganism is a philosophical belief protected by law. the case could provide vegans with protection against discrimination in employment, education and the provision of goods and services. clive coleman, bbc news. the latest mission to the international space station has blasted off in the first manned soyuz rocket launch since a dramatic failure in october. two astronauts from

the us and canada — and a russian cosmonaut — lifted off from kazakhstan — this time without incident. october‘s aborted trip saw two cosmonauts forced to make an emergency landing just minutes after take—off. time for a look at the weather... yes, these other dogs again, did you get the answer? that a borzoi. linda mcdonald, an author, i have treated —— she tweeted and i have checked and she is right. the clue was there already! there you go, the clue was there. ijust had to do the weather bit, you are the dog expert. we knew that one was a cocker spaniel. right, and these two? a pug and, what was it i said? i can't remember

either. we did ok, though, didn‘t we? well, yeah. rain returns midweek, then surely some severe gales. i want to show you what has been going on today, weather—wise. a load of showers and a load of cloud. take a look at what has just come into our weather watchers picture.l double rainbow. no. it's not. if! just move out of the way, it is a triple. well you were standing in front of it, i couldn‘t see. triple. well you were standing in front of it, i couldn't see. there is one there, and another one that comes up from there. how unusual is that? i've never seen one, have you? not until now. these are incredibly rare to get spotted and get photographed, this is from frampton on seven in gloucestershire, just came in in the last ten minutes. what happens, do you will sit there

and crowd round that excitement that i know it exists in the weather centre? i think that is quite exciting, it‘s quite cool. i didn‘t even know you could get triple rainbows, i have to admit. he might have had a dirty lens on his camera or something. i think we should just wonder at it. one thing you get with double rainbows, there is light sky underneath this rainbow and the sky is dark above it, that is one thing you get with these double rainbows, but there you go, a triple. the producer is gesturing at me but i‘m not sure it is something i can repeat. shall we move on? i was impressed, anyway. as far as the weather goes today, overnight tonight, still a fleet of showers coming into north—western part of the uk, and with temperatures falling sharply, there will be a widespread frost out and about, not just in the towns and cities but in the countryside, minus five degrees in the colder spots. it poses the

risk of some icy stretches on untreated surfaces to take us through the first part of tuesday morning. tuesday for most of us actually will be the coldest day of the week ahead. we are looking at a fair bit of sunshine after that cold start. there will be showers again across the north and west of the country, temperatures really struggling, we are looking at highs just getting into single figures. so around seven to nine celsius, maybe around seven to nine celsius, maybe a ninth london, 11 towards plymouth as we start to see some milder air coming in. along with some rain. rain will make a big appearance towards the middle part of the week. wet weather, and with south—westerly winds, we are dragging in milder air, so those temperatures will be rising again on wednesday across a good part of the uk, ten to 12 degrees fairly widely, colder still in scotland, as that rain bumps into it, a bit of snow for a time across the southern uplands, the higher parts. as we go into the end of the week, we are looking at some very windy weather, potentially severe

gales on this deepening area of low pressure as it crosses the country. that could bring the risk of some disruption. strong winds, then, and outbreaks of rentable centre used to showers but look at the temperatures. still on the mild side, 14 degrees, but we have to keep an eye on this nasty area of low pressure. friday brings the risk of some localised disruption, not just to transport but also to power supplies as well. i have just had a tweet. it says that picture you were showing, he says it is a reflection rainbow, reflecting off raindrops. i have done a very quick look online and he may have a point, that is what they are. that is probably right. with these double rainbows and presumably triple ones, it is where the sunlight gets split up and it bounces around the inside of the raindrops. so i presume what happens with these ones is that the path of the raindrop has just with these ones is that the path of the raindrop hasjust bounced with these ones is that the path of the raindrop has just bounced around a few more times. i think it is the

next slide. there it is. get out the way again. there it is. that is the first main rainbow, you have a second one here, and the third one, this reflection rainbow popping up, and it is probably because of the number of times the light waves bounce around the inside of the raindrops towards the viewer, we think. well, you better be right! thank you, chris. ijust want i just want to bring you ijust want to bring you some news i am getting in from our colleagues at radio leeds to say york station has been evacuated. the savant of the last few minutes, york station evacuated after a power cut that has hit a large part of the city. two stories we are breaking here, the first that the station has been evacuated, and the huge power cut affecting large parts of york. no trains are running in or out. we are on itand trains are running in or out. we are on it and we will find out what that is about and i will bring that to you in the next half hour or so.

this is bbc news — our latest headlines. oliver robbins, the top civil servant who‘s been advising theresa may on brexit, tells mps that the irish backstop is not the future relationship either the uk or the eu want. it is an uncomfortable position for both sides. and the reality, as you know, i think, in evidence from us and also your meetings in brussels, is there is not a withdrawal agreement without a backstop. the attorney general — who‘s due to speak to mps this afternoon — has released a summary of his legal advice to the government, but won‘t publish the full document. the man who murdered stoke—on—trent midwife, samantha eastwood is jailed for life. michael stirling admitted killing ms eastwood, after a long—standing affair. sir david attenborough tells an international summit on climate change that without action, much of the natural world could become extinct. if we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisations, and the extinction of much of the natural world, is on the horizon.

shock in spain as a far—right party wins seats in a regional election for the first time in decades. sport now on afternoon live with olly foster. and it‘s been a busy afternoon at the fa? it really has, we had some big derbies yesterday in the premier league, passion is always likely to boil over in big derby matches, so no wonder the fa disciplinary department‘s inbox was fairly full this morning, they had a few items to look into. they have charged arsenal and tottenham with failing to control their players in the north london derby. the official wording as they failed to ensure the players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion. i have to hand back in an orderly fashion. the attorney general making his statement to the house of commons. mr speaker, with your leave, i wish

to make a statement to the house. i should make clear the context in which i consider that i am to do so today. my statement today is intended to inform the debate that is shortly to commence on the motion to approve the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration on the future relationship concluded with the european union by my right honourable friend the prime minister. it is important, mr speaker, to understand how the law officers habitually give their advice, which may be a mixture of oral and written communications given at different times during fast developing events. ministers are advised by their own departmental lawyers and the points that arise for consideration of the law offices are invariably limited to the relatively few of particular importance to the policy decision of

the government. therefore, my statement today is complemented by a detailed legal commentary provided for the purpose of the debate and published this morning, which a nalyses published this morning, which analyses the effect of the agreement asa analyses the effect of the agreement as a whole. that legal commentary has been produced with my oversight and approval and i commend it to the house as both an accurate examination of the provisions of the agreement, and a helpful exposition of some of the salient issues that arise from them. there is, of course, no want of other sources of helpful commentary available to the house. in making this statement in these unusual circumstances, and in answering any questions that honourable members may have, i consider that i have a solemn and

constitutional duty to this house, to advise it on these legal questions objectively and impartially. and to place such legal expertise, as i have, at its disposal. the historical precedents strongly support that view. the house may be sure that i shall discharge this duty with uncompromising and rigorous fidelity. if this agreement is to pass this house, as i strongly believe it should, i do not believe that it can or should pass under any misapprehension whatsoever as to the legal matters on which thatjudgment should be based. it is important to recall that the matters of law affecting the withdrawal agreement

can only inform what is essentially a political decision that each of us must make. this is not a question of the lawfulness of the government‘s action but of the prudence as a matter of policy and political judgment of entering into an international agreement on the terms proposed. in the time available to me, it is impossible to have covered each of the matters of law that might arise from 585 pages of complicated legal text and no attorney general, and certainly not this one, can instantly possess the a nswe rs this one, can instantly possess the a nswers to this one, can instantly possess the answers to all of the pertinent questions that the skill and ingenuity of honourable members may devise. however, iam ingenuity of honourable members may devise. however, i am aware that there are certain parts of the agreement, the meaning of which attract the close and keen interest of the house, and it is to some of

these that i now turn. first, the northern ireland protocol, and some of the other provisions of the withdrawal agreement relevant to it. the protocol would come into force if needed on the conclusion of the implementation period on the 31st december 2020 unless pursuant to article 132 of the agreement, both the uk and the eu agree to a single extension for a fixed time of up to one or two years. by article one the protocol confirms that it would affect neither the constitutional status of northern ireland, nor the principle of consent as set out in the belfast, or good friday and. the statutory guarantee that a majority in northern ireland would be required to consent to a change in its constitutional status as part of the united kingdom, and the

associated amendment to the irish constitution to remove its previous territorial claim remain in place. —— good friday agreement. once in force, by article 2.1 of the protocol, the parties would be obliged, in good faith, to use their best endeavours to conclude by the 31st december 2020 and agreement that supersedes it. there is a separate but closely related duty on the parties under article 184 to negotiate expeditiously and use best endeavours in good faith to conclude an agreement in line with the political declaration. having regard to those obligations, by article 1.4 of the protocol, it is expressly agreed not to be intended to establish a permanent relationship but to be temporary. that language

reflects the fact that article 50 of the treaty on european union does not provide a legal basis in union law for permanent future arrangements with nonmember states. if either party did not comply with its obligations of good faith, after the implementation period it would be open to them to bring a complaint under the dispute settlement provisions set out in articles 164-181 of the provisions set out in articles 164—181 of the agreement. these include independent arbitration. clear and convincing evidence would be required to establish a breach of that obligation. if the protocol we re that obligation. if the protocol were to come into force, it would continue to apply in international law, unless and until it was

superseded by the intended subsequent agreement, which achieved the stated objectives of maintaining the stated objectives of maintaining the necessary conditions for continued north— south cooperation, avoiding a hard border, and protecting the belfast agreement in all its dimensions. there is, therefore, no the unilateral right for either party to terminate this arrangement. this means that if no superseding agreement can be reached within the implementation period, the protocol would be activated. and in international law would subsist evenif in international law would subsist even if negotiations had broken down. how likely that is to happen isa down. how likely that is to happen is a political question to which the

a nswer is a political question to which the answer will no doubt depend partly on the extent to which it is in either party‘s interests to remain indefinitely within its arrangements. under the protocol, the uk would form with the eu single customs territory for goods, for fiscal or tariff purposes. accordingly, northern ireland would form part of the same customs territory as great britain with no tariffs, quotas or checks, or rules of origin between great britain and northern ireland. however, northern ireland would additionally apply defined aspects of the eu‘s single market rules relating to the regulation and control of the supply of electricity on the island of ireland, goods including cross—border vat rules, and the eu customs code. these rules would be

enforced as they are now, including preliminary references from northern ireland courts to the court of justice of the european union. by these means, the need for any hard border would be avoided and goods originating in northern ireland would be entitled to free circulation throughout the eu‘s single market. in all other aspects of its regulatory regime, northern ireland would follow the applicable uk legislation, save where these we re uk legislation, save where these were devolved. mr speaker, by article seven a northern ireland business would also enjoy the same free circulation of its goods throughout the united kingdom, while its eu competitor, whether situated in the republic of ireland or elsewhere in the single market, would not. mr speaker, iturn now

elsewhere in the single market, would not. mr speaker, i turn now to the role of union law and the cgu under the withdrawal agreement and within the dispute settlement provisions. it is important to place these provisions in the context of these provisions in the context of the objectives of the agreement. which is the orderly exit of the uk from the eu from our citizens and businesses. to this end, following the implementation period the agreement provides for the continued application of union law in defined and strictly limited respects where it is necessary or desirable for legal certainty to do so. although we will legally leave the eu and ceased to be a member state on march 29 2019, part four of the agreement provides for an implementation or a transition period of 21 months, which is designed to enable our people and our businesses to adjust

to the changes that are coming. during that implementation period, so as to give the time, predictability and continuity that is needed, it is provided that union law should continue to apply and the laws, systems and institutions of the eu will have the same role and functions as before. but on the conclusion of this period, on 31st december 2020 that will come to an end. thereafter, union law and the court ofjustice will possess a releva nce court ofjustice will possess a relevance in the united kingdom only insofar as it is necessary in limited and specific areas for the winding down of the obligations of our relationship of 45 years. for example, the rights of our own citizens are living in eu member states and of eu citizens in the united kingdom are created and defined by union law. if they are to

be preserved in equal measure and with the necessary consistency and certainty it is inevitable that the mutually protected residents and social security rights of these particular groups of people must be defined by reference to that law. these rights are provided for in pa rt these rights are provided for in part two. our citizens living in member states throughout the eu will continue as is natural, to depend for the ultimate protection on the cjeu while eu citizens living in the uk will look to the uk independent monitoring authority set up under article 159 and to the uk courts. but they will no longer be able, as now, to require our supreme court to refer a question of interpretation of their rights under union law to

the cjeu, where the determination of such a question is necessary to resolve a dispute. instead, pursuant to article 158, the uk courts, for a fixed period of eight years only, may refer, may refer to the cjeu rent an interpretation of the question of part two of the agreement in the interests of achieving consistency in the enforcement of the rights of citizens and while the new system is established. after that time, our courts will, pursuant to article 4.5, continue to interpret concepts and provisions of union law in the areas in which the agreement applies it, as they always have, and to have due regard to relevant post implementation case law where, for example, it might be required for

the practical operation of the agreement, such as in regard to the coordination of social security rights for the protected eu and uk citizens. part three deals with the lawful conclusion ofjudicial and administrative proceedings. transactions, processes and other matters that have arisen or commenced under union legal frameworks before the end of the implementation period and to which union law and the role of institutions must continue to apply for their orderly disposition. it allows a four year limitation period on the power of the commission to refer to the court an alleged bleach ofan refer to the court an alleged bleach of an obligation incurred prior to the end of the implementation period. part five deals with our agreed financial obligations. it provides under article 160 four union law and the jurisdiction of the court to apply beyond the

implementation period, only for the time and purpose of closing out the uk's time and purpose of closing out the uk‘s financial obligations and entitlements incurred under union law, again prior to the end of that period. all of these are inherently time—limited functions and once they are atan time—limited functions and once they are at an end the court will have no jurisdiction in relation to disputes involving citizens and businesses in the united kingdom. a dispute between the eu and the uk about the systemic operation or interpretation of the agreement may be referred by either side to an independent arbitration panel in which the court has no automatic role. but if the panel needs to, and a question of interpretation of union law is

releva nt to interpretation of union law is relevant to the dispute, it can ask the court to resolve that question. it is then for the panel to apply that interpretation to the facts of the dispute and thus decide how the dispute should be resolved. mr speaker, the divorce and separation of nations from long and intimate unions, just as all human beings, stirs high emotion and calls for wisdom and forbearance. it calls also for calm and measured evaluation by the house of the terms of the separation agreement in the light of the complexity and difficulty of the task it is intended to achieve. the gradual loosening and removal of the legal ties that have bound us to the european union for 45 years will

ta ke european union for 45 years will take time to work out. this agreement and the eu withdrawal act already passed by the house allow for the necessary time and legal means for that process to unfold in a peaceful and orderly way. i am at the disposal of the house to answer questions insofar as i can on these and other legal matters, and i commend this statement to the house. speaker: nick thomas-symonds. mr speaker, i speaker: nick thomas-symonds. mr speaker, lam speaker: nick thomas-symonds. mr speaker, i am of course grateful to the attorney general for his statement and for advanced sight of it. but the reality of this situation is that all members are asking questions at a major disadvantage. because they have not read the legal advice on which this statement is based and it is totally u na cce pta ble statement is based and it is totally unacceptable to be in this position

when aspects of the attorney general's advice have been selectively leaked to the press over the weekend. for example, mr speaker, we understand that in a letter to cabinet ministers last month it has been reported that the attorney general said in respect of the backstop arrangement the protocol would endure indefinitely if trade talks broke down. now, today in his statement to the house the attorney general has talked about political factors that might, in his view, make the backstop temporary. but the reality is that is not the legal position. perhaps he can confirm the legal position is as it was in the letter, that it will endure indefinitely if the trade talks break down. now, mr speaker, on 13th november in this house my right honourable friend the shadow brexit secretary and i were both very clear that what was the sort was the final and full advice

provided by the attorney general to the cabinet on any completed withdrawal agreement made available to all mp5 withdrawal agreement made available to allmps in withdrawal agreement made available to all mps in good time for the vote on the deal. offers short of that, including the attorney general's statement today, and a summary made by the government, were rejected, and the house passed the movement unanimously. playing games. the conservative party on the 30th of november couldn't get one of its mps to vote against the motion. not one! and the reality is as well that this document that has been produced is in the attorney general's own words, i legal commentary, but has been produced with his oversight and indeed approval. —— a legal commentary. it is not the final legal advice to cabinet. i should also say, frankly, mr speaker, that also say, frankly, mr speaker, that a longer and more detailed explainer was a longer and more detailed explainer was produced alongside the withdrawal agreement than this document, it has to be said. isn't

the reality of this situation that the reality of this situation that the government doesn't want mps to see the full legal advice for fear of the political consequences? and there is no point whatsoever trying to hide behind the law offices convention. the ministerial code and erskine may are very clear, the ministers have a discussion as part of that convention to make advice available in exceptional circumstances. what circumstances could be more exceptional than these? the economic, political and constitutional integrity of our country is at stake. mr speaker, i will quote some of the legal commentary. i will quote will quote some of the legal commentary. iwill quote paragraph 82 of it, which says, "the agreement does not contain any provision on its termination. in the absence of such a provision it is not possible under international law to withdraw from the agreement unilaterally."

so, a straight question to the attorney general, can he direct me, or indeed this house, to any other international treaty to which the uk isa international treaty to which the uk is a party where it has no unilateral right to terminate it? can he even name one? but it's actually, mr speaker, more than that, because articles 1.4 and 2.1 of the backstop protocol, are clear that its provisions shall apply unless they are superseded in whole or in part by a subsequent agreement. 50, put simply, it was not commented on in the statement, and put simply what that means is that parts of the backstop could become permanent, even in the event that a trade deal was agreed. so, cani that a trade deal was agreed. so, can i ask the attorney general directly, what is his view as to which parts of the backstop arrangement in this protocol he advises are most likely to become

permanent? cani advises are most likely to become permanent? can i also raise with the attorney general the impact on the good friday agreement? and here i refer to page 305 of the withdrawal agreement. this is what it refers to. the need for this protocol to be implemented so as to maintain the necessary conditions for continued north—south cooperation, including for possible new arrangements in accordance with the 1998 agreement. can the attorney general tell the house, in his view, firstly, which new arrangements he believes would be in accordance with the 1998 good friday agreement? and secondly, which arrangements he believes would not be in accordance with it? mr speaker, in the first instance, it will be for you to rule whether there has been an arguable case of contempt for what we on these benches believe to be a failure to comply with the motion of 13th

november. for the sake of our economy, ourjobs and our futures, all possible information should be made available to members of this house. the government should do the right thing and make this full advice available. with so much at sta ke advice available. with so much at stake for all our constituents, with eight days to go before the vote on the deal, this house and this country deserves better from this government. speaker: the attorney general. well, mr speaker, first, let me say to the honourable gentleman, he has a far better than any advice i may or may not have given to the government, he can ask me. and all he has to ask he will receive because i will give him a frank answer. speaker: order! order.

i know the attorney general is very well able to... order! i know the attorney general is very wellable to... order! members i know the attorney general is very well able to... order! members must come themselves. i know the attorney general is very well able to look after himself but i would gently counsel at this stage... order. i gently counsel members not to yell from a sedentary position in that way. the right honourable and learned gentleman would not, i'm sure, be accustomed to such treatment in a court, and if he were subject to it i think the judge would take a very dim view. order! order! he is entitled to a courteous reception, and as the house knows from past experience, i will want to hear everyone who wishes to question him. but in the first instance, calm, behave. the attorney. mr speaker, it is very rare for the attorney general to appear to answer questions in the house on matters of

law. i am doing so, mr speaker, so that members opposite, members on this side of the house, can have a full, frank and thorough opportunity of asking me, as the government‘s chief legal adviser, but also as an adviser to the house on constitutional and legal matters, what a legal position is. and if you ask me, if the questions are asked i will answer them candidly. like the honourable gentleman told me, i haven‘t said anything about the subsistence of the northern ireland protocol. let me make no bones about the northern ireland protocol. it will subsist. we are indefinitely committed to it. if it came into force. there is no point in my trying, or the government trying to disguise that fact. the truth, however, is what is the political imperative of either entering it or not entering into it? that is the calculated equation of risk that

each member of this house is going to have to weigh up. weighing it up against different alternatives. the honourable gentleman also mentioned that i should answer whether other treaties are permanent. there are hundreds of treaties throughout the world that are permanent. if you do treaties on borders, if you do treaties on borders, if you do treaties on borders, if you do treaties on rivers, the whole vienna convention has entire sections... entire sections on permanent treaties. if the honourable gentleman wants me to enumerate some i will write to him. i‘m afraid i don‘t have them to hand. but there is an entire section of the vienna convention on permanent treaties. the question of whether we have a right to terminate under the convention is a matter of construction. let me make it plain. there is no such right to terminate if the northern ireland protocol

comes into force. the question of how likely it is to remain in force isa how likely it is to remain in force is a politicaljudgment to be based on factors largely relating, as i have said, to in whose interests it would be to remain in it for the longest. speaker: mr kenneth clarke. firstly, mr speaker... speaker: order, it is rather unseemly for people to yell out "is that it?" the attorney general has given a full response, the members can make of it what they will. somebody —— everybody should cheer up because we are about to hear from the father of the house. whether that should cheer people up i have no idea! i sincerely congratulate my right honourable friend on his masterly exposition of the facts and the law which put paid to quite a lot of the

paranoia and conspiracy theories that had been running around all too often in our european debates. and secondly, does he accept that it was central to the good friday agreement, the belfast agreement, that both sides committed themselves timelessly to an open border? that is all wrapped up if we ever move to the northern ireland protocol. it would be quite shameful if either the european union or the republic of ireland, or the the european union or the republic of ireland, orthe united kingdom was of ireland, orthe united kingdom was given the right unilaterally to terminate that at a time of its political choosing. it is perfectly