this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top story: british mps are to vote on whether the government is in contempt of parliament by not publishing the legal advice it's received about the prime minister's brexit deal. i'm kasia madera in westminster, where this issue is likely to delay the debate on the deal itself. it's due in a week's time. president trump pays his respects to george h w bush, whose body is lying in state in the us capitol rotunda. the military exercise with a difference. remote controlled robots take over to keep up in a tech—driven global arms race. and in business briefing: executives from germany's big three carmakers head to washington for talks. can they throw a spanner in the works, as the white house considers steep tariffs on imported cars? good to have you with us.

we'll brief you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. a school here in the uk has asked parents to restrict spending on christmas gifts for teachers to £50 to avoid putting staff in an "awkward position". is this bribery? should teachers be getting gifts at all? send us your thoughts. tell us what you think. just use the hashtag, #bbcthebriefing. once again, we begin with brexit.

britain's prime minister theresa may will plead with mps to back her brexit deal today, as her government is embroiled in a constitutional row with parliament. mrs may will begin five days of debate in the house of commons on her brexit plan, before the crunch vote on december 11th. but before she even addresses mps, her government will come in for intense criticism over claims it's in contempt of parliament by refusing to publish the full legal guidance given to ministers about the withdrawal agreement. all that due to unfold through the day, let's go to westminster and kasia madera. it is becoming a cliche but it is another critical day for theresa may. i am running out of cliches and i really interested to see what our political correspondent is going to use, iian watson, he is the man with so use, iian watson, he is the man with so many fantastic analogies. how is he going to describe today? because

yes, i was expecting to start the day here at westminster talking to you about the start of these days of bates, intense debate about the deal that mps will be voting on a week today. they only have five days and they have eight hours each day to discuss the debate, the deal that theresa may really, really needs to get voted to next tuesday, just a week from today. and yet, we are starting the day by talking about this issue of contempt of parliament. six opposition parties called this motion yesterday late at night and the speaker agreed to put this through, and they are saying this through, and they are saying this intervention by the speaker is commanding the support of the hunting 2a mps at the moment. it is all about the figures because these figures are really, really, a lot of people are saying that these numbers could actually indicate what is going to happen in terms of the deal itself. —— 324 mps. the opposition would defer government ministries to

the standards and privileges committee for content, and that committee for content, and that committee could consider a range of sanctions, even expelling the ministers. it is all a little bit vague because we're not quite sure exactly the ministers are and what this really does refer to. so we are in an extraordinary situation and the day is onlyjust beginning, like isaid, we the day is onlyjust beginning, like i said, we are beginning with the co nte m pt of i said, we are beginning with the contempt of parliament, rather than the debate on the deal itself. my colleague rob watson looks at the day's unfolding events. theresa may has been touring the country and tv studios trying to sell the brexit deal but today she will face the most demanding audience of all, her fellow politicians. but just before audience of all, her fellow politicians. butjust before she begins for five days of debate on the deal, mps will discuss whether ministers are in contempt for failing to publish the legal advice which parliament demanded last month. last night, the common speaker demanded an emergency debate

to be held around lunchtime today. speaker demanded an emergency debate to be held around lunchtime todaylj have considered the matter carefully andi have considered the matter carefully and i am satisfied that there is an arguable case that contempt has been committed. if theresa may is defeated, government ministers are found in contempt, it is likely to be seen more as a distraction than a disaster. a committee of mps would have to consider what action to take. the government is accusing opposition politicians playing politics. i think it is a complete version from what the public are expecting to hear. we are going to have five days an important debate about the merits of brexit, the withdrawal agreement. let's get on withdrawal agreement. let's get on with that and stop messing about with that and stop messing about with process. what is significant is that one of the opposition parties who want to see legal advice is none other than northern ireland's dup, and theirmps other than northern ireland's dup, and their mps usually pop up prime minister's minority government, so this could be the shape of things to come. the really big vote is not today, it is next week when mps decide whether to back the brexit deal. today's debate made it clear

the scale of opposition that the prime minister is likely to face. yes, as iian watson was saying it, the day's debate could indicate what is going to happen. thank you so much forjoining us so early. —— could indicate the level of opposition. having the attorney general come to address mps, that was historic. it is very unusual, it has happened before but it is very unusualfor has happened before but it is very unusual for the attorney general, the government's chief law officer in effect inside the government, come into parliament and make the case really for why the particular version of the advice that has been given to the government about the brexit process should be published only as a summary, so it is all about whether the summary is produced or whether the whole document. back in november, the

parliament voted that the whole of the advice given to the government should be published and of course, at that time, the conservatives did not vote against that, so it went through unanimously. we are back in parliament now, we are up against the time for debate about the whole process of what happens next, and yesterday, mps managed to convince, late in the day, convinced the speaker of the house of commons, who effectively chairs the house of commons, that there should now be debate on whether the attorney general‘s holding parliament in co nte m pt general‘s holding parliament in contempt for not publishing the whole document. that the argument here is that he has client privilege, because he is getting the government legal advice from that kind of context, he has client privilege and not having to disclose absolutely everything, but of course mps are not happy. absolutely, and what is arguing, you're absolutely right, as any lawyer would, that there is a public interest or client interest in not publishing the whole document. however, all the parties

in parliament, other than the conservatives, signed up to this motion and there is likely to be some, even conservative members, very strongly pro— brexit, who want to see this advice as well. so at the moment, what this is doing is acting as a kind of very enormous sideshow to the main business, which is moving on the five—day debate, which we mentioned earlier, about the wider process of exit and whether theresa may's deal should be in the end voted through. and that comes in a week's time. in terms of this contempt of parliament building behind us —— parliaments, the building behind us, if ministers at this stage are found to be in contempt, what happens? what is the process ? contempt, what happens? what is the process? not only has this proposal being put down that the government itself is put down an amendment to trying to get all in the long grass. so we are deep in the parliamentary procedure you that the end parliament votes through on this motion in favour of the one that the

opposition has put down, it would appear that as the process moves forward that either the attorney general geoffrey cox or government minister, probably the cabinet office minister, effectively deputy prime minister the uk, would be suspended from the house of commons. and this is all, of course, is in the name of getting the full document published, so that the government would have to decide whether or not to publish the document. that argument is still to be had. just briefly then looking forward to tuesday, of course we have this week of intense debate. once it eventually gets started, which way you think it is going to go? i think what this us is about the power between the parliament and the power between the parliament and the government, and if the parliament really does appear to be getting traction here, it will convince the government even more than people are already that theresa may is going to find it very hard to win. fascinating insights. thank you very much. of course, will be here

the other day to look at all the different menu show. it is a fascinating insight into just how intense the brexit debate has been here throughout the day. —— minutae. the body of former us president george h w bush is lying in state in the capitol rotunda, following a sombre ceremony. the event was attended by mr bush's family, along with senior officials. several hours after the ceremony, president trump paid his respects, along with his wife, melania. our correspondent in washington, rajini vaidyanathan, reports. the george h w bush, it was the final journey to washington, the george h w bush, it was the finaljourney to washington, dc, a city to which he devoted much of this life. with this son, america's 43rd president george w bush watching on, the casket of the country's 4ist was carried out the steps of the us capitol building, accompanied by a 21 gun salute.

president trump, who mist bush reportedly did not vote for, paid this respects with this wife. republicans and democrats and politicians passed and present lined up politicians passed and present lined up to pay tribute. in all this 92 yea rs, up to pay tribute. in all this 92 years, president bush never lost this love of adventure and he never failed to answer the cool to service for this country. and that core began as a teenager, when he enlisted in the us navy. this plane was shot down over the pacific and he survived. i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states... president george herbert walker bush was a consummate public servant. before he entered the light house, he was a congressman, and vice president to ronald reagan. —— the light house. this casket will lie in state here that the us capitol building here in

washington to wednesday morning, giving members of the public a chance to say a final goodbye. then, it will move to washington's national cathedral, where america's 4ist national cathedral, where america's 4ist president will be afforded a full state funeral. let's brief you on other stories in the news today. the french prime minister is to meet representatives of the yellow vest anti—government protests today. he's cancelled his trip to the climate summit in poland and spent monday meeting political leaders to discuss the wave of protests which have turned increasingly violent. an elderly woman died in marseilles after being hit by a teargas cannister. two jailed catalan separatist leaders have announced they're going on hunger strike from tuesday, joining two colleagues who stopped eating at the weekend. joaquim forn and josep rull are protesting at the refusal by the constitutional court to let them appeal to european courts against their pre—trial detention. the turkish president,

tayyip erdogan, has criticised recent sanctions imposed by the united states against venezuela over alleged human rights abuses. during his first official visit to caracas, president erdogan said that trade restrictions and sanctions were wrong and only created further instability. stay with us on the briefing so much more to come: it is official — the croatia and real madrid midfielder luka modric is the best male footballer in the world and awarded the ballon d'or. it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i am feeling so helpless that the children are dying in front of me and i can't do anything.

charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippie cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles. at 11am this morning, just half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then philippe cozette, a minerfrom calais, was shaking hands and exchanging flags with robert fagg, his opposite number from dover. you're watching the briefing. our headlines: president trump has paid respect to george hw bush, whose body is lying in state

in the us capitol rotunda. british mps are to vote on whether the government is in contempt of parliament by not publishing the legal advice it's received about the prime minister's brexit deal. let's return to my colleague kasia madera in westminster for the latest on brexit. many thanks. talking about dramatic days here yesterday. today is another dramatic day. we were expecting to start the day by discussing the start of this five days of debate about theresa may's deal, which will be voted on in a week's time today. we are talking about the impact of this contempt of parliament that has been motion forward. that is what mps will be discussing. we are describing this

asa discussing. we are describing this as a tussle, as a fight between parliament flexing its muscles and the government. a fascinating insight. we need to know how this will affect everyday people in every walk of life, in business, industry, which is concerned about what is going on. uncertainty, we know, we talk about it a lot, business doesn't like uncertainty. i am speaking with a supply expert from kpmg. what has been going on there, what concerns do you have with what mps are deciding, what they are debating, what you saw yesterday? businesses we work with spend most of their time worrying about uncertainty and trying to make sure they have enough product in place in they have enough product in place in the uk so that, if there are disruptions, if we have difficulties as we come out of the eu, at least we have products in place to satisfy customers. how do you put that contingency planning into place, when there is so much uncertainty?

many businesses have been working at this for a little while, and they have taken the view that there will not be enough certainty, and it will be too late when there is, so they have created plans based on forecasting for the future and some businesses have a programme, we are creating our on certainty, that is the name they are giving it. do you feel that businesses when you speak with fellow colleagues, are they confident in terms of the political circles ? confident in terms of the political circles? i think many find it quite baffling, and businesses based away from the uk, who have a presence here, find it more confusing. blu ntly, here, find it more confusing. bluntly, it here, find it more confusing. blu ntly, it is here, find it more confusing. bluntly, it is a complicated process. for that reason they focus on their own businesses, their own contingency plans, and leave the politicians to themselves. that said they would like a deal to be done as soon as possible. when it comes to workers, we were talking about migration figures recently, the

european migration dropping, the rest of the world levelling that out, are they getting the workforce they need? at the moment, but it has been getting very tight, particularly in certain sectors, drivers, a structural shortage for many years anyway. it would be interesting to see people who go back after christmas break, when they return, but no doubt in sectors there is a shortage already and that will come through wage increases. there is a shortage already and that will come through wage increasesm that case, thank you. brian connell from kpmg. just an insight into how businesses are tackling and coping with this uncertainty and later today we will hear a lot more about what will happen in the palace of westminster behind us. initially, starting with the debate about the co nte m pt of starting with the debate about the contempt of parliament motion. finally, going on to the debate itself about theresa may's brexit deal which, of course, parliamentarians will vote on on tuesday next week before it then

goes off course back to brussels. thank you, kasia madera, see you later. now, let's look at some other stories. the biggest exercise of military robots in british history is underway with remote—controlled tanks among 70 new weapons systems being tested. the four—week war game, dubbed exercise autonomous warrior, features a host of drones and armoured vehicles which can be operated from a distance, as the army intensifies its efforts to keep up in a new tech—driven global arms race. our defence correspondent jonathan beale has been to see the robots in training. this is the future of warfare. out in salisbury plain the british army and its allies are learning how to fight alongside robots, both on the ground and in the air. this warrior armoured vehicle would normally be driven by a soldier. here it is all being controlled remotely from this box. and this is the first robot in britain to be fitted with a remotely

operated gun, here being sent into potential danger in advance of us troops. but this technology still comes with risks. and as yet u na nswered comes with risks. and as yet unanswered ethical questions. britain says it has no intent to do develop lethal autonomous weapons, what some call killer robots. but as this technology develops, some will ask who is really in control, is it the man or the machine? we would never use autonomous vehicles that could go out there and do stuff without a human being able to control it. there are already calls for a control it. there are already calls fora ban on control it. there are already calls for a ban on lethal autonomous weapons, but as yet there are no laws regulating or preventing their use. and there are fears this could be the beginning of a new arms race, with no one yet certain as to where it will lead. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre.

hello, i'm marc edwards. here's what we've got coming up on your tuesday sport briefing: the madrid midfield maestro luka modric is the 2018 ballon d'or winner, but there's a twerking controversy at the ceremony. and as we're now in december, we've obviously got some skiing santas for you, of course. manchester city are top of the english premier league. they're still unbeaten and they take on watford on tuesday, but what's the key to their success? is it that pep expects perfection? to help you make your decision, here's his verdict on forward raheem sterling, scorer of eight goals and six assists already so far this season. he can do better. we are so delighted with what he has done in three years, but he can do better. in what way? more consistent. and first controls, and his receptions.

many, many things. it's official, luka modric is the best football player on the planet — having been crowned the best fifa men's player back in september, he won the 63rd edition of the ballon d'or to finally put an end to the messi—ronaldo duopoly, which had seen them share the prize for the last ten years. modric‘s annus mirabilis included leading croatia to the world cup final and winning the champions league. france and psg striker kylian mbappe won the kopa award for best young player — the 19—year—old starred as france won the world cup and also won the best young player award in russia. the lyon and norway striker ada hegerberg won the inaugural women's award. there was controversy, though, as her win was slightly overshadowed when she was asked to twerk by the host, have a watch. he came to me after and he was

really, really sad that it went that way. i didn't think about it in that moment. i didn't consider it as a sexual harassment or anything. i was just happy to get a dance and celebrate winning the ballon d'or, to be honest. the man who asked her to twerk — host and dj martin solveig — has apologised in a video on social media. he says it comes from a distortion from his level of english and also his cultural understanding of it. he didn't know it could be considered such an offence and has apologised. and the future looks a little brighter for australian cricket. check this out. this is ollie davies, the new south wales metro captain. he smashed 207 off 115 balls against northern territory in the under 19 one—day championships on monday. the highlight was this. six sixes in one over. he hit no fewer than 17 in total. you can get all the latest

sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me and the rest of the sport team, thats your tuesday sport briefing. it is indeed. thank you for that. we have plenty more, the business stories to come and the news briefing. i will bejoined byjeremy thompson kirk of world first. we are talking about a story in the times about how one school in london has asked parents to keep gifts for teachers at a minimum, sorry a maximum of £50 because it puts teachers in a very awkward position. the article talks about some private schools where teachers are being given dinners initial and is —— dinners in restaurants and so we ask for your views on all of this. you have not held back. we have heard from so many people. michael smith

says because of extreme pressure on teachers they find themselves in difficult situations. bottles of alcohol as a present should be avoided, of course, you should say. unlike parliament, it should be avoided in the workplace. the results are obvious. many have said £5 is absolutely plenty. we have heard from some viewers who say that £50 is far too much, it should just be our card made by the child only. we have another viewer who says, actually i made mince pies for my favourite teachers. many are suggesting taking, home—made goods, home—made cards. keep your views coming in. are you one who is for the expensive gifts for teachers? i will see you in a moment for business briefing. hello. a quieter, colder spell

of weather for tuesday, but then the weather gets more active again from midweek. yes, it'll get milder, but it'll also turn wetter and windier once again. we are in a gap between weather systems. in the gap between weather systems, tuesday starting with widespread frost, the most widespread frost, the most widespread for the week, —6 in highland scotland, mist and fog around, too, and ice on untreated surfaces in northern and western scotland, where we have had showers overnight, some continuing until the first part of tuesday. for many of us first part of tuesday. for many of us in the day ahead, it is dry, it is sunny and it is cold, around 4— seven degrees. cloud increasing before the next weather system from the south—west, bringing rain to end the south—west, bringing rain to end the afternoon, then through tuesday evening and night it will slowly move northwards across england,

wales and northern ireland. but ahead of that weather system to the north of it, temperatures will drop away for the frost, some fog patches and it is coldest in the highlands of scotland, six, —7 to begin wednesday, although it is less cold with the rain coming in. it continues to move northwards on wednesday. some uncertainty about how far north. cold weather into the pennines, the southern upland is, should it reach that far north, northern scotland looks like it will be dry on wednesday. rain clearing from northern ireland, but hanging around england and wales as its flight around england and wales as its flight eastwards, and a range of temperatures from north to south across the uk, but turning milder for england and wales once again. further weather fronts close by on thursday so expect a good deal of cloud, our of thursday so expect a good deal of cloud, ourof rain thursday so expect a good deal of cloud, our of rain pushing east, then to end the week at deepening area of low pressure running across the northern half of the uk which is where we will see the strongest winds, potentially disruptive, severe gales affecting scotland,

northern ireland, northern england andi northern ireland, northern england and i received coasts. we will keep you updated. it is quite mild into the weekend —— irish sea coasts. after the cold, quiet interlude, wet and windy at times, potentially stormy to end the week, but it will be turning milderfor a time. that's your latest forecast. this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. executives from germany's three big carmakers head to washington for talks. can they throw a spanner in the works, as the white house considers steep tariffs on imported cars? the us—china trade truce mystery — the share market rally grinds to a halt with no word from beijing on car imports or the tariffs ceasefire. let's show you the state of play in asia. us futures indicate wall street

will open lower today, however, the price of oil continues to rise ahead of the opec meeting later this week.