you're watching bbc news at nine with me, reeta chakrabarti. the headlines: the european court ofjustice rules that the uk can cancel brexit without the permission of the other 27 members. the ruling comes the day before the crucial vote due in the house of commons on theresa may's brexit deal. she's making calls to european leaders as ministers urge mps to back her. the prime minister is best place, as i mentioned earlier, to secure the right dealfor i mentioned earlier, to secure the right deal for britain. there i mentioned earlier, to secure the right dealfor britain. there is i mentioned earlier, to secure the right deal for britain. there is a really important decision that eve ryo ne really important decision that everyone has to make tomorrow. the suspect in the case of murdered british backpacker grace millane appears in court. new zealand's prime minister gives a tearful apology to the family. on behalf of new zealand, i want to apologise to grace's family. your daughter should have been safe here and she wasn't, and i'm sorry for that. japanese prosecutors formally charge former nissan chairman carlos ghosn for understating his earnings by millions of dollars.

walker's crisp launches a new recycling scheme for its crisp packets. they can be made into things like garden furniture. and the row continues after manchester city's raheem sterling accuses newspapers of fuelling racism in football. good morning and welcome to the bbc news at nine. the prime minister, theresa may, is making a final push to persuade undecided mps to back her brexit deal. she'll hold meetings with a series of backbenchers, despite pressures from within her own ranks to delay the vote. she's also been speaking to eu leaders as she seeks to win a last—minute concession. let's take a look at one of the most important weeks in theresa may's premiership.

in the last hour, judges at the european court ofjustice ruled that the uk can suspend the brexit process at any time without the eu's permission. they ruled this could be done without altering the terms of britain's membership. today in the commons is the penultimate day of the brexit debate. mps will discuss how the prime minister's deal affects the future of the union. then tomorrow mps will vote on the prime minister's proposed brexit deal, which at the moment is widely expected to be rejected. and on thursday, eu leaders will meet in brussels for a summit, where brexit isn't formally on the agenda, but events at westminster could change that. in a moment we can talk to our assistant political editor, norman smith, at westminster. but first to adam fleming who's at the european court ofjustice in luxembourg. just talk us through this ruling from the court. yes, here it is. 19

pages published a less than an hour ago, delivered with very little ceremony in a cauldron behind me by one thejudges at ceremony in a cauldron behind me by one the judges at the ecj to a virtually empty courtroom. —— the court room behind me. thisjudgment was brought by mps, meps and msps, who wanted clarity on the exit clause for a departing eu member state, which says what you want to do if you want to leave but it does not say what you can do if you change your mind. what the judges at the ecj have ruled is that the uk or any other departing member state could revoke its notice of departure and article 50, as long as

it was done before the withdrawal agreement was in place, and the two year time agreement was in place, and the two yeartime limit in agreement was in place, and the two year time limit in article 50 had expired or not been extended. the people who brought the case will be celebrating because this means that mps when they vote tomorrow will note that reversing brexit is a real option in black and white, confirmed by the eu's highest court. but the court has said that it would have to be done as part of a democratic process in the uk. it would have to bea process in the uk. it would have to be a parliamentary vote, referendum oi’ be a parliamentary vote, referendum ora be a parliamentary vote, referendum or a general election. that is because the judges here do or a general election. that is because thejudges here do not or a general election. that is because the judges here do not want article 50 to be used by other countries or by the uk in a tactical way to stop the clock or extract more concessions from the eu. it is a blow to the eu institutions. their lawyers said if the court went down this route, it could cause endless uncertainty around the eu's exit clause. and it is a blow to the uk government because their lawyers had argued all along that it was a hypothetical political question that judges in luxembourg should not be getting involved in. 0k, adam, thank you. our assistant political editor, norman smith, is in westminster of course. all the talk this morning is about whether this crucial vote in the house of commons tomorrow will

go ahead. is it? downing street say that it go ahead. is it? downing street say thatitis go ahead. is it? downing street say that it is going to go ahead. ahead of that, we know that mrs may is embarking on an 11th hour at last—ditch series of phone calls with eu leaders and eu officials to see if they can give any further ground over the backstop, the issue thatis ground over the backstop, the issue that is troubling so many tory mps. the backstop, let me talk you through what it is. basically it is an insurance policy. if the uk and eu can't reach an agreement by the end of the transition period in 2020 ona end of the transition period in 2020 on a future trade deal, and what it would mean broadly is that northern ireland and the rest of the uk would stay in a customs arrangement, a customs union if you like, with the eu, to make sure that goods can travel across the border between ireland and northern ireland without a hard border. but what has vexed many mps is the fear that the uk would be locked into it potentially

indefinitely. and downing street have concluded that the only way they are going to win tomorrow's crucial vote is if they manage to allay the concerns of mps about that danger. mrs may is now talking to eu leaders to see whether they can give any more ground on the backstop, albeit they acknowledge that brings with it risks, because it would probably mean renegotiating their withdrawal treaty. and the environment secretary, michael gove, warned this morning that could give an opening for the likes of france and spain to make renewed demands about what britain would have to give up. one of the worries i have is that if we do attempt a fundamental reopening, renegotiating of their withdrawal agreement, the eu countries to recognise just how uncomfortable the backstop is for there may change their withdrawal agreement ina there may change their withdrawal agreement in a way that may not necessarily be to our advantage. but doesn't the withdrawal agreement

have to be opened up in order to get concession on the backstop? this is the balance. and it's an important balance, i think, for everyone to appreciate. i believe that the prime minister is better placed than anyone to get any changes or any improvements to the overall package, but we have to be aware that the deal that the prime minister secured for the reasons we discussed earlier puts european nations in an uncomfortable position and by reopening it, there is a risk, there is a risk that we may not get everything that we wish for. interestingly, michael gove did not rule out possibly standing for leadership should mrs may fall in the wake of a heavy defeat in the comments. albeit he said it was extremely unlikely. meanwhile penny modern, another prominent brexit cabinet minister this morning sounding supportive of the prime minister. —— penny mordaunt. what we all need to work for is

getting the best deal for our country but it must deliver what the people voted for, brexit. i am very confident in that. government, cabinet with the prime minister, are going to be working extremely hard in the coming days to make sure that happens. thank you. what is interesting is the government is openly talking about revisiting this withdrawal agreement, which is a change to what we were told 48 hours ago, when the word from number 10 was that the deal is the deal and the deal can't be changed. it is locked down. now in a desperate effort to try and get some further concessions, number 10 seem to be signalling that actually the withdrawal agreement could be reopened to see if there can be a nip and tuck on the backstop. as for the brexiteers, they have said all along that if there is going to be any changes to the backstop, they

must be incorporated in their withdrawal treaty and they will not be legally binding. that they are still talking tough and playing down the consequences if mrs may was defeated. well, it's difficult to say, but i think if we have a clear decision to seek better terms from the eu but also to prepare in parallel for leaving without an agreement if the eu are not prepared to be reasonable, i think that sends a strong signal to individuals and to businesses that whatever happens in relation to the negotiations, we will be ready to leave on the 29th of march and we will be doing everything we can to ensure that we minimise any disruption that might take place. that was theresa villiers, of course, leading brexiteer. what it all means, i think, is this. although number 10 say it is full stea m although number 10 say it is full steam ahead for tomorrow's vote, you can imagine circumstances, where eu leaders to give mrs may a nod and a

week that it macro wink, —— a nod and a wink, if i can put this further concession on the backstop for them and then have the vote. we get the sense that everything is a little bit vivid at the moment. yes, indeed. we will have more from norman very shortly. many thanks. our assistant political editor, norman smith. let's get more reaction now with the conservative mp nadim zahawi, who is in our westminster studio. thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news. how do you feel on the eve of what looks like an almost certain defeat for the prime minister on this boat tomorrow? should she go ahead with this vote? i think colleagues on all sides of the argument, whether you are remain oi’ the argument, whether you are remain ora the argument, whether you are remain or a brexiteer, we need to deliver instruction of the british people. if you look at deal, the deal is

supported by all colleagues other than the backstop, which concerns some colleagues, and i think it is important to remember that the backstop is equally uncomfortable for the united kingdom as it is for the eu. to have the fifth—largest economy having access to the single market without paying anything in and without having free movement, i think that is pretty uncomfortable, whether you are france, italy, spain or germany. i think that the deal that the prime minister has put forward is one that delivers on brexit. we will come out on the 29th of march and we have got two more days of debate and it is important that all colleagues think hard about the instruction at the british people gave us. let's not throw away brexit because of our disagreements. let's come together and let's back the prime minister to get this deal

over the line. so we have a new relationship with europe, one that rates come to blue with europe and trade with the rest of the world while taking back control of things like our borders, not paying any more, our money and our economy. “— one that trades comfortably with europe. colleagues should think long and hard before they vote down this deal. you heard norman saying that that the idea of revisiting their withdrawal agreement is on the cards again. is that helpful, do you think? it is important that we listen to concerns that colleagues have. they are saying to me that actually the deal, if you take away the backstop, is a good deal. my response is that the backstop is not the only option. we can choose to extend the implementation period. there may be a technological solution, which is what iain duncan smith and others had put forward, which we could opt for, what a mac

with the backstop, but the backstop is equally uncomfortable for both sides. —— or with the backstop. if we betray the trust of the eu, we will unleash forces which none of us know about and we can only end up in a bad place. if you are like me, brexiteer who wants to move on from this and have a new relationship with europe. europe is moving in a direction that the uk can never support. they need to consolidate budgets, and they are talking about a european army which i don't think the british people would ever support, and of course free movement, which was one of the drivers that push people to support brexit from the eu. on a related topic, the environment secretary, michael gove, has been on the air not entirely rolling out a leadership bid in the future. he said it was extremely unlikely but not a denial. is that sort of thing

unhelpful at this stage? look, i listened to his interview this morning. he is out championing the deal, reminding colleagues that it is important that we brexit on the 29th of march, and we have an orderly brexit, an orderly separation from the eu, and of course the ability to trade with the rest of the world. i think michael is supporting the prime minister. he has been very clear in his statement is that this deal is the one that needs to be supported by colleagues across the house if we want to uk to deliver on instruction of the british people and of course to safeguard jobs and prosperity in our great country. nadhim zahawi, we have got to leave it there. many thanksjoining us. my pleasure. let's get more reaction now to the ecj ruling with catherine barnard, professor of eu law

at cambridge university. shejoins me now via webcam. this decision says that we can change our minds unilaterally with nothing unchanged. is there anything in this that has surprised you? not really. the question has always been is ita really. the question has always been is it a unilateral decision for the uk or is it a unilateral decision for the ukora is it a unilateral decision for the uk or a bilateral decision. does the eu have to have its say? you will recall a couple of weeks ago the advocate general gave an advisory opinion that said it was a unilateral decision for the uk, and the eu would have no say over it. the court ofjustice had broadly followed this and said yes, unilateral decision for the uk, provided it does it according to its own constitutional democratic requirements. and crucially it says very clearly that if the uk were to decide to stay, ie by revoking the

article 50 notification, we would stay on the terms that we have now, which means budget rebate, no requirement tojoin which means budget rebate, no requirement to join schengen, no requirement to join schengen, no requirement to join schengen, no requirement tojoin the requirement to join schengen, no requirement to join the eurozone. this does clear the decks for those on the remain side to say that actually it is notjust a binary choice as theresa may presents it. my choice as theresa may presents it. my deal or no deal. there is now a clear third option on the table, which is that the uk can revoke article 50 and say that we want to stay in. it does put remaining back in play. i just stay in. it does put remaining back in play. ijust wanted to ask you if that gives more hope to remain voters that the brexit process can be revoked? voters that the brexit process can be revoked ? it voters that the brexit process can be revoked? it absolutely does. the referendum that took place injune 2016 it sent a message that by majority the country want to live, and therefore this third option is hypothetical, which is what the uk

government to try to argue in the case. the uk government said this was a hypothetical issue about whether we might stay in and therefore the court ofjustice has no jurisdiction therefore the court ofjustice has nojurisdiction and therefore the court ofjustice has no jurisdiction and no therefore the court ofjustice has nojurisdiction and no power to hear this point. the european court of justice was having none of that argument. they said we can hear this case and the uk has the right to revoke if it so chooses. but at the moment of that choice according to the prime minister is not on the table. very interesting. we have got to leave it there. thank you very much. add another line coming to us from the deputy prime minister of ireland, simon pave me, who says the legal language of the withdrawal treaty is not going to change. very interesting there given what we heard from norman smith a little early that there are discussions going on about reopening the

withdrawal treaty. a clear sign that from the irish government that as far as they are concerned, the legal language of that withdrawal treaty will not be changed. 0k. now the headlines on bbc news: the european court ofjustice rules that the uk can cancel brexit without the permission of the other 27 members. the ruling comes the day before the crucial vote due in the house of commons on theresa may's brexit deal. she's making calls to european leaders and a final push to get mp‘s to back the deal. the suspect in the case of murdered british backpacker grace millane appears in court as new zealand's prime minister gives a tearful apology to the family. the premier league says anyone racially abusing players deserves to be punished. it comes after disturbing scenes during saturday's game at chelsea involving manchester city striker raheem sterling. the crisis at newcastle united continues after a late wolves winner hands them their seventh defeat in nine home games this season. and ronnie 0'sullivan breaks records

after beating mark allen to win the uk snooker championship in york. i will be back with more and all of those stories and a full review of the newspaper back pages in the next half an hour. former nissan chairman carlos ghosn has been officially charged by japanese prosecutors for under—reporting his compensation in company records. mr ghosn has been held in custody injapan without charge for the last 22 days. he is alleged to have understated his pay by about $44 million over a five year period. he denies the allegation. we are nowjoined by rupert wingfield—hayes from tokyo. 0ur correspondent in tokyo. finally a formal charge against carlos ghosn. what sort of details are

given in the charges? very little detailfrom the given in the charges? very little detail from the prosecutor's office. it is what we expected. the script has pretty much played out as was predicted by the japanese media last week, which was that this was the final day that the prosecutors could hold carlos ghosn without charge. he has been in custody for 23 days, as you say. today they either had to charge him or release him and they have charged him with misreporting financial details in the nissan securities report at the end of the year which is given to the tokyo stock market, over a five year period from 2011 to 2015 and along with him is another executive being charged, greg kelly, and nissan has been indicted itself as well. mr kelly and carlos ghosn were immediately served with new arrest warrants. in their detention cells. essentially they have been accused of another crime, another

allegation, which is doing exactly the same thing, except this time in 2016, 2017 and 2018, which means they can now be held for another 20 days and the questioning and interrogation can continue until the 30th of december. carlos ghosn is a huge figure in the business world. put this into some sort of perspective for us. what reaction has there been to what is going on? the reaction has been very different here and elsewhere, i think. carlos ghosn was a huge figure and continues to be a huge figure in the car industry. he is still the chief executive officer of renault corporation in france. he was the head of these three motor corporations, renault, nissan and mitsubishi, and he really brought these companies into this alliance, and he really ruled over the alliance for the best part of 20 yea rs. alliance for the best part of 20 years. he took nissan from $40 billion in debt in 1999 through to being a very successful and

profitable company today. for many yea rs profitable company today. for many years he was seen as profitable company today. for many years he was seen as something of a folk hero in japan. years he was seen as something of a folk hero injapan. attitudes have changed considerably in the last few weeks at the japanese media and lea ks weeks at the japanese media and leaks from the prosecutor's office have painted him as this greedy, power hungry figure. 0utside have painted him as this greedy, power hungry figure. outside of japan and particularly in france, i think there is a degree of sympathy for carlos ghosn, particularly because he has been held so long without charge. and also the feeling that these charges against him are rather peculiar. and similar things done by other executives at other japanese companies have not led to this sort of treatment. ok, we have got to leave it there. many thanks. rupert wingfield hayes reporting for the bbc from tokyo. a man's appeared in court in new zealand charged with the murder of the british backpacker grace millane. the 26—year—old suspect, who has the right not to be identified under new zealand law, has been remanded in custody. the country's prime minister,

jacinda ardern, has given a tearful apology to the family. chi chi izundu reports. it was a day no parent expects to face — a court date with the man accused of murdering their daughter. david millane, grace's father, did just that. the family's presence in court didn't go unnoticed byjudge evangelos thomas, who said their grief must be desperate. the 26—year—old man accused of killing grace, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is due back in court next month. court documents showed he had been living at the city life hotel in central auckland, the last place grace was seen alive. the court also heard how police believe the university of lincoln graduate was killed between 1st and 2nd december. this is where the body believed to be grace's was found, ten metres off a countryside road outside the city. she was on a year—long around—the—world trip, and had been in new zealand for two weeks.

last night in essex, people gathered to remember the lovely, outgoing, fun—loving 22—year—old, as described by her family. new zealand's prime minister, jacinda ardern, was visibly moved by the case. on behalf of new zealand, i want to apologise to grace's family. your daughter should have been safe here, and she wasn't, and i'm sorry for that. i've advised the family through the police that if there is anything we can do to assist, we are here to help with that. and this from grace's brother declan, posting pictures on his instagram page alongside lyrics to you are my sunshine, highlighting the unbearable time for the millane family. chi chi izundu, bbc news. 0ur correspondent hywel griffith is outside the court in auckland, and he sent us this update. grace millane's murder has really shocked people here in new zealand, a country that welcomes thousands of backpackers every month. her father david came to the court here in

auckland today as the man accused of killing his daughter was formally charged with her murder. as the hearing began, thejudge addressed the family, saying he simply didn't know what to say to them. he knew their grief would be desperate. he said he hoped that justice would be fair, swift and ultimately give them peace. grace was last seen alive just round the corner at an apartment building here in the city centre. we understand that's where the 26—year—old man had been living. he can't be named for formal legal reasons. he will appear in court again next month. in another part of the city, the investigation is continuing. her body was found on the outskirts of auckland in a woodland about ten metres from the road. the police believe her body may have been transferred using a red hire car, so they are still going through cctv material. later this week a vigil will be led in the city centre as people come together here to gather their thoughts and remember grace. 0ur correspondent, hywel griffith.

the french president, emmanuel macron, is due to meet trade unionists and business leaders following another weekend of violent anti—government protests. he's scheduled to make an address to the nation later today. we are nowjoined by hugh schofield in paris. this feels like a government in retreat in the face of these protests. what a re retreat in the face of these protests. what are we expecting from president macron? it is very much a government in retreat. we expect the tournant social, a u—turn towards a more social, left—wing policy, which is what we expect to see. but we don't think there is any way they can satisfy the yellow vest protesters without some real meat on the announcement today. they will not be happy if he simply give some bromides about consultation and yes, recognising their dreadful plight and so on. there will be measured, i

am fairly convinced, announced tonight. whether they are increases in the minimum wage, a one—off christmas bone off which would be tax free, —— bonus, whether it is taking tax off overtime payments, these other things that be there. but he has got to be careful because if they are portrayed simply as crumbs, little bits to fob them off, i don't think the yellow vests will be at all satisfied and they are quite prepared to up the pressure once again. i think we are in a period when negotiation will be allowed to happen. i think the christmas period will see this movement die off somewhat but i don't think we should underestimate its potential to bounce back if the people decide that president macron is not being straight with them and he is just giving them titbits. is not being straight with them and he isjust giving them titbits.. lot has been made of the fact that the president's style has really

aggravated people. what do you sense from the leadership about any in eminent change in the way he presents himself? it is a crucial question and it would be fascinating to know what is going for president macron's had. he is a man who has spent his life being told he is the best at everything and being generally admired and liked and loved, with people are really bowing to him and his ideas and conceding that he is generally right about things. and now suddenly he is faced with something which must be com pletely with something which must be completely unprecedented for him and very destabilising for him, which is people saying that they hate him. there is graffiti out there calling for him to be killed. hang macron, i have seen it right outside the office here. it is a difficult moment for him and he will struggle to find the inner resource that he

no doubt has to strike the right tone this evening, and that tone will have to be a mixture of contrition and saying he has got things wrong, but he can't go too far down that road or he will seem insincere. he will have to balance that with the sense that he still believes in the overall message, that that is correct. there will be a lot of messages about more money in people's pocket, and it will have to be something substantial, that he will accompany that with an appeal for a big debate about what france wa nts to for a big debate about what france wants to do with the very generous welfare state. he will say if you wa nt less welfare state. he will say if you want less taxes, fine. but that will have an impact on the services that the state provides. fascinating stuff. hugh schofield in paris, many thanks. in a moment, the weather, but there is victoria derbyshire with what she has got coming up in her programme at ten o'clock. good morning. across 2018, 73 people have died in knife attacks on london's streets, that is so far this year.

behind that shocking statistic our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and friends, who are facing christmas without a loved one. we will talk exclusively to two families who are speaking out for the first time about the impact of such a loss on their lives. we are here at ten o'clock on bbc two, bbc news and online. that is coming up in halfan news and online. that is coming up in half an hour but first we can look at the weather with simon. good morning. it is a fairly quiet start to the week with plenty of dry weather and plenty of bright skies and sunshine this morning for most of us. more cloud increases from the west today, but it will be largely dry. a few showers around north west england and into the netherlands and showers in north—eastern parts of northern ireland as well. cloud increases around western areas, further east, it will stay largely dry and sonny into the afternoon, with temperatures ranging from five

to eight, potentially 11 or 12 degrees in the south—west. tonight we will have more cloud across the western areas. that will keep temperatures above freezing but it is in the east where you have got clearer skies where we can see some rust and temperatures down to minus one or two. —— some frost. a dry day with temperatures of seven to 11 tomorrow. goodbye. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. the european court ofjustice rules that the uk can cancel brexit without the permission of the other 27 members the ruling comes the day before the crucial vote due in the house of commons on theresa may's brexit deal. she's making calls to european leaders as ministers urge mps to back her. the prime minister is best placed, as i mentioned earlier, to secure the right deal for britain. there is a really important decision that everyone has to make tomorrow. the suspect in the case

of murdered british backpacker grace millane appears in court. new zealand's prime minister gives a tearful apology to the family. on behalf of new zealand, i want to apologise to grace's family. your daughter should have been safe here, and she wasn't, and i'm sorry for that. japanese prosecutors formally charge former nissan chairman carlos ghosn for understating his earnings by millions of dollars. time now for the morning briefing, where we bring you up to speed on the stories people are watching, reading and sharing. the european court ofjustice has ruled that the british government can unilaterally reverse its decision to leave the eu, without consulting other member states. thejudges also ruled that this could be done without altering the terms of britain's existing membership. here's the moment the ruling was made. article 50 teu must be interpreted

as meaning that where a member state has notified the european council in accordance with that article of its intention to withdraw from the european union, that article allows that member state, for as long as the withdrawal agreement concluded between that member state and the european union has not entered into force or, if no such agreement has been for as long as the two—year period laid down in article 50.3 teu, possibly extended in accordance with that paragraph has not expired, to revoke that notification unilaterally in an unequivocal and unconditional manner by a notice addressed to the european council in writing, after the member state concerned has taken the revocation decision in accordance with its constitutional requirements. the purpose of that revocation is to confirm the eu membership of that member state concerned under

terms that are unchanged as regards its status as a member state and that revocation brings the withdrawal procedure to an end. that ruling comes with the brexit debate nearing its conclusion in parliament today and the prime ministerfacing a crucial vote tomorrow. speaking on the today programme, the environment secretary scotched rumours of delaying the vote, and denied there was any prospect of him continuing the debate or filibustering to prevent mps casting their vote. i've been working on my speech over the weekend. i'm certainly not going to filibuster. i'm going to make the case that we have just been discussing now and i will also explain that i think the alternatives to supporting this deal are either potentially, a victory for the people's vote campaign, the hard—core remainers, those who want to thwart democracy, or we could have a situation where we have the very uncomfortable circumstances of no deal.

do you think there's any possibility that theresa may, on this vexed question of the backstop, will be able to get something more from the eu? we know she has been talking to significant figures, donald tusk, the eu council president, jean—claude juncker, and other people and again speaking today. is there any leeway there? i think it's always the case that when you have got someone like the prime minister, who is a tough, determined, indefatigable negotiator, that if there is more that can be secured in order to provide mps and the public with reassurance that this is the right deal, then there is no one better placed to get those additional concessions or changes. and concessions, do you think, on the divorce deal, the withdrawal agreement? because this is the treaty that has been agreed, do you think that could really be reopened? i think one worry that i have is that some people of course want us to reopen the withdrawal agreement. you touched earlier on what emmanuel macron said. one of the worries i have is that if we do attempt a fundamental reopening or renegotiation of the withdrawal agreement,

the european union countries who recognise how uncomfortable the backstop is for them may change the withdrawal agreement in a way that may not necessarily be to our advantage. but doesn't the withdrawal agreement have to be opened up in order to get any concession on the backstop? this is the balance and it is an important balance i think for everyone to appreciate. i believe that the prime minister is better placed than anyone to get any changes or any improvements to the overall package but we have to be aware that the deal that the prime minister secured, for the reasons that we discussed earlier, puts european nations in an uncomfortable position and by reopening it, there is a risk that we may not necessarily get everything we wish for. the environment secretary michael goes, there. —— michael gove. with the prime minister possibly facing defeat,

one of her former advisers told radio 4's the westminster hour that a second referendum is the only way out of the current impasse if the deal does not go through. with the prime minister possibly facing defeat, it is far preferable that the deal in some form does go through because i think as we have already touched on in this programme, we as a country want to get on and deal with lots of other things so it benefits us to get a deal done and move on. but let's take for a moment, let's assume it does not happen, then where do you go? i think, if i was sitting there now, advising the pm, i would say that even though i agree it could be poisonous and i think there is all sorts of downsides with it and all sorts of problems, i just think given the impasse we are at, that you have to end up with a second referendum if you can't get the deal through. you have to put it back to the people to have their say. let's have a look now at some of the most popular stories on bbc news today. among the most read stories, the eu court saying the uk can cancel brexit, which we have heard a lot about this morning. strolling down toa

about this morning. strolling down to a couple of non—brexit stories, beyonce singing at an indian event, a lavish indian celebrity wedding with the daughter of india's richest man tying the knot with the son of another indian billionaire this weekend, and beyonce was one of many celebrities flown in along with bollywood stars and guests like hillary clinton, a very starry wedding. number ten, hillary clinton, a very starry wedding. numberten, a domestic story, novembershoppers wedding. numberten, a domestic story, november shoppers at full was the worst since the recession, so the worst since the recession, so the number of people shopping in the uk in november dropped to the lowest level since the 2008 recession and this is partly because of internet shopping and it was very marked particularly on black friday, which showed internet shopping was really of no benefit to physical stores. scrolling down a bit further to the most watched, let's look at the brexit stories, number three, most watched, let's look at the brexit stories, numberthree, boris johnson, the former cabinet

minister, saying he felt a deep sense of responsibility for brexit, having been one of the key figures in the leave campaign and moving down a little bit, story number nine, has northern ireland hit pete brexit? 0f nine, has northern ireland hit pete brexit? of course, the possibility ofa brexit? of course, the possibility of a physical border on the island of a physical border on the island of ireland is one of the key issues in the brexit debate and there is a really interesting story there, with people in northern ireland talking about the effect of being talked about the effect of being talked about all the time in the brexit context about all the time in the brexit co ntext a nd about all the time in the brexit context and some of them feeling they've had enough. lots to see, there. following the appearance of a man in a new zealand court charged with the murder of the british backpacker grace millane, the country's prime minister has given a tearful apology to grace's family. speaking at a press conference, jacinda ardern said there was an "overwhelming sense of hurt and shame that this has happened in our country". i cannot imagine the grief of her family and what they will be

experiencing and feeling right now. my thoughts and prayers are with herfather, david, who is in the country, her mother, gillian, who cannot be here, and her wider family, friends and loved ones. from the kiwis i have spoken to, there is this overwhelming sense of hurt and shame that this has happened in our country, a place that prides itself on our hospitality, on our manaakitanga, especially to those who are visiting our shores. and so on behalf of new zealand, i want to apologise to grace's family. your daughter should have been safe here and she wasn't, and i'm sorry for that. i have advised the family through the police that if there is anything we can do to assist, we are here to help with that. that's it for today's morning briefing.

sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's sally nugent. good morning. we are starting with the newspapers because that is what the top story is all about today. raheem sterling of manchester city says the media, newspapers and tv, are fuelling racism because of the tone they take when talking about black footballers. that is after he was on the end of alleged racist abuse at the end of alleged racist abuse at the weekend. let's have a look at how the newspapers have reacted. the express quotes sterling directly, saying he now expects racist behaviour from fans. the telegraph has him on the cover of the sports pull—out today, reporting that the police are investigating the incident at stamford bridge on saturday. and the guardian says sterling has attacked the media for running stories that quite simply

feel racism. in the last hour, former england internationaljohn barnes has said he believes people are in denial about racism existing in sport. it is not getting worse but because we didn't hear it, we thought it was getting better. in football, what football can do is say if there's any racist chanting, they will kick you out of the ground so for any unconsciously racist football fans, you just have to keep your mouth shut. that does not mean it's getting any better. but in times of confrontation, as you saw, people show their true colours and you can't tell me those three people who are racially abusing him, there would have been hundreds who would have felt like saying the same thing but they did not say it so does that mean it doesn't exist? until we start to tackle it holistically, looking at how to get the racism and the only way we can do that is to tackle the cause, not the symptom. that incident is the symptom, and we have seen symptoms from luis suarez, john terry, so many symptoms and very much like a disease, you have to tackle the cause of racism, not the symptoms and all we're doing is

tackling the symptoms. john barnes speaking on bbc breakfast a short time ago. the trouble at newcastle united continues as they suffered their seventh home defeat of the season, losing 2—1 to wolves. having gone behind early, rafa benitez‘s side equalised through ayoze perez. reduced to ten men after deandre yedlin's red card, they couldn't cling on for a draw. matt doherty with the wolves winner deep into injury time. rafa h rafah benitez was not happy. rangers are second in the scottish premiership after their 1—1 draw at dundee. kenny miller put dundee ahead before nathan ralph was sent off for dangerous foul play. andy halliday equalised from the resulting free kick. the draw moves dundee off the bottom. in the women's super league, manchester city beat birmingham city 1—0 to move level on points with arsenal at the top of the table. the goal came in unfortunate circumstances for birmingham keeper hannah hampton. she missed her kick,

allowing georgia stanway to finish from a tight angle. city are still unbeaten in the league. substitute beth england scored twice as chelsea won 4—0 at brighton. they move back up to third place. elsewhere reading drew with liverpool, and there were wins for west ham and bristol city. it was the game that nearly didn't happen. river plate won the copa libertadores last night. they beat boca juniors 3—1 in extra time to win 5—3 on aggregate. the game had been postponed twice though and moved from buenos aires to madrid because riverfans had attacked the boca team bus before the original match. 62,000 fans packed into the bernabeu whilst these lot celebrated just as hard at home in argentina. ronnie 0'sullivan has won the uk snooker championship for a record seventh time. it was his 19th triple crown title which includes the world, uk championship and the masters. he surpassed stephen hendry‘s previous record after beating

mark allen in york. i played very well today, you know, and i was still having to convince myself to believe that i could win, you know, because that's how hard it felt a match. but, yeah, great to create history, great to beat the nuggets record. amazing to beat my hero's record, stephen hendry, who is the ultimate player. i've still got eight world titles to get, so i'll be chasing that one! that's another thing altogether. now, we hadn't planned on showing you the men's under 23s from the european cross country championships but this was too good to miss. watch as frenchmanjimmy gressier defends his title in a unique way to the surprise of commentator steve cram. jimmy gressier in fine style, coming away to win the gold medalfor... 0h! i said in fine style! jimmy,jimmy,jimmy, what are you doing? his big moment and he fluffed it. the french flags,

everyone's cheering. slow motion, and do the big...oh, no. how not to celebrate winning a major gold medal in the championships. a face plant across the line. if you're not tiring of watching this... go on,jimmy, knee slide, knee slide. 0h. i think that is how we all feel a bit on a monday morning. i hope it has cheered you up. coming up this evening, you can listen live as everton evening, you can listen live as eve rto n ta ke evening, you can listen live as everton take on watford in the premier league. that is one to look forward to. that's all the sport for now. more from the bbc sport centre at 11.15. the headlines on bbc news. the european court ofjustice rules that the uk can cancel brexit the ruling comes the day before the crucial vote due in the house of commons on theresa may's brexit deal. she's making calls to european

leaders and a final push to get mps to back the deal. the suspect in the case of murdered british backpacker grace millane appears in court, as new zealand's prime minister gives a tearful apology to the family. well, in the last few minutes, the uk's gdp figures for october have been released. let's find out what these figures tell us. with me is our economics correspondent andy verity. what do they say? essentially, we grew by 0.1% in october, the economy grew by 0.1% in october, the economy grew just grew by 0.1% in october, the economy grewjust 0.1%, that is exactly in line with what the market was expecting and what was predicted in surveys of economists so it is not a terrible number. 0n the other hand, you have to bear in mind its four 0ctober. within that, services is growing quite well, most of the growth was driven by services, although it was slightly softer than it had been in the summer. we had

quite a strong summer but in the autumn, the economy is showing distinct signs of slowing down. how severe that is is the question. in services and also in trade, there was a slight widening of the trade deficit in october, although exports grew, imports grew by more. looking at november, the more recent indicators, you have some forward—looking indicators likely purchasing managers index which tracks what purchasing managers and finance directors of firms are spending. that was quite weak in november. between 0ctober spending. that was quite weak in november. between october and november. between october and november was when the politics of brexit got really difficult. there isa brexit got really difficult. there is a question as to whether in november, not 0ctober, businesses started to slow down the activity, that we had some kind of brexit pause. excuse me! do you want to a nswer pause. excuse me! do you want to answer the phone or turn it off?|j will leave it off! let's plough there's a time—lag in a set and months, we will know whether the

uncertainty surrounding brexit has had an effect? that's right, we know it is steady as she goes in october, by no means a disaster, it was still growing and services were still expanding but the question is whether in november, which we won't know for another month, business slowdown. many thanks, andy, and you can take your call, now! just a few weeks ago, royal mail urged people posting empty crisp packets to start putting them in envelopes. it was in response to campaigners highlighting the fact that the packets weren't recyclable. today, walkers is launching the first national scheme to collect and recycle crisp bags, hoping that it will prevent millions of them from going to landfill. tim muffett reports. crunch time for the recycling of crisp packets. lots of people are asking when they can start to bring them in. sudz cleaners in lancing, west sussex, one of 200 crisp packet recycling points launching the scheme across the uk. as a nation, we seem to eat a huge amount of crisps. actually, it's quite shocking.

local volunteers like sue are helping to run this scheme. we collect them from the drop—off points, box them up, send them off. we're running out of space in landfill. we need to recycle more. inside most crisp packets is a silvery film that's made of plastic. it keeps the crisps fresh, but it's hard to recycle. crisp packets have been found intact after 33 years. so campaigners say that, if nothing is done, in 33 years' time, there will be 200 billion of them in landfill and in the ocean. why has it taken so long for a major manufacturer like yourselves to embrace recycling in this way? crisp packets have been challenging to recycle within our current waste system, both in terms of collecting them and segregating them and then giving them a market. we have a target by 2025 for all of our packaging to be recycla ble, com posta ble or biodegradable.

however, that's proving a really difficult challenge to crack. some campaigners have been so exasperated, they've been putting crisp packets in postboxes, addressed to manufacturers. this new scheme will also allow people to download a freepost label, so packets can be returned officially, as long as they are in an envelope. they'll end up at this site near blackburn. the process for crisp packets is we shred it, we wash it, we dry it, and we either turn it into flakes or into pellets. they can be turned into sort of outdoor furniture that's weather resistant, like picnic tables, park benches, fence posts. it can go into garden paving. a whole host of things really. campaigner geraint ashcroft is credited with forcing crisp manufacturers into action. his petition received 300,000 signatures. even if we only take 10% of crisp packets from landfill, 10% is still! million packets a day.

launched by walkers, this scheme will accept packaging from any brand of crisp. for many, it's long overdue. tim muffett, bbc news. ministers from around 130 countries are gathering in poland for the final week of the un climate change conference. negotiators have been trying to agree on how to fulfil commitments to cut carbon dioxide emissions, made in paris three years ago. president trump, who's said that the us will pull out of the deal, is sending representatives to promote coal and other fossil fuels. a top executive from the chinese technology giant huawei, who was arrested in canada more than a week ago, has asked to be released on bail. mung wan—jo was detained at the request of the united states, over accusations that she violated sanctions on iran. this should james ra nsley reports. it is thought that telecom giant

huawei's chief financial officer was being held here is canadian prison while she waits to find out if she is being granted bail. china's foreign ministry has summoned the us ambassador in beijing, demanding details of the detention and insisting that america withdraw the arrest warrant. the arrest happened as us president del moral trump and china's xijinping as us president del moral trump and china's xi jinping attempted to de—escalate a better trade war at the g20 summit last week. —— president trump. they insist that meng wanzhou's president trump. they insist that meng wa nzhou's most president trump. they insist that meng wanzhou's most won't impact on talk. it is totally separate from anything i worked on or anything that the trade policy people in the illustration work on. for us, it is unrelated, grim justice. illustration work on. for us, it is unrelated, grimjustice. the huawei executive is accused of violating us sanctions by seven telecoms equipment to iran. she was taken into custody last week in vancouver while changing planes. china's state media called the arrest a targeted

attack against chinaleading technology companies. ca nada's attack against chinaleading technology companies. canada's role asa technology companies. canada's role as a participating racket is becoming more obvious. according to court documents, ms meng has long—standing ties to vancouver dating back at least 15 years as well as significant property holdings in the city. family also sought leave to remain in vancouver if was granted bail, with her husband saying he plans to bring the couple's daughter to vancouver to attend school during the trial. the court hearing is due to resume on monday. james ramsay, bbc news. the bookies' favourite harry redknapp was crowned king of thejungle last night, in the final of i'm a celebrity. the former spurs manager said the programme had taught him "how to laugh again". harry became a firm favourite entertaining fans with his stories about meeting members of the royal family, and his relationship with wife sandra. on leaving thejungle he paid tribute to his fellow celebrities. i'm amazed. i'm amazed i survived three weeks, i'll be honest. when i first came in and i looked and i thought, "oh, my god,

i'm in trouble here". i looked at the group and i thought, "they don't really, none of them are interested in anything i'm interested in, no sport or..." it was only nick really who knew a little bit about football. i thought, "this is going to be a hard couple of weeks". but theyjust dragged me through it, every one of them. they are the most lovely people i've ever met. the whole group, there wasn't one person i could ever say one single bad word about. they were amazing. without them, i never would have survived. they really have helped me. they've pulled me up hills, you know, they've dragged me through the water! laughter. when i've been flagging, they've been pushing me, "come on, harry! get up, you can do it!" one of the show‘s presenters, holly willougby, who's been standing in for ant mcpartlin while he's receiving treatment for alcohol addiction said it was "so wonderful to be able to crown the man that melted our hearts for the last three weeks!" and one of the show‘s other

contestants, x factor‘s fleur east, called harry rednapp an "absolute legend" who'd stolen her heart from day one. one person was killed after a huge storm brought in snow, ice and sleet to the southern parts of the us over the weekend. more than 12 inches of snow fell around north carolina on sunday, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power. a state of emergency has been declared there and in virginia. now it's time for a look at the weather with simon king. good morning. we are going to see a battle between mild air from the west and cold air from the east. before that, it is fairly quiet to start off weather—wise, drive for many of us today, after a bright start, some sunshine, cloud increasing from the west. as you can see from the satellite imagery, where you have clear skies across

many parts of the uk this morning, cloud towards western areas will start to move in, all associated with this weather system, that where the front moving its way into northern ireland but high—pressure is the dominant weather pattern for many today. we will see a few showers just around the north—east and northern ireland, south—eastern scotland, some moving through north wales and north—west england perhaps the midlands as well. for most of us, it is dry. cloud increasing across western areas. we hold onto sunshine across the east and temperatures getting up to 6—9 or 10 celsius. overnight tonight, cloud continuing across western areas keeping temperatures up above freezing but where you have clear skies in north—eastern scotland, down the eastern side of england, thatis down the eastern side of england, that is where a frost is likely to develop into tuesday morning. temperatures likely down to —1, —2 and meanwhile, beneath a cloud in the west, temperatures staying up, 5-7. on the west, temperatures staying up, 5—7. on tuesday, we will see some

sunshine across eastern areas initially but then the cloud will tend to increase a bit into the afternoon. elsewhere, quite cloudy but again, a few breaks to give us a few glimmers of sunshine. rain out towards the west and ireland will stay there. drive almost again and temperatures once again about 7—9. that weather front will gradually move its way further eastward as we go into wednesday. because it is running into an area of high pressure it weakens and it will give ita pressure it weakens and it will give it a few spots of rain across these western areas, where again, it will be mostly cloudy for many during wednesday. a few breaks perhaps across eastern areas of the uk. temperatures about 7—10 are possibly 11. as we go into thursday, that is when we will start to see these easterly wind is starting to develop, with still a line of south—westerly when sitting towards the west of the uk but we think that on thursday, the easterlies will set

up on thursday, the easterlies will set up across on thursday, the easterlies will set up across most parts of the uk so it will turn colder by the end of the week. goodbye. hello. it's monday. it's 10 o'clock. i'm victoria derbyshire. the prime minister has 24 hours to save her brexit hours to save her brexit deal and herjob. but will the big brexit vote really go ahead tomorrow? the environment secretary says yes and he's confident theresa may is the right person to get the deal through. the prime minister is best placed, as i mentioned earlier, to secure the right dealfor britain. there's a really important decision that everyone has to make tomorrow, and that is will we support a withdrawal agreement that will allow us to leave the european union on march the 29th in good order?