hello. it's monday. it's 10 o'clock. i'm victoria derbyshire. the prime minister has 2a 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? we'll talk to conservative and labour politicians this morning. is labour ready to step in and govern if needs be? also, 73 people have died in knife attacks on london's streets in 2018 so far. behind that shocking statistic are mums, dads, brothers, sisters, cousins and friends who are facing christmas without a loved one. we'll talk exclusively to these families who are speaking

out for the first time. the fa, chelsea fc and the police are all investigating the alleged racism suffered by man city's raheem sterling on saturday. sterling himself says some newspapers fuel racism. is he right? and tell us this morning what racist abuse have you have experienced watching or playing football. do let us know today. hello. welcome to the programme. we're live until 11 this morning. ian wright says "the bad old days are back" when it comes to racism in football. what is your own experience of racism in the game? is ian wright right? if you are emailing and

you're happy for us to contact you to ta ke you're happy for us to contact you to take part in the programme, please include your phone number in the message. if you are texting, you will be charged at the standard network rate. now a summary of the day's news so far. thank you. theresa may has a crucial week ahead of her as she embarks on a final push to win over wavering tory mps, just one day before a key commons vote on her brexit plan. she'll hold a series of private meetings with backbenchers to try to limit the scale of the rebellion. she's also under pressure to delay the vote in the hope that she can win some concessions from the eu. meanwhile, judges at the european court ofjustice have ruled that the uk can suspend the brexit process at any time without the eu's permission. they ruled that this could be done without altering the terms of britain's membership. the uk government has said it has no intention of halting the withdrawal process. new zealand's prime minister jacinda ardern has given an emotional apology to the family of the british backpacker, grace millane, whose body was found just over a week after she disappeared in auckland.

a 26—year—old man has appeared in court charged with murder. ms ardern said the 22—year—old should have been safe there. 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. the premier league says anyone found to have been racially abusing one of its players deserves to be punished. manchester city striker raheem sterling was allegedly abused by fans in saturday's defeat at chelsea. sterling said afterwards on social media that newspapers help to fuel racism in the way they portray black footballers.

he pointed out the differences in tabloid reporting of how black and white players spend their wages. chelsea and the metropolitan police are investigating the allegations. and we'll have more on this at around 10.30. the bookies' favourite harry redknapp was crowned king of the jungle last night, in the final of i'm a celebrity. the former spurs manager said the programme had taught him how to laugh again. he said his grandchildren would be jumping round the living room in excitement. harry had never watched the show before appearing on it, but became a firm favourite with his stories about meeting members of the royal family, and his relationship with wife sandra. that's it for me. now back to victoria. sorry. i was at the wrong side of the studio. and that came to an end before i was expecting it. it is

probably the drama of the week ahead, let's be honest. it's the biggest week yet in the brexit process. the government says the vote in the house of commons on mrs may's brexit deal is going ahead tomorrow. a big defeat could end her premiership, the government and potentially could trigger a general election. the stakes for theresa may couldn't be higher. first three conservative mps. dr phillip lee, a formerjustice minister who resigned over the government's position on brexit, is going to vote against mrs may's deal and is campaigning for a second referendum. if that ever happened, he would vote reamin. anne marie morris also intends to vote against mrs may's deal. she wants what she describes a clean global brexit. and former minister mark garnier who will vote for mrs may's brexit deal.

defeat is widely expected. should she call of the vote? no, the music has got to stop at some point. she call of the vote? no, the music has got to stop at some pointm she call of the vote? no, the music has got to stop at some point. it is about not facing humiliation of a big defeat tomorrow night. i would frame the vote differently. if i was the government, i would put it to the government, i would put it to the comments, saying subject to a public mandate, which will pass the commons tomorrow. if the government wants to win tomorrow it needs to amend its motion and so subject to a public mandate. meaning another referendum. the government's deal, which by the way is the only legally and practically deliverable brexit oi'i and practically deliverable brexit on the table versus where we now, being a memberof on the table versus where we now, being a member of the eu. there is a majority for that in parliament? no, if that was put forward tomorrow, it would pass. would it? no. i can explain if you want. there are more

people on the labour side who would vote for that. there is a whip, the government whip goes without amendment, and there are more people oi'i amendment, and there are more people on the labour side that would break the government's wet and there are oi'i the government's wet and there are on our the government's wet and there are on our side. as things stand, by voting against her deal, philip and anne—marie, you are unleashing you don't know what, but potentially the end of her premiership. your government, triggering a general election. are you prepared for that? at the end of the day, what will happen when that goes down is that we will be in a position where the only feasible option as a managed exit which you call or no deal. that is not the only feasible option. you don't know what you are unleashing when the vote is defeated. is that fair? that is there. i am voting for this deal because i genuinely think it is the best deal we will get and i think it is quite good actually. when we look at the future agreement

with the eu, we will be working with friends and neighbours in the eu on a positive way forward. but there are so many a positive way forward. but there are so many people voting against this deal to murrow who wanted different things. some people want a hard, difficult brexit and some people want to know brexit and a second referendum. we should take it as it lies. tomorrow night we have the best option on the table. but the best option on the table. but the reality is that you asked whether or not the sword of damocles would be unleashed and the truth is that it will not be because the dup have agreed that they would support the government on any vote of no confidence if the deal goes, so they will not be a general election. and theissue will not be a general election. and the issue about the premiership, i think that is already in doubt. and i think we need somebody who believes in brexit who will lead us out. that sounds straightforward. i agree with mark that this is the best brexit deal that will be offered but it is not what was promised on the campaign buses in 2016 and the gap between it and what was promised to the public is politically fraudulent to proceed in this way without the informed

consent of the public in another referendum. it is fraudulent not to respect the vote of the people. how can it be undemocratic to have a vote? in 1975... can it be undemocratic to have a vote? in 1975. .. stick can it be undemocratic to have a vote? in 1975... stick with the present, please. no, this is important. allow me to finish. in 2016 we had the referendum before the negotiations started, so where we ended up is not what was promised oi'i we ended up is not what was promised on the side of the bus, and that this connect isjust not right.“ 01’ this connect isjust not right.“ or when mrs may loses, does whatever happens after that depend on the margin of defeat? there is some spin being put about by those close to her that a loss of 75 or 50 votes or less might resemble some kind of victory allowing the government to fight on and she could dash to brussels and get some kind of modest

changes. it is nonsense to think that the government losing a vote by anything is a victory. so she has got to go? she has got to consider her position, i think. we would be foolish not to confront that. the other important point is that there are some people who think by defeating this vote we can go back to brussels and renegotiate with a mandate, and negotiation is a two—way street. if we go back and they can we have this to get it through parliament, the french will stay give us fishing and the spanish will say give us gibraltar. so we have to know what we would concede to get what we want before she goes away. and i don't think the eu will negotiate in any event. whether we go norway, there is no option other than leave in a managed way on world trade terms. they will free of us agree that going back to brussels is pretty futile. which brings me to the point that we go either anne—marie's way on this, which is managed. tried and tested, the world

trade way of working. managed? we are due to leave on the 29th of march selling and has got to bring forward legislation to stop that happening or revoked the article 50 letter. the government has already put in place significant preparation for exiting on what you call no deal. but unless there is legislation to stop and no—deal brexit, it could happen. the government in terms of opposing no do legislation, the dominic grieve amendment, has no validity. even if that passed, it would not read but what we have done in triggering article 50. the only way you can stop it is by primary legislation and there is not time for that. parliament will not allow no deal to pass. the legal position is as you have just described but politically it will not happen. if this deal is going to die, we will be left with a choice of managed no deal or a

second referendum to give it back to the public, with two legally and practically deliverable options on that. that is the choice. mark, you talked about the prime minister considering her position, quote unquote, should she lose. your collea g u es unquote, should she lose. your colleagues are already taking to the airwaves to set out their pitches and failing to rule out going for herjob should mrs may fail. who would you rather lead the party? esther mcvey, borisjohnson, amber rudd, sajid javid? esther mcvey, borisjohnson, amber rudd, sajid javid? orjeremy hunt. i ama rudd, sajid javid? orjeremy hunt. i am a soft centre—right. rudd, sajid javid? orjeremy hunt. i am a soft centre-right. so amber rudd? none of the above would be my response to that list. if she is forced out or she resigns, which she said she wouldn't do, if i make you

choose a preferred name, who would you go for? i think it is totally dictated by how the brexit process turns out. if we get to a second referendum, which is one of the two options on the table, and it goes remain, the conservative party will have to think long and hard about how to proceed at that point. have to think long and hard about how to proceed at that pointm have to think long and hard about how to proceed at that point. it is not one of the options on the table. mrs may says there will never be a second referendum while she is around. in view of the fact that parliament will not allow no deal and the deal will have fallen tomorrow, what is the option? going out on world trade organisation terms. wto terms are too much of an economic shock for us. bearing in mind if we have that, dairy products go mind if we have that, dairy products 9° up mind if we have that, dairy products 90 up by mind if we have that, dairy products go up by 35% across the board. that is not right. we can go through the numbers. it is right. it is. it isn't. take it from the trade minister. you can also take it from a lawyer who has read the details and that is not right. on twitter:

how can anyone negotiate a good deal from a position of strength and half of the mps arejumping up and down in the background saying we don't wa nt to in the background saying we don't want to leave and pushing for a loses' vote? and this: how can it be democratic for the same people to have another vote now. who do the ha rd have another vote now. who do the hard brexiteer think will be voting? the chinese? the same people manage those who have died and young people 110w those who have died and young people now eligible to vote. 0k, thank you. is it definitely going ahead? the vote tomorrow? absolutely. it would be crazy not to. thank you for coming on. coming up: in a year where knife crime has gone up 16% in london, we bring together two families to talk about their lives after their loved ones were killed in separate, unrelated stabbings just a couple of miles apart from each other in north london. and does the way some newspapers write about young black footballers fuel racism in the game? mancester city forward raheem sterling thinks so.

he says not all players are given an equal chance by the press. we'll speak to former players leroy rosenior and garth crooks and the anti—discrimination charity kick it out in their first interview since the incident at the weekend. do get in touch with us throughout the morning. use the hashtag victoria live. you can text, email and use whatsapp as well. so far over 2018, 73 people have been killed in knife attacks on the streets of the capital. it's a year when knife crime has soared, rising by 16% in london, according to the latest figures from the met police, and has left politicians and police and communities wrangling over how to bring it under control. behind the statistics are dozens of mums, dads, brothers, sisters, cousins and friends who are facing this christmas without a loved

one for the first time. 20—year—old elyon poku was killed three months ago at a party in stamford hill in north london. he was a dj known as nana banger, with a promising future ahead of him. no one has so far been brought to justice for his killing. at the start of this year, dad of three daniel frederick was fatally stabbed walking home after a hospital appointment with his pregnant partner. it happened in stoke newington, also in north london, in a case of mistaken identity. five teenagers aged between 16 and 18 years of age were sentenced in october to a total of 64 years in prison for the attack. relatives of both men are here to talk about life after the deaths of their loved ones, killed in separate and unrelated stabbings just a few miles apart. tony poku and doris duodu are here, elyon's parents,

as is samantha appiah, elyon's cousin, and daniel frederick's sister is here, louise samuel. louise was holding her brother's hand as doctors attempted to save him. thank you so much for coming on the programme. i appreciate this is incredibly difficult for you. i know that you feel it is important to speak at this time. tony, is that right? yes. how are you? i'm fine, thanks. how are you? fine, thank you. elyon was your only child. how do you try to keep close to him? since his dad, the family have been in one accord. we share everything together. —— since his death.

smiles, playing, doing everything as one big family, from birth. everyone is attached to each other as a family. so you are really close, you are tight—knit? family. so you are really close, you are tight-knit? yes, tighten it. tony, i think you have started sleeping in elyon's bed as a way of being close to him? since they took elyon's life from us, i think it is a big loss to the entire family and the community, and especially when we are indoors we are together but 110w we are indoors we are together but now there is a space, a vacuum in his room, because when we pass in

front of his bedroom, we become emotional. so i thought it wise that ifi emotional. so i thought it wise that if i sleep in his bedroom, this brings the family back together. that is why i choose to sleep in his room so that is why i choose to sleep in his room so that his mum will not get scared of this room. i want to encourage her. although elyon is not on this earth, his spirit is still with us. i wonder if it is possible to put into words what it is like waiting at a hospital while your son is in theatre, having been attacked.

to be quite honest, it was saturday, early morning, at about one o'clock, when i had a phone call from one of my cousins. he says, uncle, where are you, and i said at this time of night where do you think i am? he said get ready. the police are coming to the house. i said what for? all of a sudden he said elyon has been stabbed. by the time i got ready, the police were already at my doorstep. so we went to the police carandi doorstep. so we went to the police car and i asked the officer where is the ambulance? they said they have taken him to royal london. as soon as we got to royal london, i rushed to the emergency ward to see where

he was but i couldn't find him at the emergency ward. they said i should go and sit at reception. at the reception, one of the co nsulta nts the reception, one of the consultants came and said to me, let's go to the theatre. when i went to the theatre, nana's sister was there. that was his dj name? nana banger. i saw him lying in the theatre bed and his sister there with the consultant. i said nana. because he was under anaesthetic, no response. i moved about ten metres,

and when i came back, the doctors said that is the end. i couldn't even stand on my feet. tears started flowing and i was nervous, shaking, because he is my only son. he is his mum's only son as well. i said oh my god. i was screaming at the consultant, please give him a last chance. please give him a last chance. please give him a last chance. and the consultant said that's all i can do. so we started crying. they told us it is a crime scene so crying. they told us it is a crime scene so we crying. they told us it is a crime scene so we should leave the theatre. to be quite honest, i didn't know how i left the theatre. when we got to the main entrance, i

saw a whole heap of boys and girls at the reception. the police told me if they don't leave, they have got to leave. these people were not prepared to leave the reception because they missed their hero. their mentor, the one who cared for them. so i persuaded them and they started to move, one after the other until the last person moved from the reception hall. then they took us through. doris, i know you are finding this incredibly difficult and you are very upset but i want to check if

there is anything you want to say about your son now. you don't need to. i know you said you wanted to be on here to be alongside tony to support him. it is very hard for me. i totally understand that. ijust wa nted i totally understand that. ijust wanted to see. samantha, the impact ona wanted to see. samantha, the impact on a family, and the wider family, and friends, and community, is searing, utterly devastating. and i am not sure if people understand that ripple effect. it is. it breaks your heart. this is my auntie and uncle. i have to go there every morning after my school run just to make sure they are ok. he is my little cousin. life is not the same.

i look at his pictures every day. i look at videos of him. because he was a dj, he had an icloud thing and we can hear his voice, djing, and i listen to that. it is very sad. louise, there are similarities with what happened to your brother. you will also at the hospital. you were holding his hand. can you tell our audience what that experience was like? it was difficult. i thinki was optimistic that he would pull through. under the sheets i was trying to touch his hand to say wake up. wake up. when i saw that they had given him five extra blood bags and they wanted to see if they could

see where his heart rate would get to, and when it came back to 30, i could see it was not going to work and he would not pull through and i told my family he was gone and everybody broke down in the theatre. i was still holding his head in my hands. ijust i was still holding his head in my hands. i just make i was still holding his head in my hands. ijust make sure that he was 0k. and that he was at least leaving the earth in peace. can i ask what you said to him? i saw a tear come down his eye and i said to him, "it is ok to leave this earth in peace. we are here with you." for most people it is unimaginable, although a number of families have been going through this this year in

particular. but in previous years as well. i wonder if you have any words for each other to families who have lost loved ones in violent attacks not very far from each other in north london. what could you say, if anything, to tony and doris and it is and louise? it is going to be a ha rd is and louise? it is going to be a hard road. it is not something that you are going to forget very easily but you have each other to keep strong. and just keep falling on each other, anytime you feel like breaking down just do just do it. the most important thing is to encourage other people around you to do more around situations such as this. daniel was do more around situations such as this. danielwas attacked by do more around situations such as this. daniel was attacked by five

teenagers who thought he was someone else. it was said in court that they we re else. it was said in court that they were taking revenge for some kind of slight. your brother wasn't the man that they were looking for. nevertheless, they stabbed him seven times in the back. that is something that i know you play over in your head, don't you? i guess when the witness explained exactly what took place, i could imagine it taking place. as well as my brother being tall and big as he is, he doesn't really like to fight. i could imagine him just backing up and not really taking action. the witness said that they surrounded him quite quickly. they couldn't tell who was

doing what. they just quickly. they couldn't tell who was doing what. theyjust saw movement. that is what plays in our mind, feeling overprotective, not being there to help him in those circumstances. those youths were jailed for eight years, ten years, nine years, 17 years and one for a minimum of 20 years. all but one had previous convictions for carrying knives dating back to 2016. what do you think of the punishment system and the laws regarding knives in our country? really silly. i didn't realise it was that bad, to be honest with you. the 18—year—old, he was already 18, so he should have gotan was already 18, so he should have got an adult punishment, but because he did it with minors, they brought his sentencing down. what i was

really expecting was that his minimum, which would have been 25, they would at least have brought the others up, but they didn't. they we re others up, but they didn't. they were trying to be fair because they we re were trying to be fair because they were young people. what do you think about that? well, you do the crime, you should be... i am about that? well, you do the crime, you should be... iam not about that? well, you do the crime, you should be... i am not here to ta ke you should be... i am not here to take anyone else's life away from them, but at the same time, you are meant to do full sentencing. yes. tony, the people who attacked your son have not been brought to justice at this point and the investigation is ongoing. he was at a party where there were reportedly about 200 people so people there might still have information about what happened. what would you say to those people if they haven't yet come forward after what happened three months ago? please... i appeal to you guys at the party, if you

know anything about the perpetrators who killed elyon, please pass on the information to the authorities or call crimestoppers so that these people and be brought tojustice, so that knife crime will come to an end. will it come to an end? i mean, what do you want politicians, police officers, communities to do? what i wa nt officers, communities to do? what i want the politicians... the police to do is, the community have lost confidence in them, and they have lost confidence in the community. if

the community passes the information to the police, at least it will come out, and the police, the information that they will receive from the community meg bailey it out, so the community meg bailey it out, so the community are scared to give evidence because the police will betray them. so let's be honest and keep information open, both the police and the community. when we do this, the revenge killing will come to an end and london will live in peace. i think higher sentencing, i think they should make examples of... nojudge orjury should be fair they young people just because they are young or they were playing football or they had good grades. if

you've done the crime, you should pay, you should do the time. ok. thank you very much for coming on the programme and talking to us. i know it has been incredibly difficult. we appreciate it. thank you. thank you also for inviting us. not at all. thank you. manchester city and england player raheem sterling says newspapers are helping to "fuel racism" by the ways in which they portray young black footballers. sterling posted on instagram after experiencing alleged racist abuse from chelsea fans during city's match at stamford bridge, an allegation that chelsea and the metropolitan police are investigating. in his post, he said he "had to laugh" when he heard the alleged racist remarks during the game because he expects "no better". and then he went on to compare the portrayal of team—mates — one black player, one white player — buying houses

in mail 0nline articles. the headline referring to tosin adarabioyo focuses on how he spent £2.25 million on a property "despite having never started a premier league match". by contrast, phil foden, who's white, "buys new £2 million home for his mum" and is later described as having "set up a future". sterling said, "all i have to say is have a second thought about fair publicity and give all players an equal chance". let's speak now to garth crooks, former player for spurs and various other clubs and the first black chairman of the footballers' union, the professional footballers' association. leroy rosenior, former fulham and west ham player who went on to be a manager. he had bananas thrown at him and nazi salutes as a player in the 19805 and ‘90s. and troy townsend from anti discrimination charity kick it out, giving their first interview on what happened at the weekend. thank you forjoining us. raheem

sterling says newspapers help quote fuel racism and regressive behaviour, do you agree? i've got to say i do. you only have to look back in history of how raheem sterling has been portrayed for the last few yea rs, has been portrayed for the last few years, you know, exclusive of his talent and ability, the target of what he does generally to support his family, his every move, how he spends his money. none of it is positive. it is littered across all the pages, from front to back, even the pages, from front to back, even the back pages are negative towards him. he has spoken very well about his experience and how it makes him feel. he should not bejudged on anything about his ability as a professional footballer. —— on anything but his ability. who do you think is responsible for the racism because demand is it partly newspapers and media coverage?” think we have to be very careful, whether we are in the media, whether we played the game, how we conduct

ourselves. 0n we played the game, how we conduct ourselves. on saturday, i was at sta mford ourselves. on saturday, i was at stamford bridge and i've got to say, amidst some quite shocking behaviour from a small section of the stamford bridge crowd, raheem sterling's behaviour was impeccable. year. no jumping in the ground or kung fu kicks, he got on with hisjob and conducted himself brilliantly. —— in the crowd. his conduct is really important amidst sometimes hostile behaviour. but where do you think that racism comes from? it comes from everywhere, all our institutions, the media included. i think politics has tried to address that, with the institutional stance, or the unwitting slant on institutions and racism, sometimes things are not done deliberately, they are done unwittingly. but we have got to be aware of our conduct. leroy rossini, you had bananas

thrown at you and nazi salutes directed towards you when you were playing in the 19805 and 19905. can you tell the audience what that is like? when i had a nazi salutes, i was 17 years old and i was on the pitch with another black player, paul parker and at the time, i wa nted paul parker and at the time, i wanted the ground to swallow me up because i'd never seen so much hatred directed towards my5elf. because i'd never seen so much hatred directed towards myself. i left that game and i had to decide whether i wanted to carry on playing football and i came close to giving it up. fortunately, i decided to carry on because my parents, cities and friends said i shouldn't let anything like that stop me playing but it went to a point where i wasn't sure i wanted to carry on. we are talking about raheem sterling but he is absolutely right about the media, andi but he is absolutely right about the media, and i totally agree with troy and glass, sometimes things are done unwittingly but the language used is very important and i will give you

an example, i played with andy cole who was away described as being arrogant and maybe chris waddle was described as being confident. you might not think there is a lot of difference but there is a world of difference but there is a world of difference between those words, andy cole was a confident playerjust like chris waddle. whenjohn barnes played for england, when he played well, he was in england by and when he did not play well, he was the jamaican born john barne5, he did not play well, he was the jamaican bornjohn barnes, and that was coming from the media which fuelled... i wouldn't say it is raci5m but it fuel5 a different way of looking at black people and it is used a lot, certainly in certain newspapers today. troy, kick it out 5ay5 newspapers today. troy, kick it out says there is little leadership at the top of the blonde this, pointing fingers at the premier league, the fa and the pfa, the players union. after the kick it out statement yesterday, the fa came up with a statement on the pfa has just condemned the increasing racial abu5e members have been receiving from the terraces and they encourage all clu b5 to

from the terraces and they encourage all clubs to take the strong responsible action for fans found guilty of racially abusing player5 and they go on to commend raheem sterling for his professionalism during the incident and says it stands with him in calling for the pre55 stands with him in calling for the press to consider coverage of all footballers carefully and and the imbalanced coverage aimed at young back players. they say they have been aware for a few months of the targeting raheem sterling face5 been aware for a few months of the targeting raheem sterling faces as have your organisation, what do you wa nt have your organisation, what do you want the people at the top of the game to do? to recognise, first and foremost. the people at the top don't represent raheem sterling. they are different to him and they won't understand the impact of what the words and actions are against him. we don't have people at the top that looked like raheem sterling. we need to have more diverse boardrooms and the media needs to be more diver5e and the media needs to be more diverse as well. then maybe the influence of the stories will change. football can do as much as it wants to do in terms of supporting the players but we have to have influencing big po5ition5 supporting the players but we have to have influencing big positions as well. i think that is the next age that we are looking at, better

representation and things are happening at the moment behind—the—scenes. happening at the moment behind-the-scenes. why would that stop supporters... i did not say it would stop. allegedly racially abusing a player as he picks up the ball? we are in a period of time when the country is struggling, i'm not a politician but brexit has come into play got a lot. is that releva nt to into play got a lot. is that relevant to what happens to remain stunning? i think it's relevant to everything that happens at the moment, there was a banana skin on a football pitch only a week ago and i never thought i would see anything like that again in english football, leroy has spoken about the impact of actions towards him. those things are as relevant today as they were in the time when lee white and garth we re in the time when lee white and garth were playing. ian wright said the bad old days were back and do you agree? we are seeing elements of it without a shadow of a doubt. if you'd said to me a year ago that in 2018, we would see nana skins thrown ona 2018, we would see nana skins thrown on a football field, in 2018, —— ba na na on a football field, in 2018, —— banana skins. 30 years after i gave up

banana skins. 30 years after i gave up football? i thought you would need to be certified but that is what is happening, that is the reality, and that is why i think what troy is saying needs to be taken what troy is saying needs to be ta ken seriously. what troy is saying needs to be taken seriously. something strange is happening in our country. leroy, when you watch the footage of what was happening with raheem sterling at the weekend, how did that make you feel? i was that with a friend of mine, don hutchison, and we both saw it live, we were watching the game, and don was totally outraged andi game, and don was totally outraged and i was a bit like, not surprised. i know garth said about the banana skin but we all know that there is still elements of society who think like that and behave like that. i was explaining to don that it was not the person who is abusing raheem who we are concentrating on, but it is tightly outrageous but look at the reaction of the people around him, all the other people in the crowd, it was like it was normal and that was what really upset me. sorry, if they find those particular

supporters and it should not be difficult to find them, and they are found guilty of racially abusing raheem sterling, what should happen to them? they should be punished, i think. what kind of punishment? i think. what kind of punishment? i think some kind of community service and some kind of education alongside it. the two have to go hand—in—hand, it's no good punishing somebody if they are not aware of what they are doing being wrong. some kind of education alongside it as well, to kind of try and explain to them the effect it has on people and society. what should happen to those people? exactly what leroy said, i mean, we provide education anyway to supporters but they have to want the education. in the meantime, should they be able to go back to stamford bridge with yellow no, they should totally be banned from the game until they accept their actions. then they are integrated back into the game over a period of time through education and understanding.

if they show remorse, that is it, for me. you would let them back in? no, i wouldn't come if they don't show any remorse to their actions and what they have done, but otherwise, there's a way of bringing people back in. what should happen to them? there always has to be room for redemption. i think kick it out has been famous for offering educational advice and if people are remorseful... it educational advice and if people are remorseful. .. it is educational advice and if people are remorseful... it is about changing behaviour, banning orders are fine and people need to be punished but it is about changing behaviour and if we can do that, it is a win—win situation. but make no mistake, there is no hiding place for these people in football anymore. we have worked very hard in kick it out to ensure that football clubs identify the culprits, ban them and hand them to the police if necessary after they have done it, arsenal and spurs we re they have done it, arsenal and spurs were brilliant last weekend doing it andi were brilliant last weekend doing it and i assume chelsea will do the same. football is really looking to

stamp this out. but they must be punished in the first instance. in terms of the education you have talked about because as you say, you can ban people because it does not change their attitude. tell me how the conversation goes when you go to educate someone who has been found guilty of a racially aggravated offence, how do you begin? first it is about understanding who they are, giving them the opportunity to talk about why they did it, the impact of why they did it, do they see it from the other side? do they see the impact of throwing a banana skin on a football pitch and historically what that means to black players? we have not mentioned racism and the ba na na have not mentioned racism and the banana skin, the story at the moment are not mentioning racism with that but you talk to any black player and thatis but you talk to any black player and that is the first thing they will say when they see a banana on a football pitch. anyone in britain in 2018 knows the significance of a banana... not necessarily, there's people that. they don't understand

the significance of a banana skin landing at the feet of a black player with yellow no. astonishing as that is, what i am thinking about, i want to know what the rationale is of a white supporter throwing a banana or abusing a black player when he's got black players in his own team. i would like to know the rationale of that. that is the starting point. the absurdity of all of that, that has to be unpacked. leroy, go ahead. it is going into schools at the other end, and if he is abusing raheem sterling, he's on the other team, you're right, there there's no rationale, but going back to the rationale, but going back to the rationale, i go into schools, with show racism the red card, and they don't understand why people who are racist. it is at adults who don't get it. troy is right, when you start to explain to someone the actual impact, not just

start to explain to someone the actual impact, notjust banter, it is not just love, it actual impact, notjust banter, it is notjust love, it is more than that, the effect it has on that person, theirfamily that, the effect it has on that person, their family and that, the effect it has on that person, theirfamily and their community, most people understand that and we'll it on board and say they did not realise. —— they will ta ke they did not realise. —— they will take it on—board. that is what is talking about when he talks about remorse and if you do that, the effect it has notjust on the person you are abusing but on society. 99% of people understand that. there's that 1% who you will never be able to change, who are racist and i believe they will always be racist but for the vast majority of people, they don't think like that and they don't want to think like that and thatis don't want to think like that and that is why i'm talking about those people in the crowd, maybe they don't want to get involved and they shouldn't, they should be reporting, it is not their fault but they have to ta ke it is not their fault but they have to take some kind of responsibility when things happen around them to report it to the right people and make sure it does not happen again. and do you think the premier league, the fa, the pfa are strong enough on this? we could all be stronger, if

i'm honest, we could all do a bit more. when something like this, raheem sterling is a top player, playing at the top level but let's be serious, racism has existed and still exists, statistics have come out recently, 53% are dominated by racism at grassroots level, over 70%, it is festering in all areas of the game and football can take a really big stand to make sure we provide the right lines to support people like raheem sterling, and young children on grassroots pitches as well. we need to marry it up, closer together. briefly, there is good news at the end of this story, there's these black boys who now have an opportunity to earn a lot of money, to look after their parents and families, and these young boys, two generations behind me, not going away. they are here to stay. britain, get used to it. ok. thank you forjoining us. . we've had a statement by anthonyjoseph —

whose mail article about man city youngster tosin adarabioyo reportedly buying an expensive house despite not starting for city was highlighted by sterling as an example of "fuelling racism". he vehemently denies it was in any way racist and says he has been racially abused himself as a result of the controversy. and he does not write the headline. thank you forjoining us. today is a massive week for brexit. as we heard earlier on the show, there's a fierce debate still happening in the conservative party as competiting visions of brexit push to have their views put into practice. but labour, you won't be surprised to hear, are also under pressure on brexit. shami chakrabarti, baroness chakra barti, is a peer in the house of lords and the shadow attorney general — that's the top lawyer in the cabinet or shadow cabinet. shejoins me now from westminster. thank you forjoining us. should theresa may delayed this and try to get some last—minute concessions because yellow i don't... it is so difficult to know what is going on

in her mind at the moment. of course, we are hearing different briefings coming out of number ten. clearly some people are suggesting that she should avoid what should be a very big defeat. what is your view? i would like her to think again so to delay? 0nly view? i would like her to think again so to delay? only if she is prepared to go back and negotiate along the lines that we support, jobs first brexit. can you confirm that if mrs may loses this vote, labour will try to bring down the government by calling a motion of no confidence? i'm afraid i can't confirm that and the reason why i can't is because so much will depend on the scale of the defeat... really? the parliamentary arithmetic, so whatever happens, we are going to have to work with other parties in the house of commons. yes, we might well seek some kind of vote along the lines you suggest. but only if the defeat is massive, you seem

but only if the defeat is massive, you seem to be saying? only if we feel there is a realistic prospect of working with other parties to win the vote. ok, right, so you would have to get the dup to back you and that might be unlikely because yellow the question is, and this is why the scale of the defeat may be important... the scale of the defeat might affect some of her own conservative colleagues, alongside the dup and other minority parties, that labour would have to work with, if we wanted to either try to form our own minority government or bring about a general election. this is why i'm really trying to answer your question but it is so difficult because there are so many variables and the moment. i don't know if this is easy or difficult but is the labour party ready to take over if needs be? i believe so. you believe so? we are ready to take over because since last summer's general election, we have been preparing for

government and we have got our own very clear plan of how we would negotiate exit and it comes with very different priorities are those that mrs may seems to have been pursuing. and do you have any evidence at all that brussels would listen to your approach, to your plan? why i think they would be more amenable to us is that in one crucial area in particular, and that is workers' rights, consumer and environmental protections, we don't just want to match europe, we want to keep moving forward together for greater progress in the future. that makes us a much more attractive proposition, i think, makes us a much more attractive proposition, ithink, to makes us a much more attractive proposition, i think, to our european neighbours. and if you found yourself in government, possibly, you know, working alongside the snp although they want to remain in europe, you say that you want to respect the result of the referendum, but if you found yourself in government, would you

consider changing your mind on brexit and remaining consider changing your mind on brexitand remaining in, as consider changing your mind on brexit and remaining in, as the uk is now allowed to do according to the legal ruling today? first, the legal ruling is no surprising me. would you consider changing your mind? we've got a very clear conference position which was quite an achievement to bring together the biggest political party in europe. we say that we would prefer to negotiate the brexit we think is the best way to honour the past referendum result but if we can't break the impasse in the house of commons, we can't rule anything out, including a second referendum thank you forjoining us. baroness chakrabarti you forjoining us. baroness chakra barti talking to you forjoining us. baroness chakrabarti talking to us from westminster. in november there was a spike in the number of migrants trying to cross the english channel in small inflatable dinghies, with more than 100 migrants crossing from northern france. unusually, the majority of those rescued by coastguards said that they were from iran. it's left many asking, why iran, and why now? the answer lies thousands

of miles away in serbia, so our reporter rana rahimpour went to belgrade to find out more and a warning — there are some images you may find disturbing in her report. inches from the road, pedran from iran is risking his life to get to the european union. this footage, sent to us by his friends, shows him clinging onto the bottom of a lorry. he had been staying in a refugee camp in serbia for the last two years. but he's repeatedly tried to cross the illegally to cross the border illegally towards western europe. iranian migrants call this "playing the game". but for this player, the game ended early. pedran became depressed and alcoholic and last week, he froze to death in a forest in serbia. others in the camp watched as his body was taken away. despite the risks,

it is a journey that more and more iranians are making. this is ali. we can't show his face because he's a political activist from iran. and this is where he has been sleeping all week, a disused railway depot in the serbian capital, belgrade. he is relying on a smuggler to get him to the next stage. so ali just got off the phone with the smuggler. they are planning to get on a van tomorrow but it is a huge risk. he says that he is going to take that risk again and again until he makes it to the european union. ali is just one of thousands of iranians who flew into serbia under a visa—free scheme designed to boost tourism and investment. it was cancelled in october

after many used it to cross into the european union. this year alone, over 27,000 iranians flew into serbia. unofficial estimates suggest that around 10,000 of them didn't return to iran. so where are they now? around 1,200 are in refugee camps like this one near belgrade. somayah stays here along with her husband and two young daughters. they are members of a persecuted religious minority in iran and have tried to enter the eu eight times so far. somayah says she wants to get to the uk. and this is what that looks like. in the past months, there's been a hike in the number of iranians trying to cross the channel in small boats. it has been compared to crossing the m25 by foot during rush hour. serbia is just a stepping

stone for many intent on reaching western europe. but in order to move on, more people like her will take greater risks. rana rahimpour, bbc news, belgrade. back here, numerous sources are saying that cabinet ministers are on standby for an emergency call with the prime minister in the next half an hour which could mean many things. the speculation is she could be planning to talk to cabinet about potentially delaying tomorrow's brexit vote. there is a eu summit later in the week so potentially

delaying it and going back to brussels to see if she can get some kind of modest changes or tweaks to the brexit deal. it is not confirmed but that is the latest. thank you for your messages on all sorts of stories today. many messages about the interview with the families of the interview with the families of the two young men who were killed this year in knife attacks. "as a mother and a sister, i can imagine how heartbroken these families are. it is so sad and it makes me so angry. iam really it is so sad and it makes me so angry. i am really sorry". and sonia says, "no words. this is absolutely heartbreaking". thank you for those. this one on twitter, "the amount of stabbings this year has been an absolute tragedy. i pray and hope that these families find peace has got. thank you for those. bbc newsroom live is coming up next. have a good day. we are back tomorrow at 9:30am

because it is a big day tomorrow. sunny akani dinner is at the uk but was the uk but was, cloud increasing. cloud moving on from the west. it will stay quite loudly across western parts as we go through this afternoon. mostly dry bar the shower around northern parts of wales, north—west england, maybe towards the midlands. towards eastern areas of england and eastern scotland, continuing sunshine. maximum temperatures this afternoon about 5—8, perhaps up to 11 or 12 further south and west. through tonight, not a great deal of change

really. it will stay quite cloudy across the west. the clearer skies in the east and we will have a bit of frost developing across eastern scotla nd of frost developing across eastern scotland and down the eastern side of england. temperatures down to —1, -2 of england. temperatures down to —1, —2 but milder elsewhere. quite cloudy on tuesday, a dry day for many, with highs of about 7—11. you're watching bbc newsroom live from westminster, at the beginning of a critical week for the prime minister. there are reports she is going to

hold a conference call with cabinet members in the next hour. a day before the crucial vote is due in the house of commons on theresa may's brexit deal the prime minister is under intense pressure from some to postpone it. in another significant development, the european court ofjustice rules that the uk could cancel brexit without the permission of the other 27 members. and the other main stories making the news this morning: 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.