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. your daughter should have been safe here and she wasn't and i am sorry for that. high street retailers suffered their worst november

for almost a decade, as shoppers spend their money online. and after alleged racist abuse aimed at raheem sterling, the professional footballers association calls on clubs to take ‘the strongest possible action‘ good morning from westminster, where the prime minister, theresa may, is making a final push to persuade undecided mps to back her brexit deal. she's had meetings with a series of backbenchers and will continue to do so through the day, amid pressure from within her own ranks to delay the vote and is expected to talk to cabinet members in the next half hour. 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. already today, 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. with me is our assistant political editor, norman smith. things are developing all the time.

we have been hearing a conference call is expected with cabinet ministers. what are you hearing?” think there's a sense now that everything is extremely fluid. the idea that the prime minister will sit there and wait for the speeding express train that is looming to come hurtling towards is way off beam. there seems to be a twin track going on. one is to embark on a last ditch series of phone calls to try and get some movement on the backstop, and let us be clear, the backstop, and let us be clear, the backstop is the insurance policy basically if we cannot reach a final trading agreement by the end of the transition period in december 2020. it would mean we would stay in the customs arrangements, ensure there's no hard border between ireland and northern ireland. last—ditch talks. huge speculation going on whether mrs may is preparing to pull tamara's wrote. talking to one

tory... —— tomorrow's vote. there is no need to have mps here today, that suggest something is afoot. the speculation will be perhaps mrs may has decided to delay the vote. nothing definite but that sort of the indications. at the same time, we know there is a blizzard of phone conversations going on with other eu leaders to try and get them to give her something on the backstop which she can give to her party. this morning, michael gove sending a clear warning, if you open up discussion on the backstop at the withdrawal agreement, that provides an opening for countries like france and spain to make additional demands on the uk. 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 just 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 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, like borisjohnson, not interestingly, michael gove, like boris johnson, not ruling interestingly, michael gove, like borisjohnson, not ruling himself out if mrs may should fall by the wayside and there is a leadership contest. extremely unlikely. penny mordant this morning laying a straight bat. what we all need to work towards is ensure we are going to get the best deal for our country, but that it must deliver what the people voted for —

brexit. and i am very confident of that. i think the parliament, government, cabinet with the prime minister, are going to be working extremely hard this week and the coming days to ensure that happens. thank you. what is the plan if it doesn't go through, then? brexiteers are adamant they do have the numbers to inflict a huge defeat, possibly three numbers, three figures on mrs may. they have been trying to dial down the idea that they inflicted that sort of defeat, it would pave the way for chaos. here is theresa de villiers. 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. so, things feel to me as if they are

moving, if mrs may can get something out of eu leaders, who is bet against delaying the vote and seeing if she can still get a deal if she puts the concession against the mps. i cost big week, beautifully choreographed. there is supposed to be about tomorrow. —— a vote tomorrow. she may have not finally made up her mind, if this conference call is going ahead, there will be cabinet ministers who will say to her, there is no point going down to a huge defeat. delay this rate, the something better turns up. —— vote. ijust think something better turns up. —— vote. i just think any prime minister who suffers that sort of defeat a discretion whether they can survive to be able to go to brussels. you

could see a leadership contest immediately being provoked. it is a huge risk. the idea she could then go to brussels having been you aided in the commons, that would put out enough longer position somehow, i think that is a far—fetched argument. she psychologically would be shattered. how much she would have to negotiate a better deal on the back of that is questionable. thank you, norman. we will be speaking to joanna thank you, norman. we will be speaking tojoanna cherry thank you, norman. we will be speaking to joanna cherry for snp later. let's speak to our brussels reporter, adam fleming who is outside the european court ofjustice in luxembourg. which is word that has been that significant ruling this morning, anticipated but it does give confirmation that britain could leave brexit without the permission of the other eu member states. yes, i should say the atmosphere of the european court ofjustice in luxembourg, it is like a church compared to where you are at westminster. very quiet, not a lot

of people, lots of thinking going on behind closed doors. even though there has been this important big judgment today, this case was brought by a group of british parliamentarian, mps, s mps and meps who wanted clarity on article 50 of the eu treaty, which explains what happens if you want to leave but does not explain the conditions under which a country could change its mind. the court are struck this case so its mind. the court are struck this case so that they could have a ruling in time of the vote tomorrow and they ruled that the uk would be able to withdraw its notification to leave the eu unilaterally, as long as it followed a democratic process at home. in other words, another referendum, a parliamentary vote or general election. keys are those campaigners who brought this case, thejudges he said the uk campaigners who brought this case, the judges he said the uk would campaigners who brought this case, thejudges he said the uk would be able to keep this existing membership terms. there would be no strings attached, it would not have tojoin the euro, the strings attached, it would not have to join the euro, the single currency, it would not have to join the shining area, the passport free

zonein the shining area, the passport free zone in europe and it would not have to give up its cherished budget rebate. mp3 tomorrow, if they do very tomorrow another option, and would provide an element of reassurance for the public if they are given another vote on the uk's membership. a bit of a blow to the usual lawyers had argued if they did go down this course, the judges would be creating uncertainty in the exit cause of the eu treaty under blow to the uk's lawyers who argued this was academic question that they have no intention of pursuing. the eu has been very clear that they are not willing to open up the withdrawal agreement. this is their best and final offer. i think the prime minister has made it clear that she is not totally comfortable with some elements of the backstop, but, in the end, this is the deal on the table. it gives us the vast majority of things that people voted for, and there are real risks if we don't grab this opportunity while we have it. that was jeremy hunt,

that wasjeremy hunt, the foreign secretary, not talking about this case this morning, talking about the other issue that has grabbed everyone's attention today, to what extent did the uk, could theresa maybe negotiate the deal that has been done with the eu. jeremy hunt making it very clear that the withdrawal agreement, the 585 page divorce treaty, they really dense legal language that wraps up the uk's membership is not up for grabs. it cannot be reopened. one wonders if he was speaking his irish counterpart hu said the exact same thing, meeting eu foreign ministers. the deal that is there, which is the deal between the uk and the eu is not going to change. particularly the legal language of the withdrawal treaty. and i hope people will see it for what it is, which is a fair, balanced document that deals with the complexity of the country the size and an economy the size of the united kingdom's,

leaving a union that it has been part of for 45 years. two rules of thumb to interpret what is going on on the brussels side of the equation with all of theirs. number one, they do not know what is happening either. number two, brussels, the eu 27 will not do anything until they know what is happening because why would they make a concession, make a clarification if they were not sure it would make any difference in westminster whatsoever. thank you very much, adam. out of sight but not out of a shot behind us are a sight but not out of a shot behind us are a lot of protesters shouting their message across to parliamentarians going into the building behind us. it is important day here without the due tomorrow and all sorts of questions as to

whether the vote in the commons tomorrow will be delayed. going back tomorrow will be delayed. going back to what happened at the european court ofjustice. well, the case was brought by a cross—party group of politicians including the snp mp, joanne cherry whojoins me now. good morning. what you want to happen next? the crucial thing about the court decision, we know it is not the deal or no deal at all. we know that the united kingdom could withdraw the article 15 metres and remaina withdraw the article 15 metres and remain a member of the european union on our current terms and conditions. —— article 50 agreement. i want theresa may's agreement to be defeated tomorrow. we just had the irish government and others make clear that the deal will not be changed genetically. she needs to that this deal to the democratic vote and it will be defeated and then we need to look at the ways forward , then we need to look at the ways forward, i would argue the way forward, i would argue the way forward is to hold a second vote, this time round eight people's and based on the facts rather than the undeliverable promises. to make sure

that a natural law is observed this time and to make sure what the options are and one option is to remain in the eu with our current terms and conditions. you democratic thing is for the vote to happen tomorrow. there are many who say the democratic thing is to ta ke who say the democratic thing is to take this country out of the european union, that was what was rated four. michael gove saying people like you calling for a second referendum are those who did not accept the vote. want to overturn it... the scots did not vote to remain, they voted to remain —— they did not wait to leave. i think they should be given a second chance, this time in possession of the fa cts . this time in possession of the facts. as for michael gove, what i would say to him is do you care about the jobs and living standards of ordinary british people? even your own government's evidence shows that this deal, jobs and living standards will be head, the economy

will take a massive hit. it is the duty of government of mps to think of the living standards and jobs of their constituencies. this is a bad deal, everyone thinks so and it requires to be voted down. theresa may has had the courage of their convictions to put it to a democratic vote and the house of commons tomorrow. it is not deal or no deal, there are other options. i am proud that my fellow scottish parliamentarians have led the way in showing that this option exists. the court is not telling us what to do. the court is simply saying here is an option. the decision will be a democratic decision. you are talking as if, obviously scotla nd you are talking as if, obviously scotland did vote to remain, but the uk is in it together. hang on, in 2014, when we had an independence referendum in scotland, called promise was made by those who wanted scots remain part of uk but that was the way to guarantee they european

union citizenship. that promise has been broken and much the british summit would like to ignore that, it is an export in point. —— british government. thank you very much. amber rudd says the vote is likely to go ahead, as planned tomorrow. i certainly hope the vote should go ahead. the prime minister has confirmed that, i look forward to supporting her as it goes ahead tomorrow. will you be considering a job leadership with iris johnson? no consideration of a leadership bid. huge support of the prime minister at what is a difficult time. —— boris johnson. cabinet members are being told to expect there is going to be some sort of a conference call later today, this and the pressure that we have been reporting for the prime minister to pull that free tomorrow and the late. as far as we know, the vote is still

going ahead tomorrow. if it does, what could happen? reality check‘s chris morris has been looking at all the possible outcomes. it's one of the biggest weeks in british politics in a long time. and all we can really predict is unpredictability. so, where are we now? well, it all starts here with a vote in parliament tomorrow, presuming it goes ahead on schedule, on whether to approve the withdrawal agreement and the non—binding political declaration on future relations that theresa may has agreed with the eu. if it is approved, and that looks highly unlikely at the moment, well, that is a big thing. the withdrawal agreement would have to be turned into uk law and then ratified by the european parliament, but we would likely be heading here, leaving the eu with a deal in march next year and entering a transition period. but if parliament votes no, back to square one. if the deal is rejected, what then? well, one possibility, the prime minister goes to brussels later this week and asks for a bit more.

a renegotiation. changing the withdrawal agreement itself looks unlikely, but maybe the political declaration could change or additional promises could be made saying that no one wants the irish backstop to come into effect. so, there could be a second vote on a deal which has had a few tweaks. if it were approved then, again, we are heading up there for brexit with a deal next march. but if it is rejected again, well, the default position is leaving with no deal at all and the warnings about what that could mean are becoming grimmer by the day. a lot of people will try very hard to avoid that. which leaves us with a host of potential options here and they could be filling all three screens within a few days. could mps suggest an alternative future deal which enjoys a majority in the house of commons? should we expect a new prime minister, or a new election? or another referendum, sending the deadlock in politics back to the people? could that lead to no brexit at all?

all of these options have complications, but in truth, no one knows what is going to happen next because brexit has made all the old certainties disappear. another week of uncertainty is looming. and in afternoon live with simon mccoy, we'll be answering your brexit questions in today's edition of bbc ask this. so if you have a burning question to ask our constitutional experts about brexit, you can contact us by... we'll be picking out a selection this afternoon. i will hand you back to the studio. the headlines on bbc news:

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. she is expected to top two cabinet colleagues. the european court ofjustice rules that the uk can cancel brexit without the permission of the other 27 members. 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. and in sport, the professional footballer‘s association says clubs must take the strongest possible action if fans are found to racially abuse players. the professional footballer‘s association says clubs must take this is the match in madrid. five — three on aggregate. ronnie o'sullivan has won a record seventh uk championship after beating mark allen in yesterdays final.

it's his 19th triple crown title, and that is also a record. i'll be back with more on those stories later. 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 grace's 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. some news just some newsjust in some news just in from westminster, think the prime minister that will hold a conference call with cabinet collea g u es hold a conference call with cabinet colleagues at 11:30am, in ten minutes' time. the prime minister's spokeswoman says tomorrow's wrote on the withdrawal agreement is going ahead as planned. the spokeswoman reiterated the fact that the prime minister had spoken to various eu officials and the leaders over the weekend and she said that the cabinet would be updated on these conversations. downing street holding firm to say that tomorrow's vote will go ahead, but confirming that news that we have been reporting this morning that she will hold a conference call with her

cabinet colleagues. we will bring you more on that as soon as we have it. high street retailers suffered their worst november for almost a decade, with shoppers spending their money online instead. the british retail consortium says black friday deals on the internet made a difficult year for shops even worse. the decline in sales at the tills is expected to continue throughout the christmas period. well, for more on this, let's speak to diane wehrle who is marketing and insights director at analysis firm springboard. just talk this through your finding isa just talk this through your finding is a little bit more. that fall, thatis is a little bit more. that fall, that is the volume of activity, that is high street, shopping centres and retail box, dropped by 3.2% in november and that is despite the fa ct november and that is despite the fact that black friday happened in november. clearly shoppers were not going into stores to shop the black friday. that fall has dropped by more in november than it did in october where it fell by 2%. it is getting worse as the year progresses

which does not bode well for christmas. online shopping did go up but it went up by a small proportion. that is interesting. very interesting. it is growing better the degreasing rate, it is not like shoppers are buying elsewhere. there is a high level of consumer debt, credit card borrowing is that the highest level since 2007. personal debt is very high. household had to use their savings or use debt to fund their purchases when wage inflation was in keeping up when wage inflation was in keeping up price inflation. now they have to catch up on that. they are reining in their spending. what are the indications for high—street chains? what are the indications for high-street chains? it is going to bea high-street chains? it is going to be a tough christmas. already geeky readers are coming at saint trading is challenging, even a prime up think the —— already retailers are coming out and saying trading is challenging. even primark is

struggling. i would challenging. even primark is struggling. iwould not challenging. even primark is struggling. i would not be surprised if we head into new year with a is. you think the trend is going to continue. the margins have been squeezed anonymously, it hits the bottom line, it hits the profit. it impacts their long—time trading but a short time training because it means they do not have a cash flow to buy stock. if they have not got enough stock in the store, they will not sell it. if they have too much stock and they do not sell it, it is easily huge amount of cash flow and they have two disc out more. they are tricky situation. i suppose this is the time of year where we focus on retail sales, black friday, christmas coming up, and it looks a bit bleak at the moment. it does. we track footfall and that tends to correlate very closely with spending. we get those results every day, we are able to see what is

happening almost an on an hourly basis every day. it enables us to get a real—time check on what is happening out there and we will be watching that very closely. we will be interviewing you about it afterwards when you get the results. thank you very much. roger, the enormous kangaroo known for his impressive physique, has died at the age of 12. the 14 stone and 6 foot tall kangaroo has sparked an outpouring of grief from fans on social media. roger first came global fame due in 2015 when pictures of him crushing a metal bucket in his hands went viral. an extraordinary sight. now it's time for a look at the weather. as fairly chilly start to the day. things have been bright for many. towards western areas, the cloud. to thicken up and move its ways in. towards eastern parts, the best of any sunshine at the moment. that

will continue as we go through this afternoon. across eastern scotland, eastern england. for most of us are destroyed, showers around north—west england. the cloud they will thicken towards these western parts. charges varying from 4—7dc, up to 6—12 celsius further west. we keep that kind of east and west but tonight, lots of cloud for many of us, across eastern scotland and on the eastern side of england, you can see from the temperature map, assemblies turning up, temperatures down 2—1, or —2. into tuesday, it stays pretty cloudy, another dry day. temperatures getting 27—11dc. wednesday looks dry and settled as well, it will turn more interesting into the end of the week. —— temperatures getting between seven and 11,000. goodbye. you

hello, this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines. the prime minister is due to hold a conference call with her cabinet around now, after coming under intense pressure to postpone tomorrow's brexit vote. her spokesman has just told reporters it will go ahead, as planned. in another significant development, the european court ofjustice rules that the uk could cancel brexit without the permission of the other 27 members. 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 am sorry for that. high—street retailers suffered their worst november for almost a decade, as shoppers spend their money online. sport now, here's olly foster.

good morning. the professional footballers‘ association says clubs must take the strongest possible action if fans are found to racially abuse players. manchester city's raheem sterling was the victim of alleged abuse at chelsea over the weekend. the pfa also backs sterling's criticism of some press coverage saying they are in no doubt that "negative narrative influences public opinion and emboldens racist rhetoric". here's the former liverpool and england starjohn barnes. this is a subliminal way that takes away our sensibilities looking at some groups more negatively than others which is the point he is making. when you have phil foden, doing the same thing, i apologise for not knowing the name, but he is black. not in a way to criticise him, but saying he has not played

one game and he has paid millions for a house. what is that in terms of our perception of him? they have a big part to play in the way they report, not just a big part to play in the way they report, notjust in terms of football but generally speaking in society. newcastle manager rafa benitez has called for the immediate introduction of var, that's after his side lost to wolves 2—1 at st james' park he felt that the match officials missed a number of incidents. it was 1—all at halftime thanks to an equaliser from newcastle's ayoze perez. but they had to play the last half an hour with 10 men after deandre yedelin was sent off and wolves‘ matt doherty scored the wolves winner deep into injury time. rangers missed out on the chance to go top of the scottish premiership. they could only draw at bottom club dundee. former rangers striker 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 are now level

on points with arsenal at the top of the table. they beat birmingham city 1—nil after a howler from their keeper hannah hampton. georgia stanway finished from a tight angle. city are still unbeaten in the league. substitute beth england scored twice as chelsea won 4—nil at brighton. they move back up to third place. elsewhere reading drew with liverpool, and there were wins for west ham and bristol city. river plate won the copa libertadores final 5—3 on aggregate against boca juniors. the match was played in madrid after the original tie was moved from buenos aires following fan violence. the match went to extra time at the bernabeu but river plate finally came through 3—1 on the night against their fierce rivals. it was the first time they had faced each other in south america‘s equivalent of the champions league final. 62,000 were at the game but these are the scenes on the streets of the

argentinian capital. ronnie o‘sullivan says he want‘s to keep breaking record. he won the uk snooker championship for a seventh time. that set a new record ahead of steve davis . he beat mark allen last nigth and that also took him to 19 triple crown title that surpassed stephen hendry‘s previous record. i played very well today, you know, and i still having to convince and i‘m 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 nugget‘s 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. mark cavendish says he‘s looking forward to returning to competive cycling after taking time out to recover from illness. the british rider discovered that

he‘d competing for over a year with the epstein—barr virus, which causes fatigue you never know with the condition, a -- it you never know with the condition, a —— it can hang around if it is not managed properly. hopefully it is behind me now. the whole point that it was mismanaged proves it is difficult. it takes a real expert to understand it. especially at high level sports. that‘s all the sport for now. i‘ll have more for you in the next hour. analysis by the bbc of cuts to legal aid funding in england and wales has revealed a big increase in the number of people representing themselves in court, following major cuts to the legal aid budget in 2013. it found there are now five areas of england and wales with a combined population of 1.5 million people where there is no legal aid help for people contesting housing cases. ministry ofjustice figures show the areas are doncaster, dorset, hartlepool,

portsmouth, the isle of wight, and wigan, are without financial support for issues including evictions and repair works to their homes. the investigation also revealed around a million fewer legal aid claims are being filled a year since 2012. now we can speak to ian howgate, who successfully fought two court cases alone after failing to find a legal aid solicitor. he says his family was living below the breadline, and he considered killing himself while fighting against a decision to stop his housing benefit. and suejames, a housing lawyer at hammersmith and fulham law centre. ian, your housing benefit was wrongly stopped and you found yourself £1000 per month out of pocket. why did you have to fight your own case? we try to find someone to fight it for us but we

did not have the money to pay our rent and therefore we did not have money to pay for a solicitor ourselves and legal aid was not available for that particular type of case. as a result, it became a process of trying to argue with the council ourselves and eventually arguing through a tribunal at court. a really gruelling process that went on for 13 months, in which the other side‘s primary objective seemed to be preventing us getting to the court. and you had such a difficult time living in poverty that i understand your son asked to be fostered ? understand your son asked to be fostered? yes, he... the 10th of june, you do not forget the date like that. he reached the end of his tether and we took him to the council and agreed. it was not an easy decision, it was a decision that revolved around the fact we

could not afford to support him. we could not afford to support him. we could not afford to support him. we could not give the support he deserved. they did not accept him, but that was where he was that at that time. you must have been at a very low ebb? as a family we were at a low ebb and i fluctuated. very low ebb? as a family we were at a low ebb and ifluctuated. i very low ebb? as a family we were at a low ebb and i fluctuated. i suffer from post—traumatic stress, which made it more difficult, and that was before the legal case started. i ended up leaving the house a number of times, walking to the local canal with the intention of throwing myself in and one day, i did attempt to throw myself under a speeding police car that came past us. yes, they were bad times. they sound like terrible times. sue james, they were bad times. they sound like terrible times. suejames, you represent people who are involved in cases like this. how detrimental is it to them to have to represent themselves in court? it is

incredibly detrimental. for housing law, a complex area of law, and it is important people get representation but as in ian's case, legal aid is not available for welfare benefits and so lawyers are not there to represent in those cases. i represent a housing court where i am duty solicitor and increasingly we cease as the cut to legal aid is that people are in crisis. -- legal aid is that people are in crisis. —— increasingly we see that. i was crisis. —— increasingly we see that. iwas in crisis. —— increasingly we see that. i was in court two weeks ago and someone walk to court because they did not have the money to pay bus fa re did not have the money to pay bus fare and they were being evicted because the benefits were being stopped. and we are seeing universal credit is impacting greatly, also. the ministry ofjustice says there are enough legal aid solicitors across england and wales. they might be spread unevenly. you are both shaking your head. yes, you have

read out today the areas that do not have any solicitors and there are many areas with just one. an area that you did not include is suffolk. they have tried three times suffered law centre to get a housing solicitor, without success. we turn people away because we do not have capacity to cope. a lot of my colleagues do the same. it is impacted by court closures, welfare reform. it is a perfect storm for people desperately in need, and things need to change. we are awaiting the government to announce whether they will make any changes. we have asked for early advice to be brought back. because it does not make sense for someone like ian to get into a crisis position, when you could have resolved it early on. ian, you fought your case successfully. you are somebody who

is... you have run your own company? i was is... you have run your own company? iwasa is... you have run your own company? i was a director of a ftse 100 i was a director of a ftse100 company before my mental breakdown. you have a university education, you are somebody with a lot of resources . are somebody with a lot of resources. i worked in legal compliance departments for 20 years and understand the law and i am at a typical person to end up in this situation. we did win and they were not close cups decisions, they were too much landslide and should not have got to court and what sue is saying is right, early intervention would stop a lot of suffering and save a lot of costs. to reflect on the comment about the fact that these lawyers are available, in my son‘s case, the second case we fought, exclusion from school, was a case when legal aid should have been available but we could not get a solicitor and we tried and tried

that became an almost more difficult task than winning the case and my wife pleaded with me, she asked me to stop trying to find somebody. she felt it was tearing me apart and she wa nted felt it was tearing me apart and she wanted me to focus on representing my son, and was right. but it was an impossible situation because it placed me in a position where if i sell my son, who was already deeply unhappy, how was i going to repair that relationship problem on failing him? it is a wonderful thing, we did win, we walked away, and we are a happy family now. but it is only by the grace of god that we are that, in that place now. ian, many thanks. and sue james. let‘s return to westminster now and my colleague, joanna gosling. here at westminster — theresa may is holding a conference call with cabinet colleagues

amid speculation she will pull tomorrows brexit vote. with opposition from all sides — can her spokeswoman says the vote will go ahead as planned at the conference call is theresa may briefing her cabinet ministers on the talk she had with the likes of donald tusk and jean—claude juncker and leo varadkar over the weekend. it looks like there is absolutely no way the prime minister can win the vote tomorrow with talk of defeat for the prime minister running into three figures. can she survive the week? with me to discuss this is katy balls, political correspondent at the spectator and sonia sodha, chief leader writer at the observer. this conference call is happening now and there was speculation to save the vote is off but it does not

look that way. what do you think, katie? over the past days we have seen wishful thinking from ministers and there are lots of people in the cabinet who do not want theresa may to go ahead with the vote because they think it will be catastrophic not just to the they think it will be catastrophic notjust to the brexit plan but to the government. they think the margin she will lose by is so large it will be hard to recover from. when this in was received to the unexpected conference call, there was perhaps wishful thinking we would see a development that that is unlikely because we have seen number 10 saying the vote will go ahead. it does not mean we will not seek last—minute attempts to change the mind of theresa may. commons trickery like amendments to reduce the vote defeat. in terms of numbers, what is happening on the scale of defeat? the numbers of mps particularly conservative saying they will vote against the deal is going up at a time when the whips we re going up at a time when the whips

were probably hoping to be cracking down on the last few swing mps. we had george freeman who said he would back the deal. now saying he does not think you can vote for the agreement. we had junior ministerial aides resigning over the weekend. nobody thinks this deal will go through. mps are wondering why they are attaching themselves to something so unpopular. what is the possible benefit of going ahead with the vote would it looks like there will be large—scale defeat?“ the vote would it looks like there will be large-scale defeat? if she delays it she is putting off the inevitable. the idea has set in that this is the first vote and there will be a second injanuary this is the first vote and there will be a second in january that makes it lower stakes for mp5 that it might be otherwise. by delaying it, it is a risk for the prime minister, because at that point she really has to go to brussels and get something she can present back to mps. everybody is sceptical given

the messages from brussels and also other member states like island. everybody is sceptical —— like ireland. i think number 10 is thinking what is the point of delaying it? it could be more embarrassing and we would have to come back with something similar. perhaps we should try to get it out of the way. they will be hoping and katie is right, the numbers saying they will vote against is going up, but we have seen strong efforts of number10 overthe but we have seen strong efforts of number 10 over the weekend, in the sunday press, to win mps around, saying if you. —— saying if you do not vote for this you are essentially ushering in jeremy corbyn as prime minister. is her authority not so badly diminished if she goes ahead, having put in the effort and losing, with potentially over 100 mps voting against, how can

she continue? this has always been the paradox of theresa may. no one in her party is massively keen on her but at the same time you are looking for whether other leadership candidates will step up. everyone knows what a difficult job it candidates will step up. everyone knows what a difficultjob it is negotiating brexit. ithink... i think she will lose the vote tomorrow but i think we could still see her being prime minister in a week's time. i am not sure the hard brexit rebels have the numbers to unseat her and i do not think they will go for it until they are certain they have the numbers. i think others in her party will think that the last thing the country needs is the chaos of a leadership election and i think they are right. even coming from my newspaper, we

strongly in favour of a referendum on her deal. can i interrupt? we hear that two cabinet sources are telling laura kuenssberg that the is being pulled. that puts us in a different... that is her tweet. not yet confirmed but it looks like the vote will be pulled tomorrow. what next? ministers have wondered. if theresa may does that it is showing the cabinet have some power still in trying to get her to change her mind. they first need to work out how to pull the vote. it could mean having to vote to pull the vote. it is not as easy as just withdrawing it. we will probably see some wanting to go ahead with the vote. she could yet be forced into having of it? if they plan to pull it, we would hope they have a plan. but because it has been tabled, it is

not as simple as saying we‘re not doing this. i do not think she is even out of the woods the next day. there is a lack of clarity about exactly how you would pull the vote. we said one saying she thinks it would be simple and others say no, you would need a motion and this will give a lot of power to the speaker, on these procedural things. this is the most conjugated part. it is like three—dimensional chess with all the permutations. thank you very much. and if you want to have a closer look at the potential outcomes of the vote this week, you can read all about what might happen on the bbc news website, the address is w w w dot bbc dot co in a moment we‘ll have

all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news. the prime minister is holding a conference call with her cabinet , after coming under intense pressure to postpone tomorrows brexit vote. her spokesman has told reporters it will go ahead, as planned. in another significant development, the european court ofjustice rules that the uk could cancel brexit without the permission of the other 27 members. 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. i‘m ben thompson. in the business news: shares in interserve — one of the uk‘s largest providers of public services including cleaning and catering — have collapsed after warning it‘s seeking a rescue deal. shares were down 70% from their close on friday. london shares have continued to slip, alongside

other european markets, as parliament prepares to vote on prime minister theresa may‘s brexit deal. and the number of people out shopping in the uk in novemberfell to its lowest level since the 2008 recession, according to the latest figures from research firm springboard. growth in the uk‘s economy has slowed as car sales fell and the manufacturing sector stalled the latest figures, from the office for national statistics show that the economy grew by 0.4% in the three months to october, that‘s slower than the 0.6% in the three months to september. the uk‘s trade deficit also widened. frances haque, chief economist at santander uk. we can crunch the numbers. nice to see. what you make of the figures, they are not terrible, but not great. absolutely, and we expected

to see a slowdown this month. that is partly because the data we have seenin is partly because the data we have seen in the past months has been more difficult, along with the uncertainty that households and businesses continue to face. if we look for example at confidence, we can see consumer confidence and business confidence has dipped over the past couple of months and that has fed through to the household spending and business investment, also falling. and we are seeing that in data released today. i would say ona in data released today. i would say on a more positive note that at least october saw some positive growth, unlike august and september, which were flat. what we should be clear about is when we talk about growth figures we tend to look back, this is what has already happened. the important stuff is what is

coming next. some forecasts suggesting in the fourth quarter we might have growth of 0.4% which would mean 1.3% over the year, which would mean 1.3% over the year, which would be a pretty rubbish figure, the worse as the recession. that is true and hopefully we get no .4% because some commentators think growth might be low which might come out at1.2. growth might be low which might come out at 1.2. generally the consensus is1.3% out at 1.2. generally the consensus is 1.3% overall for 2018 and as you say, the lowest for sometime and we have to think about what will happen in 2019. how does it manifest itself day—to—day? it is easy to talk about numbers. what does it mean day—to—day? we have mentioned shopping figures with people not out on the high street, people looking at employment opportunities, cutting staff, how does that filtered through? it is important to look at

the data together so whilst spending has fallen, and this is hard times for the high street, but inflation has been falling and we have seen wages rising, which means real wages are growing now. if that can continue, hopefully we might see some reverse in terms of consumer spending patterns to date. that does depend on the uncertainty. and given the current state of news, may be no certainty any time soon. (pres) japanese prosecutors have charged former nissan chairman carlos ghosn with financial misconduct, accusing him of under—reporting his pay package over a five—year period. he has also been re—arrested on further allegations of under—stating his pay, which is likely to keep him in detention until the end of december.

the financial times says ministers are poised to announce another massive bailout for crossrail — as fears grow that the start date for the flagship london project will be pushed back even further. officials from the department for transport and transport for london, who have been locked in emergency talks for months, held further negotiations on sunday. reports say the latest rescue plan, the third this year, will involve about £1 billion of new funding. a new pipeline to help take gas from shell‘s shearwater platform to the st fergus plant in aberdeenshire has been announced. the 23—mile link, part of the creation of a gas infrastructure hub in the central north sea — would help cut costs. a look at the numbers and we are keeping an eye on what the ftse is doing. it will keep a close eye on events in westminster and we have seen the impact on the currency. the continued weakness in the pound

asa the continued weakness in the pound as a result of indecision and uncertainty as far as the brexit voters uncertainty as far as the brexit voters concerned. uncertainty as far as the brexit voters concerned. more business news throughout the afternoon. now look at the weather. the weather will turn interesting by the end of the week and it will get colder. for the next few days it is fairly quiet with plenty of dry weather at the moment and sunshine in the highlands. a ridge of high pressure dominating conditions but out to the west, we have a weather system, a warm front here, that is bringing cloud across the uk at the moment. we have seen cloud increase generally from the west this morning and it will stay cloudy across western areas into the afternoon.

dry for most that there could be showers around north wales, north—west england and drifting into the midlands. the further east, remaining try and sunny —— dry. through tonight we keep the east — west split. across western and central areas cloudy, but in the east of scotland and england, you will notice the blues, which can be frost developing. temperatures down 2-1, -2. frost developing. temperatures down 2—1, —2. slightly milderair frost developing. temperatures down 2—1, —2. slightly milder air moving in and temperatures staying up. tuesday will start cloudy. you might have to scrape ice off the car first thing in the east. there will be sunshine there and elsewhere the cloud could give brighter sunny spells and it should be another largely dry day. as we go through

into wednesday, we have rain in the west. it was bumping into the high pressure and, as it does so, the weather front will weaken. you will not see much rain from it but it will give quite a bit of cloud. maybe some towards northern ireland and the west. bright and sunny spells from time to time across england and wales by wednesday, temperatures will not change very much. by the end of the week, things get more interesting. we will pick up get more interesting. we will pick up gradually and easterly wind coming from the near constant. originating in russia and siberia, so becoming noticeably colder into thursday, but milder air sitting out towards the west, which will try to move eastwards. you‘re watching bbc newsroom live from westminster, amid reports that theresa may is to delay the vote on her brexit deal tomorrow. the prime minister is briefing her cabinet now.

our political editor says two cabinet sources have told her it is being postponed. 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. your daughter should have been safe here and she wasn‘t and i am sorry for that. high street retailers suffered their worst november for almost a decade, as shoppers spend their money online. and after alleged racist abuse aimed at raheem sterling, the professional footballers‘ association calls on clubs to take

‘the strongest possble action‘. we‘re in westminster where, in the last half hour, the bbc‘s political editor, laura kuenssberg has been told by two cabinet sources that tomorrows vote will not go ahead as planned. this is the tweet that were sent. it is not officially confirmed but she is not officially confirmed but she is heard it from two cabinet celsius. —— sources. theresa may is currently holding a conference call with members of her cabinet. she‘s also been meeting backbenchers in an attempt to win their support. let‘s take a look at one of the most important weeks in theresa may‘s premiership.

already today, 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. which is what they are meant to do. we are hearing it is unlikely to go ahead, but if it does, it is expected strongly it will not be accepted and be rejected in large numbers. 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. with me is our assistant political editor, norman smith. it is not confirmed that this boat

is being pulled. if it is, that is it, it is dead. —— vote. there is growing expectation that it is going to be delayed, tory ministers and mps, the overwhelming majority think mrs may is heading to a catastrophic defeat. there is no point in doing that. no mileage in that. although still in the last half—hour, downing street saying it is happening, i have to saying it is happening, i have to say just talking to saying it is happening, i have to sayjust talking to people this morning. i know they were saying it is happening, the way they were saying it did not convince me it was happening. there is a tone to that, nothing has changed, still the same position. he got the sense they were leaving the door of to have a rethink. what seems to be going on if they hope to get some further movement of some sort from the eu on this issue of the backstop. let us remind people what we are talking bout with the backstop. we are talking about a fail—safe, an insurance policy that no final

agreement, there will be something to avoid a hard border in northern ireland. it will mean staying in a cousin ‘s original with no obvious exit strategy. —— customs union. in the hope that that might crack the opposition she is the thing. dele, get something from europe, put it to a vote radon. already this morning, she is running into really heavy opposition in europe. jean—claude juncker‘s spokesman said we are not going to renegotiate brexit will stop the irish foreign minister, simon coveney, said this. the deal that is there, which is the deal between the uk and the eu is not going to change. particularly the legal language of the withdrawal treaty. and i hope people will see it for what it is, which is a fair, balanced document that deals with the complexity of the country the size and an economy the size of the united kingdom's,

leaving a union that it has been part of for 45 years. that was heir too, as you can see, europe seemed to be closing the door on the possibility of getting much movement on the backstop. we are hearing leibowitz think they are expecting a statement in the collins at 3:30am. —— labour whips. speculation it will be announced that the vote will be delayed. jeremy hunt did not seem aware this morning that mrs may was trying to get movement on the withdrawal agreement and the backstop, actually think that that door was closed. almost contradicting what mrs may with saying. have a listen to him

here. the eu has been very clear that they are not willing to open up the withdrawal agreement. this is their best and final offer. i think the prime minister has made it clear that she is not totally comfortable with some elements of the backstop, but, in the end, this is the deal on the table. it gives us the vast majority of things that people voted for, and there are real risks if we don't grab this opportunity while we have it. if you listen to amber rudd leaving home this morning, she seemed confident that the vote was going ahead. now, as we know, it looks like it is pretty much not going ahead. will this vote go—ahead? i certainly hope so. the prime minister has confirmed that, i look forward to supporting her as it goes ahead tomorrow. will you be considering a joint leadership with boris johnson? no consideration at all of any leadership bid. huge support of the prime minister at what is a difficult time. thank you very much. the only thing that could change the

dynamic is if brussels offers anything. i think downing street have worked out pretty clearly that the problem with mrs may‘s deal is not most of the deal, it is quite simply the backstop. if she could sought the backstop, she did get this deal through. but to solve the backstop, she needs the eu to give her something. their initial m essa g es her something. their initial messages seem pretty discouraging, i would say. we have only heard from simon coveney and jean—claude juncker, the question is whether big players like president macron, angela merkel, would they be willing to open up the withdrawal agreement? the brexiteers say it has to be in the withdrawal agreement otherwise it is not legally binding. if they come up with a form of words, a clarification, reassurance, that probably is not going to be sufficient to get the brexiteers on

board. she was facing what seems certain defeat, mrs may is still in an extremely difficult place, it is not looking great in terms of getting eu leaders to give ground, but it is perhaps the only room she has got at the moment. norman, thank you very much. as things stand, we are expecting it seems a statement in the comments at 3:30pm, the anticipation is that the announcements will be that that vote tomorrow is not going to go ahead among the speculation that the figure that the prime minister was facing in terms of the potential defeat was going into three figures, which would be an incredibly difficult position for the prime minister having been lobbying to get that they supported by mps, saying it is her vote or potentially no brexit. actually, this tweet from laura let them statement on,

commerce business expecting to follow, which indeed they are indeed pulling the vote. the prime minister are making a statement, followed by the leader of the comments. we will have full coverage of that. you can see behind me there is a lot more activity going on in the street opposite the commons, people shouting, trying to get their voices heard. people on both sides of the debate, those who are hoping we will end up with a second people‘s vote, people‘s referendum and on the other side, those saying leaves means leave. as things stand, the next step is going to be, if the vote is built, the brands are going to brussels to see if there‘s any movement on the deal. —— eased the boat is pulled, the prime minister. let‘s speak to our europe correspondent gavin lee who is in brussels. what is the likelihood of there being any shift in position?|j what is the likelihood of there being any shift in position? i can tell you right now there are senior

officials of the european union council keeping an eye on twitter right now. the developments in westminster, there are senior officials in that building behind me, the european commission, who are watching bbc news as we speak, i am told, and they are wanting to see if it is true that theresa may is going to delay the vote. does that mean she will want to renegotiate? that was something that i‘ve got to say, from an honest perspective from many of those within the european council, some of the member states as well, the sense that there would be no surprise if suddenly this sense that theresa may decided to postpone things, perhaps renegotiate because this is the very nature, as one senior eu diplomat said to me a while ago, these talks. whilst they continually say it is not over until it is over, they did hope, and they still are heading into we hear any more, that the agreement, withdrawal agreement and the political decoration was done and dusted.

michel barnier, the chief negotiator for the eu, had michel barnier, the chief negotiator forthe eu, had his for the eu, had his binder politically bound and sealed as if to say this is it. it is ready, the treaty has been signed off. the other thing worth mentioning today, all the eu foreign ministers from the eu countries are here in brussels, apart from the french for my mr —— french foreign minister, giving the events there. i spoke to spain‘s foreign minister awhile ago, andi spain‘s foreign minister awhile ago, and i asked him about the sense that if the water delay, what is often the decision. he said on the issue of gibraltar, the idea that spain would open up and offer oversight on gibraltar is in fact not correct. they would not. they believe it is an open and shut case. they have the best deal that is possible to achieve. briefly i spoke to be deputy leader in ireland, tarmac two, he said to me, this has to stop

going backwards and forwards, —— simon coe vinny. the message is clear from this under the water. we had our say, let‘s not reopen the books. thank you very much. the case was brought by a cross—party group of politicians including the labour mp. chris leslie, whojoins me now with the conservative mp, vicky ford. we think the vote will be pulled. your party is in disarray. let me say it is extremely important that the prime minister that continues to work on finding a way through that does not leave us with a new deal brexit, which would be hugely damaging. —— no deal. it leaves us with a negotiated solution. if any severe bit more time and discussions with the european discussions, i am fine with that. what is the way through?”

fine with that. what is the way through? i believe we need an negotiated exit. that was something... as i said on the chamber on thursday night, there are concerns about the backstop and i hope the european leaders are listening hard to those concerns and seeing if there are other ways they can address them. they can be difficult to get movement from the eu 27, but it is right to try and address those concerns. chris, stay to us for a moment. we will say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. we will continue the conversation here on bbc news. considering to get reaction here in westminster. we are expecting to a official confirmation from the prime minister that the love that was due tomorrow is going to be postponed. do stay with us on the bbc news channel. —— that the vote. let‘s resume our conversation on bbc

news. is this the right thing? there's a lot of things happening today. the news that the prime minister is going to be backing out of putting this vote to parliament tomorrow is, i think, and admission that she's got no chance of having her brexit proposal gets through. i think that means that mps can take stock of the situation, also in the light of the other big news item today that was the ruling by the european court that if the uk wishes to revoke that article 50 metres, we have the usual lateral right to do that. it is putting those two things together, i feel this situation is moving much more towards the british public having a final say on the way forward here. it is clear the prime minister so cannot command confidence in parliament. i imagine thatjeremy

corbyn will put on a great in no confidence in the government straightaway. that issue will because i straightaway. in the immediate aftermath of the referendum, it was being said that there was no majority brexit. anticipation at that point, i fear from brexiteers, that the commons with brought what the people had voted for. isn‘t that exactly what we are at? i have no reason to give theresa may any favours. she has been trying to make a viable plan on brexit work through a couple of years now. unfortunately, that sort of pie in the sky, cake and eat it approach has met with the hard realities of the damage to livelihoods, they will take a status that britain would have to go into. most mps have given it the big thumbs down. we do not need to wait for the vote tomorrow. that is why she will pull the vote. there is no better deal on the table. what with labour do differently? i hope labour you gale

will give the public debate. in terms of brexit, terms of leaving with the least damage. whatever the government has been able to cobble together with europe news to go on a ballot paper, together with the option to remain in the european union. that was certainly something we now know is possible, revoking the article 50 metres. you give people a choice, the final say... if you think that deal is wrong, it is not the only option you are talking about now.|j believe staying with the advantages we or they have within the eu is the right way forward. i respect the fa ct right way forward. i respect the fact that there was a referendum, the government took that and tried to fashion its version of brexit. if the government cannot get that through parliament, the right thing to do is to let people decide, that is why a people's vote has been gathering momentum.

jeremy corbyn and others have said differently, jeremy corbyn said it is not possible to stop brexit. do you think that is what it that happen? we know he is wrong about that because the european court of justice have ruled today that a sovereign country cannot be forced to leave the eu or stay in the eu against its well. we have bad judgment now. we know that parliament can instruct the, to revoke the knitters. —— we have that judgment. let's give the public the say. the labour line from the labour front bench, they are promising to negotiate a deal which has all the benefits of the single market, but not in the single market is, i am afraid, complete fantasy fiction land. having spent eight years as an mep, there is no way that the eu 27 can give that all the benefits without being a member. that would

leave the uk as a complete rule take and is not a deal that will be delivered. it is false promises, their negotiations. you either go to chris‘ suggestion of second referendum, i believe that would be hugely divisive and would not be any more decisive, divisive is not decisive is the way i see that. or you try and find negotiated solution, and i think the prime minister started to make those phone calls over the weekend to see that as more of a way through. or hard brexit. if she has not been able to deliver what she is saying now that potentially could go back, it is not... letters wait for she says at half past three this afternoon, only nine gale she knows the conversations she has had over the weekend. i think there were concerns about the backstop. i see this as a legal

concerns, not practical concerns. i do not see it as a practical solution... but if... but the legal concerns. if there is there a way that could be more movement with the irish and others over the weekend that we can try and mitigate some of those concerns, they might think that is worth doing. i think labour are misleading when they say there‘s another dream deal there. there is not a dream deal. the problem with saying the negotiations are not possible, which i tend to agree with, you are now putting across your own government's approach. the government has pulled a vote, it loud looks like she is pursuing a mystical negotiation. there is no brexit back can please those who wanted to be rule—makers somehow and those who think there is this better, wonderful financial

livelihood improvement. the problem with brexit is when it as much reality, people have realised this is bad for our country and they have the right, they have the right whether to proceed. you want mps to get a friend. —— referendum. if it is pulled to allow another round of talks, in my experience, in european negotiations it is common that you come back for a second round of talks and keep working on the detail right up to the wire. we do not have a huge amount of time. we do not have a huge amount of time andi we do not have a huge amount of time and i have said it would be much better to find an amicable solution rather than a hard brexit, which i think would be very damaging for lives and livelihoods of my constituents. ido constituents. i do think tomorrow, now there's a three day of parliamentary business, i believe the opposition will want to, you know, exposed the fact that the government are not able to

govern successfully and a vote of no confidence looks extremely likely tomorrow, i would confidence looks extremely likely tomorrow, iwould have confidence looks extremely likely tomorrow, i would have thought. are you basing on conversations you have been having? the labour party's sequence in the conference was to test the government's proposals, it failed on that, can't get the issue through here, is that let's seek an early general election, that is the next they should be tested. there could be a vote tomorrow. absolutely. i do not see why an opposition party would delay doing that, moving through that situation, ido that, moving through that situation, i do not know whether there are conservative mps going to vote, this house has no confidence in her majesty's government. i have not found them yet, but in my point of view, we should then move onto those other options which has got to be a people's vote. it is the only way to the situation now. i going back to a second referendum...

letters wait and see what is announced this afternoon. we should wait and see what the prime minister is going to say. she has been making phone calls, a comment i made in the chamber on thursday night, i hope the eu leaders are scratching their head and thinking of ways through. that is important. we see in the flags out there how divided the country is at the moment. pro—eu, leaves, very, very challenging situation. we need to find a way through it. is the prime minister that out of moves and out of time? the dup one not vote in theresa may‘s favour. the dup one not vote in theresa may's favour. there are concerns about the legal technicalities of the backstop, just... talking about whether this government can survive the week. my understanding is the dup said they would support the government in a confidence motion. they have said they would not support. they have said that they

would not vote against the government in a confidence motion. they would not be supporting labour ina they would not be supporting labour in a motion of no confidence. the dup's in a motion of no confidence. the dup‘s position is going to be critical. the arithmetic has not changed since the general election. although a lot of us would want to see a change of government and so forth and that arithmetic is not changing, vicki is doing very well asa changing, vicki is doing very well as a loyal conservative member of parliament, deserves great marks for it. theirjobs and livelihoods that on the line. it is still an option to remain, it is liable for the public, if they wish to choose it. the public cannot... if they want to have that, there are a lot of that child. i campaigned in 58 conservative, 40 different public meetings, six different counties, people were told their vote would be

respected. i think we need to do everything we can to respect that vote. they will also told we would not be leaving without a deal. they we re not be leaving without a deal. they were told do not worry, trade will continue, germans will sell us their ca rs. let‘s continue, germans will sell us their cars. let‘s keep working on finding a way through. why is it anti—democratic another vote ? why is it anti—democratic another vote? it is what we do all the time a democracy. in a democracy we vote for people to represent us in parliament, not have the final decision. when we gave that the vision to people, we told them, we told them this would be their final decision and i think it is important we respect that. if we then get a situation where the deal which people were told that there would be a trade deal, they were it would continue, then they are in a different place. let us wait and see what the prime this has to say. —— the prime minister has to say. what the prime this has to say. —— the prime minister has to saym

what the prime this has to say. —— the prime minister has to say. it is not the deal people believe they we re not the deal people believe they were going to get when they believe the slogans on the buses. wait to hear what the prime minister says at half past three this afternoon, there is going to be a statement, and let us get an update on what the discussions are she has been heading with heads of state from other countries. it is incredibly important that we try and have an amicable separation and not an acrimonious divorce. it is very important. as members of parliament, our duty having looked at this situation, trying to fulfil the referendum, we have held it up to the light and looked at it and we no opposition will be worse off britain will become a real taker in these situations, we have the duty to say to the public, our responsibility to the people, we have tried to fulfil this, it is not possible, you now have to make the final decision. i think that is a fair thing to say.|j would have a lot more respect for labour members of parliament if they we re

labour members of parliament if they were looking at this deal rather than pretending that there is some other fantasy unicorn man that can be achieved. there isn't, i would agree with you on that. thank you, we will hear the prime minister giving her statement at half past three. thank you very much. let‘s talk to our political correspondent ben wright at westminster. dramatic developments, it is leading the vote will be pulled. downing street have not confirmed it officially, it seems pretty likely now that this vote is being delayed. during the whole process once again into a degree of chaos. there is an scheduled statement the prime minister will make at half past three which is the moment this will be revealed to the house of commons, maybe downing street believes it is the right thing to explain to mps first before confirming it to the

rest of us. that is what we expect to happen now. the question is, what a delay is meant to achieve? it puts off what looks like an inevitable and heavy defeat the government were set to experience tomorrow. there is some hope that there is maybe the possibility of going back to eu leaders and fiddling around with the backstop, perhaps extracting some further concessions but the mood from brussels this morning or the sense was that was simply a nonstarter. the commission spokeswoman for the withdrawal agreement was locked down, there was nothing to negotiate. jeremy hunt, he was also in brussels, said the deal on the table is the final offer. it is not clear if the prime minister wanted to get some further concessions from the eu, what those might add up to. then, thank you very much. theresa may has been holding a conference call with cabinet colleagues and it has now resulted, as we understand

it, in the news that she‘s going to be pulling the brexit vote tomorrow. with opposition from all sides, can the prime minister survive the week, let alone get her deal through parliament? another day of dramatic developments. the prime minister is going to make a statement where she will explain what is going on. she was staring at a massive almighty defeat and she decided and seven she is going to delay the vote. the brexit deal has been done and signed with the eu, they are not interested in any meaningful change to it so the question is, what is her plan now? i guess we will hear this afternoon. it isa this afternoon. it is a luxury time. the plan would

obviously presumably involve go back to the eu, this is impossible, please give us a little bit of help. how likely is that? i wish we were having a discussion after hearing what theresa may has to say. we are nowjust reading tea leaves. we have nowjust reading tea leaves. we have no idea what is going to happen. i thought it was extraordinary that just about an hour ago downing street was saying the vote is differently going ahead and now it seems very differently going ahead and now it seems very much like it is not. you can ask is what we think is going to happen, we will properly say, we do not have much of an idea, i think the politicians who are at the helm would say pretty much the same thing to you. it is really interesting that we are standing head, trying to come up with something to say but there's very little to say with any sort of certainty. in terms of the way it has been handled, at 11:30am, the prime minister of‘s official spokesperson sent to journalists, it is definitely going to go ahead tomorrow and then suddenly there was

this conference call and the sort of whispers coming out of that but it was going to be pulled. they have known four days what the scale of defeat was looking likely to be. why do it in this way? you have seen more mps come out against the deal including george freeman as the numbers are piling up and up, i think, freeman as the numbers are piling up and up, ithink, and freeman as the numbers are piling up and up, i think, and clearly downing street calculated the risk of the prime minister being deposed or having to resign following a huge defeat was too great i think the general assumption in westminster was if she lost by 50 it would be enough to have a second run at the boat. maybe next week, or in the new year, but clearly the whips feel the loss would be so huge they could not risk it. the issue is the one thing theresa may could get to change in the deal that would result in different arithmetic is the irish backstop, but we heard from the

deputy prime minister of ireland thatis deputy prime minister of ireland that is not happening. theresa may now has to say what i going to do to get another deal that is workable, otherwise the whole thing could be a displacement activity for someone a decision about what brexit would be. i hear that figure of the number of tories who would vote against the prime minister‘s deal was 107. she has shown herself to be resilient in recent months. can she survive now? it feels like she is running out of moves. we have to wait and see what she will say and it feels reckless to anticipate when she comes out and confounds the critics, but can she survive? we say she is resilient and she is. how many times have we stood here and said it is by this time next week there is no chance she can survive but she does survive. there isa thin survive but she does survive. there

is a thin line, you could argue all these things could have been anticipated. people had said she would lose, would be lucky to lose the vote by a large number. why is it now that downing street have realised it. sebastian picked up on something which is the other side in the debate, the eu, what are they thinking? it is important the ecj ruling that said the uk can unilaterally decide to revoke article 50, an important difference, not delay, revoke article 50, sol think that more probably harden sentiment on both sides because it increases chances of no deal greatly and also encourages the so—called people's wall, people thinking there might be a chance of a second referendum. everything is to play for. those who want to remain and the brexiteers think they will get

what they want if the deal is out of the window. that cannot be the case. every day a decision is not taken on the deal, we are closer towards a no deal brexit. if you look at how the pound reacted, taking a tumble following this news, it is proof that the markets see a no deal brexit would be calamitous. mps have said they would not allow it to happen, if the vote went ahead tomorrow, there was the hilary benn amendment, which would enhance that position. no deal is the default outcome, if we keep playing this political drama, we will leave without a deal and mps might want to stop it happening and the only way is to revoke article 50, and mps cannot force theresa may to do that. they can be very angry but they cannot do that, only the prime minister can, if she decided to request an extension of article 50,

or to revoke it. thank you both. we have to wait and see what happens in the commons later. theresa may will make a statement at 3:30pm and following that the leader of the house will address the commons. we can hearfrom house will address the commons. we can hear from the house will address the commons. we can hearfrom the foreign house will address the commons. we can hear from the foreign secretary. he spoke earlier. he said any expectations the deal can be renegotiated or wrong. the eu has been very clear that they are not willing to open up the withdrawal agreement. this is their best and final offer. i think the prime minister has made it clear that she is not totally comfortable with some elements of the backstop, but, in the end, this is the deal on the table. it gives us the vast majority of things that people voted for, and there are real risks if we don't grab this opportunity while we have it. that was jeremy hunt, that wasjeremy hunt, the foreign secretary. if you want to look at

the potential outcome of the vote you can look on the bbc website. we can now get the thoughts of peter bone. the vote has been pulled, which is extraordinary. can you confirm that? i can only confirm what the bbc has said. nick robinson has just treated it so i assume that is right. extraordinary because yesterday and this morning the government said it is going to happen, we will have the vote. i am not quite sure how they manage to pull a vote in parliamentary terms, so it is extraordinary. i think the reason was they would have a heavy

defeat and there were rumours that ministers might resign, so probably thatis ministers might resign, so probably that is a good reason to do it. 107 tory mps would have voted against it. i think more because that is backbenchers. i think people in government to have stayed loyal, hoping the prime minister would change position, would have voted against, as well. can theresa may survive the week? she can if she goes back to brussels... she has to say i‘ve tried this deal, clearly it will not go through parliament, i am going back to my position prior to chequers, which 90% of conservative mps supported, and go for a comprehensive free trade agreement. i think she could unite the party and country on that. how likely is that? given the vote is going to be pulled and the prime minister will make a statement, i assume she is going to say she has listened to parliament and will go back and try to get a better deal. whether she can, ido to get a better deal. whether she can, i do not know. wejust heard from jeremy hunt saying this deal is not open for renegotiation.

obviously, once a renegotiation is opened up, it is notjust one said that will say, we want this, other sides will say we want to rethink this and that. i am surprised the foreign secretary said this because he must know the vote is. that was before that. he was on the previous government life. i think he will now be saying the prime minister is right to go back and try to renegotiate. things are happening at a rate of knots. it is clear the withdrawal agreement as proposed is deadin withdrawal agreement as proposed is dead in the water. when you say that is the previous government line, with all these changing lines, how much credibility does theresa may have? the government has a problem with credibility and when you do not have the support of more than 100 mps you have a problem and if the last minute the prime minister has

listened and is going back to renegotiate for a proper brexit, thatis renegotiate for a proper brexit, that is good for the country. labour are talking about a confidence vote tomorrow.|j labour are talking about a confidence vote tomorrow. i think if anything they might go to a vote of censure which is different. if it is a vote of confidence, theresa may will get it because the dup say they will get it because the dup say they will support the government. so nothing said one minute seems to hold ten minutes later, so we have to wait and see map, as well. are we closer to a second referendum? no, we have the referendum, that is what the prime minister has been firm on, we will not have another and we will come out on 29th of march. we are clearly a day nearer to coming out of the european union without a trade agreement with the eu. every day that goes by we must be close to that prospect. the prime minister has said this is the only deal. she

has said this is the only deal. she has been saying that. if this deal does not happen, it feels like you could argue more accurately we are a step closer to a no deal brexit. no, because parliament voted for the article 50 process that says you will come out on the 29th of march and if you have no deal, we will trade on wto rules. that is one thing we are sure, that is what the legislation says. anything else, somehow parliament would have to vote to change it and i cannot see it happening. you are right to say the prime minister said this is the only deal but the fact she is pulling the vote suggests she thinks maybe there is a chance to renegotiate. what is the mood in your party right now? many figures coming out and jockeying for position. anticipation there will be a leadership contest. the vote on

europe is the biggest vote any mp will make in peace time. it is an important vote and everybody is laying awake at night worrying about what will happen. it is not an easy vote. there are still mps making up their mind, but i think it is clear that the withdrawal agreement suggested, there is a huge majority in government support it. the rest think it should be killed off. i think it should be killed off. i think it should be killed off. i think it will. we thought it would be killed off tomorrow. maybe it is postponed another week but until the prime minister speaks, we will not know. there is no way there can be a revival, is there? i have given up predicting. we will have to wait and see. peter bone, thank you. there have been protesters in the street behind me outside the houses of parliament, shouting to get their

voices heard. the usual divisions with those who want a second referendum and those who continue to say that leave means leave. the next steps we expect here are that theresa may will be making a statement in the commons at 3:30pm. we are hearing jeremy corbyn has said theresa may‘s deal is so disastrous, her government has taken the desperate step of delaying its own vote. that just threw from jeremy corbyn. putting that out on twitter. there was talk potentially of the labour party trying to trigger a no confidence vote in the government tomorrow. that was chris leslie talking to me earlier saying that it was his anticipation but peter bone pointing out the dup have said they would support the government in a confidence vote if theresa may‘s deal were not on the

table, and as the vote has been postponed, it looks like the dup would potentially support the government in a confidence vote if that were to happen tomorrow. those are the latest developments at westminster. i will be back later, now back to the studio. many thanks. 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. meng wanzhou was detained at the request of the united states, over accusations that she violated sanctions on iran. james ra nsley reports. it is thought that telecom giant huawei‘s chief financial officer meng wanzhou 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 ms meng‘s arrest warrant. the arrest happened as us president donald trump and china‘s leader xi jinping attempted

to de—escalate a bitter trade war at the g20 summit last week. america‘s trade representative insists that ms meng‘s arrest most won‘t have much impact on talks. it is totally separate from anything i work on or anything that the trade policy people in the administration work on. for us, it is unrelated, it‘s criminal justice. the huawei executive is accused of violating us sanctions by selling 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 china‘s leading technology companies amd canada‘s role as a participating wrecker is becoming more and 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. her family also sought leave to remain in vancouver if she was granted bail, with her husband saying he plans to bring the couple‘s daughter to vancouver to attend school during the trial. meng wanzhou‘s court hearing is due

to resume on monday. james ransley, bbc news. 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 grace‘s 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 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. let‘s get some market reaction to the fast moving events in westminster and speak to business correspondent ben bland. extraordinary scenes in westminster. the vote was off and now we think the vote on the withdrawal deal is off. how have the markets reacted?‘ big move is in the pound, which has fallen by more than half a percent against the dollar and by 0.7% against the dollar and by 0.7% against the dollar and by 0.7% against the euro and the reason is the markets do not like the uncertainty we are seeing at the moment. this vote on, off, the uncertainty around that is being reflected in the markets. the reason that matters, people might be

wondering, how do fluctuations affect them, people travelling abroad, when they convert to foreign currency is they get less. crucially it also means for importers, when they buy goods from overseas to bring to the uk, it costs more. ultimately the high cost is reflected in the prices you and i pay for goods in the shops. converse lee, because there are a lot of exporters on the ftse100, that is actually up. this is because the wea ker actually up. this is because the weaker pound makes exports more competitive to foreign buyers and also means the money they earn in other currencies like the dollar and euro become worth more when they convert them back into pounds. the main factor you are seeing affecting sterling is the uncertainty. the lowest level against the dollar sincejune

lowest level against the dollar since june 2017, and lowest level against the dollar sincejune 2017, and it‘s lowest against the euro for some months, as well. this has been a morning of com plete well. this has been a morning of complete uncertainty. we still do not officially no tomorrow‘s the vote is pulled, although we are confident that will happen. do you expect the markets to stabilise one way or the other ones we know what‘s going on? the comments coming from some market watchers suggest it depends what reason theresa may gives for the decision, be it to cancel the vote or proceed with it, however it turns out. if it is because she feels she can now get a better deal from the because she feels she can now get a better dealfrom the eu, perhaps we will see the pound recover some of the losses and the pound could rise later. however, if it is simply because she does not feel the vote can get through the commons, we are more likely to see the pound...

increase the losses it has made. it depends on the detail of what emerges later as to the direction and moves that happens. what you tend to find at times like this, investors move away from risky assets and move away from high—risk stocks tend to move into safer government bonds and currencies and those are the sort of moves you can expect later. as you say, with things moving so quickly and unpredictably, it is hard to say exactly what we will see later but any sharp moves or changes, we will update you. thank you. delegates from nearly 200 nations have been attending the un‘s climate change summit in poland over the past week, but one of the people to generate the most interest happens to be a 15—year—old swedish girl. greta thunberg started the school strike for the climate movement and has held talks with the un secretary general during the summit.

we followed her last week, when she attended the summit to make her voice heard.? i just want to make a statement. if they drag me away, then they will drag me away. it is important to make a statement, to show that this is important. this is notjust something we can negotiate about, talk about. we have to do something now. the emissions have rose by 2.7% in 2018, compared to 2017‘s increase by 1.7%. so the emissions are increasing very much and theyjust don‘t take it seriously and they don‘t care. it is only talking and press conferences and exhibitions. imean... of course, we need to talk, but if the talk doesn‘t get us anywhere, then it‘s not necessary.

i am most nervous about, if i‘m not going to be able to stay here, i am most nervous about that if i‘m not going to be able to stay here, if they are going to move me. i didn‘t think i was going to bring the sign. but i did. and, yes, we willjust see what happens. i think she's really brave, just sitting there and standing up

for what she believes in. this is a big thing, what she is doing. she is urging people here to take action. she is inspiring people here to take action. she said something that i found really, really strong, because she said that she thinks here in the negotiations, that are super—important, not enough is happening, and i think that as well. so i think we should all take greta's words and make something happen here. 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 today 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 free—post 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 still1 million packets a day. launched by walkers, this scheme will accept packaging from any brand of crisp. for many, it‘s long overdue. tim muffet, bbc news. in a moment it‘s time for the one o‘clock news with simon mccoy it‘s time for a look at the weather with helen willetts the day started on a bright note and even though we have had more high cloud a rather many days, there is

another weather front which will be kept at bay as high pressure extends its influence northwards across the united kingdom and into scandinavia eventually. overnight and this evening it will turn colder under the clear skies in eastern areas. not enough to arrest falling temperatures. widespread frost in scotla nd temperatures. widespread frost in scotland and eastern parts of england. further west, despite scotland and eastern parts of england. furtherwest, despite being milder, if the cloud breaks it can mean patchy fog on tuesday morning. we will perhaps see more sunshine in the north of scotland on tuesday and again across the eastern side of england, east anglia, perhaps yorkshire. where we have had showers todayit yorkshire. where we have had showers today it is more likely you will

pick up rain later in northern ireland. pockets of trussell elsewhere, nuisance value, but nothing significant. through tuesday evening and overnight more rain could pep up but it will not out to a great deal.. temperatures falling as low and so you can see the frost is not as widespread. it will feel cold on wednesday. colder air will allow brighter weather in east anglia and possibly the east midlands and other eastern parts of england and scotland but for most are great deal of cloud except northern ireland, where we should see sunshine coming through in the afternoon. despite the breeze, it is the direction, not much atlantic air close to us. the weather fronts are being squeezed out. not much rain on them on thursday but by the end of them on thursday but by the end of the day possibly seeing more

significant rain coming into the south west. it looks like the change to mild conditions will take place over the weekend and you could see hill snow, as well. goodbye. it‘s off — the bbc understands theresa may has delayed tomorrow‘s crucial vote on her brexit deal. the prime minister will make a statement to mps in a little over two hours‘ time after consulting her cabinet this morning and deciding not to go ahead in the face of almost certain defeat. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn says calling off the vote is a desperate step at the 11th hour. and this morning the european court ofjustice said britain could cancel brexit altogether — without consulting the other nations of the eu. we‘ll be live at westminster and luxembourg with the latest developments. also this lunchtime: the murder of british backpacker grace millane — new zealand‘s prime minister says sorry. 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.