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. the world of football rallies behind england star raheem sterling after reports he was racially abused.

and crunch time for crisps — a new scheme to recycle millions of crisp packets. and coming up in the sport later in the hour on bbc news: ronnie the record—breaker — seven uk championships now, 19 triple crown titles. what now for o'sullivan? good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the bbc understands this lunchtime theresa may has delayed the crucial commons vote tomorrow on her brexit deal, amid specualation she was about to lose it heavily. the prime minister will address mps this afternoon, after consulting her cabinet this morning. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn has described the decision to postpone the vote as a desperate step

at the 11th hour. our political correspondent chris mason reports. first thing this morning, peterhead fish market, and the big sell was still on. when a cabinet minister is wearing a baseball cap, white coat, a pairof wearing a baseball cap, white coat, a pair of wellies, holding a fish with cameras and all, you can be sure they are hawking something. it was the government's eu withdrawal agreement and he sounded pretty definitive. do you think there should be a delay? the prime minister has been clear the vote is going ahead and i believe it should going ahead and i believe it should go ahead. people have to make up their minds, but when they do that they don'tjust look their minds, but when they do that they don't just look at the deal itself, they have to look at alternatives. but look at this... will go ahead? no certainly hope so.

the prime minister has confirmed that so i look forward to supporting her tomorrow. —— that so i look forward to supporting her tomorrow. -- i certainly hope so. her tomorrow. -- i certainly hope so. fellow cabinet minister sounding rather less certain. things have been changing this morning minute by minute. downing street let it be known nothing was of the table and the prime minister was speaking to fellow eu leaders on the phone, and perhaps the withdrawal agreement be reopened and renegotiated, but the details of the backstop, that insurance policy to keep the border open on the island of ireland, could be revisited, then the prime minister's official spokesperson said the vote was still on for tomorrow, but sought after source was saying on for tomorrow, but sought after source was saying it was off. we now know that the prime minister will give a statement in the commons this afternoon. the news that the prime minister is going to be backing out putting this vote to parliament tomorrow is i an admission that she has no chance of having her brexit proposal gets through. but is it realistic that the eu will give

ground? the deal that is they are, the deal between the uk and eu, is not going to change —— video there. particularly the legal language of the withdrawal treaty. and the foreign secretary speaking a few hours ago seemed to agree. this is their best and final offer. i think their best and final offer. i think the prime minister's has made it clear she is not totally comfortable with some elements of the backstop, but in the end this is the deal on the table and it gives us the vast majority of things people voted for, and there are real risks if we don't grab this opportunity while we have it. it has been a busy day. and it's only lunchtime. chris mason, bbc news, westminster. let's get the latest from our assistant political editor, norman smith, at westminster. after all the speculation she may call off the vote, it looks like she has. why?

blu ntly, vote, it looks like she has. why? bluntly, she vote, it looks like she has. why? blu ntly, she could vote, it looks like she has. why? bluntly, she could see a runaway express train coming running towards her in the form of a potentially massive backbench revolt by tory mps, some suggesting maybe even up toa mps, some suggesting maybe even up to a hundred voting against her, and that would have killed her deal stone dead. it would also potentially have ended her premiership. and that, despite weeks of cajoling and argument and meetings and talk of concessions, trying to put pressure on mps through appeals to their local parties, none of which seems to make any difference. if anything, the report appeared to be hardening, and so report appeared to be hardening, and so mrs may has chosen to do what we know so often she does in the sort of situations, to play for time. when in doubt, when facing real difficulties, to delay in the hope that something else comes up. well, what is her strategy to make sure something else does,, norman? the

hope, then, seems to be that other eu leaders will be willing to give more ground on the key issue of the northern ireland backstop —— make sure something else does come up, norman. the thought is if they could just sort out concerns over how the uk could leave the backstop, mps would be prepared to vote for the deal. mrs may is now engaged in a frantic round of phone calls with leading officials to see whether they can just get a little more, which theresa may can then take back to mps and try to get the deal through. i have to say so far the signs are not at all encouraging for mrs may. we had a spokesperson for the eu commission president, jean—claude juncker, this morning, saying "we are not going to renegotiate brexit." a similar message from the irish foreign minister simon coveney, but i guess from theresa may's perspective she has now got very few other options, but it is beginning to feel like her

last throw of the dice. norman, thank you very much indeed, norman smith. more from you later in the programme. well, the european court ofjustice has ruled that britain can cancel, has ruled that britain can cancel brexit without having to ask other eu members. the judges said the uk would be able to stay on its existing terms. our europe reporter adam fleming has been following the case in luxembourg. adam, talk us through the significance of this ruling? well, the uk is leaving the eu based on article 50 of the eu rule book. it is five paragraphs long, dominated our lives everyday for to one half years, so you would think we would know everything there is to go about it but we don't. it is very clear what happens when a country says it wants to leave, but it is silent if that country says, "oh, we've changed our minds." that is whatjudges here in luxembourg have

been considering. the eu's top judges rarely move this quickly, but they had a big question to answer — could brexit be cancelled without the permission of the other 27 countries? where a member state has notified the european council, in accordance with that article on the withdrawal from the european union, that article allows that member state to revoke that notification unilaterally. in this i9—page ruling, the judges say the uk could change its mind through a democratic process — in other words, a parliamentary vote, another referendum or a general election. they also say the uk could keep its current terms of membership, which would mean still having a rebate on the budget, but not having to join the single currency, the euro. it's a victory for the people who brought this case, a mixture of lawyers and members of the uk, scottish and european parliaments. they wanted clarity on eu rules for mp5, and for the public if they get another say. i would argue that the way forward

is to hold a second vote, this time round, a people's vote based on the facts rather than the undeliverable promises made last time. but the foreign secretary arriving in brussels this morning and has said what the government has said all along. well, i think it's irrelevant, because just imagine how the 52% of the country who voted for brexit would feel if any british government were to delay leaving the eu on the 29th of march. i think people would be shocked and very angry, and it's certainly not the intention of the government. although it's a blow for the eu, which said the court should give the other member states a say to stop a departing country abusing the exit process. this morning's ruling nowjoins other historic decisions in the colour—coded archives of the european court of justice, another chapter on the way to brexit — or not. so the opponents of brexit who

brought this case are very, very happy today. their plan was it would launch in the minds of mps when they vote tomorrow in the deal. obviously that has gone out the window, but they are playing a longer game, to get the idea of brexit being a reversible not inevitable process, and to get that idea lodged in the minds of the public in case there is another public vote on all of this. studio: adam, thanks very much indeed, adam fleming in luxembourg. wales is one of the biggest recipients of eu funding but in 2016, it voted narrowly to leave. our correspondent sean farrington has been to the busy port of holyhead, to find out how what happens in westminster could have an impact here. holyhead may be 300 miles from westminster, but the people here are just as undecided about what should happen next with brexit as mps are. personally, i think they should have another referendum. i'm not in for that,

because i think there's already been a referendum and i don't think we need another one. personally, i'd have gone for a crash out brexit, over the cliffjob, because i think it's dragged on long enough. vote again, maybe, see if that happens? orjust a good deal to get out. anglesey, like the rest of wales, narrowly voted to leave in the referendum. two years on, not everyone feels the same way. i actually voted to leave, and at the time i honestly thought that was the right decision with the whole thing with the nhs. i was worried about that being stretched with illegal immigrants and people coming over. but i think, on reflection, it was the wrong decision. i don't think the politicians had even really thought about all the implications of it. how brexit plays out will be crucial to holyhead. you've got the port with 2.7 million passengers and thousands of tonnes of cargo passing through every year. and then the town, just

on the other side of the bridge, one of the most deprived in the uk, has received tens of millions of pounds in funding through the eu. we would prefer we did stay in the eu, but equally we would prefer to reach an agreement. so either way, but a no deal scenario is not good for business. but that's not a view shared by all, with many feeling the town hasn't enjoyed the benefits of the port and the trade that comes with it. i think people forget what it was like before we ever went in. i used to work on the docks, so i know a bit about it. if we were prepared to staff the borders properly, there is no good reason why holyhead wouldn't thrive and survive as it did before. can i ask, how did you vote a couple of years ago? i voted for brexit, yes. and so you feel positive now, do you think you're going to get the kind of brexit you wanted? no. but we don't get what we want, do we, in politics? so, no. while theresa may warns westminster about taking britain into uncharted waters, the rest of the country watch

on to see where the brexit journey takes them next. sean farrington, bbc news. and you can follow all today's developments — including the prime minister's statement to the house of commons at 3.30 — live on the bbc news channel. and ahead of tomorrow's vote, there's a special programme tonight — nick robinson asks what the result might mean for the country's future — that's brexit: decision time tonight at 8.30 on the bbc news channel and bbc one. other news now. the prime minister of new zealand has made an emotional apology to the family of murdered british backpacker grace millane. a body believed to be hers was found yesterday on the outskirts of aukland. a 26—year—old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has appeared in court charged with her murder. hywell griffith reports from auckland. the sunshine in their lives — that's how grace millane's family have described the 22—year—old,

as they try to comprehend her murder thousands of miles from home. eight days after she disappeared, her body was found here in woodland on the outskirts of auckland. a discovery which has genuinely shocked and angered new zealand's people. there is this overwhelming sense of hurt and shame, that this has happened in our country, a place that prides itself on our hospitality. and so on behalf of new zealand, i want to apologise to grace's family. your daughter should've been safe here and she wasn't, and i'm sorry for that. today, grace's father and uncle came to auckland district court to see the man accused of killing her being charged with murder. the 26—year—old can't be identified after requesting his right under new zealand law not to be named. the police allege he'd been with grace on a night out before they went back to his apartment. inside the court, the judge spoke

directly to grace's family, saying he didn't know what to say to them, but he understood that their grief was desperate. he said he hoped thatjustice would be fair, swift and ultimately bring them peace. as the accused was later led away, someone shouted "scumbag" from the public gallery. grace had been staying at this backpacker‘s hostel. in just a few days she'd made an impression on other travellers, like holly, who's been left feeling vulnerable. feeling very sad and perplexed. it's making me a little anxious, actually, to be honest. she just had a really nice energy about her, just seemed like a friendly, nice person, like, just smiled a lot. vigils are now being planned across new zealand to remember grace. auckland's sky tower has been bathed in white light in her memory, a symbol to show others here share in a family's loss. hywell griffith, bbc news, auckland. new figures suggest the economy has slowed over the last few months,

weighed down by a fall in car sales and tougher conditions for manufacturers. it grew by 0.4% in the three months to october, slower than the 0.6% in the three months to september. the uk's trade deficit also widened. and retailers have suffered their worst november for almost a decade, with fewer customers visiting high streets and shopping centres. the british retail consortium said black friday deals on the internet had made a difficult year for shops even worse. our economics correspondent, andy verity, is here. more grim news from the high street. this was in spite of a big advertising campaign to counter the black friday effect. we didn't see fit full go up at all, in fact it

was down. if you look at fitful for november, it was down by 3.2%. —— footfall. a project that in december it will be down by something like 4.296. it will be down by something like 4.2%. obviously that doesn't look good for high streets. we should distinguish between retail generally and retail on the high streets. it doesn't mean we are spending less, it's just we are spending less on the high street and it makes for a less pleasant shopping experience. but if you look more generally at what we are spending in retail, the figures show total sales in november we re figures show total sales in november were up by 0.5%. but you have to leave out food and you get flat sales, and you have to bear in mind that includes the online shopping we are now doing. there's not a huge amount of confidence out there. those are the november figures, so they are the most recent ones but they are the most recent ones but the gdp looking pretty flat in october. we won't know until next year what the economy is doing right

now. meanwhile, the pound has gone down slightly to its lowest for 18 months. that's reflecting the lack of confidence surrounding what's going on at westminster. thank you. the time is 1:18. our top story this lunchtime. the bbc understands theresa may has delayed the crucial commons vote tomorrow on her brexit deal, amid indications she would lose it heavily. the prime minister is preparing to address mps in the commons this afternoon, to outline her next steps, following talks with her cabinet this morning. coming up in the sport in the next 15 minutes on bbc news — crowned in madrid, the champions of south america. river plate beat boca juniors to win the copa libertadores. the professional footballers' association has offered its ‘full support‘ to england star raheem sterling, who appeared to suffer racist abuse

during manchester city's game at chelsea on saturday. the players' union said there's been an increase in abusive behaviour from fans. it also backed sterling's claims that he's often treated more harshly by the press than other players, and that such stories are fuelling racism within the game. our sports correspondent, andy swiss, reports. it has prompted a police investigation, but also a debate. does the way black players are portrayed he moments like this? that was raheem sterling's view after his allegedly racist abuse at stamford bridge. he is certainly no stranger to negative headlines. from the focus on his gun had to to articles about how much money he spends, his lifestyle has always attracted scrutiny. he believes black players are unfairly treated by the press, and this morning as the press

digested his comments, there were calls for drastic change. we don't have enough black and ethnic minority people of authority. until we see that change, the decision makers, those that influence, we will still have stories like raheem sterling and others right across our game. there has been shocked at sterling's abuse on saturday. patrice evra, who was once racially abused on the pitch, asked... statistics suggest it is happening more and more. only last weekend a ba na na more and more. only last weekend a banana skin was thrown on the pitch after he scored for arsenal. reports of racism are rising. john barnes experienced it in the 19805 and says the problem isn't just experienced it in the 19805 and says the problem isn'tjust football's but society's. for any unconsciously

raci5t football fans, but society's. for any unconsciously raci5t football fa n5, all you but society's. for any unconsciously raci5t football fans, all you have to do is keep your mouth shut. that doesn't mean it's getting any better. but in times of confrontation people show their true colour5 confrontation people show their true colours and. support for sterling was shown by the fa who posted this. from that optimi5m, engli5h was shown by the fa who posted this. from that optimi5m, english football now fa ce5 from that optimi5m, english football now faces this. how to deal with an all—too—familiar problem. some of the world's biggest investors, managing trillions of pounds in assets, have called for greater action on climate change, warning that a failure to act could provoke a financial crisis. ministers from more than 100 countries are meeting in poland to try to agree how to reduce carbon emissions, in line with commitments made in paris three years ago. our environment correspondent, matt mcgrath, is at the summit. what is the latest? in the room

behind me here, the question is at the forefront of people's thoughts. they are leading a meeting designed to promote coal, oil and gas as the field5 to promote coal, oil and gas as the fields of the future. at a climate summit where many are looking to reduce dependence on those fields, it hasn't gone down too well. there have been a number of protesters, 100 interrupted the meeting and telling the panel they were profiteer5 and climate denier5. the protester5 eventually left and have now resumed with the meeting. it's pretty significant that on the day of this meeting you have institutional investors, about 400 of them representing $32 trillion in investments, pitting their notice up that climate change is a key issue and coal in their view has no future. thank you. the former nissan chairman, carlo5 gho5n, has been charged by japanese prosecutors with under—reporting his income

by more than $40 million. he's also been re—arre5ted on further allegations about his pay. mr ghosn denies any wrongdoing. ni55an, which also faces charges, said it was taking the situation "extremely seriously". a chinese busine55woman at the centre of a furious row between beijing and washington is due back in court in canada today after being arrested at the request of us officials. meng wanzhou, the chief financial officer of the technology giant huawei was detained in vancouver more than a week ago. the us has accused her company of violating trade sanctions against iran, and wants to extradite her. shares in one of the largest government contractors, interserve, lost half their value this morning, after the company announced it was trying to restructure its debts. the firm, which provides services in prisons, schools and hospitals, has debts of more than half a billion pounds. our business editor, simon jack, is here. after carillion, another company

that relies on government contracts in trouble. carillion was liquidated in january. there in trouble. carillion was liquidated injanuary. there are similarities. it is also in some financial distre55. a5 of right now the company is worth £10 million, it has debts of over 600 million. that is unsustainable. what we had last night is they are saying basically tho5e lender5 night is they are saying basically tho5e lenders are going to be asked to swa p tho5e lenders are going to be asked to swap some of their debts for shares. but will wipe out pretty much the existing shareholders which i5 much the existing shareholders which is why you've seen their value plummet today. it is in financial d i5tre55 plummet today. it is in financial distress and seeking a rescue plan. having said that, the good news is it won a new government contract this morning, defying a call from

labourfor this morning, defying a call from labour for the suspension offer the public service contracts. a lot of people said if you cut them off from new business that will hasten its demise. the company in5i5t5 new business that will hasten its demise. the company insists the government is looking at its rescue plans, is confident it can get through that and this is a company thatis through that and this is a company that is making a bit of money. so the company is hopeful it can 5urvive the company is hopeful it can survive and government has got this on its radar. thank you. images of plastic rubbish washing around the world's oceans has led to calls for more to be done to tackle wa5te. today, the uk's first national cri5p packet recycling scheme is being launched. it's been set up by walkers, after protester5 urged cu5tomers to send their empty packets back to the company in the post. tim muffett reports. crunch time for the recycling of cri5p packets. lots of people are asking when they can start to bring them in. sudz cleaners in lancing, west sussex, one of 200 cri5p packet recycling point5 launching today across the uk. as a nation, we seem to eat

a huge amount of cri5p5. actually, it's quite shocking. local volunteers like sue are helping to run this scheme. we collect them from the drop—off point5, box them up, send them off. we're running out of space in landfill. we need to recycle more. in5ide mo5t cri5p packets is a silvery film that's made of plastic. it keeps the cri5p5 fresh, but it's hard to recycle. crisp packets have been found intact after 33 yea r5. 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 recyclable,

compo5table or biodegradable. however, that's proving a really difficult challenge to crack. some campaigners have been so exasperated, they've been putting cri5p 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 post5. it can go into garden paving — a whole host of things really. campaigner geraint ashcroft is credited with forcing cri5p manufacturers into action. his petition received 300,000 signatures. even if we only take 10% of cri5p packets from landfill, 10% i5 still1 million

packets a day. launched by walkers, this scheme will accept packaging from any brand of cri5p. for many, it's long overdue. tim muffet, bbc news. back now to westminster. our a55istant political editor, norman smith, is there. more on the news that theresa may is delaying the big commons vote scheduled for tomorrow on her brexit deal. will get the full details from the prime minister when she stands up the prime minister when she stands up in the commons at 3:30pm but i 5u5pect up in the commons at 3:30pm but i suspect there will be many tory ministers drawing a huge sigh of relief at the decision to delay, because the parliamentary arithmetic looked inescapable that mrs may was heading for an absolutely catastrophic defeat. that said, her decision bring5 catastrophic defeat. that said, her

decision brings with it ri5k5. ri5k number one, it compounds a sense of a weak government that here we have mrs may after two years campaigning for this deal, at the last minute 5he bulks and has to delay it. it also fuel5 5he bulks and has to delay it. it also fuels the sense of a government in disarray. we've had days of ministers in5isting the deal is going to be voted on tomorrow, we had the brexit secretary yesterday saying it was 100% going ahead, michael gove this morning saying yes it's going to happen. now it's not going to happen. lastly, i wonder whether there will be a sense of profound wearine55 amongst many voters and probably parliamentarians that this issue just rambles on and fails to come to a conclusion. mrs may, yes, she's got herself some time but probably only a narrow window of time. if she doesn't manage to get some sort of

conce55ion from the eu on the backstop, that parliamentary arithmetic will still be staring her in the face. thank you. time for a look at the weather — here's helen willets. it has been a reasonably bright start to the week but will have that age—old battle of the mild atlantic airand the age—old battle of the mild atlantic air and the cold continental weather giving us cloud. enjoy the sunshine, here it is with a du5ting giving us cloud. enjoy the sunshine, here it is with a dusting of snow on the mountain tops in the distance. it's a little cloudier in cumbria. we've had a few showers around through cumbria, north—west of england and into wales and the south—west. they are few and far between. we have quite a bright start for most of us to the working week but already, waiting in the wind5, this mass of