the prime minister is back here in brussels for a crucial eu summit, the day after surviving a confidence vote. theresa may is hoping to win consessions from eu leaders to break the deadlock over the irish backstop. i don't expect an immediate breakthrough but what i do hope is that we can start to work as quickly as possible on the assurances that are necessary. we'll have all the latest from here in brussels and back in westminster. also this lunchtime.... hospital beds in england were almost full last week, with the usual winter pressures still to come. those with deeply—held religious beliefs will have their concerns addressed to encourage more organ donations. and missing their cue....a multi—million—pound revamp of eastenders‘ albert square is way over—budget and late. and coming up on bbc news... rules will change to protect women coming back to tennis after having a child, but serena william's wish

that they should be seeded has not been granted. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. theresa may is here in brussels this lunchtime for a crucial summit of eu leaders, after surviving yesterday's confidence vote of conservative mps. the prime minister has come here looking for concessions that will help sell her brexit deal. in particular, she wants a promise that the plan to prevent checks at the irish border — known as the backstop — will only be temporary. it's a key issue for her tory critics who forced last night's ballot. the eu leaders gathering here right now have made it clear they won't renegotiate the deal

itself, but the bbc has seen the draft conclusions of this summit which suggest they will try to offer new assurances about the backstop, as our correspondent adam fleming reports. safe in herjob, for now, theresa may has sped to brussels to secure tweaks to the brexit deal. first stop, a meeting with the irish prime minister. the focus is on the back—up plan for avoiding a hard border on the island of ireland, the so—called backstop. my focus now is on ensuring that i can get those assurances that we need to get this deal over the line because i genuinely believe it is in the best interests of both sides, the uk and the eu, to agree a deal. but i recognise the strength of concern in the house of commons and that is what i will be putting to colleagues today. i do not expect an immediate

breakthrough, but i hope we can start to work as quickly as possible on the assurances that are necessary. the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, is not willing to do any more negotiating. but eu leaders are considering six paragraphs of written reassurance. they will say the backstop is temporary and would only be in place for as long as needed, not forever. the eu will pledge to continue negotiating a trade deal with the uk even if the backstop comes into force. and the uk and the eu will work on more reassurances about the backstop, which could be finalised in january. none of that would be legally binding, but if all 27 other leaders sign up to it here tonight, it would be politically binding, and there is a promise of stronger stuff to come. arriving for their traditional presummit meeting with eu leaders said they wanted to help but there were limits. we need to achieve good solutions.

it is impossible on the brexit for us to change our position. that was the message in the german parliament this morning as well. it passed a motion calling the idea of a better brexit deal an illusion. translation: our clear interest continues to be an agreement with great britain, the agreement negotiated on for many months is truly a fair compromise. it is a good basis for an orderly exit and for the creation of close future ties. there is no basis to unravel this agreement. we have made this clear again in recent days and nothing will change. mrs may has convinced the eu to lend her a hand, but can anything she brings back from brussels convince angry mps back at home? let's talk to adam fleming live. the

six paragraphs could be very important but the question is are they legally binding and will they be enough? good questions. we should say this is a draft of the document, when the leaders go through it with their own highlighter pens they may change some of it so it may be twea ked change some of it so it may be tweaked by the time we get to see it. it is not legally binding but it will be politically binding because the 27 leaders will have walked the carpet, listened to mrs may, and then this will be there in black and white, the reassurance they are prepared to offer to get the deal through. anything that is legally bindingi through. anything that is legally binding i think will come later because tonight the eu is opening a door to another rosettes were officials will sit down with the british and try to hammer out another document that we will not see until january. the another document that we will not see untiljanuary. the prime minister admitted on the red carpet a few minutes ago this is not the end of the story, it is the start of the process of getting that reassurance. the eu has a dilemma,

they need to keep the irish and other member states happy and make sure the backstop, the commitment to ireland, is solid but at the same time say stuff to mrs may that helps her with her mps. the 585 divorce treaty will not change, this is all about what can be done around the edges to help theresa may when she goes to sell the deal for a final time. adams, thank you very much indeed. adam fleming there. well, mrs may will be telling the other eu leaders what she needs from them at the first working session of this summit in a couple of hours, and later the 27 will discuss brexit — among themselves and without mrs may — to see what they can do to help her. now, let's get the latest on all the political developments at home now, with my colleague simon mccoy at westminster. the prime minister has confirmed this morning that she won't lead her party in to the next election. and it now seems th so—called "meaningful vote" for mps

on her brexit deal?is unlikely to be held next week, though?it will happen before january the 21st. ?tensions are still running high within the conservative party after last night's ?vote of confidence — as our political correspondent iain watson reports. the morning after the night before at westminster, not exactly a new dawn for the prime minister. the vote of confidence was if not disastrous certainly disappointing, with more than a third of her mps wanting her to go. she confirmed today she had to promise not to lead her party into another election. her focus now was on her deal. the next general election is in 2022 and i think it's right another leader ta kes think it's right another leader takes us into that election. my focus is on ensuring we can get those reassurances we need to get this deal over the line. the main issueis this deal over the line. the main issue is the backstop, staying close to eu rules to avoid a hard border in ireland. her critics and some of her cabinet believes she needs a

legally watertight assurance that it is temporary. i wish her every success today in making sure she delivers on some of the questions my collea g u es delivers on some of the questions my colleagues had about the backstop. we have a period of time now for the prime minister to have those discussions with european colleagues, and i think we saw in the language that was reported last night that there is some movement. this former conservative leader doesn't think there has been nearly enough. what's on offer is watch it forces the eu to face up to. we don't want to hear any more about what the eu won't do, what we want to know is what the uk government is prepared to do. are you prepared to leave the table, are you prepared to save the eu? for god sake you are the ones that will not compromise. and he warns theresa may that without significant changes,

northern ireland's dup could force herfrom office. northern ireland's dup could force her from office. we may face a vote of confidence in the house. how can we rely on the dup to support us when they are so fundamentally offside on this agreement? theresa may leaves behind a divided party. her chancellor talks about flushing out extremists. the former leader has said that kind of talk a bit the end of the party as we know it, and a minister has said after the apocalypse or that are left are ants and tory mps complaining about europe and their leader. the tall orderfor europe and their leader. the tall order for theresa may is she europe and their leader. the tall orderfor theresa may is she must heal those divisions in little more than a month. mps will vote on the fourth the 21st of january. if it is rejected she has until the 11th of february to rethink which doesn't give much time for the eu parliament to give its approval. theresa may how to give its approval. theresa may now needs to build bridges with her owh now needs to build bridges with her own backbenchers and she will be

reflecting on the fact that it is easier to win a vote of no confidence than to win approval for her deal at westminster. our assistant political editor is norman smith is with me. let's assume there is no further crisis that the prime minister has to deal with. it's christmas going ahead as normal now, based on the timings we have heard? fingers crossed, it looks that way because the government have indicated mrs may's vote on the deal won't happen until the new year. one of the paradoxes of last night is actually it may not have changed very much. she seems to be facing this insurmountable task of getting her brexit deal through, and now it seems even harder because we have this solid block of tory mps, 170, this solid block of tory mps, i70, who appear to be irreconcilable. they are against mrs may and

probably against whatever deals she brings back. that is despite her promise to them yesterday, i will not be your leader at the next election, something she has confirmed in the past half—hour. still, ii7 confirmed in the past half—hour. still, 117 will vote against her so how does she break this deadlock bastion mount one idea that has been mooted is that she reaches out to the opposition parties, and she seemed to float that last night, talking about the need for whole parties to come together. that idea has evoked a furious response, iain duncan smith described it as mad. another option is that she terrifies mps with the threat of no deal. many mps with the threat of no deal. many mps believe she wouldn't dare do that. option three, you go for a second referendum. mrs may has firmly set her face against that. auction four is the eu offer up meaningful concessions but they have pretty much already signalled that won't happen so i'm afraid in the

new year we will be back on the brexit roundabout, going round and round with all of the exit is seemingly blocked off either by high walls or cliff edges so let's hope christmas will be a good one! thank you very much. well, over the last days and weeks, theresa may has been continually urging her conservative mps to think of the voters. the port city of southampton chose leave in the referendum — are voters there fully behind theresa may? our correspondent duncan kennedy has been finding out. southampton, the city that found its sea legs under the romans. and a place fully prepared to voice its opinions on the prime minister. first stop, the christmas market, where among the red leicester and the cheshire blue came some sympathy for mrs may. she has got her hands tied ina for mrs may. she has got her hands tied in a lot of areas, and yes i would definitely keep going with. i

feel sorry for her at this time to be honest. why change somebodyjust before something is going to happen? but down at the station, some were less impressed by the prime minister's survival skills. we still have the prime minister we had before and everything will be the same. this is a referendum leave city voting 54% to 46%. many see the prime minister in a high wire act of political survival, including some at southampton university where a lecture theatre of students today became a decent sounding board for many opinions. where do you think last night's vote leaves theresa may? at this point there needs to be solidarity in getting brexit broke. she is left in a situation where she cannot get a deal through parliament and she will have to go back to brussels with nothing. she's not

taking into account those who voted for a hard brexit and those who want a soft brexit. she has her deal and she's driving it forward. where does theresa may go from here? she's driving it forward. where does theresa may go from here ?|j she's driving it forward. where does theresa may go from here? i think she has shown a lot of strength, she has been nicknamed the appeaser, and how has been nicknamed the appeaser, and now she wants to go forward in the national interest and i think her ability to do that is ready to be applauded. one city of course cannot speakfor a applauded. one city of course cannot speak for a nation and some... theresa may was still the prime minister this morning, how do you feel about that? i couldn't care less. i couldn't care less about any of them. have other things on their mind. the sense in westminster is that we will lurch to christmas but after the last few days, anything is

possible and nothing can be ruled out. back to you. thank you, simon. beds in england's hospitals were almost full last week, and not far off levels reached at the height of last winter, during the flu outbreak. our health editor hugh pym is here... winter officially begins on december the 21st and the beds are already full? that is the way it looks, even before winter has really begun to bite and cold weather has come a long, before there is any significant flu problem, these figures show the nhs in england under serious pressure. they show last week first of all, there were 94.2% of beds occupied across hospitals in england, the safe level is said to be 85% and that 94.2% was very close to the peak reached last winter. also for a&e performance in november in england, the percentage of nations micro scene treated or

assessed within the four our target was 87.6%. the lowest since march and below scotland. what are the nhs saying about this? they are pointing out they are seeing more patients and there are more being dealt with 0h and there are more being dealt with on the day and who don't need a hospital bed. the government is saying more money is being invested in a&e facilities and in social care to ta ke in a&e facilities and in social care to take the pressure off hospitals but many are saying this winter will be even tougher than last year, even with all of that, and the royal couege with all of that, and the royal college of nursing is arguing the big goblin is staff shortages. filling vacancies is difficult and you cannot deal with thatjust by putting in some money at the last minute. thank you. the time is 1.16pm. our top story this lunchtime. after surviving her party's confidence vote, theresa may is back in brussels for a crucial summit to and win guarantees, in brussels for a crucial summit to win guarantees, over the irish backstop.

and still to come... a new bbc documentary assesses the impact on the people of lockerbie, of the notorious terror attack exactly 30 years ago this month. coming up on bbc news, they are through to the champions league last extent, butjose through to the champions league last extent, but jose mourinho through to the champions league last extent, butjose mourinho says he expected better from his extent, butjose mourinho says he expected betterfrom his starting line—up for manchester united. it was just before christmas, 30 years ago, when a quiet market town in dumfrieshire, became the scene of an horrific terrorist atrocity. pan am flight 103 was blown up mid—air, with debris falling across the town of lockerbie, and changing the lives of local people forever. david cowan reports now on a new documentary from bbc scotland. a pan—american boeing 7117 airliner, flying from london to new york, crashed tonight in the scottish borders... on the 21st of december 1988, the world learned the name of a town called lockerbie.

i was aware of something just going past the house, and then there was a woosh, and suddenly the whole sky turned orange, and there were flames hundreds of feet up into the air. blown apart by a bomb at 31,000 feet, pan am 103 fell onto the houses and countryside below. there were debris all over the place, there were actually bodies in the garden. wreckage from the aircraft was scattered over a wide area... all 259 passengers and crew were killed. 11 people died in their homes in lockerbie. it was a catastrophe that the plane hit the town at all, but it was miraculous, in a number of incidences, that there weren't more people who had been killed, or even seriously injured. in the days that followed, the emergency services, armed forces and volunteers gathered in the dead from the hills, a gruelling task, made worse

by the time of year. my daughter had said to me, you know, come and get christmas dinner with us. i sat down to have my meal, and i had one spoonful of soup, and i couldn't take any more. i went through to bed, to a dark room, and ijust lay down. the most telling image is of the very small coffins for very, very young people. that is, you know, bad enough for anybody, but somehow, somehow, i don't know why, somehow that's worse. lockerbie became a place of pilgrimage for the families of the victims. for people to come into lockerbie, they were coming into what they imagined might be hell, and what they found was love, and care, and gentleness, and concern. well, my strongest feeling, certainly at the time, was the guilt. i think quite a lot of us felt that, that these people had died, and we were still alive. 270 people murdered,

because that's what it was. i don't think many people would like that to go past without recognition. as long as there is lockerbie, i think this event should be commemorated in december. that report from david cowan, and viewers in scotland can see the full documentary, ‘the lockerbie legacy‘ at nine o'clock tonight on bbc one, and then across the uk on bbciplayer. local authorities in england, will be given the power to raise council taxes by an additional 3% next year. the communities secretary james brokenshire made the announcement in the commons a short time ago. our political correspondent alex forsyth is at westminster. alex, was this expected? yeah, we've

been waiting for this announcement for about a week, because it was delayed, and this is the context. for the past eight years or so, councils have had a mud of money they get from government cut back, and at the same time the demand for their essential services, particularly children's and adult social care, has been increasing, so this announcement was telling councils how much money they will get the next financial year, which sta rts get the next financial year, which starts in april. and the secretary of state said, overall, there would bea 2.8% of state said, overall, there would be a 2.8% increase in core funding. councils will also be able to increase council tax to help cover the cost of services by a maximum of 396, the cost of services by a maximum of 3%, and 15 council areas would try out a new scheme where they get to keep more business rates to help cover the cost of services too. the secretary of state james brokenshire said he understood the challenge councils faced, he wanted them to get the resources they need, there will be a whole review of the way councils are funded but labour said today's announcement falls short, that it today's announcement falls short, thatitis today's announcement falls short, that it is just shifting the burden from the government onto council

taxpayers to cover the cost of their services, and the local government association, which represent councils, says next year will be challenging. they were disappointed the government did not give councils more of the desperately needed resources , more of the desperately needed resources, and there would be tough challenges when it comes to next year, with councils deciding what they can afford to provide. thank you, alex forsyth, at westminster. it's just been announced that police forces are being given additional money by the government to fund changes to pensions. there had been warnings that thousands ofjobs were at risk because of changes to the system. our home affairs correspondent june kelly is here. just fill us in on the background all this. clyde, setting the scene, recorded crime is up, offers a numbers are down and police say they are struggling to do everything expected of them. a few months ago, police chiefs were told there would have to find an extra £165 million to basically cover pension costs from next april. now, they said this was just a from next april. now, they said this wasjust a bridge from next april. now, they said this was just a bridge too far. in the

past few minutes, the policing minister nick hurd has announced a common a grant of 153 million to offset the pension shortfall, and generalfunding is offset the pension shortfall, and general funding is going offset the pension shortfall, and generalfunding is going up by 160 million. and thenjust generalfunding is going up by 160 million. and then just following generalfunding is going up by 160 million. and thenjust following on from what alex was saying, police and crime commissioners around the country, the people who oversee police forces, they are being told they can raise more money through they can raise more money through the council tax. they have the option of putting up council tax by £24 a year on a band d property. it is reckoned this could bring in about 500 million but of course more affluent parts of the country have more band d robert hughes than poorer areas “— more band d robert hughes than poorer areas —— properties than poorer areas —— properties than poorer areas. the police and crime commissioner to the west midlands says the settlement represents another real terms cut in funding. union leaders are demanding tougher punishments for people who attack ambulances. a bbc investigation, has found there were more than 200 attacks on vehicles in the past

three years, with damage caused by knives, bricks, and even wheelie bins. matt graveling has the details — his report contains some flashing images. he's throwing what at the ambulance? slabs. one mindless moment, £3,500 worth of damage. and now he's punching the window and kicking the ambulance. this ambulance was forced off the road for six days. the man responsible was fined just £50. that attack in leicester was one of more than 200 recorded by ambulance trusts across the uk in the last three years. our investigation has found that, from broken windows to graffiti, and even slashed tyres, these vehicles have been attacked with metal poles, fireworks, knives and bricks. and as the service enters one of its busiest periods of the year, the message remains — take one of these off the road and you are putting lives at risk. i have cleared up from a job where i handed over to the crew, walked round to the front of my rrv

and found that flour, eggs and brown sauce had been squirted and thrown all over the front of the car. there was at least three calls that i can remember that i couldn't answer. all category one, which is our highest grade of call. west midlands ambulance service recorded the highest number of attacks with 36, including two ambulances hit by bricks, thrown from the same underpass 30 minutes apart. yorkshire saw 29 incidents, including doors being hit with a baseball bat. and london recorded 26 attacks, one in which a man threw a microwave. in november, the maximum prison term for people assaulting emergency workers doubled from six months to a year, however this doesn't include the damage of ambulances, or the equipment they carry. similar penalties for those that vandalise should also apply to those that are assaulting staff. you can repairan

you can repair an ambulance but it can takea you can repair an ambulance but it can take a lot longer for staff who suffered the trauma of this to get over what they experience. the department of health and social care said nhs organisations do everything they can to protect their own equipment and are working closely with police and the crown prosecution service to see that these individuals are rightly prosecuted. matt gravelin, bbc news. from today, people joining the organ donation register, are to be asked if they want their religious beliefs to be considered. research has found that cultural and religious concerns result in a lower proporation of people from black or asian backgrounds, becoming donors. adina campbell has more. an evening celebrating south asian culture, but also taking centre stage at leeds hindu temple are personal stories about organ donation. through my lupus, i had renalfailure. religion is partly responsible for the shortage of black and asian donors, but now the organ donor register will include more information about someone's faith. by declaring the faith, you are saying that when the time

comes, you have a religious leader consultation to allow that family to make an informed decision. for me, it was a life—changing event and by the grace of god i'm here. the kidney is functioning well. amjid ali was diagnosed with double chronic kidney failure at the age of 20. after spending 23 years on dialysis, his nephew ended up being his donor. there are religious issues and there are cultural factors that come into play, and one of the things i understood from my own background and knowledge of islam is that there is this hierarchy, in terms of scholarly school of thought, and the fact that most community members rely on either a religious scholar or a local imam to give them that validation that what they're doing within the context of islam is permissible. those waiting for a transplant are more likely to find a match from people with a similar background, but the problem is very

few people from black and asian communities have signed up to be an organ donor, even though more than a third of people from those groups are waiting for a transplant. i did a complete scan and it was a great shock to me. hearing first—hand experiences can make a big difference. this woman donated one of her kidneys to her husband almost ten years ago. service to mankind is the first thing that should come to everybody. so, if we're not coming forward, even after hearing people like me, even after seeing so many people suffering in front of the eyes, it is equal to killing someone. that is what i would say. nhs staff say the inclusion of the new faith declaration on the organ donor register will lead to more informed conversations, but these events arejust as important — a gateway into communities of all cultures. eastenders' albert square,

has been the centre of much drama over the years, but now there's outrage over the cost of revamping the set. the bbc has been criticised by the national audit office, for a £27 million overspend, and the fact that completion will be two years late. here's our media editor, amol rajan. it's been the scene of dramatic revelations. crime, conspiracy, death, shootings and plenty ofjoy too. but albert square is showing its age. i'm sorry for barging in like this, dot... pauline. but its old reg across the road, he looks a bit dodgy. built in 1984, and originally designed to last forjust two years, the set has been found wanting — unable to film in high definition and prompting concerns around health and safety. now the bbc has been found wanting in its management of the project. the corporation says building on a brownfield site is intrinsically difficult,

and points to procurement delays, lengthy contractual negotiations aimed at securing value for money and inflation associated with the construction. yet the national audit office does find reason to criticise decisions and processes undertaken by the bbc. and, action! eastenders is such a vitaljewel in the corporation's crown that securing its long—term future was not something the bbc could compromise on. nevertheless, at a time when parts of the corporation are enduring sharp cost—cutting, this overspend is an embarrassment. amol rajan, bbc news. you can't tell me what to do, you ain't my mother! time for a look at the weather, here's stav da naos.