today at 5, the prime minister is back in brussels, to try win extra assurances, on her controversial brexit deal. eu leaders say there is no room for renegotiation, only clarification, but theresa may is seeking new auurances on the irish border. i don't expect an immediate breakthrough, but what i do hope is that we can start work as quickly as possible on the assurances that are necessary. and i'm ben brown in brussels. with the prime minister by now is with the other 27 eu leaders asking them for those assurances to help sell her brexit deal. more from ben in brussels in a moment, along with continued reaction at westminster. the other main stories on bbc news at 5pm. some hospitals in england are working at capacity, and are turning patients away, as they're overcrowded with no spare beds. unions demand tougher punishments for those who attack ambulances, after a bbc investigation found they were being targeted with wheelie bins, knives and bricks. and, more trouble in albert square, the bbc is under attack as the new eastenders set goes 27 million pounds over budget.

it's 5 o'clock. our main story is the prime minister's visit to brussels, to try to win extra assurances, to save her brexit deal. but at the meeting of eu leaders, president macron of france told reporters that the withdrawal agreement can not be renegotiated. the main sticking point is the arrangement for the irish border, if a trade deal is not eventually agreed, a guarantee known as the backstop. there are fears that the uk could be permanently bound to eu rules, under the current plans. let's cross to brussels and join my colleague ben brown. so theresa may is meeting the eu leaders at the moment

here in brussels. the first working session of the government she will meet with them for dinner later. at the end of that dinnerand for dinner later. at the end of that dinner and the other 27 metres will together, discuss brexit, in a room which doesn't include the british prime minister. they will be talking about the future of their relationship with the united kingdom, without the prime minister of the united kingdom. theresa may has said that she doesn't expect an immediate breakthrough here, but she is looking for assurances about the backstop. which she hopes will help her solve the brexit deal. now, what sort of assurances will they be? other leaders have said they can't renegotiate the treaty, but perhaps there could be some sort of annex or protocol to that treaty. let's get this report now from adam fleming. 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 the eu leaders said they wanted to help but there were limits. i want to emphasise a think the withdrawal agreement has been negotiated very well, we will discuss afterwards among us how we will proceed. of course we also have oui’ will proceed. of course we also have our principles, and i don't to see how this agreement could be changed. they need to achieve good solutions. it's possible for brexit for us to change our position. ??new line misses may have convinced the eu to lend her hand. but can anything she

brings back from brussels convince angry mps back at home? i'm joined by former ukip leader and mep, nigel farage. and independent now because you but you get. thank you very much indeed. many people see you as one of the architects of brexit, what do you think of the process that's unfolding here now, where theresa may is asking for assurances to get her dealfor may is asking for assurances to get her deal for the may is asking for assurances to get her dealfor the house of may is asking for assurances to get her deal for the house of commons? she's boxed herself in the most impossible corner. full marks to them and they are rather clever and better than we are, she's in terrible trouble. because she signed up terrible trouble. because she signed up to terrible trouble. because she signed uptoa terrible trouble. because she signed up to a withdrawal agreement, she didn't dare put it to the house of commons, she's not coming here seeking assurances and reassurances, but here's the point. the word being used is... it's a form of words that gets tacked on it that hasn't no legally binding effect, and the truth of it is. what's going on here

todayis truth of it is. what's going on here today is pretty humiliating. all the people i know, but i've known for 20 yea rs, people i know, but i've known for 20 years, thejoke people i know, but i've known for 20 years, the joke now people i know, but i've known for 20 years, thejoke now is people i know, but i've known for 20 years, the joke now is well, people i know, but i've known for 20 years, thejoke now is well, of course, you are leaving nigel on you? that's the kind of atmosphere we've got here. i should go back tomorrow with a tail between her legs. she says this deal may not be perfect but it will bring the country together. let's face it, the country together. let's face it, the country since the referendum has been deeply divided over europe. her deal, for all its faults, would reunite the country, what would you say to that? the opposite is happening. huge numbers, huge percentage two thirds to three quarters of levers are repulsed by this deal. so actually, no i's coming together. the way you bring people together, is to show leadership. it'sjust a right, this is where we're going, to head in the direction, and make a success of it. when she's trying to do all the way through this, is to please both sides a little bit. it doesn't work. if this deal was to be ratified, we leave the european union treaties, but we would be trapped inside something. that we couldn't leave,

without permission from the other side, it doesn't work. it's not about her, it's about parliament, parliament may not like her deal, but it also has made it clear that it doesn't like the idea of the no—deal brexit, does that? we got a strange situation here. parliaments can't cope with the result of the referendum, there's a big majority of parliament to our very against brexit. the reality of course is, there is not a parliamentary majority for anything, including a second referendum, we are ina including a second referendum, we are in a situation of a stalemate. here's the point, we locked ourselves into an awful corner in a time is running out for the prime minister. her argument again is, if you don't get this deal if the comments, you might end up with no brexit at all,... how did she say that? how dare, how dare the woman, who stood on a general election manifesto was saying i will take you out of the european union, the single market, and a customs union, how dare she? maybe she's got a point. maybe she's

got a point, maybe she's got a point. maybe she's gota point, if maybe she's got a point. maybe she's got a point, if she doesn't get this deal through, maybe there won't be a brexit be a second referendum. and brexit be a second referendum. and brexit would be of this deal does go through this legislation in place right now that says we will leave on march 29. that would take real courage. and real leadership. what i would like, is for the referendum to be delivered especially because he voted for it for a second time in a general election, at the moment, of course i'm concerned that there isn't a parliamentary majority. she does have a lot on her side, she was strong about this, it would happen. would you like and no—deal brexit? i want brexit. i want britain to be an independent country. for 25 years i've campaigned for a genuine free trade agreement. at no point in this process have we even ask for that. if you? is our prime minister right now i'd say i'm sorry we've wasted too much time, we are leaving, if you want further conversation about free trade and the number of cars to sell

in our country, please come and see us in our country, please come and see us in london. the prime minister has also said, this is about prosperity, isn't it? it's about saving peoples jobs, notjust isn't it? it's about saving peoples jobs, not just about leaving isn't it? it's about saving peoples jobs, notjust about leaving the union. i've heard all this before, i've heard this from a conservative prime minister. it was called the exchange rate mechanism. it was going to sell our economic ills, it led to the biggest recession in history, i would advise viewers of this programme do not listen to government projections or threads. they don't actually work. a lot of people will say, ok, theresa may may have made mistakes, but they admire her courage and her stability, and she's fought and fought to get this deal through, and maybe just she's fought and fought to get this deal through, and maybejust maybe she'll get it through. maybe she'll get the assurance she's seeking here from the eu, and she will, in the end, get to the house of commons. be you and i both know she's not going to get any legal changes to the withdrawal agreement here at all. i'll agree with you on one thing. there is a remarkable quality, however big the waves are

she stays firmly to the rock. on that level, we may admire her, but frankly, she's been i think so duplicitous with the british public. telling us she was taking back control of our laws, money, and borders, this document doesn't do anything of the kind. she won the vote of confidence last night. she did, she did. 37% of the conservative parliamentary parties voted against her. a win is a win. as you said after the referendum. yes, if the losing side except that. but you can get a situation where the losing side doesn't accept it. without that with the remainders in the united kingdom, and that you'll notice today former brexit secretary coming out publicly saying, she should go. other conservative politicians now using language that was stronger than it was before that vote. it looks to me like the losing side of yesterday of the tory party haven't accepted it. i would suggest her position is far from secure. thank you so much for being with us here on bbc not news live from brussels. we will have full

developments from this eu summit in the coming hours. let's tell you more about what the various leaders said as they arrive for the summit. well, theresa may has met her irish counterpart, leo varadkar, for urgent talks, ahead of the summit. he said that while the eu was keen to assist her, it could not reopen the withdrawal agreement. we had a very long meeting this morning, an opportunity for prime minister mayto give me her analysis of the situation in the difficulties she's facing, and securing ratification of the agreement in london. i also had an opportunity to give her ireland's perspective. the deal that we have is the only deal on the table, it took over 2 years or almost 2 years to negotiate, and while that's far from perfect, i believe it's good for ireland, good for britain, and good for the european union. and i sincerely hope that it can still be ratified in the next couple of weeks. when it comes to the assurances prime minister may is seeking, as the european union,

we're very keen to offer explanations, assurances, clarifications, anything that may assist mps to understand the agreement, and hopefully to support us. but the backstop is not on the table. speaking on the summit here on his way to brussels. he is the political editorfor way to brussels. he is the political editor for the way to brussels. he is the political editorfor the irish way to brussels. he is the political editor for the irish times and joins me now. perhaps, what is your reading of the situation of the other 27 eu leaders going to give theresa may what she needs to go home and get this brexit deal through parliament, sounds like it isn't, well the vote won't be before christmas. but, whenever it is, sounds like it must be injanuary. i suppose the question there is what does theresa may need to get this through the cons comments? she says

asking for the backstop to be rewritten in the treaty, yet her opponents in the comments seemed to indicate that that at least is what many of them are requiring the difficulty i suppose that notjust ireland, but the european union has had throughout this entire process, in their discussions with theresa may, is that they can only speak to her, but she has a divided party a divided parliament, and a divided country behind her. and you see that difficulty with the polling of the vote on the treaty, which he on behalf of the british government agreed got to her cabinet but wasn't sufficiently confident to get through her parliament to actually go ahead with the vote. so that's difficulty. what does theresa may want? that's the difficulty, that's the complaint that you hear increasingly i think in brussels from the eu 27, notjust from the irish. she wants movement on the backstop doesn't she? the question is what can the eu 27 get her on the

backstop in the sense that may be weakening it a bit, backstop in the sense that may be weakening ita bit, or backstop in the sense that may be weakening it a bit, or the timing of it, that would please her, but wouldn't displease people like in your government in the irish republic which of course is staying asa republic which of course is staying as a member of the eu. we all listened closely to what she had to say as well, if you listen to it the other eu leaders were saying not just it the other eu leaders were saying notjust on and, to the summit today, but in recent days, there is quite remarkable consistency with what they're saying. they're saying, and they said the same, misses merkel said the same two misses may when she visited her in the berlin the other day, what they're saying, i guess the same to her inside of that room now, is that you can certainly have clarifications, you can have declarations, but you cannot have a reopening of the treaty text. in the backstop, let's not forget, is in the treaty text. so whatever comes, be it in the form ofa so whatever comes, be it in the form of a political declaration, an agreed statement, a declaration of intent, that seems to be the limit of what is available now. and

perhaps that'll change in the future, but certainly out of today's summit, and out of the foreseeable future, it's not open to the eu leaders or two misses may to open the text of the treaty. therefore to affect the legally operable backstop. in shorter, if she can't get what she wants here, probably she can't get her both of the commons, what would people in the irish government make of that is them a deal them a brexit deal does not succeed, and all sorts of alternative scenarios come into play. all those alternative scenarios as you see, that's not an unlikely eventuality that she can't get it through, even with decorations, even with assurances, that she can't get it through. those implications must play themselves out in westminster. if the british prime minister can agree to things in brussels, but can't get them through her parliament, then really i think what you'll see from the eu 27 and from the irish is a standing back, and

effectively saying to the british, you come and tell us what you want. tell us what you can do, and then we'll see if that is possible. at the moment, if they ask inside, its not outside, but if they ask inside that room, is for the treaty to be reopened, the answer it seems is no. if theresa may is ask is give us some decorations, give us something that helps me get through that i say can get it through my parliament at home, then shall get that. whether she can deliver what she says here is another question. there's lots of questions pat lee thank you very much indeed. political editor of the irish times. that is all from us here in brussels for now. i'll be backin here in brussels for now. i'll be back in 20 minutes or so with our reality check correspondence to talk a little bit more about the future of the prime minister brexit deal and see what the options are for her in terms of getting it through the house of commons. back to you. benny thinks they are with guests at the summit in brussels. but stay with brexit and the ramifications at westminster because the prime minister has confirmed that she will

not be leading a party and the next election. and it now seems the so—called ‘meaningful vote' for mps on, is unlikely to be held next week, though it has to happen before january the 21st. ?tensions are still running high within the conservative party after last night's vote of confidence, which the prime minister survived, 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. herfocus now was on her deal. what i'm clear about is the next general election is in 2022 and i 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 issue, just in case you don't know by now,

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. this morning ministers were hopeful of her progress. i wish her every success today in making sure she 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. but this former conservative leader doesn't think there has been nearly enough. what's on offer is what she forces the eu to face up to. we don't want to hear any more about what the eu won't, the eu wont, what we want to know is what the uk government genuinely think it is prepared to do. are you prepared to leave the table, are you prepared to save the eu? for god's sake you are the ones that will not compromise.

we have compromised all the way through. and he warns theresa may that without significant changes, northern ireland's dup could force herfrom 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. a former leader has said that kind of talk could be the end of the party as we know it, and a current minister has said after the apocalypse or that are left are ants and tory mps complaining about europe and their leader. the tall order for theresa may is she must heal those divisions in little more than a month. mps will vote on here revised deal on or before 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.

as we're due to leave the eu by the end of march. theresa may 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 confidence than to win approval for her deal at westminster. ian watson, bbc news. as ian was saying there are plenty of tension still evident today. westminster in conservative ranks after that vote of confidence yesterday. let's get an update now but the dues westminster to talk to our correspondent. nick, first of all your reading of where those conservative ranks are today after yesterdays events. the party is still unhappy place tonight. yes the prime minister when that confidence vote, yes she saved for another year from that confidence vote, yes she saved for another yearfrom a that confidence vote, yes she saved for another year from a challenge from her own party, but those big divides, those big issues that were there last week are still there this

week. brexiteers are still furious at theresa may and that her policy. and we heard the former secretary saying that it's hard to see how a theresa may leads the party forward, jacob the leader of the e r g saying that she should resign. on the other branches of the conservative party, there are many desperate you that when misses may is in brussels this weekend, and over the next few weeks, we should get something concrete on the backstop. they don't wa nt concrete on the backstop. they don't want some sort of promise, they don't want a piece of paper, they wa nt don't want a piece of paper, they want something legally binding that allows them to move towards supporting her. there's also the massive issue of getting the du be back on board, that looks at the moment to be an almost impossible task, without reopening the withdrawal agreement. something that europe has made clear that it doesn't want to do. so, the prime minister tonight, yes she is safe from a leadership challenge as i say

for the next 12 months. but she's still in quite a vulnerable place, i think that's part of the reasoning behind downing street announcing this afternoon the vote on any brexit deal will not be known until the new year. that gives her a bit more time to find some compromises, to try and win over some conservative mps. the storm clouds of westminster yesterday may have cleared for now. it's not clear skies ahead. nick, many thanks again at westminster. the time is 22 minutes past five. beds in england's hospitals were almost full last week, and not far off the levels reached at the height of last winter, during the flu outbreak. our health editor hugh pym is here. hugh what is the current position? hugh what is the current position? hugh before the weather begins to bite the weather hasn't gotten cold until this week at least. before any serious flu problem, england's hospitals last week where pretty close to being full. let's take a

look at these latest figures, whichjust figures, which just demonstrate figures, whichjust demonstrate how full they were. what they show is that last week, there was 94.2% bed occupancy. that last week, there was 94.2% bed occu pa ncy. pretty that last week, there was 94.2% bed occupancy. pretty near the high point reached last winter, they say a safe level is well below that. if we look in november, had they any performance, that figure was out today as well. showing 87.6% of patients in english hospitals retreated were assessed within four hours, that's the lowest figure recorded in november. again, before the cold weather started, that's below scotland, but ahead of wales and northern ireland. if you look at those figures, and we look ahead, clearly, we' re not those figures, and we look ahead, clearly, we're not quite sure haviland will turn out, but you know, that our massive challenge is certainly ahead with that level of resource in that kind of challenge. that's right, there's warnings that this winter will be even worse than last winter, which was a real challenge right across the uk. the governments around the uk to deal with it, there's no money for

england, which begins april which is after the winter. the government says they have put more money into a any unions for this winter. warnings on the front line, that demand keeps rising, and the money hasn't kept up with that. they are saying that there are more patients echoed through the front door being seen, and they are being given more care on the day, and not having to stay overnight. but even so, i think it's going to be a tough few months, and of course, a lot will depend on whether and whether another serious strain of flu that appears. thanks very much for the latest you my health editor. french police have mounted a security operation in part of the city of strasbourg, following the killing of three people at a christmas market there on tuesday. armed police have sealed off streets in the district of neudorf, just south of the city centre, but it isn't known whether they're hunting directly for the gunman. the city's mayor has said the attack was "indisputably an act of terrorism" and more than 700 police officers are taking part in the manhunt.

local authorities in engalnd have warned they still face making "tough decisions" on spending despite the government clearing the way for council tax to increase by up to 3% next year. communities secretary james brokenshire announced that authorities would also share an additional £1.3 billion under the provisional local government finance settlement. he said he recognised the pressures that councils were under. we've announced the provisional settlement for local governments. the financial picture for the next financial year. and this shows a real terms increase in funding for local councils, and it recognises some of the pressures we know are there. particularly on children's and adult social care. reaffirming some of the statements that were made in the budget of £650 million for social care. but also some important announcements in relations to retaining the business rates that counsellors generate locally, as well as extra support

for new homes, as well as for rural communities too. that was james burke are speaking earlier. let's take a look at the other stories on bbc news at five. police forces in england and wales are to receive extra funding to help fight cyber crime, terrorism and pay for additional pension costs. around 300—million—pounds will come from the government, while police and crime commissioners will be able to increase the policing element of council tax. shares in the fashion chain bonmarche have fallen sharply after the group warned it could make a full—year loss of up to £4 million. the yorkshire—based firm said trading conditions on the high street were "unprecedented" and "significantly worse" than at the height of the financial crisis. workers on south western railway are to stage two fresh strikes, including on new year's eve, in long—running dispute over guards on trains. members of the rail, maritime and transport union will walk out for 2h hours on december 27 and 31, in addition to a previously

announced strike on december 22. soa27 so a 27 minutes past five let's pick up so a 27 minutes past five let's pick up again on the main story, the prime ministers be seen on a visit to brussels today meeting eu leaders to brussels today meeting eu leaders to win extra assurances on parts of the brexit deal that withdrawal agreement that she's put together. let's talk now to conservative mp sir bernard jenkin, who voted against theresa may in the confidence vote last night. thanks forjoining us. on the first and given that misses may has confirmed she won't be leading the party into the next election, your response to that? that really didn't come as a surprise. i think it underlines how vulnerable she is, that she felt the need to say that, it might have reassured a few of my colleagues, and a few of her leadership rivals,

but i'd expect the results i win is a win. i will support her as leader of the conservative party of prime minister. i'll pick up on that on the election point. if there were no election in the next few months, do you expect that assurance is still going to be in place? of people were saying of course it's about 2022, which is the formal date of the next election, if you like, what's your sense of that? if we find ourselves actual notice in an early general election, because we lose a vote of confidence or something like that, i expect the conservative party would change its leadership very rapidly to try and avoid an early general election, because if you think the last couple of days have been disruptive, at this crucial point in our history, and early general election would be disastrous. that's whatjeremy corbin wants to inflict on the country at the moment. i think, you know, i think it's more difficult to avoid an early general election,

because of course theresa mays government doesn't have the support of the democratic union in this party. the principal, the foundation principle that our parliamentary democracy is the government of the day must have the confidence of the house of commons. the labour party keeps threatening to test that confidence. that will be a very dangerous moment. the prime minister has your support today. 0h has your support today. oh yes, she, we tested the opinion of the parliamentary party, did they wa nt to of the parliamentary party, did they want to start a leadership election process ? want to start a leadership election process? the answer was no. and i accept that. you also accept that some of your colleagues don't take that view? i think some of them have struck a different tone. that's not my style. i think we have to be realistic that all the problems that existed before the last couple of days still exist. she has to come back from brussels, with an agreement, that doesn't so

offended the democratic union in this party. that they might abandon support for the conservative party to stay in government. if she can do that, she either has to abandon the agreement, or we will finish up in a general election, a vote of confidence situation. the stakes are very high, the problem is that teresa mays relationship with arlene foster and the du p, the trust is broken down, and unless you can amend the trust, then we remain in a very honourable situation. as to say, the stakes are very high, and what you really saying then, is that assurances, more assurances today from brussels will not go nearly far enough, you want something that is legally watertight to define parts of this agreement that you don't like. you did suggest in her remarks in the 1922 committee yesterday, and in her comments on the downing street last night that she was going for something that could be expressed in

legal terms, but unless it gives the united kingdom the unambiguous right to believe that the new arrangements, as we can choose to leave the european union at the moment, and unless it's avoids treating, changing the status of northern ireland without the consent of the people of ireland which is a breach of the belfast agreement, then i think she will find it very difficult to records that trust with the du p. can you foresee kind of changes to this current agreement that would bring you on board to vote for? well, the changes of that nature, you know, we're all prepared to make compromises, i certainly am. we've already accepted many many big compromises and what the government wa nts compromises and what the government wants from the agreement, but we u nless we wants from the agreement, but we unless we can get the du p on board, evenif unless we can get the du p on board, even if other conservative mps vote for her agreement, without the du p, it will not go through. some people just don't see to see the maps here,

a lot of anger has been found at the conservative mps who didn't support theresa may yesterday, and her expressed concerns of reservations about the agreement. but unless the dup about the agreement. but unless the du p supports the agreement, we can all vote for it, but it won't go through, and moreover, theresa may at‘s government will not be able to govern. that's why some of us felt it necessary to give the parliamentary party a choice yesterday, which they may regret rejecting. good to talk to dan, thank you very much. so bernard jenkin is, the conservative mps with his thoughts on where we are today after the boat of confidence in the prime minister, which is survived by a majority of 83. time for a look at the weather, here's stav with the forecast. there was certainly a very cold day today with an extremely bracing strong wind from the east of the south—west. —— south—east. that will

ta ke south—west. —— south—east. that will take us into a cold, largely dry night with quite a significant frost developing from any of us. a bit of cloud on the eastern side of the country, one or two wintry showers, and cloud out west which helped temperatures not fall below three or 4 degrees in belfast, but noticed the subzero values, perhaps down to —4 the subzero values, perhaps down to “4 minus five celsius. on the plus side, because of high pressure influencing the weather, there should be plenty of sunshine around. out west, this weather front will be packing up and bringing increasing wind, cloud, outbreaks of rain with some snow on the leading edge in northern ireland. that takes us on to the weekend, looking pretty good, low pressure which will bring wind, rain, snow and ice, could see some significant snowfall from northern england and scotland. stay tuned to the forecast. to time is 534.

this is bbc news. the headlines — eu leaders say there is no room for renegotiation, only clarification, but theresa may is seeking new assurances on the irish border. some hospitals in england are working at capacity, and are turning patients away, as they're overcrowded with no spare beds. trade unions demand tougher punishments for those who attack ambulances, after a bbc investigation found they were being targeted with wheelie bins, knives and bricks. let's cross to the bbc sport centre — and join hugh. bbc sport understands that ashley giles is set to be named the new director of england cricket. giles is believed to be the preferred candidate of the ecb to replace andrew strauss, who announced he was stepping down two months ago after his wife was diagnosed with cancer. the former england one—day coach, who's currently with warwickshire, is understood to have been offered

the role and in the final stages of negotiations over terms. martin glenn has resigned as fa chief executive, and will step down at the end of the season, ending four years at the governing body. glenn said it had been a "huge honour and a privilege" to lead the fa, who have credited him with creating the "culture around st george's park", and the england teams, which has led to an unprecedented period of success." but his time in charge has been marked with controversy as well as achievement... there has been great success on the pitch, at youth level, at senior level, for the men and the women. he was also influential in reorganising the fixture schedule to bring about a winter break, which will come into force next season. he oversaw record investment into women's football show he has increased the diversity within the fa, in terms of women's representation in staff roles, and also be a ma representation. so some

good things there but also some negative things as well. huge controversy negative things as well. huge co ntrove rsy over negative things as well. huge controversy over sam alla rdyce's short reign in charge of the national team, mark samsung being sacked in charge of the women's team, and also the sale of wembley. he supported it, it didn't go through, so a mixed bag. celtic striker leigh griffiths sez he is doing everything he can to return to football a "better and stronger person". his manager brendan rodgers announced yesterday that griffiths would be taking time away from football to deal with mental health issues. on the club's website he thanks, fans and well—wishers for their "kind and powerful messages of support". he says he is doing all he can to be back playing as soon as possible. tottenham manager mauricio pochettino is unhappy that people aren't talking about his side as contenders for the premier league title. tottenham sit six points behind leaders liverpool and five behind second—placed manchester city. ahead of their game against burnley this weekend, pochettino believes his players warrant more consideration...

iam happy i am happy with the perception today, when you talk about only the perception of the people all the media is manchester city council of paul, and not us. iam not happy with the perception, when they are not assessing it in the right way to us. i think normally it is liverpool and manchester city, chelsea, united, but not tottenham. and we are there, because we compete in a very good way, because our performers are doing fantastic, but of course the perception is different. the women's tennis association has announced increased protection for mothers returning to the tour. from next season, players coming back after childbirth — or injury — will be able to use their previous ranking to enter 12 tournaments over a three—year period. but serena williams' wish that returning mothers would also be seeded in line with their ranking has not been granted. swimming's international governing body has announced

a new competition for next year in response to criticism from some of the sport's top names. olympic champion adam peaty has accused swimming of being "stuck in 1970", after fina forced the cancellation of a new rival event he was backing, so the organisation hopes their new ‘fina champions swim series' will appease their critics. but bbc sport understands that more than 30 of the world's best swimmers will meet in london next week to discuss taking further action against the governing body. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. rangers and chelsea in europa league. early kick—offs for them. the time is 5:39pm. more on our top story, and theresa may is in brussels tonight, trying to win extra

assurances from eu leaders to save her brexit deal. let's return there, and rejoin ben brown. yes, she is in with the other 27 leaders right now at this eu summit, trying to get those assurances. we are not sure what kind of form they would be in, some sort of protocol annexed to the main agreement but what all the leaders who have arrived here have been stressing is the main withdrawal agreement is not up the main withdrawal agreement is not upfor the main withdrawal agreement is not up for renegotiation, so what can she get from them that would help sell her brexit deal in the british parliament? would it be legally binding and would it be enough to get it through the house of commons? well, theresa may is not saying exactly when that commons vote that has already been delayed will be but downing street have said it won't be before christmas so we are expecting it sometime in january. before christmas so we are expecting it sometime injanuary. let's talk to our reality check correspondence chris morris, about the two options of getting it approved by the house

of getting it approved by the house of commons and it being rejected. if it is approved, what then? of commons and it being rejected. if it is approved, what themm of commons and it being rejected. if it is approved, what then? if it is approved, and we would expect a vote sometime injanuary approved, and we would expect a vote sometime in january before approved, and we would expect a vote sometime injanuary before the approved, and we would expect a vote sometime in january before the 21st, there is also talk potentially about a special eu summit injanuary to focus once again on the brexit issue. we had one obviously back in january, back in november, we may have another one in january, january, back in november, we may have another one injanuary, let's see. if that happens, you then have two turn the withdrawal agreement into uk law. so there would have to be legislation going through uk parliament to turn the withdrawal agreement into a legally binding, something legally binding in uk law, andl something legally binding in uk law, and i think there would be a campaign of attrition against that by the prime minister's opponents. but if it got through the parliamentary hurdles in westminster, still a big parliamentary hurdles in westminster, stilla big if, it will also have to be ratified in the european parliament. it also has to sign off the deal, and say as far as we are concerned, this is as good as we are concerned, this is as good as we will get, we are happy with this.

if both sides ratified, then indeed the uk leads the eu on 29th of march next year. then of course it enters into a transition period, and that transition period would be 21 months to begin with, possibly extended by one or even two to begin with, possibly extended by one or even two years, to begin with, possibly extended by one or even two years, and it is in that period there that you would reset the clock and then try to have that negotiation on the future relationship, a future trading relationship, a future trading relationship, which both sides hope would mean there is no need for everton we are discussing today, for this backstop to come into effect. if it is rejected in the house of commons and at the moment the arithmetic still looks like it would be rejected, pending whatever theresa may might get here from the other eu leaders, what happens then? because there are so many different possible scenarios. the macro initially the question is can she come back again to change the deal even further? the problem issues trying to change it before even having the first vote, so the suggestion would be either 2nd of

january that the eu would probably say we have gone as far as we could. the other alternative may be mps in the house of commons would take matters into their own hands and suggest an alternative of their own. if neither of those options work, the default option would be for the uk to leave the european union with no deal. as you know, many conservative brexiteers say they think that is manageable, it could be done. a lot of people would try very ha rd be done. a lot of people would try very hard to avoid it so if you are basically faced with deadlock in parliament, you do what i have no deal, one option is an election. one is the fixed parliament act, not an easy thing to do in a short space of time, the other option apart from an election, something with leading members of all parties are calling

for, another referendum. the government as we know it saying there could not be another referendum but if you could create a coalition in parliament to do that, could you lead to a situation where you could have another referendum which could potentially as one outcome lead to know brexit, which as we know, because we had from the european code of justice as we know, because we had from the european code ofjustice at the beginning of this week, if that was decided, then the uk has the ability unilaterally withdraw article 50 and was all a terrible mistake. chris, thank you for the moment. just to say theresa may is still with the other 27 leaders, then they will have a dinner later on, a working dinner, and they will continue to discuss brexit, but after that then theresa may will leave the other 27 and they will discuss brexit amongst themselves, without her in the room. it is always a slightly awkward moment. she has said on her way in she is not expecting any immediate breakthroughs, but she is expecting some sort of assurances will tilt the balance and persuade the mps in

the balance and persuade the mps in the commons in january the balance and persuade the mps in the commons injanuary to vote for her deal. now let's examine further what the next steps could be for the brexit deal. and what the thinking is between some of those options. bernardine adkins is with me — she's head of eu, trade and competition at legal firm gowling wlg. good to have you with us, bernadine, thank you a match several layers here which i wanted to tackle with you, if i could? first of all, let's go straight to the heart of the main obstacle, the backstop. yes. and why has that, in a sense, taken some people in this debate almost by surprise when it was there from the word go, but some people, clearly, are very unhappy it has assumed the importance it has. what is your reading of that? i'm not entirely sure why it has taken people by surprise because it was back in december 2017 it was agreed, and leo

varadkar said it says what it says on the tin, people have asked about it. when people look at the history books, the irish people realised very early on what was at stake, it organised itself very quickly and has basically educated the other 26 you're as to what was at stake in terms of good friday, the belfast agreement, and the importance that a ha rd agreement, and the importance that a hard border should not be put in place to jeopardise a hard—won peace in northern ireland. plus the shell barnier was a regional commissioner, so for five years basically he poured on the half of the eu millions into northern ireland to preserve and maintain the peace process , preserve and maintain the peace process, so he very much understands the sensitivity of the two communities in that area, and how the brow of these can be in that region. because the view among some, andi region. because the view among some, and i have heard borisjohnson and others say it, yes, ok, there may be an issue but it has been massively overplayed and overblown for

political reasons. and yet, as you say, what the irish have done has actually got a very powerful alliance together very early on to make sure that their own land, if you like, literally and metaphorically, was staked out. absolutely, because the irish soil very early on what was at stake for them politically and economically, and was able to educate the other member states, and the civil serva nts member states, and the civil servants who were negotiating the withdrawal limit by half of the eu 27. when some people have been saying on the conservative benches and in the commons, this backstop wa nts to and in the commons, this backstop wants to be dropped, nobody wants it, it is there as a guarantee, it could just be dropped from the agreement and then everyone would be pretty much happy and happy to proceed. that is not practically possible, is it? absolutely not, because the peace and was bertie of northern ireland and the rest of ireland is at stake. and it is cemented into the agreement. absolutely, yes, it is the protocol.

the other potentially significant thing, the european court ofjustice and the opinion on article 50, and whether a state, in this case the uk, can unilaterally drop it, can drop this brexit process. how significant was that? that is a game changer, because it wasn't sure, it is not in article 50, can you unilaterally basically take your toys home, say we have changed our minds, sorry. now the court has made crystal clear that following democratic processes if a country, the people change their mind and the two years hasn't expired or an extension of that two years hasn't expired, basically the country can withdraw its notice and basically remain an eu member state, and the fa ct remain an eu member state, and the fact the advocate general went so far as to relies the macro called the first two years a cooling off period, it is entitled to change its mind. what you would be the kind of

path that would lead to that being enacted? do you think the likelihood of let's say a second referendum as the beeb will have been saying has increased in recent weeks, what is your sense of that? it is difficult. nobody wants to predict but it is interesting to read the nude music in brussels because they have so much more —— the mood music in brussels because they have so much more ice periods of referenda there. a diplomat described to me, do you wa nt to a diplomat described to me, do you want to your copy, and they come back and say i want a jam sandwich, so you never quite know where you are going with the first referendum. with the second referendum, people focus on the actual issue, it is no longer a protest vote, let's look at this issue now, so i couldn't possibly speculate, but now there is clarity around the possibility of revocation, possibly that is very much a possibility than it was before. fascinating to talk to you, bernadine, thank you for coming in. absolute pleasure. the time is

5:49pm. union leaders are demanding tougher punishments for people who attack ambulances and their crew. a bbc investigation has found there were more than 200 attacks on vehicles in the past three, with damage caused by knives, bricks, and even wheelie bins. our correspondent matt gravelin 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. we have crews in the back of ambulances, treating poorly patients and they are seeing bricks, seeing glass, seeing stones, and sometimes you are seeing chairs and tables being thrown at ambulances. you can repair an ambulance but it can take a lot longer for staff who have 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. eastenders' albert square, has been the centre of much drama over the years, but now there's controversy 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.

our media editor amol rajan has the story. 0h, oh, stinks in here, doesn't it? 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 that 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. you can't tell me what to do, you ain't my mother! amol rajan, bbc news. it was just before christmas — 30 years ago — when a quiet market town in southern scotland was devastated by the deadliest terror attack in british history. there were 270 victims of the attack, when pan am flight 103 was blown up mid—air, with debris falling across the town of lockerbie, changing the lives of its 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. memories of lockerbie, 30 years on, that report from david coward. and viewers in scotland can see the full documentary, ‘the lockerbie legacy‘ at 9 o'clock tonight on bbc 1, and then across the uk on iplayer. time for a look at the weather. thank you very much. it has been a very cold day, a bracing east south—easterly wind has just made it feel even colder, and it will be

another cold day as we head on into tomorrow, then turning a little bit mild into the weekend. it will be largely dry, quite a widespread frost developing, and the cold air feed, this is what has been given the gracing abu dhabi bracing wind. cold air, clear skies, those temperatures will be falling like a stone. more cloud for northern ireland, so temperature not fall below three or 4 degrees for belfast, noticed that blue colour, in their comedy temperatures dipping down to “11 minus five celsius in one or two places. tomorrow starting willi cold and frosty, there will be to compensate plenty of sunshine around. the winds would be quite a picture across eastern areas but again they will be across the west. it will feel cold and meanwhile we will have that weather front moving inroads into northern ireland. it will have some snow on its leading

edge. this weather system, which will be moving in the atlantic, friday night into saturday, will bring a spellar very wet and windy weather but also a spell of snow across northern and western areas as it bumps into that cold air, so likely to be some disruption from friday night into saturday and even sunday morning, with snow and ice particularly than northern england and scotland. the snow will be falling over the high ground for sure, but even at lower levels, two to five centigrade as we could see in northern england, in the central belt of southern scotland, made even more than that. over higher ground, strengthening winds, drifting snow and also blizzard conditions you can see why warnings have been issued. for northern ireland and the rest of england and wales, very windy, gale is developing, a lot of rain, which could lead to some localised flooding and a lot of standing water. the mcvitie gaels or severe gales on the back end of that storm as it continues to move northwards, saturday night into sunday. —— then we could see gales. for scotland, it

will continue quite wintry, but for the rest of the country, a better day for the second half of the weekend. more sunshine around, light winds but also some heavy and blustery showers. head the bbc weather website for latest weather warnings. as she confirms she will not lead the conservative party into the next general election. theresa may is trying to win concessions from eu leaders for her brexit deal but warned there would be no quick fix solutions over the controversial irish backstop. i don't expect an immediate breakthrough but what i do hope is that we can start work as quickly as possible on the assurances that are necessary. she's survived a vote of no confidence but she's still got a battle ahead. we'll be looking at what the next few weeks may hold. also tonight: serious concerns about this winter with hospital beds in england almost full last week. and that's before the cold and flu take hold. police siren wails. new funding for the police

in england and wales but warnings it'sjust a "sticking plaster solution" for forces under pressure.