a leading brexiteer in the cabinet has suggested that parliament will have to look at other options if the uk and the eu can't find a way through on the problem of the so—called irish backstop as part of the uk's withdrawal agreement from the eu. but the international trade secretary, liam fox, dismissed suggestions of another referendum, saying it would not heal divisions in the country. here's our political correspondent, nick eardley. it is not hard to find divisions over brexit around parliament. mps struggle to find consensus. theresa may is trying to get changes she hopes will win the support of mps, but with little success so far, many are discussing what happens if she fails. clearly if there is no reflection of the anxieties that mps have had about potentially being locked into the backstop without any

choice, it's unlikely to... which is where we are now. so if we don't get those kind of changes, then this deal is dead. well, in which case parliament will have to decide on the alternatives. find closed doors, many are having those conversations, what could happen next? this morning two of mrs may's closest allies denied they had discussed the possible deal another referendum. her chief of staff said he wasn't planning on, her deputy said he doesn't want one. supposing we had another referendum and supposing the remain side won it by 52 to 48 but it was on a lower turnout, entirely possible. let me tell you that if there is another referendum, which i don't think there will be, people like me will immediately be demanding it is best—of—three — where does that and up? there are however few signs of a deal. so conversations about a, it photo on. i think it is absolutely right that we should be having conversations across the parties about these issues. we are in a moment of crisis

and we should be putting party political differences to one side and working to resolve the mess that we are in. labour is having debates of its own on what to do next. there are splits on whether to push for another referendum but if it did get to that, what would they campaign for? we would be pushing for a labour deal which protects workers' rights and protects our consumer protections and our environmental and is, one that has that frictionless trade that the prime minister promised... sorry, i'm sorry to jump minister promised... sorry, i'm sorry tojump in again but... there arejust a few sorry tojump in again but... there are just a few days before parliament breaks the christmas. some want a no confidence vote in the commons, labour says it will try and force a vote on the brexit theirs. after a rollercoaster period, there could be more to come. a young boy rescued from a house fire which killed two people in nottinghamshire has now died. the blaze in collingham broke out yesterday morning. a girl aged eight and a woman of 33 died yesterday. a man remains seriously ill in hospital. katy austin reports.

a community in mourning. prayers were said during today's service at all saints church to remember three tragic deaths in the same family. firefighters were called yesterday morning to a house fire which claimed the lives of a 33—year—old woman and her eight—year—old daughter. today nottinghamshire police said her five—year—old son, who was rescued and taken to hospital, has also died. a man believed to be the children's father is still in hospital with serious injuries, and a 53—year—old thought to be their grandmother escaped unhurt. people living nearby have described trying to break into the house during the fire in an effort to help. the cause of the blaze is being investigated. i think we are all aware... all saints church will now be open every day until christmas, so residents of the close—knit village of collingham and leave village of collingham can leave

prayers or messages of condolence for a mother and her two children. katy austin, bbc news. environmental groups have said a deal struck at a un conference in poland does not go far enough in tackling climate change. delegates from nearly 200 countries reached agreement on how to implement the landmark paris climate accord and outlined plans for a common rulebook on cutting carbon emissions. but the commitments are not legally binding. here's our science editor, david shukman applause and relief that two long weeks of negotiation were over and that a deal to try to tackle climate change has last emerged. at the moment there are many countries in the world, many disagreements among countries to find agreement by unanimity, by consensus, so to fight global warming is very good news. most significant is a set of rules for how countries cut their emissions of the gases warming the planet. that was sorted. on finance for developing countries

to help them adapt and go green, some progress, but they say not enough. and on promises of much deeper cuts in emissions, which many say are needed, that will have to be discussed later. many diplomats are relieved to have made it this far. but some developing countries, faced with the threat of rising sea levels, say the deal does not go nearly far enough and that bolder steps are needed. we have got two years. we have got 12 years. the additions here today don't really solve anything. i think we have got to do practical things, we have got to cut down the emissions drastically in terms of emissions, so i think working together i think we can achieve what really we want. the real test is whether the deal actually leads to less of this, warming gases entering the atmosphere. and so far, all the talk over the past 25 years hasn't managed to achieve that.

david shukman, bbc news. bad weather and an increasing trend to buy online are being blamed for shoppers staying away from the high street on what is usually the busiest weekend before christmas. retail experts say footfall across the uk yesterday was down almost 10% compared with the same time last year. here's our business correspondentjoe miller. more than ever, retailers have been banking on a busy festive season. heavy rain heaped more misery on the high street yesterday and prompted many to stage right and shop online. there was a sliver of hope for retailers last week when footfall rose 6% on the year before. but figures from one analytics firm show a drop of 7% on saturday if you include retail parks and shopping centres and a drop of 9% on the high street, adding further gloom to one

of the worst novembers on record. analysts see few bright spots ahead. we're seeing consumer confidence drop, we're seeing costs increase and in general i think people are very nervous about spending. the british retail consortium predicts that sales will pick up in the next few days as more people rushed to buy last—minute food and presents. fate of one chain in particular may rest on such a surge. debenhams, which lost a record £500 million this financial year, has rebuffed an injection of cash from the self—styled saviour of the high street mike ashley. his company, sports direct, which rescued house of fraser, had a stark warning for its wounded rival. we have put this off into interest another 40 million and it really is kind of the electric shock to wake them up to what is it in the last chance saloon. some suspect mr ashley, who is already debenhams largest shareholder, wants the first claim on its assets if it collapses, an allegation his company rejects. but

while debenhams and other struggling chains mightjust while debenhams and other struggling chains might just be while debenhams and other struggling chains mightjust be able to afford to keep the billionaire at bay, neither they nor mr ashley's retail empire can afford a disappointing christmas. joe mellor, bbc news. it's the bbc‘s sports personality of the year awards in birmingham tonight. but as the format has changed this year we won't know who's been nominated until the programme tonight. 0ur sports correspondent joe wilson is in birmingham. yeah, you know sport is all about drama and unpredictability, it's not quite like the fact that i am standing here this close to the evening, still not knowing who the nominees are. we know that this evening will feature some of the great sporting moments of the year andindeed great sporting moments of the year and indeed this year, people have been voting for their favourite sporting moment. the shortlist includes tyson fury getting off the ca nvas includes tyson fury getting off the canvas in his recent fight. alastair cook making 100 in his final test match, tiger woods resuming his golfing career with a big win and that victory in the penalty

shoot—out for england's footballers and the commonwealth gold in netball. we also know there will be a special award this evening for young billy monger, who this year resumed his way striving career despite appalling injuries. of course, sport is about winners and about losers, but somewhere it must also be about the triumph of the seaman also be about the triumph of the seaman spirits. and i think we will get a strong sense of that here in birmingham this evening. but right now, the nominees officially, i can confirm, are still a mystery. we will wait and see! you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel. the next news on bbc one is at 5.35. bye for now. hello. you're watching the bbc news channel. you're watching bbc news. this morning, senior government figures have rejected the idea of another referendum on brexit,

with one of them, liam fox, warning it would perpetuate rather than heal divisions. behind the scenes though, a few mps are attempting to forge cross—party initiatives. one of a small number of labour mp‘s who met the cabinet secretary david lidington last week was ben bradshaw. we thought it was very important that the government at the highest level gets on with bringing the deal back to parliament next week to get it voted on so that we can then move onto the next stage. we also wanted to make sure that the government didn't think that they were enough votes on the labour benches to get through this type of norway type halfway house brexit. and that it really did to move quickly to end the uncertainty that doing so much damage to our economy. so you think there are enough mps who would support the idea of another referendum, do you? i'm confident

that once this deal is out of the way, once the idea of a general election, which of course i would like to see but i think is unlikely because of the fixed term parliament actor, once that is off the agenda as well, then i think, yes, when we're facing the choice which it will be, between the disaster of crashing out over the left with no deal and another referendum, think that will be the only option or solution that will command a commons majority. what would you say to all the people who may be screaming at their tv now, salem, the people who may be screaming at theirtv now, salem, if the people who may be screaming at their tv now, salem, if with already had a referendum, we've had a people's vote and the answer was leave, get out of europe, just get on with it? well, i would ask them what their answer would be to getting us out of this gridlock and i think it's very important that people focus on what crashing out over a cliff without a deal would mean. there are some people who seem to think that it means the status quo. so, it's really important that people focus on the detail of what that would mean. it would be absolutely catastrophic for our economy and i think there would be

many other serious repercussions as well. you say it would be catastrophic, a lot of leave campaigners would say that is project fear, you're absolutely exaggerating the difficulties of a no deal brexit? well, it's the government's own assessment of what would happen in those circumstances. and anyway, there's no way parliament would ever allow it to happen. 80%—90% of mps understand how catastrophic it would be, so if the government itself doesn't take no deal off the table, i think parliament will do so for it. democracy does not stand still at one point in time, ben, and i think the brexit that we have now before us the brexit that we have now before us and theresa may's deal, is a very, very different from the brexit that was sold to the voters two—and—a—half years ago, including to many of those voters who voted leave who don't like her deal. soho deal is dead and we've got to find some way as a country of moving forward. after two weeks of negotiations, delegates at the un climate conference in poland reach agreement on how to enforce promised cuts to carbon emissions.

a short while ago, i sopke to michael grubb, professor of energy and climate change at ucl, and asked him about the significance of this agreement. i think ithink in i think in a way the most important thing about this agreement is that it was struck and it was struck against a difficult political background for global negotiations in general. and obviously, particular scepticism in some quarters about climate change and willingness to pursue the paris agreement. the expectations of the agenda for this conference at one level never looked terribly demanding, it was really about agreeing the rules for fermenting the paris agreement, particularly around transparency of the reporting processes. and actually i think, what i hear is that the number of people and i think myself also feel

that what has emerged is maybe better than was expect it going in, and there were some difficult moments even at the beginning of the co nfe re nce moments even at the beginning of the conference around adoption of the key scientific reports. those have been overcome, they have come out with a global deal. it does clearly and most significantly aligned countries on the same reporting process and the timescales, rich and poor alike, which is also symbolically very important. and it commits those countries to cutting emissions but it wasn't really forced them' punishment if they don't? well, one of the key features, frankly, over the last almost ten years now, has been moving away from the legally binding levels on rich countries, it forces countries to come forward with their offer and countries promise to make best endeavours to deliver those

offers. it also establishes a strong global goals. what governments have acknowledged is that the current offer is frankly aren't enough compared to the goals that they have aggrieved globally. so, what this latest agreement also does is to lay the ground for the next round of what those national figures should look like. for some time, police have been warning of the growth of large urban gangs who use violence and extortion to trap vulnerable teenagers into helping them deal drugs in rural areas. now dorset police has become one of the first forces in the country now, dorset police has become one of the first forces in the country to create a specialist unit to tackle the growth of so called county lines drug dealing. sam everett reports. they carry big machete knives, knives out of my cupboard. they'd be lying around the flat, all over the place. john was a victim of a county lines drugs gang. they use their mobile phones to phone you,

to try and force their way into your place, offering you money or drugs. so, what is county lines? it's an operation run by gangs in large urban areas. they set up phone lines to take orders for drugs, then they coerce runners to take the drugs across counties using teenagers to avoid detection. in smaller towns, local dealers take over a vulnerable person's home, often by force, and bring the runners to it. the drugs can then be sold and distributed from a secure location. so, it's difficult when you're caught up in that sort of thing to say no — you want them out, but they just stick around. please go, kind of thing. they're ruthless, ruthless people. i let my family down, myself down. yeah, i'm worried that they come back. john is now off drugs and received help to get rid of the gang,

but there's hundreds of other county lines still in operation. the lady who is the tenant there is now deceased, but the property is possibly being taken over by class a drug users. this flat in weymouth was found littered with needles and heroin. located nearby was this, a knife by the side of the bed. teenagers from a london drugs gang were found inside, they were detained and investigated further. the woman living there was a vulnerable drug user. as suspected, the gang had taken over the home after her mum had died. those persons that are living at those properties, sometimes they're vulnerable through class a misuse themselves, other times it could be through mental health, it could be through poor health, physical disabilities. andy is part of one of the first

specialist units set up to tackle county lines, using tactics to combat this highly organised form of crime. dedicated officers are stationed in towns where it becomes a problem. they carry out intelligence—led surveillance on drug gangs and thwart their efforts to recruit local runners. and track their efforts to recruit local runners. that also identify vulnerable people in danger of being targeted and offer them support. even after that person has lost everything, it might be that they have their children taken away, they have lost their house, the drug gangs will continue to exploit them. the national crime agency estimate there are at least 1,500 other lines operating across england and wales. a serious problem new task forces want to end. sam everett, bbc news. afundraising campaign by chester zoo to raise £50,000 following a fire

which destroyed much of the roof covering its monsoon forest area has reached its target in little more than 24 hours. chester zoo said yesterday was one of the toughest days in its long history and thanked the remarkable efforts of the zoo team and the emergency services which meant the fire was extinguished as quickly as possible. (gfx) in a statement released this morning, in a statement released this morning, the zoo said... 11.7 million people watched the final of strictly come dancing on bbc one last night. the documentary presenter stacey dooley won the series with her professional partner kevin clifton, who'd been a losing finalist on four previous occasions. 0ur arts correspondent david sillito reports.

it's the final! the strictly final, four couples, three dances and from the very beginning, it was ashley roberts, the former pussycat doll who set the standard. the big lift from dirty dancing was flawless. ten! the score, perfect tens. and those 40s kept coming. this athletic show dance on a raised and revolving platform. i personally as a dancer feel that you've stretched yourself beyond limits, you've learned techniques that you were not familiar with ever before, you have brought to the show a life, a style, and i truly am grateful to you. of course, craig did try to find a fault... i had a small problem with your right toe, darling, but then i decided to get over myself. ten!

not a point was dropped all night. but matching those scores dance after dance was faye tozer. this hollywood glitz in high heels on a very high top hat... at the end of this routine to fever, it was perfect tens across the board. what an end of a journey. wow. wow, this is really high. but when it comes to a journey from being a non—dancer to doing this... ..youtuberjoe sugg was more than holding his own, ending with a charleston. you are the biggest surprise of this series.

from a marathon night of dances tonight, you have just got stronger and stronger and it's an extraordinary amount of work that you have put in and it has paid off, you are a star on this dancefloor. for tvjournalist stacey dooley, it began with a foxtrot. and then an explosive show dance. everything was thrown at it. the crowd loved it! bruno tried to describe it as her greatest hits. your greatest hits. but craig... i wasn't that keen on the dance. it was the lowest score of the night. and even at the end of a paso doble described as having power and passion, she was in fourth place. but this isn't up to the judges! all that matters is what the public thinks, and they saw it

rather differently. stacey and kevin! and even more emotional was her professional dance partner kevin clifton. after five finals, his first strictly victory. so there it is, the winner of this year's glitterball trophy, stacey dooley. david sillito, bbc news. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine. are watching strictly last night?” was, i had to go to bed early before bbc breakfast but i managed to whizz through it! just wanted to see the dancing! and were you a stacey francis? i was, at dancing! and were you a stacey francis? iwas, at the dancing! and were you a stacey francis? i was, at the end of the day at a popularity contest, isn't it? it is indeed. you would be good

on a, you should do it one day!” don't think it is a me, i will go after you, ben! starting with the football, manchester united travelling to anfield later, united going into the game 16 points behind liverpool, whilejurgen klopp's side are looking to go back to the top of the table later. we never thought before a game only because we have a few good results in the past at home or whatever that it will be easy, the next game. that's not the mode you can win football games. we have to be angry on sunday, and we will be. we fight for our points. it's not that there is anything, you don't solve problems for others, we have our own problems, our own targets, and we go for them. that's all. we know that we are going to play against the leader. we are going to play against a team on a high, and even with the problems we have, and we have doubts about everything because we don't know which players are available, but we're going to arrive, we are going to have a team capable of going there and fight for the victory.

in the earlier kick offs today, two london clubs are heading to the south coast with brighton hosting chelsea and arsenal travelling to southampton. tottenham and england midfielder eric dier has had his appendix removed. he's expected to return to training in the new year. yesterday spurs beat burnley1 nil to keep up the pressure on liverpool and manchester city at the top of the table. celtic and rangers are both hoping to finish the day at the top of the scottish premier league. kilmarnock went a point clear of celtic with their win over dundee yesterday, but the scottish champions have three games in hand, starting away at hibernian this lunchtime, where they are a goal down, 1—0 the score there. should the scoreline stay the same, a win for rangers over hamilton would see them go top. edinburgh are hoping to do the double over newcastle falcons today and boost their chances of finishing top of their group

and guarantee a place in the champions cup quarterfinals. in the same pool, fourth placed toulon travel to montpellier. already underway, leicester tigers host group leaders racing 92, who remain unbeaten in this year's competition. katie taylor produced a dominant display in new york to beat eva wahlstrom and successfully defend her ibf and wba world lightweight titles. taylor won each of the 10 rounds at madison square garden to beat her finnish opponent, who is a world champion in a different weight division. meanwhile, canelo alvarez is now world champion in three weight divisions. that's after he beat liverpool's rocky fielding at madison square gardens earlier this morning. fielding was knocked down 4 times before the fight fielding was knocked down four times before the fight was stopped in the third round. i never shied away from the challenge.

the phone call i got was canelo wanted to fight, so i said yeah, madison square garden. it's been a great week, met up with some great people. i dare to be great, i live the dream, but i will come again, i will come back. england's hockey players have had to settle for fourth again at the world cup in india. they played australia in the bronze medal match — and were totally outclassed. it finished 8—1. of the aussie goalscrorers was tom craig, who made it a hat trick. later today belgium, who beat england in the semifinal, go on to play the netherlands for gold. that's starting in the next few minutes. 0lympic bronze medallist bianca walkden successfully defended her title at the taekwondo world grand slam. the two—time world champion says she'll spend her prize money on buying another pizzeria. while lauren williams, who also won gold in her weight division earlier, plans to pay off her

parents‘ mortgage. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. the weather is cheering up computer it was yesterday back probably the most dangerous stuff yesterday was the freezing rain, this was liquid water retractor below zero. users on impact, like car skidded and icy it is here on the road. we have significant problems here yesterday across northern england and parts of scotla nd across northern england and parts of scotland with this stuff, multiple accidents reported, heavy snow for

northern scotland and we had heavy gusts in west wales. looking at the week acquired, high pressures that across the west of the wiki and apple trap the area of the pressure to the north—west of us. we get these west, south westerly winds and averages will run close to average, perhaps a