this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 5.00pm. cabinet brexiteer liam fox says mps have already decided on the uk's brexit options as he backs theresa may's condemnation of calls for a second referendum. a five—year—old boy becomes the third victim of a house fire in nottinghamshire. a mother and her eight year old daughter died yesterday. and we'll be live in birmingham as the bbc‘s sports personality of the year is announced. 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. outside protesters with different views fight for attention and inside mps struggled 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 mps have had about being locked into the backstop without any choice, it is unlikely... which is where we are now, so if you do not get those changes then this deal is dead? parliament will have to decide on the alternatives. behind closed doors many are having those conversations — what could happen next?

this morning two of mrs may's closest allies discussed the possibility of another referendum. her chief of staff said he was not planning one and the deputy said he did not want one. supposing we had a referendum and the remains had won by 52—48 but it was on a lower turnout. let me tell you if there is another referendum, which i do not think there will be, people like me will be demanding the best of three. where does that end up? it is right we should be having conversations across the parties about these issues. we are in a crisis and we should be putting party political differences aside and working in the national interest. labour is having a debate of its own on what to do next. there are splits on whether to push for another referendum. but if it got to that stage, what with the party campaign for? we would push a labour deal that protect workers' writes, protect workers' rights,

that protects our consumer protections and our environmental protections, one that has that frictionless trade the prime minister promised. sorry tojump in again... there are just a few days before parliament breaks for christmas and some want a no—confidence vote in parliament and labour says it will try and force a vote on theresa may's brexit plan. after a roller—coaster period, there could be more to come. a young boy — who was brought out alive from a house fire which killed two people in nottinghamshire — has died. his sister aged eight and his mum of 33 died in the blaze, which broke out in collingham yesterday morning. a man remains seriously ill in hospital. 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 two hundred 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. police in the belgian capital brussels have this afternoon fired teargas at demostrators taking part in an anti—migration protest. the protests are over a global migration pact, with the demonstrators vehemently against a united nations agreement which is due to be signed in morocco next week. some protesters threw missiles at police and there was a strong response from the security forces. a group of mps has said the rollout of a type of smart motorways where the hard shoulder is permanently turned into a fourth lane should be stopped. the all—party group backed campaigners who say having no hard shoulder puts motorists and recovery workers at risk. england has more than 100 miles of all lane running smart motorways, with 225 miles more planned. as you know by now, we've been building up to tonight's big event — the bbc‘s sports personality of the year awards, held this year in birmingham. it all starts at 7.00pm

but for the rest of this hour, we're joining our colleagues radzi chinyanganya and jasmin sawyers on the red carpet in birmingham for a special programme as the guests begin to arrive. we still don't know who is on the shortlist, it will be revealed at 7pm this evening. they may be nominees you can vote for, and they may not be. it could be a joke. it could be a challenge. the ready. 0k. have you ever drunk techs did a famous contact in your firm? who and what? —— messaged a contact in your foneblog? what? —— messaged a contact in your foneblog ? do you what? —— messaged a contact in your foneblog? do you know what, i'm very