this is bbc news i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 11pm: a furious row erupts in parliament over whether or not the labour leader called the prime minister a stupid woman. the labour leader called the prime minister a stupid woman. they're not they‘ re not impressed, they're not impressed, and neither‘s the country. butjeremy corbyn denies it. idid not i did not use the words ‘stupid woman‘ about the prime minister, or anyone else, and am completely opposed to the use of sexist or misogynist language in absolutely any form at all. the european commission says it has started to implement its preparations for a no—deal brexit. the government sets out its immigration policy for the uk after brexit. ministers say it‘ll be skills that matter from now on. labour mp fiona onasanya is found guilty of perverting the course of justice, after lying to police to avoid a speeding charge. old marley was damp, damp as a

doornail. one of charles dickens‘ best—loved stories, a christmas carol, turns 175 years old today. and at 11:30pm, we‘ll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers, david davies and kate andrews, stay with us for that. good evening. all flights to and from gatwick airport have been suspended after two drones were seen flying over the airfield. some inbound flights are being held while others are being diverted to other airports. passengers reported on social media that their planes have been sitting on the tarmac for more than an hour waiting to take off. gatwick airport has confirmed

an investigation is underway. more on that as and when we get it, of course. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has denied calling the prime minister a stupid woman during prime minister‘s questions this afternoon. he was caught on camera appearing to mouth the words during heated exchanges at the despatch box. it caused angry scenes in parliament. mr corbyn later returned to the commons and said he had in fact said stupid people. our chief political correspondent, vicki young, reports. rowdy scenes in the house of commons, nothing new there, but this went way beyond the usual heated exchanges. speaker: order! calm down! asjeremy corbyn left the chamber,

conservative mps accused him of misogyny, and this is what they‘d witnessed minutes before. oh, yes, he is! oh, no, he isn't! theresa may with a seasonal pantomime—themed attack on the labour leader... look behind you! they're not impressed, and neither is the country. jeremy corbyn looked furious, and then this... he insists he muttered "stupid people". plenty of others think he said "stupid woman." the prime minister‘s team had to quickly explain to her what they‘d seen. everybody in this house, particularly in this 100th year of anniversary of women getting the vote should be aiming to encourage women to come into this chamber. tory mps leapt to their feet. i saw it, sir, i saw him say it. he muttered words which were quite clearly visible, accusing the prime minister being a "stupid woman". disgraceful! conservative mps and

ministers tried and failed to persuade the speaker to watch the video footage circulating on social media. then a jaw—dropping moment, as the speaker himself came under attack. ..why it is that when an opposition memberfound that you had called me a "stupid woman", you did not apologise in this chamber no, no, no... mr bercow said he‘d dealt with that matter months ago. all political parties say they want to do more to encourage women to take part in politics, but parliament has struggled to deal with accusations of sexism and inappropriate behaviour. today, jeremy corbyn found himself in the firing line. speaker: jeremy corbyn. this afternoon, he had to come back to the commons to explain himself to mps. i referred to those who i believe were seeking to turn a debate about the national crisis facing our country into a pantomime as "stupid people". mr speaker, i did not use the words "stupid woman".

senior labour figures say this was a phoney row contrived by the conservatives. of course, everyone else will make up their own minds. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. the european commission has published a series of contingency measures designed to limit what it calls the most significant damage that would be caused by a no—deal brexit. the measures include temporarily allowing british airlines to operate flights into and out of the eu but not within in it. hauliers will be able to carry freight by road into the eu for a nine—month period without having to apply for permits uk financial services regulations in a limited number of areas would be recognised as equivalent to the eu‘s for up to two years. the commission also urged states to take a generous approach to the rights of uk citizens in the eu following a no—deal brexit provided that was reciprocated. our berlin correspondent, jenny hill,

reports on how a no deal brexit might affect germarn, and asks if they‘re prepared. in the festive capitals of europe, goodwill is in short supply. this the season to prepare for the worst. germany‘s small businesses uncertain how to prepare for no—deal, when your british customers bring in 10,000 euros a month and expect delivery within two days of order. translation: we are not prepared. many businesses are not prepared. we have to do everything ourselves. we need information, to be actively briefed. instead, i feel the government is waiting and hoping for a soft brexit. britain‘s last—minute diplomacy dash yielded warm words but no concessions. angela merkel remains optimistic

that the brexit deal will succeed, but she is now also making plans in case it doesn‘t. i believe germany‘s woefully unprepared, the government still says that it believes in the deal being ratified in the house of commons. well, looking at the political situation in the house of commons, we see no majority in the tories, and with a prime minister who has to implement something that she probably doesn‘t even believe in. it‘s a little bit like theresa in wonderland, borisjohnson as the march hare. there‘s much at stake, not least for the german car industry, britain‘s its biggest export market. but when the man who represents the industry sits down with angela merkel, he doesn‘t lobby for a softer approach to britain. the first priority for us is that the remaining 27 member states stay together, and that has to be the first priority, and not making concessions that invite others to go the same way as the uk is going. brexit has stirred many emotions in the heart of germany —

sorrow, frustration, confusion, and what the germans really can‘t abide, uncertainty. perhaps that is why so many here now want britain to either get on with it and leave or even change its mind and stay. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. no deal would mean no transitional arrangements between the uk being a member state of the eu and completely leaving. so the exit, set in law as of 11pm on march the 29th, just 100 days away, would be abrupt. our political correspondent, nick eardley, is at westminster. where exactly is the government on a disorderly brexit? it is preparing. it said yesterday

the final elements of no deal planning are being put into motion. £2,000,000,000, which had been put aside as a rainyday fund in case it got to this stage is being distributed across government to prepare for all eventualities. the uk government said it now needs to be ready for us potentially leaving in100 be ready for us potentially leaving in 100 days time without any deal in place. the argument the ministers continue to make is the best way to avoid a no deal is to back the prime minister‘s deal, the1 avoid a no deal is to back the prime minister‘s deal, the 1 she is seeking changes to to allow it to get through the house of commons when we think it will be voted on as things stand mid—january next year. but do you know what, there‘s still a massive mountain to climb for the prime minister if she‘s going to get that through. there‘s still a number of mps who want her to deliver something. yes, this week there‘s a

bit less of a febrile atmosphere in parliament in terms the brexit decision, many other elements are more febrile than normal, but i think the prime minister still knows that she has a lot of work to do if she‘s going to get that deal through and avoid no deal in 100 days‘ time. there‘s been quite a few things happening today... quite a few. i understood the cameras caught up with jeremy corbyn? a busy day for the labour leader after he was accused at prime minister‘s questions, as we heard from vicki before. of calling the prime minister stupid woman, something he denies. as he made this way home from london tonight the cameras caught up with him. let‘s have a listen to what he said. good evening, mr cormann. do you regret how much of a distraction your comments have been today? —— mr corbyn. nothing is the short answer, he didn't want to talk about this any more.

i suspect lots of politicians looking at the front pages this morning won‘t be particularly heartened by the way parliament is being preparation. a lot of people referring to pantomime season at the house of commons today —— portrait. i don‘t think we will get much more from jeremy corbyn today, he has denied saying it, clearly many conservative mps will have a chance to watch that and make their own minds up. one person who has been speaking is amber rudd, what has she been saying? the work and pensions secretary, we‘ve spoken a lot about her recently in the context of brexit, she‘s had a lot to say about what could happen in the future and she‘s done the same tonight, talking about the possibility of another referendum on brexit. she doesn‘t wa nt referendum on brexit. she doesn‘t want that, she thinks the prime minister‘s plan is the best one and she‘s urging mps to get behind her. she said in an interview on the pest

and programme on itv tonight that if there is deadlock in parliament, if parliament can‘t come to a consensus about what it wants to happen with brexit, another referendum becomes plausible —— macro peston. not what she wants, not something she‘s advocating at this stage —— peston. she‘s saying it‘s plausible and that‘s different to the prime minister. theresa may was in the house of commons on monday saying another referendum would undermine democracy and would be a divisive distraction for the country. downing street is insisting tonight it‘s been very, very clear that it‘s com pletely been very, very clear that it‘s completely opposed to another referendum. for the first time tonight we have a cabinet minister talking about the plausibility of the question potentially being revisited. ok, nick eardley, thank you very much for that. a labour mp is facing a possible jail sentence after being found guilty of perverting the course ofjustice following a trial at the old bailey.

fiona onasanya, who‘s been the mp for peterborough since 2017, lied to police to avoid a speeding charge. the 35—year—old solicitor was accused of colluding with her brother about the incident last summer. a labour spokesman said she has been suspended from the party and should resign as an mp. the government has outlined what it‘s described as the biggest change to immigration policy forfour decades. the home secretary, sajid javid, told mps the uk would allow people to work and settle in the uk based on their skills rather than which part of the world they are from. the proposed new rules won‘t be phased in until 2021, as our political editor, laura kuenssberg, reports. in factories, firms, towns and cities, in our daily lives, british and european citizens live and work side by side. staff at this company in salford

know it‘s going to change. i think having some sort of system is always a good idea. we‘re 17 different nationalities, and probably english are the minority. i came as a not fully qualified or educated person and started working on the bottom of the food chain. the boss is worried shifting the system will mean more hurdles for him. we‘ve got people of all colours, all creeds, all nationalities, and it‘s a fantastic melting pot of skills. anything thatjeopardises, anthing dilutes that we would be very much against. there won‘t be an end to immigration, but our exit from the eu means she has a chance to change the controls. people voted to leave the european union, they voted for change. they wanted us to take back full control of our borders, and for the first time in decades we will be ensuring that it is the uk government that sets

the rules for who can come here. this is far from a straightforward crackdown on comings and goings. there won‘t be a limit on who can come if they have a high level of skills and can get highly paid jobs. that level‘s yet to be set. and there‘s no plan for a cap on the number of less qualified workers who could come for a year. but a lot is on the move, because while we‘re in the eu, people from all over the continent have been allowed to move here for good, and that works the other way round. ministers are sketching out these big changes because of brexit, because of how we voted as a country in 2016. right now, people from all over the eu — whetherfrom poland or portugal, spain or slovakia — have the same rights to come and live and work here as we do. but that will come to an end, and people from any part

of the world will have to jump through the same hoops to live and work in the uk. and even inside the government, there‘s tension over how tight the new system should be. you might remember the tory‘s promise they‘d get immigration down to under 100,000. but the home secretary didn‘t sound so keen on that today. there are no targets in this white paper. it is a system that is designed to help bring net migration down overall, but there are no targets that are set. he cannot talk about an outward—looking global britain, and meeting the needs of society and employers, he cannot do that and also be part of a government with a rhetoric of cracking down on migration. for the prime minister, these changes are part of keeping the promises of brexit, even though the government‘s own plans suggest the measures might hit the economy. decisions perhaps based on today‘s politics, rather than what we can know about the years ahead. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. the us central bank has raised interest rates this evening, but has signalled that it will go

slow on additional increases as it watches the economy. the federal reserve chairman, jerome powell, said politics played no role whatsoever in the quarter point rise, which is the fourth increase this year and was widely expected. the hike is expected to anger president trump, who had criticised the central bank repeatedly on twitter for even considering anothe raise. the time is 11:17pm. the headlines on bbc news: labour leaderjeremy corbyn denies calling theresa may a stupid woman during prime minister‘s questions. the european commission says it‘s started to implement its preparations for a no—deal brexit. all flights to and from gatwick airport have been suspended after reports of two drones flying over the airfield. and, don‘t forget, we‘ll be taking

an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers, the broadcaster, david davies, and kate andrews from the institute of economic affairs. that‘s coming up just after the headlines at 11:30pm. an inquest into the death of a russian whistle—blower in surrey six years ago has concluded that he died of natural causes. alexander perepilichnyy, a wealthy businessman, had been handing over sensitive documents allegedly implicating russian officials in moscow in a huge fraud and money laundering operation. activists said they believed he had been murdered by russian hit—men, another victim of a growing list. the police and his widow insisted he‘d died of natural causes. our correspondent richard galpin reports. 44—year—old alexander perepilichnyy was apparently in good health when

he collapsed and died near his mansion in surrey. he was completely cold. his body was found on the dark winter‘s day. he had beenjogging. surrey police assumed he had had a heart attack, but others who had met him said he should have been treated immediately as suspicious. because here in london he had been handing over sensitive documents to a british investment company, allegedly revealing how the company‘s branches in moscow had been seized and then used to carry out at 200,000,000—dollar tax fraud. in this bar in mayfair at mr alexander perepilichnyy gave the company vital evidence showing how those involved in the fraud had siphoned the money out of russia. he knew allegedly because he had helped them do it, but had now turned against them. these are copies of just some of the documents which alexander perepilichnyy handed over, allegedly showing how corrupt russian officials and criminals in

moscow laundered millions of dollars through swiss bank accounts. the company hermitage capital says his evidence led to some of the officials‘ bank accounts being frozen, making him a target for revenge. alexander perepilichnyy had found out that his name was on a hit list, at chechen hitman had documents in his house that were discovered by the moscow police that showed information about alexander perepilichnyy‘s movements, locations in the uk. while the inquest heard there was no evidence for this, in washington it emerged alexander perepilichnyy‘s name was on the list compiled by us intelligence agencies of people believed to have been murdered in britain by russian hitmen. although the us government later denied this. so, the macro here... with no signs of a violent attack found on alexander perepilichnyy‘s body, toxicology experts here at kew gardens searched for traces of poison, but that has

yielded nothing definitive. the inquest heard, though, how most of alexander perepilichnyy‘s stomach contents alexander perepilichnyy‘s stomach co nte nts ha d alexander perepilichnyy‘s stomach contents had been thrown away after the first postmortem, making testing more difficult. police also lost all of the data on a laptop found in alexander perepilichnyy‘s house, the data apparently including a transaction of $500 million. to build beautiful things is part of my life. just before he died, alexander perepilichnyy spent several days in paris with this fashion designer who he was having an affair with, elmira medynska. she told the inquest he was stressed and was drinking a lot, but didn‘t mention any concerns about his safety. when mr alexander perepilichnyy‘s widow tatiana spoke at the inquest, herface hidden, she denied her husband had faced any threats and was adamant he had not been murdered. the view that was shared by surrey police. the

inquest‘s conclusion that mr alexander perepilichnyy died of natural causes will bring at least some relief to his widow, but not eve ryo ne some relief to his widow, but not everyone will accept this verdict and there may now be calls for a public enquiry. 0k, ok, let‘s bring you an update on the story emerging from gatwick airport, two drones that have disrupted flights from the airport itself. earlier we heard from gatwick airport, who confirmed an investigation was under way following reports of drones over gatwick airport. a second tweet now has been sent via their account, going on to give some advice to travellers. it says, following reports of drones over the gatwick airport airfield we have had to suspend flights while the investigation is ongoing and we advise everyone flying from gatwick or collecting someone from the airport on wednesday 19 december or

tomorrow, which is thursday 20 december, to check the status of theirflight december, to check the status of their flight and it goes onto say, we apologise to any affected passengers for this inconvenience, but the safety of our passengers and staff is our foremost priority. there are also reports that of the flights that have been held in a holding pattern has also diverted by the advice is to check before travelling to the airport. speculation had been mounting for much of today, but tonight it‘s official — the elusive street—artist banksy is behind a new mural that‘s appeared on a garage wall in port talbot in south wales. the confirmation came via his instagram account, which was accompanied by a message of seasonal greetings. huw thomas reports. seasons greetings was the only comment from banksy as he posted this video online, confirming he was behind this gift to the people of

port talbot. at first glance the boy is playing in the snow, but the work expands to reveal a burning skip and the ashmeade it. it is the kind of political messaging that is often in his political work and references the impact of port talbot‘s industrial skyline. it was overwhelming for the owner ian lewis who built the garage to protect his carfrom vandals. who built the garage to protect his car from vandals. there are people coming here online. you have been up night? i have had zero sleep and i am frightened in case it is vandalised. i don‘t really know where we are going with it. and i just want it to be protected for the town of the end of the day. so you‘re not going to wash it off, pull it down? no,. banksy's work a tt ra cts pull it down? no,. banksy's work attracts huge prices when they can be removed and sold on the art market. earlier this year the artist conspired to shred of work as soon as it was auctioned, part of the ba nksy as it was auctioned, part of the banksy image and a move some say has made the piece even more valuable. he has people guessing, there is a

political message behind his work, there is a signature style, there is humour. it is incredible. what is ordinarily a wall around the garage is so much more than that. among the parade of selfies in port talbot today were some banksy enthusiasts who travelled far for a glint of his latest work. i have come today especially to see the banksy, which has appeared. it is great for port talbot. it is a fantastic piece. i love it. banksy hadn't confirmed his involvement when the council decided to ta ke involvement when the council decided to take their own precautions to protect the peace. so the fence is offering temporary protection. long—term i understand the council is seeking to other areas where they have had to protect a real banksy but ultimately it is up to the owner of the garage to decide what happens next. news of banksy‘s latest work has spread around the world‘s but now thought have turned to how best to preserve this christmas present to preserve this christmas present to port talbot.

one of charles dickens‘s best—loved stories, a christmas carol, is 175 years old today. the story of scrooge, the miser who is forced to become compassionate by ghosts was written in condemnation of the child poverty that dickens saw around him. the first edition published in december 1843 immediately sold out, and the tale has captivated people ever since. david sillito reports. # god rest you merry gentleman... marley was dead. to begin with, there was no doubt whatever about that. the register of his burial had been signed by the clerk. a christmas carol. simon callow is at the moment performing it onstage twice a day in this, its anniversary year. i‘m holding this very gently because this is an original, a christmas carol, published exactly 175 years ago and they all sold out within five days.

and while it would be going too far to say dickens invented a victorian christmas, he certainly, for millions of us, defined what christmas should be. he certainly gave christmas a meaning which it had not had before. he says, "it is the only time in the long calendar of the year that i know of that men and women open their closed up hearts freely and think of those below them as fellow passengers to the grave." a christmas carol, by charles dickens. who are you? what do you want? the story of scrooge and his night of ghostly encounters goes down through the generations. what do you want with me? much. there have over the years been 73 film and tv adaptations. and marking today‘s anniversary, a display at the london pall mall gallery. this lost portrait was rediscovered in south africa, much to the delight of charles dickens‘

great—great—great—granddaughter. this is what he looked like when he wrote a christmas carol. this is him at 31 years old. and the intensity of those eyes. when you think about the campaigning in this book, this is what dickens looked like when he was writing it. thejob now, raising the money to buy it for the dickens museum. time perhaps for a bit of the spirit of a christmas carol. as tiny tim observed, god bless us every one. david sillito, bbc news. now it‘s time for the weather with tomasz. not long now until christmas, just days away and we are a little more confident with the forecast for the day itself. we will look at that in a second. let‘s talk about the run—up to christmas if you like. not much change compared to what we‘ve had in the last two or three days. really mild weather with some showers. if you look at the satellite image, you have a sense of

the atmosphere in motion. low pressure in the north atlantic sending shallow clouds in our direction, the breeze picking up and this is relatively mild —— shower clouds. i know it is blue on the maps but it is not that cold. this is what we are watching, even more mild air heading our way on the weekend, temperatures could get into the midteens. he is the forecast, westerly winds blowing in the cloud and some showers, some getting more than others, but the south of the country, south—eastern areas, getting a better day compared to what we had during the course of tuesday and wednesday. 11 degrees in the south of the country, single figures in the north. now friday looks quite wet, doesn‘t it? a weather front moving across the uk. little blue here. that is rain. this is rain early on friday morning, the early hours of friday morning. all of this would have been over us overnight and then it slips out of the way. by the time we get a

lunchtime the sun is out across the southern half of the uk. once again the shallows come in again. it is a seesaw, the weather going up and down. —— showers. all the while it looks cloudy in the north. the all—important weekend, a lot of us had plans for the weekend, very busy weekend. looks like we‘re in between weather systems. that means it looking bad at all. a weak area of high pressure will build, that means more sunshine around, yes, maybe showers in the north—west of the country. but on the whole, not a bad day on the way on saturday. 12 in london, ten in liverpool, nine in newcastle and glasgow. then on sunday the wedge of yellow colour that i showed you at the start of the forecast arrives, that mild air. with that also a lot of cloud, some wind and rain as well. so messy picture for many of us on sunday after that really nice day on saturday. sunday is