police investigating the drone flights disrupted gatwick have made to arrest. the airport reopened on friday following a sadistic fowler closure which soared nearly a thousand flights counselled and 120 thousand flights counselled and 120 thousand passengers stranded. a partial shutdown of us government will start in just a few hours‘ time after lawmakers failed to agree funding for president trump's border wall with mexico. democrats are opposed to the plan which could cost more than $5 billion. fears about the shutdown led to sharp falls on the stockmarket, with the benchmark dowjones index finishing its worst week since the 2008 financial crisis. facebook and twitter were hardest hit — their value tumbled more than 6%, while amazon shares dropped more than 5%. now on bbc news — westminster in review. hello and welcome to

westminster in review, as we take a look back at an extraordinary and tumultuous four months. on this programme — brexit divisions deepen and theresa may faces a vote of no confidence in her leadership. the number of votes cast in favour of having confidence in theresa may was 200, and against was 117. mps react furiously when the prime minister presents her brexit deal. it is the political equivalent of being asked to jump out of a plane without knowing if your parachute is there and attached. and that's not all. the government comes under fire over its new benefits system. the chancellor unveils his budget. and mps are forced to take a long hard look at themselves after a damning report on harrassment and bullying. the report is clear that there needs to be a complete change

in leadership at the most senior level, including you, mr speaker. it has been a long, fractious, and unpredictable few months here at westminster. a term that ended in the high drama of a confidence vote demanded by theresa may's own mps. the result of the ballot held here this evening is that the parliamentary party does have confidence in theresa may. the prime minister may have won that vote by 200 to 117 but how did we get to this moment of division and crisis? in this programme, we'll be following the path that led to that challenge, the ins and outs of the brexit negotiations and some of the other stories that hit the headlines. for theresa may, the warning signs of trouble ahead had been clearfor months. she had no majority in the commons, relying on ten democratic unionists to win crucial votes, and her party was fundamentally split betweeen those who passionately wanted to remain

in the eu and those who passionately wanted to leave. but even so, theresa may had gone over promotional trip to africa in august, believing that she had a plan known as the chequers deal, which she hoped to sell to the european union as britain's road map for leaving the eu. but at a meeting of eu leaders in salzburg, her proposals were firmly rebuffed and the bad—tempered fallout from those talks led theresa may to make a blunt statement the next day. throughout this process, i have treated the eu with nothing but respect. the uk expects the same. a good relationship at the end of this process depends on it. the major sticking point — how to prevent a physical border springing up between northern ireland and the irish republic. more on the tortuous way that developed a little later. but of course while brexit dominated

life at westminster, there were other problems for ministers to deal with. top of that list the new benefit system — universal credit. it combines six working age benefits into one with the aim of making the system simpler and helping people into work. 0pponents claim it's too inflexible and driving claimants into rent arrears and poverty. two former prime ministers, labour's gordon brown and the conservativejohn major both warned of dire consequences if the roll—out continued unchanged. and one mp said universal credit was pushing women in his area into prostitution. it is not going as well as we are told in the house of commons, where some women are taking to the red light district for the first time. might she come to birkenhead and meet those women's organisations and the police who are worried about women's security being pushed into this position. perhaps he could tell these ladies that now we've got record job vacancies. we can give them help. 830,000 job vacancies and perhaps there are otherjobs on offer. esther mcvey, who later became one

of an increasing handful of ministers to quit the government over brexit. now, the speaker, john bercow, told friends he plannned to stand down in the summer after ten years in thejob. the news emerged a day after a fiercely critical report on the failure of high level figures in parliament to deal adequately with bullying, including sexual harassment, of staff members at westminster. i firmly believe that the only possible way to resolve this matter is the establishment of a body which is both entirely independent of and external to parliament to hear and adjudicate upon all allegations of bullying, harassment, and sexual misconduct. the report is clear that there needs to be a complete change in leadership at the most senior level, including you, mr speaker. i am so sorry to hear

of the experiences highlighted by dame laura's report, of members of houses of common staff, and i speak to them directly when i say, you deserve so much better. dame laura's report should shame all of us who work on the parliamentary teams. it is quite a devastating litany of this place with details of bullying, and almost out of control gender— based power relationships. nothing i've heard today fills me with any hope that politics will be taken out of this and that the same 12 people, and we all know exactly who they are, and exactly how they are getting away with it, butjust been walking around for the next 20 years. labour mp, jess philips. meanwhile, we were onto the october brexit summit in brussels. the big stumbling block — the northern irish border, specifically what became known as the backstop. it's an insurance policy that

would kick in at the end of 2020 if a wider deal to keep the border frictionless can't be found. reporting back to the commons, theresa may said the uk and the eu were working on a plan for the whole of the uk to enter into a temporary customs or import tax arrangement with the eu. by far, the best outcome for the uk, for ireland and for the eu is that our future relationship is agreed and in place by the 1st january 2021. the conservative party has spent the past two years arguing with itself instead of negotiating a sensible deal in the public interest. it is crystal clear that the eu will not accept any deal that does not include the backstop for northern ireland. those who attempt to wreck the backstop will be responsible for a no—deal brexit. those who attempt to destroy the backstop will be responsible for a no deal brexit. the eu have made it clear that the backstop is designed

to keep northern ireland as part of the customs union territory of the eu. sammy wilson. and there was more of that in the november summit, which we'll come to later. but back at westminster, there were some important domestic goings—on. philip hammond unveiled his third budget, the first on a monday for 56 years. the chancellor posed for the traditional photographs outside 11 downing street before making the short trip to the palace of westminster. he entered the commons to conservative cheers. philip hammond announced some increases in some public spending, the minimum wage, and tax thresholds. he began by telling mps conservative chancellors had had to make tough decisions in the last eight years but... today, mr deputy speaker, i can report to the british people that their hard work is paying off and the era of austerity is finally coming to an end. what we've heard today are half measures and quick fixes while austerity grinds on. and far from people's hard work

and sacrifices having paid off, as the chancellor claims, this government has frittered it away in ideological tax cuts to the richest in our society. the budget statement shows a chronic lack of understanding of the threats that we face and the storm clouds ahead. we got more for potholes than for schools, nothing for women born in the 1950s and facing pension inequality, and a pathetic and an inadequate sticking plaster for universal credit. barely two weeks ago, the world scientists issued their most stark warning yet that we have just 12 years in which to tackle climate change and to avoid climate catastrophe, yet not one single word from this chancellor about climate change, nothing about clean energy, nothing about green energy. members of the royal family, politicians, veterans and the public

came together as always on remembrance day. this year's two—minute silence on 11th november commemorated the end of world war one. around six million british, french, and russian troops are thought to have died. prince charles laid a wreath on behalf of the queen at the cenotaph in london. theresa may was joined at the ceremony by the labour leader jeremy corbyn and the snp‘s westminster leader, ian blackford. thousands of people filed passed the memorial to commemorate those who'd died. elsewhere, portraits of casualties of the war were drawn on beaches around the country, washing away when the tide came in. in a debate in the lords, a former army chief reflected on the aftermath of the conflict. the hubris of victory, the increasing of alienation of germany, the creation of a stab in the back myth, the failure of the united states to engage properly in the global commons, the san remo agreement on the division of the remnants of the ottoman empire which we see unravelling before our eyes today — all of these things and others led us eventually to a much darker abyss

than the one from which we emerged in november 1918. there was a happier event a few days later as tributes were paid to the prince charles, on his 70th birthday. the prime minister praised his total commitment to public service, but added that was only part of the story. he is, i believe the only public figure to appear on both gardener's question time and australian masterchef. not to mention, once delivering the weather forecast on bbc scotland. and he has a great and wide—ranging love of music. indeed, he remarked in 1974 that, "if i hear rhythmic music, ijust want to get up and dance." something i'm sure many of us empathize with. jeremy corbyn reflected on the prince's charity work and his love of the plant and animal kingdoms. his royal highness's horticultural exploits are well— known.

i'm a keen gardener and allotment holder and i can sympathise with the prince's desire to talk to plants. i've certainly found them better listeners than many members of this house over the years. the announcement ahead of the world aids day. now, back to brexit. in late november, there was finally a break through in the talks. at a special summit in brussels eu leaders gave their formal backing to the eu withdrawal agreement, the so—called "divorce deal", between the eu and the uk, it ran to a massive 585 heavyweight pages. they also signed up to the much slimmer political declaration, setting out the framework for the future relationship between the two. while mps had yet to see the small print, opponents had already decided there were compromises they weren't prepared to accept. after all the smiles in brussels, the prime ministerfaced a packed and hostile commons once again. and once again it was the guarantees on the northern irealand border that caused most tension. the leader of the dup

at westminster wanted reassurance that the backstop, if a deal on trade couldn't be reached by the end of 2020, would not last forever. prime minister says in a statement the legal text is not also clear that once the backstop has been superseded, it shall cease to apply. now we need accuracy, we need accuracy because it's the legal text that matters and this is what will bind the country, will the prime minister tell us, as the chancellor has rightly said, that the backstop is bad for the union, bad for the economy, that's what he has said, can she tell us what bits are so bad for the union? theresa may explained why the uk would not want to enter the backstop, or for it to be a longlasting solution. what we want to be able to do is in the future to be able to have our independent trade policy. one of the issues in relation to the backstop is whether or not we would be able to do that, that's one of the issues we would not want to see within us continue to be in the backstop for. mps wanted to see all the legal advice behind

the withdrawal agreement. they'd already voted for it to be published, but ministers had declined, and offered a summary instead. the government's chief law officer came to the commons to answer questions on that summary. to disclose any advice that might have been given would be fundamentally contrary to the interests of this country. it's no use debating and shouting of the members opposite. what i am trying to do, is guard the public interest. that's all! and it is time they grew up and got real. 0pposition mps weren't satisfied with that. the next day, the government was defeated in two votes on the matter, finding ministers in contempt of parliament and ordering full publication of the legal advice. that didn't mean ministers were clapped in irons or thrown in the tower of london but it did mean the government backed down, and published the document. now a single government defeat in the commons is usually very big news, but there was a third defeat for ministers on the very same day,

this one with potentially more significance for brexit‘s future. a cross—party group of mps, spearheaded by a conservative succeeded in a bid allowing mps to make changes to what was put before them if theresa may's brexit deal was, voted down. it is contrary to all sensible practise and i have to say, the ayes to the right, 321. the noes to the left, 299. and mps backed dominic grieve, racking up that triple whammy for ministers. all of which provided an unwelcome backdrop for ministers as mps began five days of debate, which the government hoped would end in a vote to approve the eu withdrawal agreement and the uk's future relationship with the eu. this was the big one. it would mean we'd reached a major milestone in the brexit negotiations. the media moved en masse to the green opposite the houses of parliament, with dozens of gazebos springing up overnight to house the mass ranks of journalists, commentators and mp5. nearby coffee shops ran dry.

tension mounted. a0 hours had been set aside in the commons, with what had become known as a "meaningful vote" at the end of the fifth day of debate. but everything unravelled for the government. no sooner had the debate begun than the splits in the conservative party and across the commons reared up again. i really can't believe that there is a single member of this house who sincerely believes that this deal we have before us is a good deal. and if i may say... actually there are a lot. there we go, there is one, there is one. i sincerely believe it. i've got no stake in this government any more, but i still think it's the right thing to do. but there was lingering anger over mrjohnson‘s role as a leader of the brexit campaign. the right honourable member was a senior member vote leave, he was foreign secretary for two years, we are in this mess because of him.

the deal on offer. as the prime minister says, the only deal on offer does not recover oui’ sovereignty. it leaves us rule takers from the european union without any voice in shaping those rules. the next day the commons heard from two former ministers who also opposed the deal. this deal is not politically or practically deliverable. it will make us poorer and also risk the union. it's the political equivalent of being asked tojump out of a plane without knowing if your parachute is there and attached. all of the brexit scenarios modelled by the treasury showed the gdp in 15 years' time to be lower. and lower still, when the impact of ending free movement is modelled. but the prime minsiter did have supporters, one praised her doggedness and determinations, saying she'd achieved a pragmatic compromise. and he quoted a lewis carroll poem.

"the principal failing occurred in the same. and the bowman perplexed and distressed said he had hoped at least when the wind blew due east but the ship would not travel to west." mr speaker, to coin a phrase from a greater, kinder and more resolute period in our national life, "come,let us go forward together and settle this now." sir nicholas soames. but tension continued to grow, with more and more conservative mps joining the dup and other opposition parties saying they wouldn't back the deal. staring a heavy defeat in the face the prime minister had the grim task of coming to the commons to confirm that the remaining two days of debate and the vote on her withdrawal agreement had been pulled. i've listened carefully to what has been said in this chamber... to what has been said in this chamber and out of it

by members from all sides. from listening to those views, it's clear that while there is broad support for many of the key aspects of the deal... on one issue, on one issue the northern ireland backstop, there remains widespread and deep concern. uncertainty is building for business, people are in despair of the state of these failed negotiations, and a concern about what it means about theirjobs, their livelihood and their communities. and the fault for that lies solely at the door of this shambolic government. does she not realise that every time she comes back here, with her tail between her legs, she humiliates the british people? when will she stand up to the eu and if she's not prepared to stand up to the eu, then let her have the vote of this house to tell them what we think of their rotten deal.

prime minister, members across this house don't want your deal. the eu don't want to renegotiate. isn't the only way to break this deadlock to put it to the people? we still, even now, don't even know when she wants to bring the vote back or even what she wants the deal to be. does she not realise how chaotic and ridiculous this makes our country look? people outside these walls see a shambles of a government and with this in mind, we will therefore support the leader of the opposition should heed as he should table a motion of vote. but the thing that is changing is the view of the british people. no it's not. i know it's nearly the pantomime season, but oh, yes, it has. anna soubry. but don't be fooled by that christmas banter. anger among mps was growing. 0ne labour member, lloyd russell moyle was so furious

that the vote had been pulled he grabbed the ceremonial mace — without which the commons can't debate or vote — from its resting place in front of the despatch boxes, before having it taken from him and replaced by commons officials. but such theatrics were the least of theresa may's worries. the prime minister set out to wring more out of the eu, desperate to get something on the northern ireland border that would reassure her own mps. but many of them had clearly had enough. under the rules of the conservative party if 15 percent of its mps write letters of no confidence to the chairman of the 1922 committee, the committee of the party's backbenchers, a leadership ballot is triggered. and after months of speculation in mid december the magic number was reached. the confidence vote on her leadership was announced at breakfast time, voting to take place in the evening and the result to be declared at 9pm. the number of votes cast in favour

of having confidence in theresa may was 200 and against was 117. under the rules set out in the constitution of the conservative party, no further confidence that that can take place for at least one month. the result meant theresa may can't face another challenge for a year, but opposition to her brexit deal remained insurmountable. and so theresa may went back to brussels, hoping for a concession. instead she appeared to be caught on camera in a testy exchange with the european commission presidentjean—claude juncker. and the promise merely of clarification not renegotiation. she returned to the commons to try to persuade mps there could be progress on the sticking point of the irish border. i explained that the assurances we already agreed with the eu were insufficient for this house, and we had to go further in showing that we never want to use this backstop and if it is used it must be a temporary arrangement. the prime minister has

cynically ran down the clock, trying to manoeuvre parliament into a choice between two unacceptable outcomes, her deal or no deal. this embarrassing reckless brexit we find ourselves perilously close to was begun to quell a position within the tory party plating party before country. now we have a prime minister putting her own interests above a book party and country. so the most tense, dramatic, divided and bitter four months in parliament that many westminster watchers can remember. with me to chew it all over is bbc political correspondent, leila nathoo. let's talk about the conservatives first, do you think that their brexiteers and remain wings are further apart than ever? i think the edges, at the extremes of the wins of the conservative party it

certainly appears that way their positions are entrenched and certainly the events that we've seen other the last few weeks have further sort of dug in to their sites. we know that 48 at least of them went in against the prime minister, we can presume a large chunk were brexiteers winks, 117 mps in the event did vote against her, so i think it looks like although she has her supporters, certainly the brexiteers are out to get her in some ways. and that is driving the two wings of the conservative party further apart. what about labour, do we know what it actually wants? many observers are looking for any hint that labour is going to shift its position in favour of coming out in support for that other referendum. there is still the general election demand first, and then after that they are still saying all options are on the table, so i think looking for clarity will have to wait longer. parliament does appear to be completely gridlocked, so could it be that giving parliament a vote on all the different options indicated votes, might that be the boat forward?

the way forward? i think that's certainly an idea dating traction and it's interesting to hear senior cabinet members actually talking about this openly, and looking beyond this vote we expect on theresa may's brexit deal to say well it's not going to happen or get through, so what should happen next. we talked about divisions within the conservative party, but doesn't seem to be the case that there is also a separate operation going on with the cabinet that the cabinet is almost operating separate to theresa may and lots of ways and does it enough power to force a point of view on theresa may to force her into a particular course of action? there will certainly be guidance going on and she has obviously been lobbied by different assorted groupings within the cabinet to take different courses of action, ultimately theresa may is convinced that she can still get backing for her deal with some tweaks from the eu, and she will obviously be taking her cabinets views on board. but at the moment, she's bury much of sticking to her own position but at the moment, she's very much of sticking to her own position of still trying to get a deal

through, convinced over that christmas break, perhaps mps will have enough time to think and her ministers will have enough time to reflect on this process and come down on her side. but, certainly it's highly unusual to have such unpredictable, i think an volatile cabinet. leila, thank you. and that's it from me for now. mps and peers have now left westminster for their christmas break. time to reflect on where we are and what might be to come. we'll be back with you with every twist and turn when parliament returns on monday january the 7th but for now from me, goodbye. hello there. the weekend is upon us now it's looking like being a tale of two halves. saturday is expected to be the drier day of the two, with many places staying

dry, with sunshine. a few showers in the north. for sunday, another weather system moving in. it will bring rain and more of a breeze for many areas. early on saturday, lots of showers around. these tending to become more confined to western scotland, northern ireland and north—west england by around dawn, with some clear skies for the south and east. with some clear skies further south and east. now, it will be a mild start to the day across the south. one or two chilly spots for the north—east of scotland — subzero values and one or two spots of frost. for saturday, this is the ridge of high pressure which should bring most of us some fine weather. this is the area of low pressure i was talking about which will bring sunday the wetter and breezier weather. so this morning starts up dry for many. lots of sunshine across the south and the east. after that chilly start, temperatures will rise. there will be though a few showers pushing through western scotland, northern ireland and north—west england and that light to moderate west or north—west breeze. it'll be fairly cool here. temperatures pretty typical for the time of year. further south it's going to be fairly mild again for the time of year, with 11—12 degrees.

this next weather system moves in for sunday, brings outbreaks of rain initially to northern ireland, then in towards parts of england and wales. some of the rain is going to be heavy, quite slow moving as well, through the northern ireland, into parts of wales, the midlands and northern england. it will eventually become confined to the eastern side of england, into the afternoon. meanwhile, much of scotland will have a dry but quite a chilly day. temperatures in mid—single digits. further south, though, it's going to be mild again — 12—13 celsius across southern england and south wales. this weather front lingers on across southern parts of the country as we head into monday, of course, that's christmas eve, but with a big area of high pressure expected to establish itself over the country, it will tend to squeeze that weather front out so conditions will become dry here later on christmas eve. so we could see some cloud and rain across the far south of england, eventually becoming confined to the far south—west. devon and cornwall will hold on to the milder air — 12 or 13 celsius. further north, drier, brighter, with some sunny spells but cooler and certainly much cooler across scotland. for christmas day, or for the christmas period,

that's into boxing day as well, with high pressure nearby, it looks like it will be dry for most. the morning starts off quite chilly, particularly across northern areas. and we should see a little bit of sunshine, but there will be quite a bit of cloud too. so this is christmas day's weather. quite a chilly start, north—east scotland, maybe north—east england, a touch of frost. 0therwise most places will be dry through the day, with quite a bit of cloud around. and those temperatures close to the seasonal normal, even fairly mild in the far south. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: a partial shutdown of us government starts in a couple of hours time — after democrats fail to agree funding for president trump's border wall with mexico. the shutdown spooks us markets, with heavy losses in wall street's worst week since the financial crisis. police investigating the drone flights that disrupted london's gatwick airport make two arrests, after three days of travel chaos. and anger at hungary's so—called "slave" labour laws. thousands of protestors are back

on the streets of the capital, budapest.