this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh in westminster, where mps will resume their debate on theresa may's brexit plan — a month after she cancelled a vote on it. government attempts to avert defeat by giving reassurances over the northern irish backstop, have already been dismissed by the dup as ‘meaningless‘ and ‘window dressing'. we'll bring you all the developments from westminister throughout the day. i'm joanna gosling. the other main stories this morning: a 14—year—old boy is stabbed to death by three men in east london after being knocked off his moped. police believe it was a targeted attack. the military is helping police at heathrow airport after sightings of a drone temporarily halted flights yesterday. i'm at heathrow airport, and i'll be bringing you the latest on the police investigation into what happened here yesterday. the airport says it is operating as normal today. the police have

launched a full criminal investigation. president trump demands congress pays for his long—promised border wall with mexico, in his first televised address from the oval office. and another nomination for olivia colman, as dark comedy the favourite leads the bafta race with 12 nominations. good morning and welcome to westminster, where mps will this afternoon begin five days of debate on theresa may's eu withdrawal plan, nearly a month after she postponed the crunch commons vote on her agreement. in an attempt to avert defeat in the vote next tuesday, you could call it groundhog day.

the government is going to outline proposals aimed at reassuring the democratic unionist party over the irish backstop — the contingency plan to avoid a hard border on the island of ireland — but they've already been dismissed by the party as ‘meaningless‘. there is a lot to talk about. i'm joined by our assistant political editor norman smith. hello again to you, norman. is this groundhog day? is anything substantially different from one month ago? erm... apologies, i'm not sure if we do have norman at the moment. no, we do have norman at the moment. no, we do not have normanjust do have norman at the moment. no, we do not have norman just yet and hopefully he will be with us shortly. let me tell you more about those proposals over the northern ireland backstop because as you will know this has been a real sticking point in terms of theresa may getting the support and votes she needs to get her deal through the

commons. you will know the northern ireland assembly, stormont, has been suspended for two years this month. theresa may proposes that she would give stormont greater power to veto any new eu regulations. she hopes this could win the support of the dup. but apart from the fact that stormont collapsed two years ago and there is no sign of the assembly getting up and running again, the dup has already dismissed this, as we explained a month ago, these proposals from the prime minister as meaningless and windowdressing. i am told i can now talk to our assistant political editor norman smith. good morning, norman. first of all, is this groundhog day? are we going to see anything substantially different over these five days of debate compared to where we were one month ago? the honest answer is probably not.

we know the government wants to try to put further reassurances of the backstop on the table so we have these measures of northern ireland today, which as you know have already been dismissed by the dup. we will get further proposals about what parliament... the controls parliament can have over going into the backstop and getting out of the backstop... but what absolutely everything hinges on is whether meaningful, legally binding assurances can be carved out of the eu. at the moment there is a very big question about this. without that, it looks as if mrs may is facing an almost impossible task. she has to somehow get the eu agree to reopen the withdrawal agreement and rewrite some of the legal text, and rewrite some of the legal text, and even then, that may not be enough to secure victory because some tory rebels take the view her agreement is unacceptable anyway because they don't like handing over

£39 billion to the eu. albeit in public at least, senior ministers are insisting mrs may's deal is the only deal on the table. it is the only deal on the table. it is the only realistic option, at least that was the line from the cabinet office minister david lidington this morning. the parliament next week has to face up to responsibility. this is for mp5 of all parties. no deal is the default legal position in european law, as well as in british law, so if you don't want a no—deal exit at the end of march, and i think that would be harmful to uk prosperity and to the union of the united kingdom, then you have to vote for a deal, because only when a deal is ratified can that come into effect. if anything, my opinion is beginning to harden against mrs may's deal since she put the vote in december. certainly looking at last may's vote

when the government was defeated even when they had the backing of the brexiteers and the backing of the brexiteers and the backing of the dup... the brexiteers and the backing of the dup. .. they the brexiteers and the backing of the dup... they had around 20 or so tories voting against her, including i7 tories voting against her, including 17 former ministers, seven former cabinet ministers. these are senior, influential tories, people who do not normally rebel. when you get those kind of people voting against mrs may, itjust suggests how far the government is beginning to lose grip on the parliamentary arithmetic. i thought it interesting that amber rudd emerging from her house this morning struck a slightly equivocal note about whether the government could be confident they would win we're still very committed to making sure that the government's would win withdrawal agreement gets through. we've got five days of debate now, and i hope that colleagues will be able to listen carefully to the debate and ultimately, vote for the deal next week, which is the best way of leaving the european union. are you confident of success next

week for the prime minister's deal? i think confident is overdoing it. there's a lot of arguments to be made, there is a lot of points to be won but i believe we'll be able to do that during the next few days, and i hope colleagues who are prevaricating about it, will think very carefully about what the alternatives are. i still believe the best outcome is getting the withdrawal agreement through next week. let mejust let me just tell you there is an awful lot of chitchat at westminster about whether a key amendment put down and her the so—called business motion, which is a timetabling for the meaningful vote debate, has been accepted. this is a motion put down by dominic grieve. a lot of people are saying it has and if it has, thatis are saying it has and if it has, that is going to be one almighty headache for theresa may and her tea m headache for theresa may and her team because it would mean if it is accepted and voted through that if mrs may's deal is voted down, within three days she would have to conduct a parliament with a plan b. in other

words, it would massively crank up the pressure on mrs may to set out an alternative strategy if, as expected, her deal gets voted down. thank you, norman. i'm joined by the labour mp liz kendall. good morning and thanks for your time. we are hearing about the bbc has not confirmed this, that the dominic grieve amendment will go before the commons this afternoon. the amendment to effectively in a nutshell speed the process up if theresa may's deal is voted down next week. is that good news? it is brilliant news if true and it is absolutely essential. time is running out on this. we cannot put the country through any more uncertainty. if may's agreement is voted down next week, we can't wait another month before parliament decides what to do next. it must come quickly. i hope the speaker accepts this and i hope it gets through because we need greater

certainty and parliament needs to show leadership. a couple of key phrases — you say we need greater certainty and what parliament must do next, but that is the problem. people know what they do not want but there is no sense of enough people coalescing around an alternative plan, is there are? you are correct and i don't think mrs may has enough support for her agreement. there is clearly no support for no deal in parliament and that is why ultimately i think we must put it back to the people to decide how we get out of this mess, how we get out of this cul—de—sac. i think that is also correct in principle because what is on offer now is so very different from what people were promised back during the referendum. we must get public support for where we go next. but clearly there are people who say the referendum told parliament what the referendum told parliament what the country wanted, and do you think actually that what you ought to push for now is something which, you

know, gives brexit but avoids that no deal scenario? well, people voted leave for all sorts of different reasons and people were made lots of different promises. now we have the facts about what brexit really looks like andi about what brexit really looks like and i think that giving this country is the absolute final say on where we go now is really important, not just because if we can't get an agreement in parliament, that is the only way out, but because i think it is correct that as we determine our future relationship with the eu that this has public support. it really is the case that what is on offer now in may's deal and in terms of no deal is very different from what people were promised. i am sceptical about another vote on this but i do think it may be the only way forward and the only way out. what is the route to this? your own party leader is not convinced that is the root out? it is party policy that if may's deal is voted down we can't get a

general election, which looks unlikely... all the officers must be there, including campaigning for a people's vote. i would take time is running out and we cannot leave this any longer. the public, our economy and the eu and british citizens need certainty. we must show leadership and takea certainty. we must show leadership and take a decision and act. can you confirm that labour will move a vote of no—confidence in the government next week if the deal is defeated? i can't and i know the decision. i think we should get on and do that if we don't win it we have to provide a solution to the country's problem they are facing and i think we should provide this to the people. i will ask about the town... my sense was the protests were getting angrier and sense was the protests were getting angrierand in the sense was the protests were getting angrier and in the last few days we have seen very ugly scenes. —— i will ask about the tone of the mood. what can we do to calm the mood and the vitriol and hatred ? what can we do to calm the mood and the vitriol and hatred? it is a debate people feel passionate about but there must be a civilised tone.

i think you can compassionately disagree with people without intimidation and bullying. it is also something that politicians must be honest. there is no perfect solution to all of this. as i said, i think another vote will be challenging but may's deal or no deal will be a disaster so i think a bit of honesty about the pros and cons on each side and keeping calm is important. let me say this, those protests, what happened to people like anna soubry and owenjones, thatis like anna soubry and owenjones, that is not the person i know and love. we must reject it and we must call it out and have a debate with decency and integrity. abbey sensed a greater police presence around this area today? it is different and seems completely different today. not just it is different and seems completely different today. notjust mps, not just about us, but other members of the public who come here. they must be able to come here with confidence and not be frightened by some of the... some of the people we saw on

those videos and clips high—ranking and abusing owen jones those videos and clips high—ranking and abusing owenjones and anna soubry, they don't represent many of the levers and brexiteers i know from my own constituency, who are decent people. i think they were far right people and that must be dealt with. thank you very much, liz kendall from labour. to go over the news we are hearing about the bbc has not yet confirmed it, we hear reports that an amendment put forward by the conservative mp dominic grieve, which would effectively speed up the process through which parliament could deal with brexit, if theresa may's vote is defeated next week, we are hearing at this has been affected to be tabled during the debate this afternoon. we will try and get you confirmation of that as soon as we can. but obviously that isa soon as we can. but obviously that is a significant thing if that is the case, and it shows that perhaps theresa may is listening to that huge cross—party support for that amendment. we will say goodbye note

of viewers on bbc two. we are continuing our coverage here on the bbc news channel of events at westminster, as this afternoon, you will know by now, at the house of commons, they stuck to debate once again theresa may's plan for brexit. five days of debate ahead of another vote, or a vote next tuesday, because you will know that one month ago that meaningful vote was withdrawn at the last minute because the prime minister accepted that he was not going to get enough support for her plan. with me now... with me is the conservative mp theresa villiers. former northern ireland secretary, it is good to happy with us today to talk what theresa may is going to be trying to do to bring the dup on board. let's begin with the debate. do you think there will be a different outcome next tuesday? last time theresa may knew she would not get

their support. will she this time? i think there is not the support in parliament to get this deal through. it has significant flaws and that is the reason why i can't vote for it and i know a the reason why i can't vote for it and i knowa number of my the reason why i can't vote for it and i know a number of my colleagues feel the same. whenever the vote ta kes pla ce feel the same. whenever the vote takes place i think the outcome will be that it is defeated. any conversations with the prime minister between now and next tuesday with other european leaders, will those only result in new forms of words but nothing substantial, in your opinion? what we need our changes to the text of the draft treaty, to change it significantly in relation to the so—called irish backstop and the role of the european court of justice, and also to make paying at least some of the 39 billion conditional on our future economic relationship. those changes are still achievable but i think they are more likely to come if they come from the eu after the deal is voted

down... there is no sign of any flexibility from the eu to three days before the vote is due to take place. is there any sign of like civility from those who want to see, if needs be, no—deal brexit? do you think any of those mps could be brought on board? you of those mps could be brought on board ? you have of those mps could be brought on board? you have said he will not vote for the prime minister's plan as it stands, but will there be enough people out there whose mind could be changed to avoid a no deal? the events in parliament yesterday would suggest that. it does not seem so that opinion has changed in any significant way since the debate before christmas. there are still a large number of concerned mps, conservative and dup mps who feel they cannot support the deal. i wanted to support a deal and recognise the need for copper mines but what is on the table is not in the national interest so is important ——i the national interest so is important —— i recognise the need

for compromise. the prime minister must seek better terms from the eu and if they are not prepared to give them we must be prepared to trade on wto terms. would you accept an extension of article 50? not a wise move. parliament is legislated to leave on the 29th of march and we must get on with it... more time? i believe we should respect the result of the referendum, a significant majority of mps voted to table article 50. we have legislated to leave on the 29th of march and we should get on with it. we look in detail at the proposals theresa may is putting forward to the dup and the dup has called a meaningless. do they have any merit? includes a proposal to give storm and the power to veto any week eu regulations —— it proposes to give storm and the power to veto any eu regulations? stormont has been out of power for two years.

it has merit and i'm trying to provide reassurance... it is not enough. we will see the details later on today, presumably during debate, but it does not have any impact at all on the pages and pages of eu regulations to which the northern ireland is due to be subjected. it is only a potential vote on new areas of competence in relation to the single market at the eu might take on whilst we are in the backstop area. it does not change the fundamentals. i cannot see will reassure either my collea g u es see will reassure either my colleagues in the conservative party... it does not sound reassuring for the dup either. thank you, three civilian —— theresa villiers, mp. that proposal would include an attempt to satisfy the dup that there would be a limited amount of divergence in the way northern ireland is being treated vis—a—vis the rest of the uk and

dup. adamant that northern ireland must be treated in exactly the same way as the rest of the uk before it would agree to any proposals. it seems we are a long way off from that position. we will have much more here from westminster in the next short while but right now it is over tojoanna next short while but right now it is over to joanna in the next short while but right now it is over tojoanna in the studio for the rest of today's news. the headlines on bbc news: the military have been called in to help patrol heathrow airport after sightings of a drone grounded flights for an hour. di searches to determine —— the military has been called in to help patrol heathrow airport, after sightings of a drone grounded flights for an hour yesterday evening. police have been carrying out extensive searches around the airport to identify anyone who might have been operating the device. our correspondent andy moore is at heathrow for us this morning. are shut down for an hour but caused

by a drone again. how much is known about what happened to get everything back contract? it was closed down for one hour last night, on the northern runway behind me. rivals continued but departures we re me. rivals continued but departures were posed for that time. the airport says it cannot give details about how many flights were delayed during the time but there was no late night flying, no extraordinary flying into the night. they said there were no cancellations but it would have affected thousands of people. the drone or drones were first sighted at about 5.05 last night. the airport closed the northern runway as a precaution and then flights were opened again at about 6.10. what happened in the meantime we do not know. it may be simply that the drone disappeared from the area. the military we understand were called in later that night and they now have the equipment on site here at heathrow.

we understand it is the same sort of equipment used at gatwick and it is essentially radar jamming equipment. if any drone is operated in the area, it will be interfered with electronically and brought to the ground. the circumstances of what happened last night, the police are still investigating, as you say, with a lot of enquiries and a heightened police presence around the airport. cani the airport. can i check, you said they now have the equipment needed for radar jamming etc? does that imply the equipment was not their prior to the incident? correct. my understanding is this is military equipment deployable to a uk airport if needed. as i said, we saw it at gatwick and it was deployed on top of one of the buildings at the centre of gatwick airport. it is presumably somewhere behind me on the top of one of the

airport buildings that one of the terminals at heathrow. but, yes, it is deployable by the raf and it is not in situ at british airports. we know that gatwick and heathrow say they will be spending millions of pounds on similar equipment. they are not giving us any details but my understanding is that this equipment is not yet operational. if somebody decided to operate illegally at drone any other major airport in the uk today, at the moment, as it stands, my understanding is that there is no technical equipment to stop them doing that. thank you very much. police in east london are searching for three men who they believe stabbed a 14—year—old boy to death last night. officers suspect the teenager was knocked off his moped when he was involved in a collision with a car. the men are then thought to have got out of the vehicle and stabbed him, before driving off. detectives say the attack "beggars belief". jane—frances kelly reports. police cordons block each

end of this ordinary street in east london, where a teenager lost his life yesterday evening. people have been shocked by the sheer brutality of the attack. shortly before 6.30pm yesterday evening, police were alerted to a collision between a moped and a car along this road. when they arrived, they found a 14—year—old boy had been stabbed. they believe, following the collision, three men got out of a car, attacked the boy and then drove off. despite the efforts of paramedics, the boy died shortly after 7pm. his next of kin have been informed. forensic teams searched the street, and the homicide and major crime team were informed. no arrests have been made yet. the mayor of london, sadiq khan, tweeted to say... the local mp, stella creasy, tweeted that she was

devastated to hear the news. last year, the number of killings in london reached their highest level for a decade, with the majority due to knife crime. jane—frances kelly, bbc news. earlier we spoke to locals in waltham forest, and they expressed shock and say they're very concerned. it is really sad because i have got a young boy at 11 years old, and taking him to school... it is really shocking for me. we're not safe, basically, and if people are doing this, i think the government or police or anyone should do something. if someone heard anything, you know, then say. because it is really sad. i don't feel safe and i am actually really

scared because i never walk my son to school and i am doing it today. you've just told me and i am really shocked and scared. you don't normally walk to school, do you? he walks to school on his own, you know, but now you have told me, my heart is pumping. i am really scared so now i am just considering changing my habits and taking him to school by car, driving, because it is not safe really. it is really scary. it isa scary. it is a quiet neighbourhood... quite a lot of events happened in walthamstow but not in this area particularly. know, so you were surprised? of course. it is very sad, very, very sad. yes, he was only 14. president trump has used a televised address from the oval office

to demand the us congress pays for his long—promised border wall with mexico. he said the barrier was needed to stop what he called a "growing humanitarian and security crisis". democrats are refusing to fund the wall, in a dispute that's forced parts of the federal government to close. our correspondent rajini vaidya nathan reports from washington. my fellow americans... from his desk in the oval office, president trump delivered a rare prime—time address, making a passionate case for a wall. border patrol agents encounter thousands of illegal immigrants trying to enter your country. we are out of space to hold them and we have no way to promptly return them back home to their country. for years, donald trump has claimed that building a wall on the border with mexico would prevent drugs and people from being trafficked and reduce the threat of terror. mexico won't pay for it, which is why the president is now asking congress to. but democrats won't agree to the $5 billion price tag as part of budget negotiations.

the deadlock has seen the us government partially shut down for more than a fortnight, leaving some 800,000 workers without a pay cheque. as this drags on, the democrats say they are not to blame. the fact is, president trump has chosen to hold hostage critical services for the health and safety and well— being of the american people, and withhold the paycheques of 800,000 innocent workers across the nation. later this week, president trump will take his case for a wall from the oval office to the border with mexico. but while he's working on getting support for his plan, hundreds of thousands of workers aren't getting paid, in a government shutdown that shows no sign of ending soon. rajini vaidayanathan, bbc news. the nominations for this year's baftas were announced this morning, with lots of british interest. olivia colman's film the favourite leads the race with 12 nominations, way ahead of its nearest rivals.

bohemian thasody and a star is born are among four films taking seven nominations each. our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimbo takes us through all the runner and riders. the favourite, an 18th—century drama comedy starring olivia colman as queen anne, leads the way with 12 nominations. olivia colman, of course, has won three tv baftas. today is the first time she's ever had a film nomination. great support, though, also, from her co—stars rachel weisz and emma stone. overall, leading the way, and in a year after #metoo and time's up, it's interesting that a film with three female characters at the centre of it is leading the way here at the baftas. but the film with the most nominations isn't always the big winner on the night, so also in the mix are a star is born, the holywood remake of a remake of a remake. lady gaga has got the best actress nomination in there. bradley cooper has got for individual nominations for best director, best film, best actor and best screenplay. also competing up there

with seven nominations, bohemian rhapsody, one of the biggest films of last year. it doesn't have a best film nomination. it does get the best british film nomination, though. rami malek is in there with a best actor nomination for his betrayal of freddie mercury. —— for his portrayal of freddie mercury. a few little interesting facts, fact fans. i know you always enjoy these. spike lee, the director's first nomination ever. same for richard e grant, first tv... sorry, first film nomination ever. and we'll find out who the winners are on sunday 10 february at the royal albert hall. now it's time for a look at the weather with simon king. and on. it was a chilly start with frost first thing but when you get a clear skies through the night you get a clear skies during the morning. we have sunshine in cornwall. more cloud across eastern areas of england and across northern

ireland and western scotland. a thick cloud moving in. later we could cheat patchy drizzle in the north west of scotland. some showers on the eastern side of england but mostly dry and sunny. rather chilly with temperatures five up to seven celsius, a brisk north—easterly wind. not as cold in the far north—west of scotland with mild and moving in. the mild air will sink further southwards, so you will see not a frost in scotland and northern ireland but limited to parts of wales and the south west midlands and south west. some frost into thursday morning. otherwise, cloud and during thursday it will be fairly cloudy for many. some breaks and sunny spells from time to time in northern ireland, and scotland and northern england. temperatures eight baptist —— up to 10 celsius. hello, this is bbc newsroom live with annita mcveigh. the headlines: mps will this afternoon begin five days of debate on theresa may's eu withdrawal plan —

nearly a month after she postponed the crunch commons vote on her agreement. government attempts to avert defeat by giving reassurances over the northern irish backstop, have already been dismissed by the dup as "meaningless" and "window dressing". police in east london are searching for three men who they believe stabbed a 14—year—old boy to death after he was knocked off his moped. the military is helping police at heathrow airport after sightings of a drone temporarily halted flights yesterday. president trump demands congress pays for his long—promised border wall with mexico in his first televised address from the oval office. time for a sports update. good morning. the chelsea manager maurizio sarri says english officials aren't able to use the video assistant referee system and spurs boss

mauricio pochettino says they have a lot of work to do to be ready for it's introduction in the premier league next season. it actually helped tottenham win the first leg of their league cup semi—final at wembley last night. the assistant ruled that harry kane was offside before winning a penalty, but the referee michael oliver, who had correctly allowed play to continue, was given instruction by the video assistant that kane was just onside. sarri disputed that afterwards showing the media another camera angle that seemd to show him offside. that penalty gives spurs the advantage ahead of the second leg in a fortnight, but neither manager was ahppy with the use of technology. —— neither manager was happy with the use of technology. kane was offside, clearly offside. but it's not important. i think it's more important that the linesman stop the run. he didn't follow the ball. so,

for the players on the pitch, it's clearly offside. so he had, i think, a big influence on our defenders. so i think that... they need to study better the system. lam not i am not happy. the decision... how we can affect and help is the referees and the players and... between the football people, how we're going to use, that is the most the rules. wembley is going to be tottenham's temporary home for at least another 6 weeks. they have confirmed that their new 62,000 seater stadium, which is on the site of the old white hart lane, is still someway off being ready they say that building tests need

to be carried out and test events need to be organised. their next four home matches, including their champions league game against borussia dortmund next month, will take place at the national stadium. so would a potential fa cup fifth round tie, if spurs are drawn at home. liverpool's mo salah has won the african football player of the year award for the second year running. he scored 44 goals in all competitions for liverpool last season, helping them reach the champions league final. he also played at the world cup scoring twice although egypt failed to get out of their group. he beat his liverpool team—mate sadio mane of senegal and gabons pierre—emerick aubameyang to the 2018 title. they were on the shortlist a year before, as well. world number one simona halep's first match for more than three months ended in defeat by australia's ashleigh barty at the sydney international. the romanian was returning to action after a back injury and was beaten in straight sets by the world number 15. halep was runner up at last yea r‘s australian open and is currently without a coach.

that will be her only game before next weeks australian open. new europe ryder cup captain padraig harrington admits it'll be a tough task to retain the cup when they play the usa next year. harrington was a vice—captain when europe won the cup in paris last september. but europe were well beaten the last time they played in the states in 2016. luckily, this time around we are going to the links golf course in the midwest, late september. so, it is as good as we are going to get in terms of a venue for the european team. if we were heading back to another hazeltine it is so hard to beat the us when it becomes fast greens, no rough birdie fest type of golf. that's all the sport for now. let's head back to westminster. thank you very much.

welcome back to westminster, where mps will begin debating theresa may's brexit plan again this afternoon, nearly a month after she postponed the commons vote on her agreement. we are told they will be a vote this time. there will be five days of discussion on the terms of the uk's withdrawal and future relations with the eu ahead of an expected vote next tuesday. just to set the scene a little more at westminster after there was really ugly scenes a few days ago, involving the insults thrown at anna soubry and others, much calmer here today. the protesters are out but it is very calm. on the majority of the days i have been here, i have to say, the vast majority of those protesters have been very respectful. so much calmer today. our reality check correspondent chris morris has been looking at the numbers the prime minister needs for her deal to pass through the commons. so, in downing street,

they're trying to figure out the numbers in the house of commons, to work out whether they have any hope of getting this vote passed. but, don't forget, amidst all this political drama, it's the documents that have been negotiated behind closed doors that are at the heart of the debate. so, we've come into the cabinet room for a reminder of what mps are talking about and eventually voting on, with the credibility of the prime minister and her brexit plan very much at stake. first of all, their withdrawal agreement itself. this is the legally binding document that will take the uk out of the eu. it includes the financial settlement, or divorce bill, that the uk will pay — an estimated £39 billion. it also sets out basic rights for uk citizens elsewhere in the eu, and eu citizens here in the uk. and the terms of a transition period, of at least 21 months after brexit, when all the rules would stay the same. but most controversial of all, there's the protocol on ireland and northern ireland, including the backstop plan, for keeping the irish border

as open as it is now — under all circumstances. the backstop would only come into effect at the end of a post brexit transition period, if a future trade agreement to avoid a hard border hasn't been achieved. the prime minister has been given additional reassurances from the eu that the backstop would only ever be temporary and that no one actually wants it to come into effect. but it still exists in the treaty and there is no unilateral way for the uk to get out of it without the eu's agreement. there's also a non—binding political declaration on the future relationship between the uk and the eu. the wording here is so vague that it doesn't offer any guarantee of any particular outcome. so, the government's facing an uphill battle to get this vote passed, and it will properly have to ask mps to vote more than once, maybe after getting even more reassurance from brussels. and after that, well, if the vote goes through, the withdrawal agreement then needs to be turned into uk law,

through new legislation. it also needs to be given the green light by the european parliament. and if all that happens in time, the uk will leave the eu on the 29th march. but if the government is defeated, well, the default position is that the uk would still leave but with no deal. or mps try and come up with an alternative plan for leaving, a relationship more like norway's, for example, which is still in the single market. or we might be looking at a new prime minister, a new election or even another referendum, which could mean no brexit at all. the truth is, no one can say for sure what's likely to happen over the next three months. this street has seen its fair share of drama in the past, but nothing quite like this. ican i can let you know in the past few seconds, then use that on an

amendment put forward by the conservative mp dominic grieve has been tabled for debate in the commons this afternoon. what is significant about this amendment, very significant indeed, is it means if it is past, if theresa may's deal next week is defeated, then the government would have to bring back a plan b before the house of commons within just three days. which is a lot faster than the time currently required in legislation for the government to come up with that plan b. so if this amendment is voted on and passed in the commons this afternoon, then it would mean that if theresa may's deal is defeated next tuesday in the house of commons, then the government would have just three days to come up with a plan b. we can speak to norman smith, our deputy political

assistant. there are a lot of hoops we had to go through to get that point but potentially this could change the dynamic of what happens here indy the house of commons? this isa here indy the house of commons? this is a really significant potential hammer blow to mrs may. we know the speaker has now accepted the amendment. there is a good chance of it being voted through. if it is, if mrs may's goes down as most people expect, she would havejust mrs may's goes down as most people expect, she would have just three days to come back to parliament with a plan b. more than that, mps could amend her plan b to put forward their own alternative idea, so that could involve a second referendum, measures to block no deal, heading off to norway, it opens the pandora's box on brexit possibilities. it also symbolises parliament grasping hold of the brexit agenda and cranking it off mrs may because it means she cannot just sit back and let the clock ticked down remorselessly to no

deal. we cannot drift towards no deal. we cannot drift towards no deal because she would have to come back before the next of —— end of next week with a new plan for mps to vote on. this is potentially very, very symbolic moment. apart from anything, if theresa may were to be defeated, even before her brexit debate gets going, that surely would be an ominous sign her, likely impending defeat when we get to it on tuesday. thank you for that, norman. in an attempt to avert defeat in the vote next tuesday, the government is going to outline proposals aimed at reassuring the democratic unionist party over the irish backstop — the contingency plan to avoid a hard border on the island of ireland — but they've already been dismissed by the party as "meaningless". our ireland correspondent chris page is at stormont. stormont which hasn't been sitting since two years ago this month and

would be crucial to these proposals? yes, it's interesting that these government proposals, two years to the day since the late martin mcguinness, sinn fein's leader, resigned as deputy first minister, bringing an end to the power shane vereen devolved government they had. there has been no resolution of that deadlock. northern ireland has been without government now since january, 2017. so, the proposals from the government, in spite of the fa ct from the government, in spite of the fact that this assembly is not actually sitting at the moment, would give the stormont assembly and the northern ireland executive a strong role in the northern ireland backstop strong role in the northern ireland ba cksto p if strong role in the northern ireland backstop if it did have to come into play. in essence, the backstop would mean, if it kicked in, northern ireland would remain in parts of the single market, continue to follow european rules on the movement of goods, as they cross the land

border, but the government says if there was ever going to be any expansion of the areas covered by that, if there was ever going to be any new areas of the single market which would be applied to the backstop, then a minister in london would have to get the agreement of the assembly here at stormont before he or she could go ahead with that. to understand that, you have to consider how the rather unusual voting rules here work. if there is a contentious matter, it has to have a contentious matter, it has to have a majority of unionists and nationalists in support of it before the assembly will pass a motion. so from the sinn fein's point of view these proposals are problematic because even if there was a numerical majority in the assembly for mainly elite that maintaining alignment with the eu, the democratic unionist could still block it under a veto. they say it is not going to give the dup a veto over the backstop and that would

mean the backstop is in a backstop at all. the dup having taken the opposite position, they say this is not legally binding. they would see it more as could stormont being consulted rather than an official veto inside doesn't go far enough to deal with their concerns of the unionist position within the uk being undermined by this brexit withdrawal agreement. the parties have been out this morning, giving their thoughts on the government proposals before they were actually published, making those comments on the basis of various things that had appeared in the media and comments by david liddington on bbc radio four this morning. so nothing official since the document has been published in the last half an hour but i doubt we would see any significant changes in the positions of the two largest parties in northern ireland on this. if they don't agree to it, that will put a barrier in front of the restoration of government here at stormont and u nless of government here at stormont and unless the assembly gets up and running, then it wouldn't come into

effect at all because this simply wouldn't be a stormont. thank you for that. our viewers will know how crucial the support of the dup is for theresa may right now. but does the dup represent a majority of people in northern ireland? at this point in the process, in terms of their view on what theresa may should do next, whether there should be brexit with no deal or whether some sort of deal is required? i'm joined now by lucy thomas, who was the deputy director of the remain campaign and by asa bennett, brexit commissioning editor at the telegraph. lots to talk about. welcome to both of you. first of all on that news, lucy, that dominic grieve's amendment has been tabled, will be debated and voted on later, which would mean if theresa may loses the vote next week, then the government must come back within three days

with a plan b. that has the potential to really change the dynamic of things? absolutely. i think there is consternation among some, some of the number ten processed people, if you like, who are saying the speaker shouldn't have done this because this goes against things that were agreed previously. but i think it is parliament taking back control of this process and saying that we don't have a majority for no deal and we want to be able to make our voices heard in what happens next. i think as far as theresa may is concerned, it stops herfrom having lots of time to play with, to be able to go back to brussels for perhaps several weeks and try to get something else. it really does change what might happen. asa, would you agree with that and would you think this effectively stops a drift towards no deal? actually, parliament taking back control, lucy said. you can understand why the

government will be quietly seething, because parliament does make own officials advise speakerjohn bercow against this and they have some foundation, not least as lucy alluded to, the requirements have, the government coming back with this plan b within 21 days was listed in law, for example, the eu withdrawal act. it's notjust a matter of flimflam and conventions. they could argue we live in unprecedented time so argue we live in unprecedented time so the speaker is taking his moment to be in the limelight and my word, this will be studied as a constitutional argument for many years to come. what are we going to see with the vote? mps will no doubt find it hard to resist because they are giving themselves the right to pull up the government, to have a much stronger hand. but what does it mean for the government? the phrase was used ticking down the clock. if they have to come back within three days or every three days at this rate with a plan b, if mps are wanting to have a different deal in the negotiation that would be

laughable as an idea. there is so much room for manoeuvre. is it almost a sense for a push for a deal by attrition, wearing people down and getting to something? what that something is we don't know. as i was discussing with guests earlier, there doesn't seem to be a strong sense of enough people coalescing around one alternative plan? exactly, almost like they are trying to build a plane and fly it at the same time. you can imagine having much of these theoretical discussions and decisions at the beginning of the process and saying, we will rule out several options, assess everything. but they are doing it at the same time. i think what is hard to predict is where is there a majority? there are so many different views among mps that anything is really possible. many would say asa, the majority is for brexit. that is what the referendum was about. are there any merits in this for those brexiteers, including those who think it is ok if the uk leaves without a deal? many

brexiteers consoled themselves with the fact this has been long underreported that no deal is the default outcome. we must remember this. after triggering article 50 in droves, i think the majority was 394 that triggered article 50. unless there is a deal or another outcome decided by parliament, this is what happens. as yvette cooper said yesterday, after her no deal amendment was passed, you can wish something doesn't happen, that doesn't mean it doesn't. this is the same with no—deal brexit. doesn't mean it doesn't. this is the same with no-deal brexit. no deal is still a possibility. we have heard possibly that labour might trigger a motion of no confidence in the government next week. liz kendall said earlier she couldn't confirm it that barry gardner, a labour mp, suggested that is what would happen. if that happens, if theresa may's deal is defeated and labour trigger that no—confidence vote, what you think would happen? pat anything is possible and if they were to win

that, you are in general election territory. if you are there, there is perhaps no majority for either party. my sense on the basis of the polling as you would end up with a similar parliamentary numbers. on the no deal point, what last night's government defeat shows is there isn't a parliamentary majority for no deal. i think whatever happens, various tools and tricks will be used to prevent that from happening. right now the various camps must feel there is a lot to play for from their perspective, respective positions. is one of those things potentially trying to buy more time for this process? potentially article 50? i think there is that scope for it. this is something theresa may and the government would be swearing until they are blue in the face would not happen because it is their position, article 50 cannot be extended. but given how much legislation has to be got through parliament because of the best case scenario theresa may is if she somehow gets her deal threw in some form, that she may have to get more time bought the article 50 to get

else through. at the same time, there is almost all to play for four mps because they feel, and some are wrong, they feel their results, whether a second referendum or a no deal or can a day plus, norway, they are all possible if they vote down the steel. thank you for sharing your views today. —— matt if they vote down this deal. thank you both for your time. just a reminder of the confirmation we have had in the last few minutes from the speaker's office, that an amendment tabled by the conservative mp dominic grieve has been accepted. it will be debated later. what that amendment would mean in effect, if it was passed, is that if theresa may's deal next tuesday is defeated, then the government would have to come back to the house of commons with a plan b, a planfor come back to the house of commons with a plan b, a plan for what happens next, within just with a plan b, a plan for what happens next, withinjust three days. for the moment, that is it

from westminster. prime minister's questions coming up at 12 o'clock but now back to joanna questions coming up at 12 o'clock but now back tojoanna in the studio. thank you very much, we will be live with norman smith in a few minutes, as we head for prime minister's questions at midday. another busy day at westminster. let me bring you some breaking news first of all on the south thanet mp craig mackinlay. he has been found not guilty of knowingly submitting false campaign returns in the 2015 election at southern crown court —— southwark crown court. he denied two charges of making a false election expensive declaration under the representation of the people act 1983. he had been on trial at southwark crown court for just over eight weeks. court forjust over eight weeks. the jury court forjust over eight weeks. the jury sent home over christmas to continue their deliberations. just prior to that, thejudge had cleared the mp's election agent of

submitting false expenses claims for the 2015 election. the judge told jurors to acquit mr gray of one charge of foldvari. craig mackinlay himself has now been cleared of those allegations. we will get more from the courts a little later. but right now, let's go to norman smith in westminster. he is in the central lobby. wow, that dominic grieve amendment changes things, doesn't it? it is a huge decision by the speaker with potentially very, very significant implications. dominic grieve joins significant implications. dominic grievejoins me now. just run us through what it would mean if mps vote to back your amendment. if they vote to back my amendment, it means the government will have to come back within three sitting days with a motion to the house, setting out what it intends to do next. that motion will be debatable and

amendable when the time comes, so the house can express its own view. it is the start, i think, is an essential dialogue between government and parliament to find a way out of the difficulties we are facing. clearly, it only comes in if the government loses its motion next week. but it looks to me as if the government will have considerable difficulty next week with its motion. for that reason, difficulty next week with its motion. forthat reason, it's important to get started. the old procedure meant that potentially the government didn't have to do this until the middle of february. seeing as that is only five and a half weeks before we potentially crash out of the eu on the 29th of march, it doesn't seem to me to be acceptable. we need to accelerate the process. this opens up a potential pandora's box, because mps can bring forward their own alternative ideas, whether it be a separate referendum on measures to rule out no deal, all those options potentially could now be on the table? yes, and they will have to be on the table, because otherwise how are we going to get out of this difficulty?

i realise there are a few of my colleagues who believe if the government's deal is rejected, we should simply do nothing and leave the eu on the 29th of march with no deal at all. and with all the calamitous consequences that would follow from it. i disagree with that. and so i think do the vast majority of members of parliament. the only way we can move forward if the government because my deal is not acceptable to parliament is to engage with government and find a solution, which is what i'm trying to do. it looks as if parliament is basically trying to grab hold of the brexit agenda and crank it off the prime minister? i don't think we can do that. ultimately, only the executive can govern but the executive can govern but the executive cannot govern without the consent and approval of parliament. let's get this dialogue started. i've been left constantly in the la st i've been left constantly in the last few months with a frustration that there is a marked reluctance by the government to engage in this dialogue at all. they are just going to have to accept that it is going

to have to accept that it is going to happen. huge controversy over this decision, which is a big call by the speaker. many in government think your motion is out of order. are you surprised that the speaker, seemingly against the advice of some clerks, has agreed to accept it? asa memberof agreed to accept it? as a member of parliament, i can only ask. if the speaker ruled that it wasn't selectable, i would have to accept it. i don't know the circumstances that led him to decide it was selectable and his reasoning. but i wouldn't have put it forward unless i could see that there were arguments that could be made that it should be selected. one last question, is this a potential game changer in brexit? i think, question, is this a potential game changer in brexit? ithink, like everything is, it's terribly easy to exaggerate these things. as i have tried to steer a course through this morass, because that is what brexit has turned into, i never put forward any of my proposals as being game changers. i think they are incremental steps in the right

direction. dominic grieve, thank you. a very significant moment at westminster. we will get a vote on that pretty much straight after prime ministers questions. for temperament, a crucial moment. yes, indeed. thank you very much. we will keep you right up to date with all of the developments. prime minister's question starting in the next few minutes. stay with us and we will watch it together. now it's time for a look at the weather. some sunshine in many parts of the uk at the moment. a chilly start, patchy frost first thing but a glorious winter's day out there for many. this is in cornwall a short time ago. a bit more cloud across eastern areas of england. a view shower is possible here. a bit more cloud in northern ireland and into the north and west of scotland, if few spots of drizzle moving its way into the far north—west. temperatures in the north—west about 7-9, but temperatures in the north—west about 7—9, but elsewhere, it is rather chilly. colder than yesterday, with

eyes of only 5—8. tonight, is slightly milder air in the south—west. some patchy drizzle with that. a frost free night to come. you will notice toward southern and western areas, there will be a bit ofa western areas, there will be a bit of a frost first thing tomorrow morning. elsewhere, those temperatures staying above freezing. 6-7 temperatures staying above freezing. 6—7 in western scotland and northern ireland. during thursday, a fair amount of cloud. some outbreaks of rain and drizzle moving its way southward. that is quite limited and some temperatures of 7—10. bye—bye. this is bbc news.

i'm annita mcveigh in westminster, where mps will resume their debate on theresa may's brexit plan — a month after certain defeat forced her to cancel the vote. first, mps will vote on an amendment that would force theresa may to show parliament her brexit plan b within three days — if she does lose next week. if they vote to back my amendment it means the government will have to come back within three sitting days with a motion to the house setting out what it intends to do next and that motion that will be debatable and amendable when the time comes, so the house can express its own review. before that the prime minister faces her first prime ministers questions of the year — here's the scene live in the house of commons. in other news, a 14—year—old boy is stabbed to death by three men in east london after being knocked off his moped. police believe it was a targeted attack.

south thanet mp craig mackinlay has been found not guilty of breaking electoral expenses rules in the 2015 election. a conservative party worker is found guilty on two counts. the military is helping police at heathrow airport after sightings of a drone temporarily halted flights yesterday. good morning and welcome to westminster where mps will this pretty calm out here today. there we re pretty calm out here today. there were ugly scenes the few days ago.

it must feel extraordinary to be an mp in the two—day sitting on those benches ahead of the rerun of the brexit debate which begins this afternoon, and before that a discussion on a very significant amendment put forward by the conservative mp dominic grieve, norman smith is waiting to watch all of this. explain the significance of that amendment please. it is a hugely significant because if mps back at it means to reason may‘s plan goes down, she would have to bring back a plan b within three days. she would have to say what she is going to do. mps would be able to amend what ever she brought back with their own ideas, they would suggest there is a second referendum, measures to block a no

deal. it brings up the whole range of opportunities on brexit. let's have a listen now. i am sure that the whole house would like to join me in paying tribute to lord paddy ashdown who sadly died last month. from his service in the royal marines through to his time in this house and as high representative of bosnia and herzegovina, he served his country with passion and distinction and he will be sorely missed. in recent days we have seen insta nces missed. in recent days we have seen instances of threats of violence or intimidation against members of this house, including my right honourable friend the member for brock stokes and members of the media. i know the whole house will join and members of the media. i know the whole house willjoin me in condemning those threats. politicians and the media should be able to go about their work without harassment and intimidation. this morning i had meetings with

ministerial colleagues and others in addition to my duties in this house i shall have further such meetings today. can i echo her comments on lord paddy ashdown and the disgraceful behaviour of threats to politicians and journalists going about their business. like those in the rest of the uk 235,000 eu nationals in scotland were treated toa nationals in scotland were treated to a christmas removal thread via social media from the uk home office, telling them to register if they want to stay in the uk after december 2020. friends, neighbours, colleagues, people vital to be scottish economy shamefully told to pay to stay in their own homes. can she confirm what will happen to those not registered by december 2020, and does she realise that for those affected this feels less like a hostile environment and more like a hostile environment and more like a xenophobic one? can i say to the

honourable gentleman, we recognise the huge contribution eu citizens have made to our economy and society. we want them to stay anti—eu settlement scheme will make it simple for them to get the status they need. can i say to the honourable gentleman, they have untiljune 2021 to apply, the cost of applying is less than the cost of renewing a british passport. if he is concerned about the interests of eu citizens then he can back video which enshrines eu citizens's rights. -- back the to the armed forces covenant is commendable as is its focus on inducing reoffending. ca re its focus on inducing reoffending. care after combat is doing remarkable work and the veterans have a re—offending rate of 8% compared to the national average on leaving prison of 45%, saving the government £20 million. was she

convene a cross government effort to not only sure up care after combat work but to expand nationally?” would like to pay tribute to those who have served in our armed forces for their courage and commitment. i would like to pay tribute to the vital work car after combat undertakes. we have a range of measures in place to help those who have served in the armed forces who find themselves in the criminal justice system and presents taylor rehabilitative work to individual needs and helping to reduce the risk of reoffending. the excellent record of reoffending. the excellent record of care after combat, i am sure a minister from of care after combat, i am sure a ministerfrom the of care after combat, i am sure a minister from the ministry of justice would be happy to meet him to discuss this further. jeremy corbyn. thank you, mr speaker, i joined the prime minister in paying tribute to paddy ashdown, he was elected at the same time as me in 1983 and was a very assiduous constituency mp, is very effective

member of parliament and he and i spent a lot of time voting against what the thatcher tory government was doing in that time. i also agree with the prime minister on the point she made about intimidation of mps and representatives of the media outside this building as happened in a few days ago when the member for brock still and all wyn jones, a few days ago when the member for brock still and all wynjones, from the guardian, were intimidated outside this building and i send my support and sympathy. we also have to be clear that intimidation is wrong outside this building as it is wrong outside this building as it is wrong in any other aspect of life in this country, we have to create a safe s pa ce this country, we have to create a safe space for political debate. do you see what i mean? i am calling for a safe space for political debate... order. we've got a long

way to go, questions will be heard and the answers will be heard. no amount of haggling or noise will make any difference to that simple fa ct. make any difference to that simple fact. jeremy corbyn. i am sure the whole house would join me in wishing is speedy recovery to the two british soldiers injured in syria last week. the prime minister scrapped the brexit vote last month and promised legally binding assurances would be secured at the december eu summit. she failed. she pledged to get these changes over the recess. she failed. is the prime minister bringing back exactly the same deal she admitted would be defeated four weeks ago? can i say to the right honourable gentleman i absolutely agree with him there is no place for intimidation in any pa rt no place for intimidation in any part of our society. politicians need to have a safe space to express their opinions, many of which are

passionately held, i hope he will ask his shadow chancellor to withdraw and apologise... for the remarks he made about the former secretary of state for work and pensions. on the matter of brexit the right honourable gentleman has raised, let me update the house. the conclusions of the december european council went further than before in seeking to address the concerns of this house and they have legal status. i've been in contact with european leaders about concerns. these discussions have shown a further clarification on the backstop as possible and those talks will continue. we are also looking at what more we can do domestically to safeguard the interests of the people and businesses of northern ireland. that's why we published a package of commitments this morning which give northern ireland a strong voice and wrote in any decision to bring the backstop into effect. we've been looking at her parliament

can takea we've been looking at her parliament can take a greater role as we take these negotiations onto the next stage. i can tell the house is in the event every future relationship are not ready by the end of 2020, parliament will have a vote on whether to seek to extend the implementation period or bring the backstop into effect. the secretary of state for exiting the european union will be seeing more about this during his opening speech in the forthcoming debate. no amount of window dressing is going to satisfy members of this house. they want to see clear legal changes to the document the government presented to this house. the foreign secretary said the prime minister has not been asking for anything new in her discussions with the european union. doesn't that tell us the prime minister has been recklessly wasting time holding the country to ransom with the threat of no deal, in a desperate attempt to blackmail mps to vote for her hopelessly unpopular deal? she can say what he likes

about no deal, but he opposes any deal the government has negotiated with the european union. he opposes the deal the eu say is the only deal and that leaves him with no deal. the only way to avoid no deal is to vote for big deal. —— the deal. if the right honourable gentleman is uncertain about what i'm saying perhaps i can give him a tip, he might like to use a lip reader. the prime minister says that it's the only deal available, if that's the case why wasn't put to a vote on december the 11th and this house? is why has there been a delay of five weeks? the prime minister said she hopes to get britain assurances before the vote next week. can i ask

how this, will the changes she is looking for be made to the legally binding withdrawal agreement itself? cani binding withdrawal agreement itself? can i say, as i have said earlier in my remarks and i said previously, there are three elements were looking at. the undertakings and assurances from the eu and those will be available to the house before the house votes at the end of this debate. we are looking at what more we can do domestically. the secretary of state will be clearer and more details in setting out what we will do in relation to the powers for northern ireland and in relation to the question of the role of parliament for the future. we are looking to ensure we can provide the assurance and confidence this house needs in relation to the question that has been at the forefront of

members's concerns in relation to the backstop. we've put a good deal on the table. we are looking for clarifications, which i'm sure well in short members of this house note the backstop need never be used and if it is used it is only temporarily. in the midst of that long answer i didn't hear the words legal changes to the document. that's what my question was. the environment secretary has said no deal would damage the uk farming sector. the foreign secretary has said no deal is not something any government would wish on its people. the 4.2 billion of public money is being wastefully allocated to no deal planning. will the prime minister listened to the clearly expressed will of the house last night, and this costly charente and rule out no deal? —— charente. night, and this costly charente and

rule out no deal? -- charente. i've made it clear to him that if he wa nts to made it clear to him that if he wants to avoid no deal she has two back a deal and backed the deal. he complains about money being spent on no deal preparations. on wednesday he is saying we shouldn't spend monday on no deal preparations, on monday on no deal preparations, on monday he said no deal preparations we re monday he said no deal preparations were too little too late. he cannot haveit were too little too late. he cannot have it both ways, either we are doing too much too little. perhaps he can break his usual habit and give us a decision, which shows that? this is the first time since 1978 the prime minister has been defeated in the finance bill in the house of commons. last night the house of commons. last night the house made it clear in supporting the amendment in the name of my friends dominic reeve that no deal should be ruled out, that is the position of this house. the uk automotive industry has written to

the prime minister in december asking her to take no deal option off the table are a risk destroying this vital uk industry. given this house has now rejected no deal, while the prime minister protect thousands of skilled jobs in the automotive industry and others and rule out no deal? i recognise the right honourable gentleman welcomed the leadership the right honourable lady, the member for the leadership the right honourable lady, the memberfor normanton, had given on the issue he is referred to. the amendment has not change the fa ct to. the amendment has not change the fact the eu is the uk is leaving the european union and it doesn't stop the government from collecting tax. he asked about the question of no deal and protecting jobs. we have negotiated a deal with the eu that protects jobs. we have negotiated a deal with the eu that protectsjobs. we have negotiated negotiated a deal with the eu that protects jobs. we have negotiated a deal with the eu that insures what is raising concerns he says is the

prospect of no deal. it is sensible for this government to prepare for no deal and those preparations are even more important giving the position by the right honourable gentleman. with an opposition front bench opposed to any deal the government negotiates with the eu, it is even more important we prepare for no deal. the deal protects jobs and security and delivers on the referendum. he should back it. instead of backing industries in this country and protecting thousands of jobs in this country and protecting thousands ofjobs in manufacturing and service industries, her transport secretary is awarding millions of pounds of contracts to ferry companies with no ferries, ireland rates that don't exist and a p pa re ntly ireland rates that don't exist and apparently they would even be ready by the beginning of april. this is the degree of incompetence by this government in dealing with the whole question of relations with the eu.

the prime minister has spent the last week begging for warm words from eu leaders and achieved nothing. not one single. or, has changed. she has already squandered millions of pounds on half weeks planning for a no deal that was rejected last night. if her deal is defeated next week, as i expect it will, will she do the right thing and let the people have a real say and let the people have a real say and call a general election? noel. we pretty good deal on the table that protects jobs and security. i noticed that we still don't know what brexit plan the right honourable gentleman has. i was rather hoping he might turn over a page and find a brexit plan. what we know about the right honourable

gentleman? he's been for and against the movement, for and against the customs union, for and against an independent trade policy. he was a eurosceptic and now he's pro—eu. he didn't want money is spent on no deal and now he says it's not enough. the one thing we know about the right honourable gentleman is his brexit policies are the many not the few. the nhs long-term plan is hugely welcome, in particular its recognition that gps are the bedrock of the nhs. does the prime minister agree it is vitally important we do all we can to support gps to stay in general practice and that the education and training budget must be urgently prioritised to support a wide range of health care

professionals to support gps in their practices? he raises an important point about gps and if he looks at the long—term plan for the nhs, launched on monday, being made possible by the £20.5 billion extra input into the nhs in 2023, 24, support for the workforce including gps isa support for the workforce including gps is a very important part of that plan. and a greaterfocus on primary care, which is betterfor people in keeping them out of hospital at any point in time, 20 to 30% of people don't need to be in hospital. gps are an essential element, they will be part of that important work. in. cani be part of that important work. in. can i concur with the prime minister on her remarks on paddy ashdown and all of us collectively have a responsibility to make sure there is

no intimidation in our public life. the prime minister delayed the duma brexit vote last year on the promise of written concessions from brussels. prime minister, where are they? i set out a position in my first response to the leader of the opposition, i suggest he should have listened to it. i'm used to not getting an answer and there we have it again. what the prime minister promised is we would get written concessions. that parliament would have the opportunity to vote on that and nothing has materialised, a month has passed and nothing has changed. last night the prime minister has suffered another humiliating defeat. when will the prime ministerface the humiliating defeat. when will the prime minister face the facts? there is little support for harry deal or

no deal. the new year began without concessions, the dublin talks field without concessions, the debate on her deal restarts today without concessions. the prime minister is frozen in failure, asking mps to write a blank cheque for her blindfold brexit. mps should not be debating without the full facts. worthy concessions notjust clarifications, when with the prime minister guarantee this house will see the full details before we start the this afternoon? as i said in response to his first question, i set out the position earlier and i referenced the conclusions of the december european council in relation to the issues i had raised with the european council and went further than they went before. we are working further on those issues.

the right honourable gentleman cannot get away from the fact if he wa nts to cannot get away from the fact if he wants to avoid no deal he has to be willing to agree a deal. the deal on the table the eu has made clear is the table the eu has made clear is the only deal is the one the uk government has negotiated with the european union, and if he really wa nts european union, and if he really wants and is concerned about ensuring we can look ahead with a bright future across the whole of the uk he should back that deal. i was pleased to meet the mayor of the west midlands last october when the chancellor and i visited the kings norton headquarters and we saw first—hand the opportunities apprenticeships can afford which is why we are seeing annual investment in apprenticeships increase. it was also great to see young people being given a career. the latest

statistics show employment in the west midlands has risen by 276,000 since the thousand and ten. —— since 2010. i think the prime minister will agree with me transport is the key to employment. i want to raise the question of the rail line line between lichfield and burton which is currently only used for freight. it passes the national memorial arboretum which gets around 500,000 visitors a year but they have to come at the moment by road along the busy and congested a 38. can i ask the prime minister this very online be upgraded to a passenger service, providing a valuable east—west connection from birmingham, and it would she also alo—emile to take her personally around the national memorial arboretum? —— allowed me.”

recognise the important role transport links play in relation to prosperity and our real strategy connecting people looks at how we can restore our capacity to learn that unlocks housing growth, it uses credit rates and meets demand and offers good value for money. it is for local authorities and partnerships to identify whether a new station train service is the best way to meet local transport needs. we look closely with local authorities to take forward schemes which they are interested in progression. in relation to the arboretum, i will consider a visit in the future, he has given me an invitation it's probably very difficult to refuse. uk officials at dover process 10,000 lorries every day from the eu, bringing in food,

medicines and other goods. as the uk government experiment on monday with 89 lorries and a kent car park boosted confidence in their ability to handle a no—deal brexit? the department is doing exactly what is necessary and sensible for the government to do which is making the preparations for no deal and ensuring we test those preparations. if the honourable gentleman is worried about the consequences of no deal then he should back the deal. it seems to be plain to anyone who's lesson to the debates on those house, there is no majority for anything on a future relationship with the eu except the majority that it is clearly against leaving with no deal. i proposed to vote for the prime minister's withdrawal agreement but i doubt whether it will pass. if it is passed and we

get into a transition, there is no majority consensus on what the government is supposed to be negotiating for in the years that will follow that will settle our future political and economic relationships with europe. the prime minister has to be flexible on something. would she consider, if she loses the debate next tuesday, moving to the obvious step in the national interest of delaying or resulting article 50? national interest of delaying or revoking article 50 and considering what the british actually want. first of all can i say to my right honourable and learned friend that he referenced a withdrawal agreement and said there was no position in relation to what the future relationship should be. of course the framework for that future relationship in greater detail than many had expected as set out in the political declaration which is the instruction to negotiators for the future. but in that circumstance

it's right we consider the role parliament would play as negotiations go forward in ensuring we get that future relationship right. i believe it's possible to have that future relationship which is deep and close with the eu but gives us the freedom to do it we wa nt to gives us the freedom to do it we want to do which is have independent trade policy and develop trade agreements and trade arrangements for the rest of the world. can i welcome the crackdown on cold calling to fleece pensioners out of their hard earned pension pots but is this not just their hard earned pension pots but is this notjust dealing with the symptoms rather than the underlying cause which is the illjudged free for all pension changes introduced by ourfriend for all pension changes introduced by our friend the previous chancellor george osborne, which gave the green light to the shysters, what is she going to do about that? what the changes that we re about that? what the changes that were made by the government and

introduced by the previous chancellor did was gave pensioners more flexibility and more freedom in relation to how to use their own money. mr speaker, every member of this house knows that drivers and commuters want greater investment to repairour commuters want greater investment to repair our roads and upgrade our existing railway services. yet we are wasting money on a deeply unpopular project where the management has failed, the costs are out of control and which will end up costing the taxpayer more than £100 billion, that is about £300 million per mile of track. why can we not face up to reality prime minister and cancel hs2 and spend the money on the people's priorities for transport rather than on this overpriced project which will never deliver value for money for the taxpayer. we recognise the concerns

people have about their roads particularly about issues like pot holes which is precisely why my right honourable friend the chancellor has made more money available to address those issues. on the question of hs2, wat hs2, it's not just about a on the question of hs2, wat hs2, it's notjust about a high—speed railway, it's about ensuring we have the capacity needed on this particular route because the capacity on the west coast main line we are already reaching, we are already seeing hs2 spreading prosperity, it is encouraging investment and rebalancing our economy and that is ten mac years before the railway even opens. 7000 jobs created across the uk and 2000 businesses across the uk delivering hs2 and it will bring tens of billions of pounds worth of benefits to passengers, suppliers and local communities. can i thank the prime minister for communities. can i thank the prime ministerfor her words communities. can i thank the prime minister for her words about lord ashdown, ourfriend paddy. he was

loved on these benches and i believe he was respected across the house and across the country and unusual thing happened last night, conservative mp's and opposite mp's united. levers and remain as united. united. levers and remain as united. united to back my proposal for a review of retrospection in a law called the loan charge which offends against the rule of law and has caused misery to tens of thousands of people. so in her role as first lord of the treasury will be prime minister agreed to meet with me and the cross—party delegation of mps to discuss this new review into the loa n discuss this new review into the loan charge? first of all, i think he was absolutely correct, the late lord ashdown was deeply respected across this house and across parliament as a whole and widely across the country too. in relation to the

question he put about the issue of the loan charge, i got the point he was trying to make, can i make this point, he talked about opposition and government mps united and actually the government accepted his review into the loan charge and i think the first stage might be for the chancellor of the exchequer to sit down with him in a group of cross— party m ps to sit down with him in a group of cross—party mps to see how the review is being taken forward. mr speaker, i'm not going to ask about brexit and you might be pleased about that. happy new year! and happy new year to all of you as well. can i say that i had the immense privilege recently of shadowing a doctor at wits cross hospital a&e department and it was a humbling display of the dedication of doctors and nurses —— whipps

cross hospital. they work in buildings that are 100 years old and they know they need better facilities. i have to say that while the nhs, the department has accepted whips at the top of the north east london priority, in december they announced programmes across london, and yet again north—east london was not included, so can i ask my right honourable friend, please, would she now visit whipps cross hospital and see how important it is to the area and would she work with our excellent health secretary on work on the basis of a fantastic announcement on monday to invest in those buildings and facilities. my right honourable friend has issued an invitation and i will certainly look at the possibility of taking him up on that invitation. he makes an important point at the end about the announcement we made on monday and my right honourable friend, the secretary —— health secretary, has heard what he had said about the

particular requirements of whipps cross hospital and be happy to sit and talk with him in more detail and i will certainly look at my diary and at his invitation. i would also like to add my own sadness at the passing of paddy, and in his final weeks he was very concerned by the way that brexit will play into britain's place in the world. brexit is clearly in russia's geopolitical interests and it was chilling to hear interests and it was chilling to heaeradimir putin interests and it was chilling to hear vladimir putin parroting the words of the - minister on why words of the prime minister on why we should not be holding a referendum. meanwhile poll after poll shows there is a majority for a referendum because people can see that her flailing referendum because people can see that herflailing deal referendum because people can see that her flailing deal is not in referendum because people can see that herflailing deal is not in our national interest. so who's side is the prime minister on? vladimir putin or the people >>.” the prime minister on? vladimir putin or the people >>. i am on the

side of the people who this parliament gave the decision on whether to stay or leave the european union, and we will be delivering and respecting that referendum and delivering on brexit. i'm delighted that we've been able to deliver our manifesto commitment to deliver our manifesto commitment to introduce an energy price cap. can my right honourable friend outline how this price cap will benefit my constituents across error wash? -- erewash. the energy price cap isa wash? -- erewash. the energy price cap is a great step the government has taken and something like 11 million households will benefit from the price cap and it will save households money as a result of what the government has done because we recognise the concerned people had about energy prices and it is this government that has acted to deliver and her constituents in erewash will see a benefit as a result. many of my constituents are employed in the

sheffield steel sector, a beacon of innovation and manufacturing. uk steel, the body representing steel companies, has been clear that a no deal would be nothing short of a disaster for the sector. will the prime minister confirmed she will not be so irresponsible as to consider the option of a no deal and reassure my constituents who are worried about their jobs reassure my constituents who are worried about theirjobs and their future? i have to say to the honourable lady that i absolutely respect and recognise the role that the steel industry is playing in the united kingdom. as you know, over recent yea rs, united kingdom. as you know, over recent years, government has taken steps to support the steel industry and she talks about the issue of whether or not we should leave the european union without a deal. i have been working to ensure that we have been working to ensure that we have a good deal when we leave the european union and that is the deal on the table and anybody who does not want no deal has to accept that the way to ensure there is not no

deal is to accept and vote for the deal. on tuesday i shall be voting for the prime minister's withdrawal agreement. but can i asked the prime minister to consider one particular aspect which i must declare ? order, order, the question from the honourable gentleman must be heard and as! honourable gentleman must be heard and as i scarcely heard what he said i think the honourable gentleman should start again and deliver it in full. i wore my arsenal side but the terraces here are not as well behaved as at the emirates. as i mentioned, i will be voting for the prime minister's deal on tuesday. there is one aspect where i have to declare a rash financial interest and it relates to page 33 of the withdrawal agreement where citizens residency can either be provided free by the uk government or

commensurate to existing cost. i rather foolishly in a brexit meeting in bexhill was so confident that this would be free by the government that i offered to pay the charge to one particular european citizen who was not quite as confident. my question is, surely, given as this was a decision by the uk public, surely we should be welcoming our friends, neighbours and essential workforce from the eu and offering this charge free so they can stay in this charge free so they can stay in this country at our cost. may i say to my honourable friend that i recognise the concern he has raised and the fee of £65 to apply for status under the scheme is in line with the current cost of obtaining permanent residence documentation and will contribute to the overall cost of the system. but applications will be free of charge for those who hold valid permanent residence documentation or valid indefinite leave to remain and for children being looked after by a local

authority and when an application is granted to resettle status under the scheme there will from april 2019 no fee to apply for settled status. as isaid fee to apply for settled status. as i said earlier in response to another member, the eu settlement scheme will make it simple and straightforward for people to get the status they need. thank you, mr speaker. this week our cross—party group, norway plus published common market 2.0, a plan which respects the mandate and expresses concern about free movement, protectsjobs in my constituency and helps reunite this deeply divided country. if the prime minister's deal is rejected on tuesday will she give the house the opportunity to vote on a range of options including common market 2.0, and will she give her bench is a free vote on those options? -- her benches. as he knows, i am working

to make sure that the deal negotiated by the uk government with the european union is voted positively on by this parliament, because it is a good deal and it does what he wants, protecting jobs and security and also delivers in full on the referendum result which isa full on the referendum result which is a key issue and i believe we owe it to deliver to people what they wanted, control of money, borders and laws, and that is what the deal does. can i thank my right honourable friend for ensuring our ma nifesto honourable friend for ensuring our manifesto because commitment to scrapping tolls on the seven bridge crossing has been met. this will put £1400 a year into the pockets of motorist, which is containing many of my constituents, and it will help transform the economy of the south and south—west of wales. transform the economy of the south and south-west of wales. this is an important step that the government has taken on one advocated, i know by individual members and the secretary of state for wales and it will indeed have a very positive economic effect on wales but also a

positive economic effect on the south—west and on constituencies like my honourable friend's. the local government association has produced figures showing that councils of all political persuasions overspent their children services budget by £800 million last year. the figure for sheffield was £12 million. this is totally due to the fact that the number of children in care has risen to a ten year high. in the light of that pressure, does the prime minister except that the £84 million over five years offered by the chancellor in the budget is totally inadequate? and without extra funding either these vulnerable children will not get the ca re vulnerable children will not get the care they need, or the other important services such as parks and libraries will get further cuts at a time the prime minister told us that austerity has come to an end. can i say to the honourable gentleman that he has quoted the £84 million and

that was for a pilot about keeping more children at home with their families safely. we did announce overall an extra £410 million budget for social care, which includes children and spending on the most vulnerable children has increased by over1.5 vulnerable children has increased by over 1.5 billion since 2010 but we are also taking a number of other steps. for example, the work we are doing to increase the number of children social workers and the appointment of the chief social workerfor appointment of the chief social worker for children, appointment of the chief social workerfor children, introducing front line and step up, to get quality candidates into social care careers. the honourable gentleman talks about money but it's about ensuring that the service provided is the right one and that is why we do it across the board, and that's why we are looking at those issues around those social workers. further to my entry in the register of interest, ever since the former president introduced democracy into the maldives, legitimacy has been challenged. and just like the prophets of doom around brexit, the

recent elections went ahead with no violence and the president was elected with a great majority. so would my right honourable friend now redouble her efforts to increase trade, education and cultural links? ican trade, education and cultural links? i can say to my right honourable friend what i hope is news that i hope you are welcome in that a new embassy is being opened up in the maldives and we will of course look to ensure what we do as we look around the world in relation to trade to see what we can do to improve trade with a number of countries around the world. parliamentary defeats are now a regular feature of her government. she has lost a quarter of her cabinet and 117 of her backbenchers wa nt cabinet and 117 of her backbenchers want her gone. her deal is as dead as the deadliest dodo. how many more indignities can this prime minister endure before she realises that she is the biggest part of this problem,

and, for goodness' sake, just go? the uk government has negotiated a deal with the european union which delivers on the referendum result. i know the honourable gentleman doesn't want to deliver on the referendum result. he wants to ensure that the uk stays inside the european union. talking about the economy, at the same time, he also ports taking scotland out of the union of the united kingdom which is much more important economically for the people of scotland. the people of scotla nd the people of scotland. the people of scotland know that remaining in the united kingdom is their best future. volunteering services are enormously important and none more so than the rnli who put their lives at risk and are often rescuing people making perilous crossings to try and get into this country as well. isn't it time we looked at the

funding associated with the rnli? many people it is a service that should be funded by the government and we should give money to it. she is absolutely right about the vital role the rnli play and of course the rnli, as she says, many people do not realise it is entirely funded by volu nta ry not realise it is entirely funded by voluntary contributions and i would pay tribute to all of those across the country who raise funds for the rnli including comic she may allow me, the branch in my own constituency —— including, if she may allow me. york has been in shock as we have learned that 11 homeless people in our city died last year, and whilst we know this is an issue across the nation, we know substance misuse services have been cut and we know the social housing has not been built in our city and we know mental health services are desperately underfunded and understaffed. prime

minister, i don't want to hear what you have done, because clearly it has failed. i want to know what you are going to do differently so no homeless person dies this year. every death of someone by homeless or sleeping rough on the streets is one too many and that is why we have the commitment in relation to rough sleeping to ending it by 2027. she says she does not want to know what we have done but we have committed over1.2 we have done but we have committed over 1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and she mentions mental health services and asks what we're going to do in future, what we are doing is putting an extra 2.3 billion into mental health services to ensure we are providing those mental health services for people who sadly currently cannot access them. beginning of the five day debate

this afternoon. jeremy corbyn the labour leader referring to any assurances that the prime minister might seek to give before the vote next tuesday said no amount of window dressing well satisfied the members of this house. he said the prime minister is bringing back exactly the same deal she admitted would be defeated four weeks ago. theresa may retorted the only way to avoid no deal is to vote for the deal, her deal. our assistant political editor norman smith was listening to all of this. if this was a warm up for the debates afternoon it promises to be a lively one. we are facing an extraordinary afternoon this afternoon in the commons. a couple of interesting interventions. we got a further sort of reassurance from the prime minister on the northern ireland

backstop, confirming that mps will be given a vote before we go into the backstop. that had been widely mooted but the prime minister, firming that. that following on from the reassurances offered over northern ireland comment giving storm want of veto over any new eu regulations. that has been dismissed as the dup as meaningless windowdressing. the prime minister was unable to say that she would secure legally binding changes to the... that is what the tory brexiteers at the manning. one final thing to point out though, the chamber is at absolutely packed this afternoon and the reason is everyone has been called in for this absolutely pivotal vote that will ta ke absolutely pivotal vote that will take place i guess around about 1pm on this amendment which is a potential pivotal moment in the

whole brexit process, which would force m rs whole brexit process, which would force mrs may back to parliament if her deal is voted down within three days, with a new plan. and also allow m ps days, with a new plan. and also allow mps to put forward their own alternatives, maybe a second referendum, maybe moves to rule out a new deal. everything would be back on the table. tory whips have summoned all their mps in, the labour whips have summoned all their mps. the tory rebels have been organising. everyone is crammed into the chamber because this is going to bea the chamber because this is going to be a critical vote. last night, mrs may was defeated but only by seven votes so this is going to be close, very close but very important. norman, thank you. here on the bbc news channel we will take you through all of those events in parliament with analysis this afternoon. right now from westminster though it is back to the studio. thank you. full coverage of

that debate, that vote expected at 1pm. in the last hour, conservative mp craig mackinlay has been acquitted of falsifying election expenses. the mp for south thanet had denied making false declarations during his 2015 campaign, when he beat then—ukip leader nigel farage to the seat. but senior tory party official marion little, who was tried alongside mr mackinlay, was found guilty of two counts of encouraging or assisting an offence. let's go live to the court. our correspondent is their hand has been covering it. bring as up—to—date with exactly what the accusations were. this is around 2015 general election for the south thanet seat and as you said craig mackinlay was running for that seat and nigel france was also running for that seat with ukip. according to what the court heard, the tories were desperate to win that seat so they got in marion

little who is a campaign activist who tried to help with the campaign for craig mackinlay to win. why this case is so complicated it is is to do with election rules. the rules state that candidates can only spend just above literally about 15 to £16 above £15,000 when it comes to the shorter part of the campaign. so the last 39 days. the campaign with craig mackinlay declared just under that £15,000 limit. they declared that £15,000 limit. they declared that they had only spent around £14,000. but police found that there we re £14,000. but police found that there were expensive declarations of more than £46,000 and that is how it got to court. this case has been going on since october. the jury has been deliberating for a really long time, it took them 53 hours and 29 minutes to come to their conclusion. and within the last hour craig mackinlay

was cleared of all of his charges. marion little was cleared of accou nts marion little was cleared of accounts towards the longer part of fortifying the accusation of falsifying expense claims towards the longer part of the election. but she was found guilty of two charges group regarding the shorter part. those 39 days of the election in 2015. they're currently in court right now waiting for the judge to hand down some sentences. but he has said unusually he will not give marion little a custodial sentence thatis marion little a custodial sentence that is because just before her husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness. thank you. the military has been called in to help patrol heathrow airport after sightings of a drone grounded flights for an hour yesterday evening. police have been carrying out extensive searches around the airport to identify anyone who might have been operating the device. earlier i spoke to our reporter andy moore from heathrow about the impact it had. let's go straight back to the house

of commons. we are expecting that vote. that is expected that 1pm but let's listen in now. —— there is an amendment about and that puts me in i think somewhat of an unfortunate position. i wonder if you could rule on what action might be taken. let me thank you for his kind remarks that prefaced his enquiry. this is the first i have learned of the matter and that makes it difficult for me to give immediate advice, it isa for me to give immediate advice, it is a matter upon which i might need to reflect before giving him what i would call substantive advice. obviously i was not aware of the honourable gentleman's visit to the table office of which he has now informed me. i understand that he is telling me that he was advised that the motion was an amendable and i don't know whether he went into the table office before the member for

beaconsfield or after. all i know is that in my understanding, is amendable. order, order. in my understanding the motion is amendable andl understanding the motion is amendable and i am clear my mind about that. so in so far as the honourable gentleman is disappointed that he was unable to table amendments, i understand that. whether there is an opportunity for him to do so now seems doubtful. but i have no objection, iwould have had no objection to him seeking to table an amendment but i was not aware that he was attempting to do so. aware that he was attempting to do so. that is my honest answer to him andl so. that is my honest answer to him and i absolutely accept that he is a person of complete integrity and will always tried to do the right thing. the same goes for me, i'm trying to do the right thing and make the right judgments. trying to do the right thing and make the rightjudgments. that is what i have tried to do and i will go on doing. a point of order.”

hope you will bear with me as a relatively new member who has not raised the point of order before. i am sure there might be some inaccuracy in the process. given the commons you just made, i wonder if you could point me towards the president that would allow for what seems to be and an amendable motion to be amendment —— amended so i could be informed. i'm not under any obligation to invoke president. i think the honourable gentleman will know that it is the long established practice of this house that the speaker in the chair makes judgments... order. makes judgments upon the selection of amendments and those judgments are not questioned by members of the house. i am clear in my mind, i am clear in my mind that i have taken the right course. let me say this by way of

explanation to the honourable gentleman and to the house. the motion in the prime minster's name is indeed a variation of the motion agreed on the 4th of december. i interpret that to mean that their camino debate. but the terms of the order, i must advise the house, do not say that no amendment can be selected or moved. i cannot allow debate but i have selected the amendment in the name of the right honourable unlearn the gentleman the memberfor honourable unlearn the gentleman the member for beaconsfield. at the appropriate point i will invite him to move it wants the motion has been moved. just explain what is going on in the commons, there has been quite a row over whether the government motion that is being voted on to do

with the withdrawal bill was amendable or not. that means whether backbench mps can put forward motions to be debated by the commons. there was a suggestion that it was not amendable and therefore there was some surprise in some quarters when an amendment was accepted, put forward by dominic grieve the mp that in the event of the government losing the vote next week, the government would have three days to go back with a plan b. it has become an issue in the commonsjust there it has become an issue in the commons just there because the mp says he was wanting to put forward an amendment and he was told a p pa re ntly an amendment and he was told apparently by the commons clerk that he wasn't able to put that amendment forward. so a bit of a row there but the upshot is as far as the speaker is concerned, the motion is amendable, he's clearing his mind for that and therefore it was of him to a cce pt for that and therefore it was of him to accept dominic grieve's amendment. all the latest on that coming up on the one o'clock news. right now, let's join right now, let'sjoin durham bat for a weather update. todayis

today is probably the coldest day of the week and we had quite a frost around this morning. we have been enjoying some sunshine in bristol. the northerly wind was around today and it has brought all this cloud and it has brought all this cloud and showers as well. at the same time into this evening we have thickening cloud arriving in the north west of scotland, that will bring with it and light rain and drizzle. it will bring more cloud into scotland this evening as well. southwards, the cloud is much more broken and it is beginning to break up broken and it is beginning to break up more on the eastern side of england at the showers come further and fewer between and we get clear skies. clearer skies across the western side of england and wales and temperatures falling away very quickly. through the latter part of the evening and overnight this cloud topples down across the uk. a little

bit of rain and drizzle as well. the cloud breaks up across scotland but not as cold as last night. clearer skies through wales, the midlands, with the west country, temperatures down to —3 —4 enrolled areas. a cold start here, sunshine for a while but the cloud continues southwards so we lose the sunshine across southern parts of england and wales. the cloud continues to break up into scotla nd cloud continues to break up into scotland and northern ireland in northern england. a few showers in the north—west but temperatures higher than they were today, six, seven across the south. into early friday not as cold because more cloud around, temperatures should stay above freezing. a little sunshine on friday, the best across the eastern side of the uk, a fair bit of cloud in the north—west will bring a few showers. temperatures will be eight, nine or 10 degrees on friday, pretty mild. just back to square one like last weekend.

weather fronts coming in from the north—west of this weekend. the dominating feature is that high pressure and there will be some rain, nota pressure and there will be some rain, not a lot, pressure and there will be some rain, nota lot, most in pressure and there will be some rain, not a lot, most in the north—west of the uk. spells of sunshine, the best in the south east, a stronger wind but it should be temperatures in double figures. as mps resume their debate before a vote next tuesday. she says the only way to avoid a no—deal brexit is to vote for her deal — but angry opponents tell her she's wasting her time. the prime minister has been recklessly wasting time holding the country to ransom with the threat of no deal in a desperate attempt to blackmail mps to vote for her hopelessly unpopular deal. the right honourable gentleman can say what he likes about no deal, but he opposes any deal that the government has negotiated with the european union. he opposes the deal... shouting. he opposes the deal that the eu say is the only deal, and that leaves him with no deal. as mps resume their debate

on the prime minister's brexit deal, i'll be getting the latest here in westminster and at stormont.