party leaders to find a way forward on brexit after surviving a vote of no confidence. on tuesday, theresa may's brexit plans were categorically rejected by parliament. the vote of no confidence was called by the opposition labour party. kenya's police chief has said 21 people are now known to have died in tuesday's attack at the hotel and office complex in nairobi. joseph boinnet said among the dead was one police officer. another 28 people who were injured in the attack have been admitted to hospital. the islamic state group has claimed responsibility for an explosion in northern syria, which killed four us nationals, including two service members. kurdish media says more than a dozen locals also died in the militant attack, which took place in the kurdish—held town of manbij. you're up to date with the headlines. now on bbc news, wednesday in parliament. hello and welcome to

wednesday in parliament. theresa may's government survives a vote of confidence. the ayes to the right, 306. the noes to the left, 325. cheering business as usual at question time. with every other previous prime minister faced with a scale of defeat last night, they would have resigned. he would abandon our allies, weaken our security and wreck our economy and we will never let that happen. and is peace about to break out in the house of commons? and i hope that this will be a moment of unity

in british politics. all that to come and more. but first, less than 2a hours after her brexit deal was overwhelmingly rejected by mps, theresa may was back in the commons to face a vote of no—confidence in her government. this is one way in which opposition parties can trigger a general election, so the stakes were high. but with her government enduring crisis after crisis, it was almost a routine heir to the announcement of business. we now come to the motion of no—confidence in her majesty's government. before a noisy house of commons, he called the labour leader, who wasn't pulling his punches. last night, the government was defeated by 230 votes, the largest defeat in the history of our democracy. the first government to be defeated by more than 200 votes. and indeed, the government could barely muster more than 200 votes. last week, they lost a vote on the finance bill. that's what's called ‘supply‘.

yesterday they lost a vote by the biggest margin ever and that's what's regarded as confidence. by any convention of this house, by any precedents, loss of confidence and supply should mean they do the right thing and resign. not everyone thought the debate was a good use of time. isn't the leader of the opposition engaging in a shameless piece of opportunism... which puts party interests ahead of national interests, and isn't he simply trying to disguise the fact that on this great issue, he has no policy! the leader of the opposition is making some powerful arguments,

i thank the member... sgua. ye; 71717: ~ ~—— 7—7—— for her intervention. i look forward to testing opinion in a general election, in the ballot box when we'll be able to elect a labour government in this eduhtw?" "f" can he confirm that it is the position of the british labour party to rule out and no—deal brexit, and can he understand why the party that claims to be the traditional party of business won't do the same? we have voted against a no—deal brexit. apparently, the business secretary thinks that's a good idea. the prime minister was unable to answer my question on this during prime

minister's question time. and no—deal brexit would be dangerous and damaging forjobs, industry across this country. mr speaker, this government cannot govern and cannot command the support of parliament on the most important issue facing our country. every single previous prime minister in this situation would've resigned and called an election. it is the duty of this house to show the lead where this government has failed and pass a motion of no confidence so that the people of this country can decide who their mps are and who their government is and who will deal with the crucial issues facing the people of this country! then it was theresa may's turn. mr speaker, last night, the house rejected the deal the government has negotiated with the european union. today, it has asked the simple question — should the next step be a general election?

i believe that is the worst thing we could do. it would deepen... it would deepen division when we need unity. it would bring chaos when we need certainty and it would bring delay when we need to move forward. so i believe this house should reject this motion. the problem is, the prime minister seems to be talking as if she lost by 30 votes yesterday and not 230. her refusal to even consider changing any of her red lines when the eu and irish governments and others have made clear the deal she got was dependent on those red lines, is making this impossible. can i ask her to clarify — is she saying she will rule out, in any circumstances, a customs union? i'm saying that what i want to see

is what the british people voted for. they want to see... no, this is very important. they voted for an end to free movement. they voted for an independent trade policy. they voted to end the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice and it is incumbent on this parliament to ensure that we deliver on that. she ended by saying that this was an historic moment. i'm proud of what we have achieved so far. i'm determined that the work will go on. in that i know we have the confidence of the country, we now ask for the confidence of this house, reject this motion. the prime minister. mps spent almost six hours debating the no—confidence motion. labour focused its attack on mrs may's record and the snp said she'd lost all authority and should go. i fear that what is really going on is that we have a government that is seeking to run down

the clock in the knowledge safe in the knowledge the withdrawal act going through, seeking to drive parliament to the margins and to make sure we do crash out of the european union with no deal. has the time not come for the country to see that the tory party, not by their words, but by their actions are now enacting a policy of moving us towards a no—deal brexit? we in scotland want no part of it. if the government and the prime minister want to drive this bus over cliff, we will not be in the passenger seat. conservative mps backed the government but was split over what to do on brexit. just trying to buy more time will not solve this problem. what needs to happen is we need to leave the european union on the 29th of march, and then we can have negotiations following on from that when we will be standing on the level playing field, able to stand up for our own interest

and we will have called the european union's bluff. we have to make a decision! and we can't sit and contemplate our navels forever. we need to make a decision. this idea that you drive us and drive us and you get the hardest brexit possible and it would just about destroy british agriculture. the dup said it would support the government, but the brexit deal had to change. the timing of this motion, as we now know has got much more to do with the internal dynamics of the labour party than a genuine presentation of an alternative programme for governing, so we will support the government to night, this evening on this motion so that the prime minister has more time and has the space to focus now on acting in the national interest on brexit and it's important that the prime minister nowdoes'listefil m of the united kingdom leaves the european union together.

but there was pressure on the labour leader too. we could have a general election that would resolve this issue. and it would be, if the leader of the opposition was willing to say clearly, i need my party on the basis we will have peoples' vote and/or that brexit would stop. that would be a very clear dividing line which we can debate as a country. this cannot be a motion of no—confidence in a vacuum. this is a general election that would give the public a choice between a government that is struggling to govern and a leader of the opposition and shadow chancellor who, i am afraid to say, i have not changed my view, that they are simply not fit to hold high office. labour mps launched a full—throated attack on the government's record. the burden put on people's future is what they are causing

now, the lack of opportunities, the lack of opportunity to get a decent education, to grow up properly, to make the best of your life. that is done by them and it is a constant attack on public services. i know first—hand how a twist of fate can knock you down, but for millions of people in this country, a twist of fate knocked you onto the streets, onto the pavements, into the soup kitchens where i work in birmingham on a sunday night. that is not a sign of a decent and civilised country not take us forward on this issue. so, while of course i want to get rid of that toxic government opposite, i also want to make sure we resolve this pressing issue and get this question back to the people, because parliament has shown itself incapable of resolving.

it needs to go back to the people. as the debate neared its end, labour's deputy leader offered the prime minister sympathy. it's not through lack of effort, it's not through lack of dedication. and i think the country recognises that effort. in fact, the country feels genuinely sorry for the prime minister. i feel sorry for the prime minister. but she cannot confuse pity for political legitimacy. sympathy for sustainable support. for the government, michael gove attacked jeremy corbyn directly. why is it that nearly half the female labour mps wrote to the leader of the opposition to say that he was not standing up against the vilification and the abuse that they received online, which has been carried out in his name.

if he cannot protect his own members of parliament, if he cannot protect the proud traditions of the labour party, how can he protect this country? we cannot have confidence in him to lead, we have confidence in this government, which is why i commend this motion... order! but when it came to the vote, there was, for once, some good news for theresa may. the ayes to the right, 306. the noes to the left, 325. cheering a government majority of 19 votes. you're watching wednesday in parliament. still to come — new hope for postal workers under attack from pet dogs. that no—confidence debate and vote overshadowed prime minister's questions where, in some ways, it was business as usual. theresa may and jeremy corbyn traded statistics about her record on the economy and public services, as they often do

at noon on a wednesday. the labour leader said she was in denial about last night's defeat and brexit, and her government was failing. she promised to tackle burning injustices, she has made them worse as windrush showed. more homelessness, more children in poverty, more older people without care, longer waiting at a&e, fewer nurses, rising crime, less safe streets, cuts to education. this government has failed our country! it cannot government, cannot command the support of most people facing the most important issue at the moment, which is brexit. they failed again and lost the vote last night. isn't it the case, mr speaker, that with every other previous prime minister, faced with a scale of defeat last night, they would have resigned and the country would be able to choose the government that they want. the right honourable gentleman

talked about the importance of the issue of brexit that is facing this country. later today, we're going to have the no—confidence debate. he has been calling for weeks for a general election in this country. and yet on sunday, when he was asked, in a general election, would he campaign to leave the european union, he refused to answer. not once, not twice, not three times, but five times he refused to answer. so on what he himself describes as the key issue facing this country, he has no answer. the leader of the opposition, the leader of the opposition has let anti—semitism run riot in his party. he would abandon our allies, weaken our security and ruin the economy, and we will never let that happen. the prime minister must now seek the confidence of the people,

not simply the confidence of this house. the only way forward is to extend article 50 and ask the people of scotland and of the united kingdom, whether they want the prime minister's deal or whether they want to remain in the european union. mr speaker, the prime minister now must legislate for a peoples‘ vote. i say to the right honourable gentleman, as he knows and as i have said before, this house legislated for a peoples' vote and a peoples' vote that was held in 2016 and that vote determined the united kingdom should leave the european union. he talks about our country. our country is the whole of the united kingdom. england, scotland, wales and northern ireland, and it is for the whole of the united kingdom

that we will be looking for a solution that secures the support of this house and ensures that this parliament delivers on the vote of the people. the prime minister's offer to talk to other parties was greeted with scepticism, after downing street suggested effectively be opposed to staying in a customs union with the eu. the prime minister said the government will approach meetings with parliamentarians in a constructive spirit. but it appears that cross—party talks means inviting people in to tell them why her deal is best, or to see if they've got any ideas on how to get her deal through. i will be talking to parliamentarians in my own party, in the dup, in other parties across this house, and will be ensuring and will be looking to see what it is that can secure the support of this house. but again, i say to the honourable

lady, as i have said to her honourable and right honourabel friends, that what this house must always have in mind is the importance of delivering on the votes of the people to leave the european union. a pro—europe conservative suggested most mps wanted to stay closer to the eu and delayed brexit. will the prime minister not, just as i have had to accept, accept that the majority in this house is committed to the uk leaving the european union, that she must accept she must now modify her red lines, that she created for herself at lancaster house, and find a cross—party majority, which will be along the lines that i have indicated? he talks about the possible extension of article 15. of course, article 50 cannot be extended by the uk, it has to be extended in consultation with the european union.

the government policy is that we are leaving the european union on the 29th of march. but that the eu would only extend article 50 if it was clear there was a plan that was moving towards an agreed deal. that is the crucial element of ensuring we deliver on brexit, being able to get the agreement of this house to the deal will deliver on the referendum result, leave the european union, and recognise what lay behind that vote when people voted to leave. a reply that stopped short of ruling out a delay. a conservative wondered what voters made of the current crisis. does the prime minister agree with me that if we fail to deliver on brexit, the public perception of politicians in this country will be at an all—time low? i absolutely agree with my honourable friend. and this...

and this is so important. i believe if we fail to deliver on what the british people instructed us to do in the vote on the referendum, that the views of the british people of this house, of parliament, and of politicians will be at an all—time low, because they will have lost faith in politicians across the whole of this parliament. we need to deliver brexit for the british people. politicians and pundits are still digesting exactly what theresa may's massive defeat might actually mean for brexit and the uk. the governor of the bank of england offered mps on the treasury committee his analysis of how markets had reacted to the boat. —— vote. the view was clearly expressed in the foreign exchange market, where there was a sharp rebound in sterling following the vote, and in public market commentary,

also consistent with our market intelligence, that rebound would appear to reflect some expectation that the process of resolution would be extended and that the outcome — that the prospect of no deal may have been diminished. now, that, iam not giving my opinion, i'm giving the market's initial take. a former brexit secretary appeared before mps on the eu scrutiny committee. david davis was critical of planning for a possible leave vote in the 2016 referendum. when we have something as significant as a referendum on something as fundamental as our membersship of —— on something as fundamental as our membership of

the european union, there ought to have been a work of plan for both outcomes. the fact that there was not a work—out plan for both outcomes or not what you and i would call a work—outplan for terminating 45 years of association, was in my view a disgrace. in the lords, peers also held a debate and voted on the deal. earlier this week rejecting it by a hefty majority. eight crossbench peers said public opinion was shaping against brexit. my lord minister, the game is up. surely parliament now must move to save the people from the government's continuing folly. i'm sorry to disagree with the noble lord. there have been a lot of opinion polls since the referendum result, so whilst researching this topic this morning, i thought i would look and see if there's been any analysis done of the opinion polls. and there has, by professorjohn curtice, i think we all agree

a respected polling analyst. what he said was, insured neither side in the brexit debate has secured any moment so far as the bounds of public opinion is concerned. any claims to the contrary made by protagonists on either side of the debate should be regarded with considerable scepticism. the brexit minister, lord cullen. how low is your letterbox? a conservative mp wants to ban low—level letterboxes to help postal workers avoid back injuries and dog bites. they keyboard once the government to amend building regulations to require letterboxes in new buildings to be positioned above a certain height. the purpose of the bill is to improve the health and safety of workers, particularly postmen and women, paper boys and girls, and other deliverers. i've met the communication workers union. they told me the key issue for their members, and it's not brexit. it is low—level letterboxes and dangerous dogs. now, i am not asking homeowners to retrospectively change their existing letterboxes or replace their front doors.

when it comes to front doors, a lot of people are very fond of their knockers. this bill simply wants to stop developers from bending swathes —— this bill simply wants to stop developers from building swathes of homes, each with a letterbox placed near the ground. and i hope that this will be a moment of unity in british politics. a moment of unity or not, her bill stands little chance of becoming law due to lack of parliamentary time, but she hopes ministers may act when they reviewed building regulations later this year. now, you may have noticed in your morning newspaper some behind—the—scenes photographs taken during the vote on the brexit deal. taken by mps, they give readers and viewers a glimpse of the division lobbies as mps gather to vote. but the speaker was not happy.

i well understand that yesterday's events were exciting, and that these days many people regularly take photographs which they feel compelled to share with a wider audience. but members featured in these photographs have not given their permission, and to that extent, this represents an invasion of privacy. i hope i have made it clear that this practice should cease. one mp wants to know what penalty future division lobby paparazzi would face. we set rules and laws in this place and expect people to abide by them, but we can't seem to do that ourselves, not a great look. can i then ask you, sir, not so much a reminder of rules that we already know are in place, but what the sanctions will be for those who have broken them, and if there are no sanctions, can i add that we maybe reflect the position and change it to a position where it's currently being flooded? the speaker said he didn't expect to happen to sanction mps. but as a supporter of england's finest football club,

the honourable gentleman will know that the referee has several weapons in his arsenal, before resorting to yellow or red cards. and he can be assured that the chair keeps a beady eye on offenders. and in case you missed that clue, john bercow and hugh merryman are both fans of arsenal, who are currently fifth in the premier league. and that sporting update brings us to the end of wednesday in parliament. thank you for watching. i do hope you canjoin me at the same time tomorrow. bye for now. hello. through the coming days. we're moving into arctic air.

the isobars are lining up from north to south, following this weather front south. it will clear southern counties of the uk through the day today. today's certainly a cold day for all of us. should be some decent sunshine around, but there will also be some wintry showers. a frosty start pretty much across the board, with a risk of ice, especially across the northern half of the uk. here's the weather front first thing. it will push its way into east anglia and the south—east during the morning rush hour. further north, clearer skies. remember that ice, but also the additional complication of some snow showers pushing into scotland, some pushing into eastern coastal counties of england too. snow possible to sea level in scotland, a couple of centimetres across the mountains, perhaps 5—8 centimetres. here, we are looking at a wintry mix, but a covering i think possible across the hills. mostly rain or sleet, though, as that system finally tucks into the continent by lunchtime. the showers following on from the north though, in the arctic air, will be wintry, and we will see further showers

particularly for eastern coastal counties through the afternoon. they'll tend to thin out across scotland. a cold afternoon, even in the sunshine. and then, through the evening and overnight into friday, a widespread frost will develop. thursday night likely to be our coldest night of the week. you may have noticed, though, towards the west there was a frontal system trying to approach. now, obviously a frontal system bumping into cold air has the potential to turn wintry. that little bit of cloud mayjust bolster the temperatures briefly for the likes of plymouth and belfast. but as the system pushes into the cold air, for northern ireland, we could see a difficult mixture of rain, sleet and snow during the early part of friday. the weather system looks like it will perhaps bring some more significant snow for scotland for a time. further south, i think it will be perhaps snow initially, particularly across the hills and the mountains, but turning increasingly back to rain as the system pushes in, because we are bringing in a slightly southerly air stream, so some slightly milder air.

but there is a lot of uncertainty in this element of the forecast, and if you are travelling on friday, it will be worth getting your latest update. on into the weekend, our story remains chilly, the temperatures perhaps coming up a couple of degrees on the figures we'll see through the end of the week. but i think there'll be a lot of cloud around on saturday. maybe some sunny spells on sunday, but overall, the story for the coming days will definitely be a rather wintry one. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: the ayes to the right, 306. the noes to the left, 325. the british government survives a vote of no confidence as the prime minister tries to put together a new brexit plan. it will not be an easy task, but mps know they have a duty to act in the national interest, reach a consensus and get this done.

islamic state, but the country's vice president insists is has been defeated. and a cold revolution — we'll tell you about the natural phenomenon that's left one us city in a spin.