as mainly kurdish forces clash with islamic state fighters in syria, america's top military commander says the withdrawal of us troops will probably start within weeks. the us—backed fighters are meeting fierce resistance from is as they clash over the last remaining is enclave in eastern syria. a state of emergency has been declared in a new zealand town because of a large forest fire which is threatening the homes of over 3000 people. the south island town of wakefield has been evacuated as helicopters, planes and more than 150 firefighters have been trying to contain the blaze. a chinese state media outlet has released a video appearing to show abdurehim heyit, a prominent uighur musician previously reported to have died in a detention camp. turkey had said that it had confirmation of his death and had called on china to close the camps. it is 2:30 a.m.. now on bbc news it's time for a look back at the week in parliament. hello and welcome to

the week in parliament, another week dominated by the b—word. but are we really leaving next month? government is in danger of sleepwalking the country towards leaving with no plan and no deal at all. the leader of the house says she does have a plan. there are up to 600 pieces of secondary legislation. the house is dealing with those in good order. and 26 years after her son's murder, doreen lawrence takes on the government. if the amount of white kids would be murdered on our streets as the amount of black kids, society would not have sat back and allowed that to happen. half term has been cancelled, the brexit clock ticks ever more loudly, but theresa may still seems some way off winning parliamentary backing for her deal.

with just weeks to go before britain is due to leave the eu, the prime minister insists she's determined to deliver brexit on time. she's also said to have told tuesday's cabinet meeting that it must and will still happen on march 29th. at prime minister's questions, minus the prime minister, labour's emily thornberry asked for a sensible, grown—up discussion on the plan between now and exit day, which she said should be delayed. does the prime minister seriously think that she will get anything different than the responses that we've heard from the eu over recent days? because none of them have given us any encouragement that they are willing to reopen the withdrawal agreement, unless the prime minister is willing to reconsider the red lines on which the agreement is based. so does the minister not agree that the sensible, cautious thing to do at this late stage is to seek a temporary extension of article 50,

so that we have time to see whether the negotiations succeed, or if they do not, to pursue a different plan? it is the... the problem with the proposition that the right honourable lady puts forward is that it would simply defer the need for this house, and including the opposition front bench, to face up to some difficult decisions. plan a has been resoundingly rejected by parliament. plan b was ruled out by the eu months ago. and the government is in danger of sleepwalking the country towards leaving with no plan and no deal at all. so, with just over 50 days to go, can i give the minister a final opportunity to tell us whether there is a better plan than this or, for goodness‘ sake, will they let parliament take charge instead? mr speaker, as i said earlier, the prime minister will be reporting

back to this house next week following her discussions in brussels and elsewhere. but i have to say to the right honourable lady, the 2—year deadline, the 29th of march deadline, stems from european law and the wording of article 50. which lays down the two years. the right honourable — the right honourable lady, as i recall, voted in favour of triggering article 50. and that exchange was before news emerged from brussels of donald tusk‘s contribution to diplomacy — one that got the expected reception when it reached the commons. since the prime minister's questions has begun, the president of the european council has said that there is a special place in hell reserved for brexiteers. i don't recall, sir, any president insulting members of this house, members of the government, and the british people in such a way. what means is open to the house,

or the government, to respond to such a completely outrageous insult? 0n the committee corridor, the business secretary told mps the deadline for many in industry was nearer than you might think. i've been very outspoken in saying that we should not regard the 29th of march or the 28th of march as the — as the time that we should be prepared to take to conclude a deal. people often say that these things are done at the last minute. the last minute for important exporters is fast approaching, over the next few days, and weeks — a small number of weeks. the next few days, or weeks? when is the deadline? so i'll give an example. so the — obviously, about the furthest sea journey is from here to japan. and i'm told this takes about six weeks. so, you're saying in nine days' time. so mid—february.

so nine days' time will be 42 days to go, so that will be next friday the 15th. in another committee, the international trade secretary found himself put on the spot. can you give a guarantee to the committee that we are leaving at 11pm on march the 29th? the prime minister made it very clear yesterday to cabinet that the focus is on leaving on the 29th of march. and we will do whatever is required for us to achieve that. from 100% to zero, 50—50, all that sort of stuff, go on, what — what do you make? 100%? is march 29th the day we are leaving? march 29th is the date in law that we are leaving. but for all the talk of deadlines and mps having to pass hundreds of brexit—related laws by the end of next month, this is what happened atjust before 3:30 on wednesday afternoon. the question is that this house do now adjourn. as many as that opinion, say aye. aye. the ayes have it. the ayes have it!

0rder. 0rder! yes, at 3:27pm, after sitting for less than four hours, the house of commons rose for the day. and such were the demands in the working arrangements house yesterday, that they finished yesterday before 3:30pm! the rest of next week business's is a curious assortment of uncontentious legislation and general debates. and the leader of the house has cancelled the february recess because of what she said was the demands of critical brexit legislation. where is the critical brexit legislation? it is beginning to look more and more like the cancelling of the february recess was nothing more than a stunt. countless numbers of tory mps have been slipped to go on their mid—term holidays! he will be aware that brexit legislation is not a matter only of primary legislation. there are up to 600 pieces of secondary legislation. the house is dealing with those in good order. over 400 have now been laid.

we remain confident of getting all of the statutory instruments that need to be finalised by brexit day being done by then. he should take reassurance from that. words of reassurance from andrea leadsom there. but is she right? ruth fox from the hansard society keeps an eye on these things so you don't have to. ruth, are you reassured by what andrea leadsom had to say? i would be more reassured if i knew what the plans of the government were for scheduling the nearly 100 debates that have got to take place between now and the 29th of march, and the additional debates they will have to hold on top of that for the statutory instruments that they have not yet laid before parliament. so i think they can do it, i think she is right in that regard, but we are not seeing at the moment the level of business i would expect in the house to be able to get through this significant number of debates that they've got to hold. because we are in this curious position. 0n the one hand, half—term is cancelled — no february

break for mps. 0n the other hand, on wednesday night, finished at 3:30pm. yes, that is bad scheduling of business. what i would expect to see in recess — and andrea leadsom indicated that at business questions — is that we will see quite a lot of these debates on the statutory instruments being held. some of them will be in committee, we may see some of them in the chamber, so i think that, rather than the kind of general debates with the primary legislation that we would normally see in the chamber, is what we will see in recess week. and these statutory instruments, these pieces of secondary legislation, they're absolutely crucial, are they? what happens if they don't get through in time, by march the 29th? well, we will have holes in our statute book. so there will be legal gaps. so they are absolutely essential to get through by the 29th of march, if that is indeed when we are leaving the european union. basically, there are two types. one type, which is called the negative statutory instrument, that can become law almost immediately if ministers wish. so they can lay those before parliament and they can be into force by exit date, on exit date itself. so those instruments will be fine, as long as the government brings them forward, puts them, lays them before parliament.

they say they've got about 200 or so to go. so a proportion of those can come into law very quickly. the ones that i'm most concerned about are those that require mps to formally debate and vote on them, and the house of lords has to do the same. and it's the scheduling of those and the sheer number of them that they have to do before the 29th of march that is the concern. and we've dug down into secondary legislation, but of course, in simpler terms, if you like, there are other laws that need to get through and they could be more complicated, in terms of the politics? yes, ultimately, if we are going to leave with a deal, there will have to be a bill which is the withdrawal agreement bill. that will be a highly complex piece of important constitutional legislation. and the longer it takes to reach an agreement and get the house of commons‘ support for that, if indeed it is to be forthcoming, you know, the shorter the period before the 29th of march to consider that bill.

and i suspect, if we end up with a delay to leaving, if we do get an agreement, it will because it is very, very tight to get that bill through in time. the last time you were in this studio, i think you told us that february half term was going to be cancelled. you were right then, the government said you weren't. dare we risk booking any holidays for easter? i think you could probably risk good friday to easter monday but i wouldn't guarantee anything much beyond that at the moment. and you think that brexit day may yet be extended? you think that is the likeliest option? that, i think, is at least a strong possibility at the moment, but we'll have to see. if the prime minister can't bring back some kind of deal from brussels, then who knows what will happen in terms of we could be facing no deal or, indeed, looking at some kind of extension because the majority in the house is clearly against no deal still. and we can keep track

of this on your website? yes, hansard society website. we have a data dashboard and you can track daily all the numbers of statutory instruments that have come forward, and what's happening to them in both houses of parliament. ruth fox. the home secretary sajid javid has defended the deportation of a group of people to jamaica. among those deported on wednesday, according to the home office, were 29 serious foreign criminals, including a murderer and rapist. it was the first flight of its kind since the windrush scandal broke, and took place despite attempts by campaigners and some mps to prevent it taking off. an estimated 500,000 people from caribbean countries arrived in the uk between 19118 and 1971 to fill labour shortages here. they're known as the windrush generation, after a ship that arrived at tilbury docks in essex. they were granted indefinite leave to remain here, but changes to immigration laws in 2012 meant many who arrived as children, without their own documents, found themselves unable to prove their status and some were wrongly deported. in the commons, a labour mp criticised sajid javid directly. 0nce enslaved, then colonised, and now repatriated.

why do you say that these children should live without their parents? why do you say that the families of black british people who have been killed by your department's incompetence, that this is acceptable? that is what happens. we are now 20 years on from the macpherson review which found institutional racism in this country! i ask home secretary why is it that still in this country, black lives matter less? i have to, mr speaker, take issue with the tone of the right honourable gentlemen. he does himself no good service, a huge disservice in the way that he speaks, in the tone that he has used, to suggest there is even an ounce of racism in this house and to ignore the facts. he said those on the flight were

foreign national offenders only. every single one of them convicted of a serious crime and under the 2007 act — 2007 act which he supported — which he supported, which requires anyone, anyone — it doesn't matter which part of the world they are from, if they are a foreign national offender from the united states, jamaica, australia, canada, it doesn't matter they're from — it requires the home secretary to issue a deportation order, it is a legal requirement. can i support what the home secretary has said in the house today? and urge him to ensure that foreign national offenders who commit crimes are sent back to the countries from where they came because we don't want these people in this country? my honourable friend refers to the law, a law that represents the will of this house that was passed in 2007. but there was an apology for one

victim of the scandal wrongly refused help by a scheme set up in its wake. willow sims moved to the uk from america aged four but lost proof of her indefinite leave to remain when she was taken into foster care. she lost herjob as a teaching assistant last year after being unable to prove her immigration status — also losing her right to work and access to healthcare and benefits. my constituent is fully entitled to assistance under the windrush task force scheme, but due to mistakes at every level of government and despite numerous representations to the home office by willow, or solicitors, and me going back as far as october, her status has been wrongly brought into question. she now risks eviction from her home. will the minister urgently rectify this chaos, apologise to willow and meet with me to discuss her case and what has gone so badly wrong? can i thank the honourable member for raising this case,

not just today but in october as well because had she not, then willow may not be getting the support that she is now getting so i thank her for that. i am happy to apologise to her for the mistakes of the home office in not recognising the importance of her case, right from the first moment she contacted the home office and i will be very happy to meet with the honourable lady and discuss it further. sajid javid. the mother of the murdered teenager stephen lawrence has criticised government plans to tackle knife crime. doreen lawrence, who's now a labour peer, said new knife crime prevention orders would criminalise children. stephen, an a level student and aspiring architect, was stabbed to death in a racist attack in eltham, south london in 1993. he was eighteen years old. the macpherson report later accused the metropolitan police of institutional racism and made 70 recommendations.

mps on the home affairs committee took evidence from lady lawrence as part of their inquiry into progress since the macpherson report 20 years ago. when i said to the home secretary, amber rudd, if the amount of white kids would be murdered in our streets, as the amount of black kids, society would not have sat back and allowed that to happen. a crime is a crime. it does not matter who commits the crime. and that is what the police should investigate. now they are beginning to talk about it, what is really worrying now is the home secretary has announced about 12—year—olds carrying knives, so these kids are going to have a criminal record from the age of 12. locked up.

and i'm sure there are other ways of dealing with that. you're going into schools, you need to start educating our kids. and this is all children. i was in primary school when stephen was murdered and i don't remember the actual news coverage of the immediate murder, but i feel like i have grown up with the subsequent news coverage. there were several investigations. how difficult was that for you as a family to always be in the spotlight and have that public interest, or did you find it useful as a way of driving forward to get some justice for stephen? it's a bit of both. there were times i did feel exposed. the perpetrators can walk around and nobody knew who they were. i have two other children that we needed to protect. but at the same time i have a son that was murdered and i needed to be his voice. i needed to make sure that individuals were held to account for what they did to him.

so it was a bit of both. i was forced into doing that. because if i did not, nothing would have ever happened. doreen lawrence. time now for a brief look at some of the other news from around westminster. the conservative mp for telford, lucy allan, has criticised what she says is the lack of progress in the town's forthcoming child sexual exploitation inquiry. the inquiry was set up by labour—run telford & wrekin council last year, but has not yet started. this inquiry was meant to be for survivors, for our community, meant to provide assurances to our young people, to heal, to restore and yes, it was about accountability of those in authority. instead, we see a slow—motion gravy train of solicitors, expensive people fussing over logos and letterheads, sending a message getting into the bottom of what happened is just not a matter of urgency. the new sports minister has said she hopes the broadcasting of more women's sport will help reduce the gender pay gap.

mims davies said women athletes earning 83% of male earnings was not good enough. some of my brief conversations with the sports journalists so far, i have wanted to point out in this work, notjust necessarily women's sports, and once we see it as support for all and everybody being as valuable on the tv or on the pitch, participating, i think we have made real progress, and part of that i believe is equal pay. the newest member of the lords delivered her maiden speech — unusually from the despatch box. nicola blackwood is a former mp who lost her seat at the last election but she's now back in government as lady blackwood, a health minister, piloting the healthcare international arrangements bill through the lords. my lords, iam mindful that the companion states that maiden speeches should be short and should be uncontroversial. well, short perhaps it is within my gift. but i fear that the subject matter may diverge from district convention. eu exit raises the collective blood pressure so notably that i've often

wondered whether public health language should be developed forjust such occasions. later in the week, a retired police dog watched on as mps approved a move to give service animals greater protection from attacks. finn joined pc dave wardell in the commons public gallery to see the animal welfare service bill move a step closer to becoming law. pc wardell says the dog saved his life when a robbery suspect they were pursuing turned on them with a knife. finn suffered serious stab wounds but kept hold of the suspect. the bill removes a section of the current law of self—defence that's often used by those who harm a service animal while committing a crime. finn's presence caught the eye of mps during the debate. service animals are sentient beings that bravely serve the public, the law should recognise them as such and give them the protections that they deserve. i want to pay tribute to the brave police dog finn, from the opposition benches, we couldn't quite see him when he was making his tour de force of the public gallery,

but we look forward to being invited to the government whip‘s office for the photo later. this is not something that normally happens to opposition members. brilliant. it shows characteristic commitment that both pc wardell and finn have followed each and every stage of this bill through this passage through parliament from the gallery. we are all delighted to see them all here today as well. the bill was backed by mps unanimously and now goes to the lords before it can finally become law — finn's law. now what's been happening in the wider world of politics this week? with our countdown, here's julia butler. at five, bidding began this week on a puppet of former prime minister margaret thatcher. the prop featured in the 1980s tv programme spitting image is expected to fetch £3000 at auction.

at four, speakerjohn bercow shared a moment of unity with the snp's ian blackford as he insisted on making his point, more than once. he's a bit like me. he likes to have the last word. at three, red white, and brexit? conservative mp nigel evans has made a request for the iconic red arrows to mark the day that the uk leaves the european union with a fly pass. at two, out of my way! theresa may arrived in brussels this week but not everybody was happy to see her. an unhappy anti—brexit protester jumped in front of her motorcade but was swiftly moved on by security. and at one, now, the clap that launched a million memes. when donald trump made his annual state of the union address, house speaker nancy pelosi stole the show with her seemingly less than sincere applause. now, let's go back to the dark ages

— as the period after the romans left britain is sometimes known. well, an exhibition at the british library shows that the era of the anglo—saxons wasn't all gloom and doom. and they got on rather well with their fellow europeans. gary connor has the story. a bible, made in northumbria, and sent to italy as a gift for the poor. 1300 years ago. it weighs 75 pounds. it has over 1000 parchment leaves. so over 2000 pages of text and it really is a giant. this is its first return to britain in all that time. so we are absolutely thrilled to have it. one of the things that we've tried to do in the exhibition is to bring out the deep connections

between the anglo—saxon kingdoms and ireland and continental europe. and those were connections that were forged through migration itself, through religion and travel and trade, later invasion and conquest and also by the movements of scribes and artists and the manuscripts themselves. the story of settlers from northern europe and how their language helped create england. exhibits include fine metalwork, old english poetry, and this account of english laws enforced in about 600 ad. written in the 1120s, the book of rochester is the first extended text in english. they enable us to trace the history and the literature and the art of this really foundational period when the english language first emerged, we can see the beginnings

of the english literature and we can trace the formation of the kingdom of england itself. gary connor. and "anglo—saxon kingdoms: art, word war" is at the british library in london until the 19th of february. thank you for watching the week in parliament. i hope you canjoin kristiina cooper on bbc parliament on monday for her take on the day in the commons and the lords. but from me, david cornock, bye for now. hello. the weather's looking pretty

quiet over the next few days. high pressure is building across much of western europe, and that means wearing for a lot of bright if not sunny weather. a touch of frost in the morning, bit like on monday. let's have a look at the big picture, first of all. and here is oui’ picture, first of all. and here is our high pressure that is building across western parts of europe. early on monday it is still around iberia, just about nudging into france in the uk. the rest of europe still pretty unsettled, low pressure there, some snow across the alps, quite a lot of it, and yes, still pretty chilly. is coming out of the north, north—west, but the milder weather here will be reaching us in the next 24—36 hours. so in the short—term, still pretty chilly winds out of the north. that means coldweather first thing in the morning in scotland. in fact, coldweather first thing in the morning in scotland. infact, in city centres, temperatures will be below freezing. down at around —2, possibly around “i! or five outside of town and a touch of frost further south across the country as well. it sta rts south across the country as well. it starts off on a sunny note, really a

beautiful day on the way. and because high pressure is building across western parts of these weather front that try to come in kind and grind to a halt here in the west of the uk. so maybe some spit and spots of rain across ireland and in the western scotland, but on the whole, it is looking fine for most of us. 10 degrees in london, not far off that in the north of the country. now, here is to say. that high pressure builds across much of europe there, but some of those weather fronts trying to nudging, they will be weak. means that not an awful lot of rain with them. so perhaps spots of rain getting into the western isles, maybe a bit of a breeze that, but for much of the country it is going to be a dry day on tuesday. best of the sunshine the further east and the south you are, and look at these temperatures. that milderair is and look at these temperatures. that milder air is starting to reach our shores, with 11 degrees expected in edinburgh. and that milder air is well and truly over us on wednesday. you can see it is actually reaching into southern parts of scandinavia, as well, engulfing much of western

europe as well. in fact, the winds start to sound southerly as we head into thursday and friday, so that means that those temperatures will continue to climb. in fact, at some point during the end of the week we could see temperatures up into around 13 or 1a degrees across the south of the country. so the weather looking very pleasant indeed. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: as mainly kurdish forces clash with islamic state fighters in syria, america's top military commander says us troops will probably start withdrawing within weeks. a video is released appearing to show abdurehim heyit, a prominent uighur musician previously reported to have died in a chinese detention camp. pressure grows for tougher rules on new mines and dams in brazil — after last month's dam collapse left hundreds dead or missing. and pop music's most prestigious awards ceremony — the grammys — is under way in la.