theresa may insists she wants the uk to leave the eu with a deal on the 29th of march. it comes after her chief brexit negotiator was reportedly overheard appearing to suggest there could be delay. and today there's a new threat from tory brexiteers who say they might not support the government in a vote tomorrow. also this lunchtime: police say the deaths of three men in their 80s in exeter are linked — a man's been arrested. inflation fell to 1.8% last month, it's lowest level for two years. the home secretary tells the bbc he wants a crackdown on social media companies which carry content that fuels knife crime. and new controls on gambling advertising which uses young celebrities and sports stars in order to protect the under 18s. and coming up on bbc news: a wake—up call for solskjar as united lose their first match since his appointment to paris saintjermaine in the champions league. good afternoon and welcome

to the bbc news at one. theresa may has insisted she wants the uk to leave the european union with a deal on the 29th march. it follows a report her lead brexit negotiator was overheard suggesting there could be a significant delay if mps rejected her deal. today it also emerged an influential group of tory backbenchers who support brexit are threatening not to vote with the government in the commons tomorrow — amid reports they fear the government's motion could be used to prevent a no—deal departure from the eu. our political correspondent nick eardley has more. what is on theresa may's mine? what

will she do if she can't get her plan through parliament? at the moment things in westminster are on hold and some are worried the government is running down the clock. the prime minister must stop playing fast and loose. businesses are begging for certainty. the economy is already suffering. prime minister, you have come to the end of the road. he talks about certainty for business, he can give businesses certainty by voting for the deal. but an overheard conversation in a brussels bar given a hint about uncertainty. olly robinson said the government might have to seek a delay to brexit day if it cannot get an agreement in parliament. notwithstanding brussels' barring chatter, will the prime minister rule out a delay of

brexit beyond march the 29th?m prime minister rule out a delay of brexit beyond march the 29th? it is clear, the government's position is the same. this house voted to trigger article 50 and it had a two year timeline and that ends on the 29th of march and we want to leave with a deal and that is what we are aiming for. they won't be a new deal on offer, but even endorsing what has already been backed by parliament it isn't easy. tory brexiteers might not vote for the government. we cannot vote for this as it is currently configured because it rules out no deal and removes oui’ because it rules out no deal and removes our negotiating leverage in brussels. if the prime minister went through the lobbies for this tomorrow night will be voting against the guarantee she has given in the commons for months. it is madness. it is a sign of how fragile truce in the conservative party is. without the backing backbenchers, her majority is fragile. it will show once again how volatile

westminster is. so it goes on, delicate conversations at home and abroad. the brexit debate is far from over, but leaving day get ever closer. our assistant political editor norman smith is in the central lobby of the houses of parliament. how serious is this vote by the arg? it is serious, they thought they we re it is serious, they thought they were through the threat of a major revolt when the vote on mrs may's brexit plans. now, her brexiteers are on the warpath because they feel mrs may is signalling that she is ruling out no deal. not acceptable, they say. why this matters is, if mrs may is defeated and it is quite

possible, then she would be back on the canvas again having just got up and beginning to seem to make some headway. more than that it would suggest the truce between the brexiteers and mrs may, which he managed to cobble together after she said, i will go back to brussels, see if i can renegotiate the backstop. that would appear to have fallen apart. it matters because in brussels they will be watching and if they see mrs may being defeated again, they will think there is just no point giving mrs may any concessions, because she cannot command a majority in the house of commons to get any deal through. so trouble ahead, business as usual with brexit. norman smith, thank you. one of the uk's leading business groups says firms are in danger of being "hung out to dry" by the government because of the continued uncertainty over a possible no—deal brexit. the british chambers of commerce says companies have been left in the dark. our business editor simon jack is here. the bcc says 20 critical questions remain unanswered? the bcc says there are 20 critical

questions? it is not unusual to hear these warnings about brexit. the british chambers of commerce have come up with a list of 20 questions. what tariffs will my company need to pay when importing goods to the uk from the eu? will there be inspections at the border, how long will they take? which regulator will ibe will they take? which regulator will i be using? will my business be paying mobile roaming charges? questions businesses both big and small are fundamental when it comes to planning how they will get by. we have seen these warnings before but there is an a mounting number of fa cts o n there is an a mounting number of facts on how this is affecting businesses. ford has refused to deny they said in a call to the prime minister that they were considering moving production and jobs out of

the uk. we saw a fall in business investment in the fourth quarter of 2018. the approach of the bcc might be different in these pointed questions, but the message is the same. this political brinksmanship is having a toxic effect on business and investment. simon, thank you. police are investigating three murders of men in their 80s in exeter, which are believed to be linked. a 27—year—old has been arrested in connection with the deaths. our correspondent hamish marshall has been at the headquarters of devon and cornwall police in exeter where senior officers have described the deaths as unprecedented. this is one of two properties in exeter where police have been here this morning along with forensic officers after they've launched a double murder enquiry. it was two brothers who were in their mid—80s who lived here. locals have said they pretty much kept themselves to themselves. although one of them was a regular at the local shop where he used to go and get his newspaper each morning. he was last seen there on sunday.

his brother used to be seen going down to the local supermarket, where he'd be getting food for his dog. now they were fine yesterday lunchtime. the alarm was raised when the gates to this property were actually open, which i'm told is very unusual, they were normally almost always kept closed. a couple of miles away, 2a hours earlier in near st david's station in exeter, an 80—year—old man was found dead in a property there. he was last seen sometime around last friday, so officers don't know exactly when he died. this lunchtime, they've said they are linking the two enquiries and that they have arrested a 27—year—old man on suspicion of murder. he's being questioned here in exeter. ajury has been hearing evidence in the trial of a 16—year—old boy accused of raping and murdering a young schoolgirl on the isle of bute last year. the body of six year—old alesha macphail was found in woodland last july. the accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies the charges and has lodged a special defence.

he blames the death on the girlfriend of alesha's father. lorna gordon is outside glasgow's high court. tell us more what happened in court this morning? robert macphail's partner gave evidence and told the court she loved alesha macphail to pieces. she said the last time she saw the six—year—old a life she had gone into her room to turn off a dvd. she said she was sleeping, facing the wall with her hair behind her. they said when they discovered she was missing the next morning and started searching for her, she couldn't believe anything bad had happened because she said, i know rothesay is a safe place, i have stayed there all my life. later that morning, alesha's naked body was found in the grounds of a disused,

derelict hotel. the prosecuting qc asked her, did you have anything to do with the murder of alesha macphail? she replied, no. she also told the court that along with alesha's father robert, she dealt cannabis. she dealt it to the 16—year—old accused of alesha's murder. he denies the charges. the trial continues this afternoon. thank you. inflation has fallen to its lowest level in two years. the consumer prices index, which tracks changes in the cost of living, stood at 1.8% last month, compared with 2.1% in december. economists say the fall is partly due to cuts to energy and petrol prices. it means pay rises are now outpacing inflation, which, as our economics correspondent andy verity explains,

means many peoples' incomes may go a little further. we are used to inflation prices fuelling inflation. the energy price cap played its part but so did cheaper crude oil. that has helped consumers such cheaper crude oil. that has helped consumers such as cheaper crude oil. that has helped consumers such as melanie gee and jason sharples in bolton. as a sales executive, jason has seen his wages rise faster than prices for five yea rs. rise faster than prices for five years. other elements of the cost of living are getting more manageable and not less. petrol is cheaper than it was. it is still expensive and as a country we are charging too much forfuel, but a country we are charging too much for fuel, but petrol, a country we are charging too much forfuel, but petrol, i would a country we are charging too much for fuel, but petrol, i would say. a country we are charging too much forfuel, but petrol, i would say. i cannot think of much more that has gone a lot cheaper. certain foods.

between december and january, gas bills fell by an average of 8.5% and electricity bills dropped by 4.9%. some of those bills may rise again in april, but for now they have helped give households a little more spending power. by seeing the real wage growth coming through with nine continuous months of increases in real wages and the last figure for a real wages and the last figure for a real wages and the last figure for a real wage increase being the highest rate of increase in the last ten yea rs. rate of increase in the last ten years. pay rises have left behind house prices but now wages are rising faster. the weaker demand from around the world doesn'tjust mean cheaper bills, it's also a sign of something else. the latest economic figures, the gdp numbers we had in the week, suggests the economy is in a softer patch. economic momentum has slowed. if it continues we could see a weakening in the labour market and that might

put downward pressure on employment and it might lead to a downward pressure on pay grades. cheaper oil may have drug bills down and helped lift living standards but it is a by—product of the global, economic slowdown. the silver lining of better living standards is accompanied by a big, better living standards is accompanied bya big, grey better living standards is accompanied by a big, grey cloud. the pilot of the jet plane which crashed during the shoreham airshow four years ago, killing 11 people, has started giving evidence at his trial at the old bailey. andrew hill has been accused of manslaughter by gross negligence, but denies the charges. our correspondent sarah campbell has been listening in court. what was said, sarah? this is the first time the pilot, andrew hill, has spoken about the crash since it happened in august 2015. his defence started this morning and this is them explaining to do during his background as a fastjet pilot. he is 5a and was recruited into the raf

from university. he was in the top two or three of his group and was used to instruct other pilots. he joined the harrier team and saw active service in northern iraq in 93 and 94 and he wrote an award—winning computer programme to deal with the safety concerns around that yet. in 95 he joined first virgin atlantic and british airways. he was a captain of the british airways jet when the crash happened. he is also an experienced airshow display pilot and in the exchanges in the last few minutes, his defence barrister said, did you ever cause any risk to anybody at an airshow? mr hill said, absolutely not. the primary aim of a display was to cause no risk. he was accused of being cavalier. mr hill replied, i had a structured and disciplined approach. the prosecution's contention is mr hill's negligent

flying because the crash. the jury expect his defence to be he was suffering from g force and wasn't in fully control of the jet. he will continue giving evidence after lunch and denies the charges against him. our top story this lunchtime: theresa may insists she wants the uk to leave the eu with a deal on the 29th of march. it comes after her chief brexit negotiator was reportedly overheard appearing to suggest there could be delay. and coming up, i live at plumpton as horse racing gets back under way after a six—day stoppage for equine flu. coming up on bbc news, england win in the west indies but lose the series, with places for england's test team up for grabs, according to alastair cook, heading into this summer's ashes. it once held vast swathes of territory in syria and iraq, but now the islamic state group's last few hundred fighters

are confined to a handful of tiny enclaves. around the town of baghuz in syria, they're surrounded by the us—backed coalition, who've launched what they've called the final battle against the militants. in a moment, we will hear from the frontline, where a cbs newsteam have witnessed the unfolding humanitarian crisis. but first, richard galpin reports on what's expected to be the imminent fall of islamic state's last significant bit of land. these us backed fighters are now poised for victory over so—called islamic state here in eastern syria. since the weekend of civilians have been pouring out of the last tiny slither of territory still held by the militants in the country. and with most now having left, the offensive which began on saturday

can now be ramped up. on the ground, syrian democratic force as are battling about five or 600 experienced islamic state fighters, while making a last stand. translation: there are two factors that have a direct impact on this battle. one, the terrorists are the finest fighters from different nationalities, including europeans, afg ha ns, nationalities, including europeans, afghans, pakistanis and iraqis. they are all professionals who have past experience in other terrorist groups, including al-qaeda will stop and they are also defending their last position. both the united states air force is also playing a key role, bombing what's left of the militants' territory, key role, bombing what's left of the milita nts' territory, reportedly just two street in one small hamlet called baghuz. at its peak about four years ago, islamic state held swathes of territory in syria. but

this is —— has steadily diminished as us coalition and russian backed forces have hit back at the militants in a sustained campaign. the caliphate which also once included territory in rack has now shrunk to the tiny on clave of baghuz. —— enclave. the ice is leader, here announcing the creation of the caliphate in 2014, is reported to have been seen in the baghuz area several months ago before apparently moving into the desert. the militants have hostages, including the british journalist, john cantlie. for the civilians who managed to get away from the fighting in baghuz, there will be relief they are safe. but this is not the last gasp of islamic state. it remains a threat, with cells in many countries still capable of carrying out attacks. richard galpin, bbc news. the latest

surge in an overwhelming flood of civilians. human shields trapped inside the last remaining isis village and the single biggest obstacle slowing down the us—led offensive. 500 more today alone, who say they escaped in the early hours of the morning defying death threats by isis. isis tried to make you stay? yes, they wouldn't let us go, this mother of five told us. we had to risk our lives to get here. every day there have been streaming out of the village, many more than troops here had anticipated. what is striking is the number of children we are finding, children who have only ever known life under isis. if there is a positive note about the mass exodus, it is that the people here say there are no very few civilians left inside, just five to 600 isis fighters facing inevitable defeat. for this woman, whose husband has been killed in an air

strike, there is no love lost. what does it mean to you to see the end of isis? they mean nothing to me, she said. they are trash. with fewer civilians left, the us—led defeat of the last isis holdouts in syria may be imminent. and each person, every child who escapes that village, is one less civilian to worry about inside it. the police and the public are being exposed to increased risk, because more front line police officers are having to work alone — that's the warning from the police federation which represents officers in england and wales. more than three—quarters of front line officers who responded to a survey, said they were "often or always" on duty by themselves. it was also found most had experienced stress and anxiety during the past year. jon donnison reports. officers on a raid in sheffield, targeting organised crime. police work is often stressful,

dangerous and traumatic. pc daniel gaunt developed ptsd after joining the police aged just 23. i'd had 23 years of life where nothing really traumatic had happened. and then in a very small space of time i'd been exposed to things i didn't even know existed, let alone that i would have to deal with. today's survey says he is not alone. 79% of officers say they have had feelings of stress and anxiety in the past year. 62% say they have had a traumatic experience in the last 12 months. and 90% say the police are understaffed. that increasingly means officers are having to work on their own. pc mickjohnson was stabbed in the arm after confronting a man with a knife in hartlepool in 2017. he too has ptsd.

he was working alone. we are more on our own during the daytime, certainly. and occasionally on nights due to the lack of staff. that is the be all and end of it. if there is enough of us to be double crewed on night shifts, we are double crewed. if there isn't, one of us will be single crewed. we have seen sustained cuts to policing. 18% of the workforce is gone. and we have the same level of demand, if not more, for certain types of crime. and a reduced pot of officers to deal with that. the only way you can make ends meet is putting officers out on their own, trying to deal with the 999 calls. police! the number of police officers in england and wales has fallen by more than 20,000 since 2010. but in a statement, the government said it took the well—being of police officers and staff very seriously... police! ..and have invested £7.5 million in a new police well—being service. jon donnison, bbc news.

social media companies should be made to take more responsiblity for cracking down on content that's fuelling knife crime, the home secretary has told the bbc. sajid javid says he wants measures to ensure technology firms clampdown on gang—related material, in the same way they have targeted terrorist propaganda. newsbeat‘sjim connolly reports. police siren more people are being killed in england and wales by knives now that at any time since the second world war. rob was in a gang in east london but moved away to escape his violent past. he spent six years in prison, but now goes around schools and colleges to try to stop others making the same mistakes. i started carrying a knife when i was 12. a knife because everyone was doing it at the time. i wanted to fit in. i stabbed quite a lot of people. and if i was to sit here and count, i wouldn't be able to count, because there was so much years

i was in the gang life, and people remind me to this day about people i stabbed i didn't remember, you know? that's the gods honest truth. the first person to be killed by a knife this year died on this street in the early hours of new year's day. knife crime is becoming a grim daily reality. and the government knows it needs to do something about it. just down the road at kings college hospital, the home secretary has come to see where victims end up. one of the ways he wants to stop people getting to this point is by restricting content that incites violence, like some drill music, a genre of highly aggressive rap often linked to street violence. i actually think you can do a lot more to police harmful content on the internet. at the moment we don't have that legislation for it. i have this legislation for terrorist content, i have it for illegal child sexual abuse imagery, but we don't have that legislation today for that kind of content. and we're changing that. as a parent, i want my children to be able to walk around on any street and just feel that they are safe and that's why a lot more needs to be done. life is looking brighter for robert.

but many people he grew up with are trapped in a gang lifestyle. back in my day, if i listened to drill music, i'm riding out 24/7. like, if i was listening to drill music every day, the way it is now, i'm definitely committing crime. it's not helping. they're doing acts of people dipping and stabbing each other. that's not... that's glamorising and that's wrong. preventing more getting involved is the new priority for the authorities. jim connolly, bbc news. young celebrities and sports stars are to be banned from taking part in gambling adverts. the new rules are being introduced in an effort to protect children from adverts that could otherwise encourage them to gamble. the rules cover social media and online platforms and come into force in april. the advertising standards authority will be able to ban any adverts which break the new rules, as zoe kleinman reports. a recent study by the gambling commission found that the number of children classed as having a gambling problem had quadrupled in the last two years. it classed 450,00011

to 16—year—olds as regular betters — more than those who had taken drugs, smoked or taken alcohol. despite strict rules about how gambling firms can advertise, there were regularly examples of those which slipped through the net. 13—year—old mattie follows an influencer on youtube who recommended a mystery box game where players pay to open a box and don't know what they will win. it felt more like a game than an actual gambling website. i saw there was a box where you could actually win a gaming pc, which are really expensive, like thousands of pounds. and my first reaction was, i want that. using his debit card, he spent his birthday money hoping for a big prize. i won a key ring and a pot of slime, which probably would have been worth £5 in total. under the new standards, gambling operators will have to check that most of the followers of any social media influencers they work with are aged over 18.

sports stars aged under 25 are also banned from appearing, along with certain animated characters from tv and film. the committees of advertising practice say it is online ads that need this new boost of regulation. this rule has been in place for quite a considerable length of time and the industry is well used to the fact there is a cut—off point. they shouldn't be using individual to maybe have that youth appeal, you know, a professional footballer who has sort of burst on the scene. i think we don't see a massive amount of it, however, where we do, we take action. the gambling industry will have to tread a fine line when promoting itself, especially on the internet with the age—old ad viewers can be difficult to pinpoint. zoe kleinman, bbc news. horse racing tracks are gearing up for their first meets in six days, after an outbreak of equine flu caused a uk—wide suspension. strict measures are in place to try to stop any further chance of the disease spreading.

the decision to resume meetings has been welcomed by the industry and race—goers alike. richard conway is at plumpton in east sussex, where the first race starts shortly. that's right. six races on the card here at plumpton this afternoon. there is a sense of relief that racing has returned. not all the trainers can come back. strict security measures in place. there is a degree of slight confusion over who can and can't race. the british horseracing authority say that will be worked out in the coming days. i enjoyed by dan thomson, the chief executive here at plumpton. we have seen this morning the horses arriving at the course, the bha officials checking vaccinations. how is it running for you? it is great to be back, first and foremost. it

is all bha lead. they initiated the locked down upon discovering the virus. they are the ones doing all the text today. instead of having a 12 month booster, horses have had six now. they also have other health checks regarding temperatures and things as they arrived on site. that is done by their own vets. how's it going this morning? what is the sense of the atmosphere from trainers and jockeys? a of relief, really. everyone is happy with how things have been handled. equine welfare must come first. everybody is delighted to get back on track. racing is worth {3.5 billion to the economy. to lose nearly a week of it is quite significant. thank you very much. as we say, racing getting back under way shortly after 2pm. at the weekend a series of rescheduled races will take place as the racing community tries to get back to what it does best, racing horses. of

course. richard conway. time for a look at the weather with nick miller. spring is in the airfor spring is in the air for the spring is in the airfor the next few days. not clear blue sky everywhere today. still a fair amount of cloud. but more of us will see the sunshine for the next couple of days, lifting the temperatures as well. from roll please. some places could see 16 celsius by friday. not everybody will get it temperatures that high. but widely temperatures in double figures. we are drawing up mild airfrom a long way in double figures. we are drawing up mild air from a long way south of the uk. for the next couple of days there is a driver components to the air. that means the cloud we have of the moment will disappear and we will have the blue sky. the best of the sons and a set —— this afternoon through wales, east anglia and southern england. some cloud left behind for northern england, northern ireland and scotland, where there is patchy rain in