at the hands of us—backed forces. defeat would mark a milestone against the so—called caliphate which at its peak five years ago was the size of the uk and ruled over more than 7.7 million people. one of three schoolgirls who left london in 2015 to join the islamic state group says she has no regrets, but wants to return to the uk — to care for her unborn child. shamima begum, who's now 19, said she'd seen beheaded heads in bins but claimed that it did not faze her. a bbc undercover investigation has found that dogs trained for illegal fighting are being traded around the world, including britain, for thousands of pounds. many animals are killed or left horrifically injured. the report is calling for tougher policing of illegal dogfighting and harsher penalties. now on bbc news, wednesday in parliament. hello and welcome to

wednesday in parliament. asjeremy corbyn goes on the attack over government brexit planning, and blames chris grayling. how on earth, mr speaker, can the prime minister say that she has confidence in the transport secretary? in response, theresa may gets personal. people used to say he was a conviction politician. not any more. also tonight because for a ban on sunbeds. they are killing machines and nobody needs to use them. all that to come and more, but the first is ever on wednesdays, prime minister's questions. the labour leader chose to focus on the government planning

for a no—deal brexit. and the award of a contract to run ferries between ramsgate and belgium to a company, seaborne freight, with no ferries. a contract the government cancelled last week. jeremy corbyn highlighted the role played by the transport secretary chris grayling. the spectacular failure of this contract is a symptom of the utter shambles of this government and its no—deal preparations. the transport secretary ignored warnings about drones and airport security, gave a £11; billion contract to carillion despite warnings about their finances, he oversaw the disastrous new rail timetable last year, and rail punctuality is at a 13—year low and fares at a record high. that is some achievement. and now the transport secretary is in charge of a major and vital aspect of brexit planning. how on earth can the prime minister say she has confidence in the transport secretary? let me tell the right honourable

gentleman what the transport secretary is delivering: the biggest rail investment programme since the victorian era, spending nearly £48 billion on improving our railways to deliver better journeys, 20% higher on average every year than under a labour government. that is what the transport secretary is delivering: commitment to transport in this country and commitment to transport across the whole of this country. and she said jeremy corbyn still had questions to answer on brexit. it is no good labour members burying their heads in their hands. we do not know whether their leader backs a second referendum. we do not know whether their leader backs a deal. we do not even know whether he backs brexit. he prefers ambiguity and playing politics to acting in the national interest. people used to say

he was a conviction politician — not any more. earlier this week the prime minister's chief brexit negotiator olly robbins was overheard in a brussels bar saying he expected mps to be presented with a choice in march between her deal or a potentially very lengthy delay to brexit. effectively avoiding leaving without a deal. this prompted the snp‘s westminster leader to ask the prime minister to rule out holding the meaningful vote less than two weeks before britain is due to leave, and to delay brexit. just 44 days from an no—deal scenario, the prime minister is hamstrung by her own party and rejected by european leaders. 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, rumbled by your own loose lipped senior brexit adviser. will the prime minister now face

down the extremist in her own party, and extend article 50? sign gnabry talks about certainty for business, you can give business certainty by voting for the deal. that is what gives business certainty. he complains about no—deal but it was the snp you wanted to leave the uk without a plan... and perhaps, perhaps, perhaps we should remind the snp, independence would have meant leaving the eu with no—deal. olly robins is also reported to have suggested that the controversial backstop designed to keep the irish border open could be a bridge to a permanent customs union between the uk and the eu. that alarmed some conservatives.

notwithstanding brussels barroom chatter, will the prime minister rule out a delay of brexit beyond march the 29th, and will see also rule out a future customs union arrangement which would prevent us doing those global trade deals which the bank of england governor says is a potential golden age of trade? theresa may said it was important to have a free trade policy. and as for that barroom chatter... i am grateful that he has asked me that question rather than relying on what someone said to someone else as overheard by someone else ina bar. it is very clear, the government 's position is the same. we triggered article 50.

this house voted to trigger article 50. that had a two year timeline, that ends on the 29th of march, we want to leave with a deal and that is what we are working for. now wwith the proposed "backstop" solution to avoid a hard border in ireland remaining the main sticking point in the brexit negotiations, mps heard from one of the architects of the good friday agreement. bertie ahern was the irish taioseach from 1997 to 2008. the brexit committee asked him what the consequences might be for the republic of ireland, of a no—deal brexit. he quoted from a report published last month, by the irish central bank. it said that it would mean a loss of about 4% of gdp very quickly. my own view is that the multinational sector is probably well capable of handling it although they wouldn't like it, nobody would, i think some of the large companies could handle it, but the indigenous sector would suffer, the indigenous agri— food sector i think would really, really suffer. it's estimated that it would lose about 40,000 jobs,

and our terms, that is an awful lot ofjobs. unemployment would go up by about 2% and the tariffs on beef and dairy in particular would be devastating. is it the view in ireland, that if there was a no—deal brexit, they would need to be infrastructure on the island— northern ireland border? i think it is because people think that everybody says, the irish government don't want that, the british government don't want it, you don't want that, i think most irish people think well then, we will definitely have it. laughter and that is probably what people fear. do you think that the agreement

and the objective of the agreement of reconciliation and better relationships has been helped by some of the rhetoric which has come from the current taoiseach, when he talked about turning off the lights in northern ireland, stopping planes flying across the republic, sending troops to the border, do you think that is helping relationships between northern ireland and the republic? you know how much i love all the parties in northern ireland, and how much i love all of the parties in the south of ireland. i have spent my life trying to make sure that we have a loving of all of us, so rhetoric from anybody of any type is sometimes, when i hear people, including some distinguished members

of parliament, which i totally respect their views, and others, talking loudly over the past few years of no basis existing for any divergence of any kind between northern ireland and the rest of the uk, i look to wondering, have i turned into rip van winkle, the legend who fell asleep for 20 years and woke up finding everything changed. some of them have gained a degree of traction within this parliament, some of it has been said that what would solve the problem, one is if the republic of ireland just, you know, goes against the requirements of eu treaties by not carrying out this responsibility is to maintain the border of the eu after brexit.

one is that the republic should just leave the european union and that would solve all the problems and one that is would you believe the subject of a petition to this parliament is that the republic should rejoin the united kingdom and that would solve all the problems. what is your impression as to how these varied suggestions have been received among the people of ireland? well... i would just be kind and say, not very well! bertie ahern. and the government's been told it must do more to restore devolution to northern ireland or take steps to reintroduce direct rule from westminster. the power—sharing executive and assembly at stormont collapsed over two years ago and talks have so far failed to break the stalemate, with no substantive negotiations for over a year. labour said the impasse was now hitting public services. we need to seize this time to put sustained effort into making sure that we see the restoration of those institutions stop alternatively,

this house will have to begin to make those decisions. they don't want that, i don't want that. a sign that we want to see the restoration of the institutions agreed by the people of northern ireland in a very brave way from both the belfast good friday agreement and subsequent agreements, we need to see those institutions back. there is nothing that the people of northern ireland deserve more than the politicians they elect are locally making decisions on their behalf. there becomes a point where we are all responsible for the lives of citizens in northern ireland, and i would ask the secretary of state reluctantly, how she begun to consider taking powers back into this house for what one would hope would be a brief period, to deliver public benefits? i share his aspiration that we have not been able to find a basis

on which parties can come together and my priority is finding that basis, and a way for the parties to come together because there is no good, long—term sustainable way that decisions can be made for the people of northern ireland except if locally elected politicians make them. as we leave with brexit it will be vital that decisions are taken by ministers in some shape or form, once we get brexit over the line, because we cannot continue in the current scenario, one way or the other, after that has happened, the decisions that will be required will be too great. i hope that we can find a basis to get the parties together and agreeing a basis for government because he is absolutely right, the people of northern ireland deserve that. you're watching wednesday in parliament with me, david cornock. still to come should pupils be allowed time off school to go on a climate change protest? the international financier bill browder, who's a fierce critic of the russian leader vladimir putin, has said that members of the house of lords and former government officials have "received money from russian individuals" to assist in "blocking sanctions".

speaking to the foreign affairs committee, mr browder said the uk had not sanctioned anyone since introducing legislation last year allowing the imposition of sanctions for gross violations of human rights. i'm sad to say that i believe that there are people connected to the political process here that have influence who are trying to influence the government in ways not to make life difficult for some of these people. can you specify who those people might be? we should be careful of those who do not have the ability to reply and should not be maligned on the privilege. fair enough. let me put it this way. there are members of the house of lords who have received money from russian individuals, and there are former government

officials and advisers to the government who have received money from russia, in order to assist in blocking sanctions, consequences, for russians. and he said he'd be happy to provide the committee with the evidence. a conservative mp has called for total ban on sunbeds labelling them "killing machines". pauline latham argued they increased the risk of skin cancer and said no—one needed a tan. opening a debate in westminster hall, she told mps how the sun—kissed look had become fashionable. bronzed skin was a trend first popularised by coco chanel in 1923, and it has never gone away. from st tropez to derbyshire, a suntan continues to be a desired accessory. today, an estimated 3 million britons use sunbeds to keep themselves tanned.

according to the world health organization sun beds are as dangerous as smoking which many people do not realise. in 2009 they classified them as carcinogenic to humans. worryingly, statistics show that people who have used a sunbed at least once in any stage of their life about 20% higher risk of developing melanoma than people who have never used a sunbed and the first use of sunbeds before the age of 35 increases the risk of developing melanoma, by 59%. i think they should be described as death machines in all honesty. we all have elements of vanity in our lives, let's not to that but the truth is we should be doing far more, because 100,000 people get melanoma every year, it is one of the most pernicious forms of cancer, 10,000 people die and these are death machines. the honourable member makes a very important point. the more we can emphasise the fact

that they are killing machines, and that nobody needs to use them, because nobody needs a tan. last year i had my own personal scare. i found a mole that was malignant. after a tortuous three weeks of waiting for results i found out that luckily the tumour had not spread but it was malignant. this fear was magnified because my own brother died from a melanoma when he was onlyjust 5a. but neither of them had ever used a sun bed. pauline latham said she couldn't comprehend why anyone would want to increase their risk of contracting the disease. the snp‘s spokesperson said the figures on the risk of melanoma were frightening, but hotly contested by the sunbed industry. we should point out that we are professional sunbed use is separated from home use,

professional tanning salons have the lowest associated melanoma risk. the industry points to the issue of vitamin d deficiency and highlights the benefits that uvb radiation can assist with this. professional sunbed use would be more dangerous than how you spot it is no safer than exposure to the sun. whilst i can see why she would certainly call for such a ban, i feel that we must first allow the government to take a look at all of the evidence and make an assessment on this and i believe that they should definitely update the regulations if necessary and also ensure that younger generations are made aware, at the earliest stage, of the risks of sunbed use. the minister said it felt to him, like an issue from the 19805 and he explained why. the infamous character trigger has an niece who comes back into stay with triggerfor a period

or stop the niece, lisa, is now 25 and let's just say has matured into a very attractive young lady to which del and rodney set out to impress her, by thinking they have a chance, so i remember the episode well. and the reason, rodney decides to lie under the sunbed and the flat, at nelson mandela house, to improve his look for young lisa, and falls asleep, to which del then turns up the dial and rodney spends the rest of the episode with a bright red face! but he said sunbeds and their use were a very modern phenomenon. he turned to pauline latham's call for a total ban. the adverse impacts need to be considered very carefully to avoid the unintended effects such as the increased use of home machines, such as del and rodney hide, with more harmful impacts, and we have to be aware of unintended consequence,

so that could be one of the unintended consequences banning them for under 18 s was sunbed parties, believe it or not. i have been to many parties in my time, i have yet to be invited to a sunbed party. but the mind boggles. but he accepted it was time to look at the regulations again and, when it came to cancer prevention, he was ruling nothing out. the international trade secretary, liam fox, has said that some countries wanted the uk to drop human rights elements of trade deals, in order to replicate existing eu agreements post brexit. the government has promised to roll over a0 current eu free trade deals so that they will still apply if the uk leaves the eu with no deal. but according to a document leaked to the sun, only a handful have been clinched so far. called to the commons to answer mps' questions, dr fox said some agreements had been

signed, for example with switzerland. but the best way of retaining the agreements was to back the government's withdrawal deal. a number of negotiations are at an advanced stage. as with all international negotiations, and indeed any negotiations they will go down to the wire and i would expect nothing different from these agreements. that is the way contraries do business. to put the economic value of these agreements in perspective countries covered by the 20 smallest agreements i can't for under 0.8% of all the uk's total trade. as for those countries where we may not be able to get a full agreement signed by exit day it is responsible to ensure that we have contingencies in place should we end up unfortunately in a no—deal scenario. that is exactly what my department alongside the fco and the department for international development are doing. throughout the passage of the trade guild members raised concerns that it would not be possible to fully replicate the terms of these agreements and that many countries would seek to renegotiate

terms in their favour. i would therefore ask the secretary of state if he will write to me to set out, for each country, what objections or demands to concluding a new role that i had been presented, what concessions he has offered in respect of preferential access to uk markets in order to overcome such obstacles, what assessment he has made of the impact on trade flows with the uk of a failure to conclude a new deal. he denies any unlawful sexual or racist behaviour. the owner system is designed to celebrate great public service to our nation. does my right honourable friend agree that when a small minority of recipients of owners like sir philip green bring the system into disrepute, having been found to behave disgracefully, letting down the vast majority were set high standards then it is right that this party and government should be first to stand up for these standards and look at the process to see whether people who behave in that way should be stripped of their owners. obviously as he hasjust said the honour system is there to recognise exceptional service and achievement in a wide

range of spheres of public life and it is important that if the recipient of an owner brings that honour into disrepute, steps should be taken to review that honour. an education minister has warned students thinking of taking part in a climate change protest on friday that missing school is not the answer. lord agnew said absence created disruption for both pupils and teachers. but a liberal democrat peer said anyone missing lessons to demonstrate should not be punished. will the government understand, will the minister understand that we need a clear guarantee that those students who decide to take part in action on friday on the basis of a personal decision, conscientiously made, will not be punished or suffer any retribution as a result? as i said in my opening answer, it will be a matter for the head teacher of those schools to consider whether it is an authorised absence or not.

the strike is an encouraging example of young people is active citizenship and civic engagement which has implications which could be explored in citizenship education classes. i do not accept that taking time off school in the middle of the firm is useful for children. all of the evidence suggests that time off school affects their education. we have made tremendous progress in attendance levels over the last ten years and in any way validating the sort of behaviour does not help them. can my honourable friend explained why it is right that children should go on strike during term time at a cost to the taxpayer and to their own education? why can't they leave these protests until the holidays? my noble friend asks a very valid question, they have 15 weeks of holidays on half term, to demonstrate,

without incurring disruption and extra workload to teachers. an average primary school lesson cost £1600, a secondary school lesson about £1900, and this is where they should be. and the minister's warning to any protesting children brings us to the end of wednesday in parliament. thank you for watching. i do hope you canjoin me again at the same time tomorrow. until then, from me, david cornock, goodbye. hello there. it feels like spring has sprung. the highest temperature we had on wednesday was actually here in the moray firth — 1a degrees. over the next two days those averages could get even higher. it is high because the air is coming

from a long way south, all the way from the canaries. mild by day, but the potential for some chilly nights, especially when we have clear skies. we have those across a good part of england and wales. a touch of frost in places, particularly around the chilterns. much milder in scotland and northern ireland, where there is more cloud around. we are looking at sunny skies. one or two mist and fog patches in southern england and into east wales. further north, the cloud is around, eating all the while. we should see some sudden coming through. a little bit hazy across northern parts of the uk. the more direct sunshine, the blue skies will be across england and wales. the temperatures 12—111, maybe 15 around the moray firth. the weather front kept at bay by the area of high pressure sitting to the south east of the uk, drawing up those out

the south—westerly winds. a bit light through thursday and into friday. there will be a fair bit of sunshine around once again. mist and fog patches across england and wales. should not last too long. change coming into the far north—west, more cloud, a bit of rain and drizzle arriving in the north—west of scotland. still double figures. the temperatures could hit 16 degrees, it is a north—east wales and north—eastern scotland. over the weekend, not a huge amount of change. still mild. it will still be dry for most places as well. more cloud around, probably, on saturday. particularly noticeable across more southern parts of england and wales. brighter further north with some sunshine. most places will be dry. weather fronts on the scene but they are very weak. south south—westerly breezes. it is still mild. temperatures 12—14 degrees. still got dry weather continuing across the eastern half of the uk on saturday. the high is getting pushed away

further, allowing the weather front to push into the western side of the uk and bring some rain and drizzle. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani. our top stories: last stand in syria — 500 islamic state fighters are facing disaster at the hands of us—backed forces. no regrets aboutjoining is but hoping to return home. a london schoolgirl lifts the lid on her brutal life in the so—called caliphate. the dogs trained to fight to death. a bbc investigation exposes a global trade in animal cruelty. is it right that the dogs that you put into fight get injured and get killed? and after 15 years on the red planet, nasa calls time on one of the most successful mars missions ever.