this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the white house has announced that president trump will sign a new spending bill to avoid a further government shutdown, but will also declare a national emergency to fund his border wall. he now faces a battle with democrats — and some republicans — over his plans. a british teenager, who ran away to syria to join the islamic state group, has been told she could face prosecution if she tries to head back to the uk. shamima begum, who's now 19, says she's pregnant and wants to return home for the sake of her baby. british mps have inflicted a damaging political defeat on theresa may's brexit plans by rejecting a motion which endorsed the government's negotiating strategy. more than a fifth of the conservative party failed to back the prime minister. now on bbc news, it's thursday in parliament. hello, and welcome to

thursday in parliament. as mps defeat the government over brexit. the ayes to the right, 258. the noes to the left, 303. cheering conservatives turn on theresa may's brexit plan. the government can't simplyjust pick and choose which votes it wants to support. it he fails to do that, it is contemptuous of this house. also, tales of suffering as the government is asked to change the law on assisted dying. for months, have been unable to swallow, unable to eat, to drink, to speak, to move...

all that to come and more. but first, the government has been defeated over brexit in a vote on whether to support the approach to leaving the eu expressed in commons votes two weeks ago. then, you may remember, mps asked the prime minister to go back to brussels and negotiate a better solution, "alternative arrangements" for the northern ireland border. they also voted against leaving with no deal — an option favoured by some brexiteers and one the government has kept open. as the debate got under way before lunchtime, a former brexit secretary highlighted his concern. given the — this debate in the dispute about the meaning of the government's motion today, can he be clear with the house, in the event the european union does not agree to a deal, we still will be leaving on the 29th of march? well, i'm very happy to give my right honourable friend and predecessor in this role that assurance. did that mean the government planned

to ignore last month's commons vote against a no deal brexit? he's set out why he is observing what the house has said in terms of alternative arrangements, why is he not also setting out what he is observed in terms of the government ruling out no deal? the short answer to that is actually the house has said two different things. it has passed legislation that has said by a big majority of article 50, which many members on both sides of the house voted for, it passed legislation that we are leaving on the 29th of march and put that date on the face of the bill, by and large in the house, but it also give the people the decision through the referendum by a wide margin and the legislation frankly takes precedence over that motion. that explanation infuriated some conservatives. the government can't simplyjust pick and choose which votes

it wants to support. that is fundamentally wrong and anti—democratic, and it's a totally wrong way to handle such an important issue for this country as brexit. does he not see that? can he not listen to the representatives of communities around this country, who are deeply concerned about a no deal exit and want this house's will to be respected 7 two motions carried that night. both of which i supported. i would like to hear from the right honourable gentleman that he gives equal respect to the vote expressed by that house, or if he fails to do that, it is contemptuous of this house. firstly, i absolutely respect votes of this house. stephen barclay said the government was committed to getting legally binding changes to the backstop to keep the irish border open. ambassadors were meeting, and the prime minister was talking to other european leaders. tonight, members need to give

the government time to make good on this work, and as a house, to hold our nerve. to deliver... to deliver a deal that addresses the twin risks of no deal or no brexit, and also to respect the biggest vote in our democratic history and deliver what people voted for. mr speaker, the secretary of state ended by saying we've got to hold our nerve. he was all over the place this morning, all over the place on all of the important issues. mr speaker, mr speaker, it's obvious, it's obvious what the prime minister is up to. she's pretending to make progress, while running down the clock. a non—update every other week to buy another two weeks's of process,

inching ever closer to the 29th of march deadline in 43 days. we should not be fooled. he thought mps wouldn't allow britain to leave the eu without a deal and nor would the prime minister. i will say this, having worked with the prime minister when she was home secretary and i was director of public prosecution, i know she's got a deep sense of duty and deep down, i do not think this prime minister will take us out without a deal on the 29th of march, and that's the basis on which we should be having this discussion. but the dup said those wanting to rule out leaving without a deal should be careful what they wished for. and of course, we want to get a deal with the european union, but isn't it the case that if you take no deal off the table, that's the surest way for the other

side to dig in again on their current position? that is just a fact of life. for those who call for no deal to be taken off the table are actually playing into the hands of a possible no deal. the snp said the solution was to delay brexit. the backstop is not a problem for me. i don't think it a problem for anyone but a tiny minority here. the reason i rejected this deal is the majority of scots because it is not a good deal for scotland, the chance of the backstop will not affect that. it will place unsustainable strain on public services and also will hurt us. after the front bench speakers, it was time for backbench mps to have their say. and proceedings began with a ratherjaded voice. mr speaker, we move to yet another of these almost weekly engagements where we're told historic decisions are about to be taken, a meaningful vote is on the verge of emergence, and all will be clear.

and every time we do that, it is immediately encountered by an appalling shambles, which i think is the only way one can describe the current position of the government and of this parliament. and i'm sure is the way in which it is seen by the majority of this country, regardless of what side of the argument they are. and so far, the debate this day is following precisely that pattern. when the chips are down, this government, my government, this prime minister, the prime minister, other of my colleagues voted for when she came for reelection, when the chips are down, she will actually prefer to do what some of my esteemed colleagues prefer and to head for the exit door without a deal, which the secretary of state informed us is the policy of her majesty's government, in the event that her deal has not succeeded. that is a terrifying fact. some people say that having no deal on the table is somehow really important as part of

a negotiating ploy. well, this isjust nonsense, and the fact that it would hit us more than the 27 of them means this is not like negotiating a business deal, as one honourable member suggested. i'm afraid this is much more like negotiating a divorce in which you don't just walk out, leave the home, leave all the assets, say goodbye to all of them with no clue where it is you are going to sleep tonight, and have some idea that this is going to persuade your ex to give you half their pension. it just doesn't work like that. most members of this house know that no deal cannot possibly be allowed to happen and yet it remains, and we heard it from the despatch box again today, the official policy of the government that it will. and i was genuinely puzzled by the secretary of state when he said yes, i do respect the motion that was moved by my honourable friend,

the member, two weeks ago, that was passed. but he said my hands are tied by the legislation. well, i have a message for the secretary of state, untie your hands and change that legislation. one labour mp reserved his fire for his own party. and i certainly feel that we are being played for falls on this issue by the leadership of the labour party because we should have come to voting on the issue of remaining in the european union and no—one can explain to me seriously, without being at lawyered, why we are not at that stage right now. several conservative brexiteers said they weren't happy

with the government's plans. in other words, this does not take no deal off the table, it does not matter what the minister says, it is what the motion says. i would expect all members on the other side to do not seem to want a notable option to support the government motion tonight. which is the reason i will not be supporting the government's motion tonight. we are now truly entering the world of george orwell's ministry of truth. in his book 1984, orwell said "doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously and accepting both of them." this double motion is doublethink in action and i cannot possibly vote for it. lastjune, apparently the papers were saying that one of britain's top private gps had reported that there had been this huge increase in adultery and venereal disease as a result of a brexit. and the following month, yes, there was a headline in the paper the following month

that we were going to get super gonohrrea as a result of a brexit. in the following month, yes, there was a headline in the following month that said we were going to get super gonorrhea raging out of control as a result of brexit. i tell you, it almost came as a relief have been the telegraph, it was reported to be a shortage of viagra as a result of brexit. david davis. some conservative brexiteers, members of the european research group, or erg, had said they wouldn't support the government. the significance of that became clear when the result of the main vote was announced. the ayes to the right to 58, the nos to the left, 303. that vote isn't binding on the government, but some think it'll make it harder to get concessions out of the eu. so what happens next?

mps were keen to find out. tonight's vote shows there is no majority for the prime minister's course of action in dealing with brexit. yet again, her government has been defeated. the government cannot keep on ignoring parliament or ploughing on towards the 29th of march without a coherent plan. she cannot keep on just running down the clock and hoping that something will turn up that will save her day and save her face. so it is surprising that the prime minister is not even here to hear the result of this vote. this is a significant defeat for the government. at the end of the day, the prime minister should be here to accept her responsibilities on the back of this government defeat. where is she? mr speaker, i wonder, given the certificates of this defeat tonight, what powers are open to us to force the government to bring forward a meaningful vote for week? the prime minister has promised to allow mps another chance to shape

the way forward on february the 27th. you're watching thursday in parliament with me, david cornock. still to come, ministers under pressure to change the law on assisted dying. a british woman who ran away to syria as a schoolgirl to join the islamic state group has told the times newspaper she wants to return to the uk as she's nine months pregnant. shamima begum, who's now 19, married an is fighter and had two children, who've both died. but she said she didn't regret going to syria. the security minister has warned that she would be investigated if she came back and possibly prosecuted. ms begum was one of three schoolgirls from bethnal green academy who left the uk in february 2015. a conservative mp raised the case during business questions. may we have a debate in government time to establish the roles gimmick and the government keep the house updated on how it is going in returning these

offenders to their countries of origin? the threat they pose to national security in the economic consequences of the british taxpayer. and while they are at it, now that 10% of the prison population in the uk is made up of foreign national offenders can the government keep the house updated on how it is going in returning these offenders to their countries of origin? my right honourable friend raises a vital issue and i am sure many honourable and right honorable members will have seen the news today ofajihadi fighter looking to return back to the united kingdom. it is a very serious issue indeed. it is vital that we continue to do everything possible to keep uk citizens safe. there have been renewed calls for the transport secretary to resign over what mps called "fiascos" on his watch. chris grayling was under fire again over his handling of the £13.8 million contract awarded to seaborne freight to provide ferry services into ramsgate in kent in the event of a no—deal brexit.

it was cancelled after the company, which had no ships and no experience in the sector, parted with its backer, irish company arklow shipping. mr grayling had said no public money had been spent during the process, but a report from the national audit 0ffice revealed it had cost £800,000 in consultancy fees. the secretary of state may wish to argue that you got this £100,000 worth since echoes of to come back with findings, including that seaborne freight presented steve get execution risks and that a basic blush test was the most that could be carried out on the company's financials. which of these two findings did secretary find it most reassuring when deciding to go with seaborne freight? the bit i found reassuring was that we had a contract

with there was no upfront commitment to taxpayers and we paid nothing towards service and delivery. this secretary of state is never wrong reasonably. what about the multiple transport and justice contracts come of the book balance business, court fees it puts the innocent to plead guilty and catastrophic privatisation and perversion of prisons. his ongoing presence in government makes an international laughing stock of us all. quite simply, the country cannot afford him and so i ask in all sincerity will he please step down before he does any further damage? a call echoed by the snp. he is baffled by criticism which is incredible. look at his handling in terms of the mock exercise for lorries

under his watch, east coast mainline bailout, northern railfiasco, delays to hs2 a growing legislation issues and contracts awarded to companies who were going bust. what does it take for him to do the right thing and go? he continues to produce statements that i am afraid are simply inaccurate. the trial in kent managed by them it worked very smoothly to illustrate the nature of moving in and out of the port. he is talking about karelian, they had no contract with hs two. they were part of a consortium that was reliable and that work has continued. many of my constituents that heathrow is like seaborne freight, another case where the dft has simply fallen hook line and sinker for impossible claim made by a company that has very little chance of actually delivering them.

i know my right honourable friend is very committed to her view on this matter, but it is also the case of this house noted on this matter, but it is also the case of this house voted by majority of nearly 300 to pursue this project, to give heathrow the green light. elsewhere during question time, there were calls to scrap the controverisal high speed rail line hs2. the minister will be aware that he can replace and upgrade every piece of rolling stock in the country for less than half of the price of hs to discuss why are we notjust cancel this and get something better. my right honourable friend, actually we are doing both. we are replacing it for our country and delivery hsz, which we need to deliver more capacity in our rail market. with time for questions running out, the speaker urged mps to ask their questions quickly. a sentence without subordinate clauses. you'd be will be lucky.

happy valentine's day, mr speaker. speaker date. when she did get to her question, anna soubry asked that local community groups be fully involved in the development of hs2. and the speaker didn't tell her off for asking a longer question! the leader of the commons told mps she was "enraged" by a conservative mp's attempt to block a new law to tackle female genital mutilation. andrea leadsom said the government would take responsibility for what was a private member's bill introduced by a rank and file mp after sir christopher chope was able to use parliamentary procedures to stop it going forward last friday. the thing that is really important is private member bills continuing to bring this house into disrepute. this is something that concerns the leader of the house, and the shadow leader of the house and all members. with the leader of the house meet with the chairman of the procedure

committee, my self, to discuss how we can ensure committee, my self, to discuss how we can ensure that friday's sale did not bring it down. as jane also second there is something i would not be for those who are really my friends. so i will also meet with him. he raises a very important point. i know all of us were incredibly disappointed and enraged by the decision of one member to block a very important bill, private member's bill, on female genital mutilation. i am delighted to tell the house that i have tabled a motion to allow the bill to be debated in a second reading committee in order that it can make progress. the government has ruled out a change in the law on assisted dying. the issue was raised in the lords, prompted by the death last week of geoffrey whaley, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2016. the 80—year—old decided to end his life at the dignitas facility in switzerland and wrote an open letter to mps to be read after his death, pleading for changes in the law. labour's lady blackstone questioned the actions of thames valley police, but does he really think

it is a good use of police time to interview under caution the wife of a dying man who wishes to choose how he dies and in the light of the woman's story, the treatment of loving families like criminals and the nothing minister think that the law on assisted dying is well? my lords, it is for the cbs to apply the law, not to make the law. every case has a turn on its own facts and circumstances. lord keen faced a backlash from other peers. lord pannick, a senior lawyer, represented musicjournalist debbie purdy, who campaigned for clarity on assisted dying while dealing with primary progressive multiple sclerosis. she died in 2014. would the minister except that there

continues to be a very considerable uncertainty in this area, as indicated by the baroness blackstone plus my question, that is causing enormous distress to those of the end of their lives and theirfamilies? for people with a terminal illness, with no hope of recovery, who are suffering great distress, that for these people come the current law which prevents them from being able to in their own life in dignity is condoning ——condemning them to great and unnecessary suffering. the police are only enforcing the law, so it is really the law that is the problem rather than police. so when will the government bring in a new law to free the police from having to treat loving families like criminals? my lord, it's not a case of having to treat loving families like criminals.

it is a matter of time to look at the facts and circumstances of every case in in situations in which the victim may be especially vulnerable. as a government has the before, that is a matter for parliament because it is a matter of conscience and it is not a matter for government to bring forward such legislation and indeed, the noble lord will be aware that such legislation was proposed in 2015 and did not succeed. my lord is, indeed he did die a dignified death last wednesday but most cannot afford to take their family to switzerland for such a death or they cannot get the medical report from their doctor to enable them to have such a death. does the minister agreed that in a civilized society, someone in his position should be able to avoid months of being unable to swallow, unable to eat, to drink, to speak, to move, totally therefore cut

off from communication? will the minister discuss with his colleagues what can be done to change the law? is not the intention of the government to seek to change the law in this area and i emphasised the every case has to be considered according to its own particular facts and circumstances. i regularly acknowledge that many of these cases are extremely tragic. and lord keen said advice on the law around assisted dying was publicly available. now, cynics may be sniffy about valentine's day, but there was plenty of love around in the commons despite the continuing arguments over brexit. the leader of the house was first to turn to verse. labour is red, the tories are blue, ourfuture is bright with a good deal insight for the uk and ourfriends in the eu. thank you. the labour is red tories are blue,

the message from scotland is we are staying in the eu. i think he means the uk, according to the people of scotland. but that does not rhyme, i will grant in that. in the immortal words of william shakespeare, his unkindness may defeat my life but never take my love. so i remain very fond of the honourable gentlemen. who said romance was dead, eh? i'm off to the florist‘s. that's it for thursday in parliament. thank you for watching. i do hope you canjoin me on friday at 11pm on bbc parliament for the week in parliament. bye for now. hello.

it was not just love in the air on valentine's day, spring in the air too, as the uk recorded its highest valentine's day temperature in 21 years. and that was at wales. here's a view from aberystwyth, but it was at bala, the temperatures reached 16.1 celsius, top of the valentine's day shop. you can see the extent of temperatures in double figures elsewhere and how far removed from average they are at this time of year. and there is more mild to very mild weather on the way in the next few days. but we know the nights are quite chilly and actually friday starts on a colder note in scotland and northern ireland compared with thursday morning, and especially in parts of england and wales. there will be a touch of frost around in places and, the further south you are, the chance of seeing some maybe dense fog patches, that could be rather slow to clear. but the last of those should be gone by late morning, lunchtime. but then, for most of us, it is blue skies and sunshine all the way.

though cloud will increase in northern ireland, especially to the west, and in western scotland. and into the north—west and the western isles some outbreaks of rains slowly moving in. but the colours indicate just how much temperatures are going to rebound after that chilly start, on towards the midteens again, on again towards 15 or even 16 celsius, though it is quite breezy. if anything a touch windier than it was on thursday, especially towards the north—west and the western isles. these are average speeds. there could be some gusts of up to around 50 miles per hour or so. friday night is not going to be as chilly as more cloud moves into the uk, courtesy of these fairly weak weather fronts. another system will come in towards the uk later in the weekend. they are just going to deliver glancing blows but at least giving more cloud in places. but the important thing, the flow of air around these weather systems will maintain a feed coming in from the south and that means it is going go stay mild, with temperatures above average. so this is what we are expecting for the weekend — mild, yes, breezy, also, still. dry for many but these weather systems i've pointed out will bring the threat of seeing a bit of rain. we may welcome that in the garden, especially down towards the west of the uk. but there will be more cloud in southern england,

east anglia and the midlands, into wales, on saturday. maybe a bit of drizzle into the far south—west. northern england seeing sunny spells. broken cloud in northern ireland, eastern scotland. cloudy in north—west scotland, where there is some patchy rain. early rain clearing from shetland. still breezy, still mild. 0n then on sunday, more sunshine around at least to start the day. but this weather system comes in from the west, delivering some rather patchy outbreaks of rain, more appreciativley so towards north—west scotland. it is still breezy but it is still mild, especially where you see the best of the sunshine down the eastern side of the uk. bye— bye. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: president trump set to declare a national emergency, to secure funding for a border wall with mexico. he faces a battle with democrats — and some republicans. a teenager, who ran away to syria to join the islamic state group, is told she could face prosecution if she tries to return

home to the uk. the ayes to the right, 258. the noes to the left, 303. cheering another big parliamentary defeat for the british government over its vision for brexit. a year after one of the deadliest school shootings in us history, we report from parkland, florida, where calls for gun control are still being ignored.