hello, it's monday, it's 10 o'clock, i'm samira ahmed. this is the scene in westminster, as a group of mps are set to announce their split from the labour party, we'll be live there for that announcement as soon as it happens. iam i am chris mason in the room here. in the next few minutes these labour mps are expected to walk in and announced they are walking away from the party that for years they have been a part of. tough and urgent action is needed to stop facebook allowing the spread of fake news — according to a group of mps. rather than having a system where the tech companies just apologise when things go wrong and carry on repeating the same mistakes, we should have a proper, statutory, regulatory system, which imposes standards on the tech companies, with a regulator that can act against them if they fail to meet those standards. the man who was the victim of the first woman to be convicted of coercive control in the uk says doctors told him he was "ten days away from death" when he finally escaped. alex skeel is here in the studio with the police officer who he says saved his life.

and how sustainably do you live? after thousands of uk school children walked out of class last week to demand action on climate change, we're challenging a group of students from loughborough university who all live together in a student house to spend a month trying to live a more sustainable lives. hello, welcome to the programme. we're live until 11 this morning. a teenage girl who left east london four years ago tojoin the islamic state group has said people should have sympathy for her and let her come home now she's given birth to a baby boy. shamima begum was found in a syrian refugee camp last week. at around 10.30, we'll be hearing from nicola benyahia — she's a mum whose son was killed

fighting for is in syria. she now campaigns against radicalisation. she says shamima begum should be allowed to return to the uk. do get in touch on all the stories we're talking about — use the hashtag victoria live. if you're emailing and are happy for us to contact you 7 and maybe want to take part in the programme — please include your phone number in your message. if you text, you'll be charged at the standard network rate. here's carrie gracie with a summary of the day's news. thanks, samira. the bbc has learned a group of labour mps is expected to announce their departure from the labour party. facebook need stronger action to deal with aspects of its platform.

the committee found mark zuckerberg failed to deal with fake news. facebook welcomed the digital select committee's report and said it would be open to meaningful regulation. the london teenager who ran away to join the islamic state group four yea rs join the islamic state group four years ago said people should sympathise with her, in an interview with sky news. in the interview shamima begum said she had no regrets but appealed for help to return to the uk with her newborn baby. her family say they are very concerned about the child's welfare. train companies have proposed major changes to ticketing on britain's railways. the railway delivery group said the current system is outdated and overcomplicated and it wants to see more flexible fares and the roll—out of electronic systems like london's oyster card throughout the country. cyber chiefs have said any risks posed by allowing the chinese

firm huawei to work on uk contracts can be managed. the cyber centre was my decision undermines the us effo rts my decision undermines the us efforts to persuade its allies to ban the firm from 56 communications networks. the chinese government ban the firm from 5g communications networks. the chinese government is accused of using huawei as a proxy to spy on rival nations, but huawei said it pays nothing to china apart from taxes. pakistan has recalled its high commissioner from from taxes. pakistan has recalled its high commissionerfrom india for consultations. this follows a sharp rise in the diplomatic tension between the two regional rivals after a suicide attack on indian troops in indian administered kashmir. india has accused pakistan of being behind the bombing by islamist militants and in the further explanation at least four indian soldiers were killed in a gunfight with rebels. fighting broke out and security forces searched for islamist militants thought to be linked to the bombing. india recalled its top diplomat from islamabad last week. tributes have been paid to labour mp

paul flynn who has died at the age of 8a. he represented his constituents of newport west in wales for more than 30 years. the labour party leader mattjeremy corbyn called him an independent thinker who would be greatly missed. we have heard all about firefighters who have been called to rescue a cat stuck up a tree, but not usually like this... this is a mountain lion spot perched on a branch 50 feet up in the air near a house in california. fire crews had to tranquilize it and lower it down with a harness before releasing it back into the wild. a cat up a tree story! now, back to samira. thank you, carrie. a group of labour mps is expected to announce their departure from the labour party. this is the scene in westminster. we willjoin them shortly when there

is an we willjoin them shortly when there is an announcement. we willjoin them shortly when there is an announcement. at first... —— but first... a group of mps leading an inquiry into fake news say big tech companies are "failing in the duty of care they owe to their users to" act against harmful content. the report by the digital, culture, media and sport committee is calling for a compulsory code of ethics and an independent regulator to monitor social media platforms. the committee have been particularly critical of facebook — saying the site needs far stricter regulation to end the spread of fake news. facebook has told us that it is "open to meaningful regulation" and supports the committee's recommendation for electoral law reform. well, we can talk to the mp damian collins who's the chair of the digital, culture, media and sport committee, who are behind the report. and the chief executive of web roots uk — areeq choudhury.

and european technology correspondent for the financial times — madhunita murgia damian collins first. for... images for children, films that would incite criminals to commit violent acts, that content should not be there and in many cases is already against the community guidelines of the tech companies but they are not always effective in dealing with it. we should say, in a statutory account, this is what you did to re move account, this is what you did to remove harmful content, when either referred to you or it should be content you should be able to identify for yourself using technology, and you have to remove it, and if you don't, the regulator could say to the company you have failed in your duty of care to users, therefore you are liable and we will impose a sanction against

you. i think that is the system we need and we can't rely on the goodwill of the tech companies to police themselves. i think we have seen police themselves. i think we have seen the era of self—regulation has not given the robust systems we need to deal with the most harmful forms of content. i would add to that as well, things like this information as well, the malicious systematic targeting of people with false information, again, with the purpose of swaying votes in elections, turning communities against each other, i think we have to view that as harmful as well. they have said they are open to some form of regulation. is that a significant change because you have been very critical, particularly of the failure of some like mark zuckerberg to turn up before the committee. failure of some like mark zuckerberg to turn up before the committeem my expense they want to establish the code for themselves. if the companies were good at rigorously enforcing their own guidelines lots of these problems would not exist, but they are not and that is why we need a statutory code. it is for

parliament and people to decide what that should look like and how it should be enforced but i think the broadcasting regulatory model is a good one that could be adapted to regulate content online as well but it should be for us to determine what the regulation should be like and enforce it. other countries have started on thisjourney. in germany they have legislation around hate speech and tech companies are if i had to take down content referred to them that breaches those hate speech laws. even though these are global businesses, they still have to abide by the law in individual countries where they operate and i think it is time for us to establish our own legal code of ethics we expect them to adhere to. right like to be clear, facebook have always said they are a platform, not a publisher. to be clear, they are up platform, up platform, not a publisher. 0thers platform, up platform, not a publisher. others say that too. what do you think? they are not mutual service of content well they might well they would like to put the blame on the people who published it it is not always easy for us to identify those people, but secondly

on facebook you are notjust seeing the most recent item posted by one of your friends, your are seeing content facebook has selected for you, the content it thinks you are most likely to be interested in based on its analysis of all your previous viewing history. so the content is being served to you by the tech companies and therefore i think they share a responsibility. that could mean for example that a vulnerable young person who starts to engage with content that might be harmful to them will suddenly start seeing more of it in their feed simply because that way the algorithm works, and that is why i think the tech companies can't just say they are mere platforms. they are tools are serving this content to people and they share some responsibility for it. thank you, damian collins. facebook have told us damian collins. facebook have told us they share the committee pause ‘s concern and are pleased they have made significant contribution to the investigation, and said of team to protect users from bad content, with 30,000, and they have invested heavily in al and computer

technology to help stop abuse. areeq chowdhury, you have been looking into regulation and release your own report at the end of 2018. was there anything different to what the committee has come up with? forgive me, i have to leave you to join the conference where labour mps are due to be making an announcement... i think that is chuka umunna. luciana berger as well. i think it isa group luciana berger as well. i think it is a group of four mps you will be making a statement. we think it is six mps in the room. good morning, everyone, and thank you very much forjoining us here

today. my name is luciana berger, andi today. my name is luciana berger, and i am the labour... laughter iam the laughter i am the member of parliament... this morning we have all now resigned from the labour party. this has been a very difficult, painful but necessary decision. we represent different parts of the country. we are of different backgrounds. we we re are of different backgrounds. we were born of different generations. but we all share the same values. from today, we will all sit in parliament as a new, independent group of mps. for my part, i have become embarrassed and ashamed to remain in the labour party. i have

not changed. the core values of equality for all, opportunity for all, antiracism against all. and social justice. the all, antiracism against all. and socialjustice. the values which i hold really dear and which led me to join the labour party as a student almost 20 years ago remain who i am. and yet these values have been consistently and and yet these values have been consistently a nd co nsta ntly and yet these values have been consistently and constantly violated i consistently and constantly violated , undermined and attacked as the labour party today refuses to put my constituents and our country before party interest. i cannot remain in a party interest. i cannot remain in a party that i have today come to the sickening conclusion is institutionally anti—semitic. it was nearly a year ago that we saw the unprecedented event of a minority community, the jewish community, taking to parliament square to

demonstrate against the labour party, to say, enough is enough. and yet since then, despite a mountain of evidence, we have only seen the situation of racism againstjewish people get worse. the leadership has wilfully and repeatedly failed to address hatred against jewish wilfully and repeatedly failed to address hatred againstjewish people within its ranks. and it is for these reasons and many more that i have made this decision today. i am leaving behind a culture of bullying, bigotry and intimidation. i look forward to a future serving with colleagues who respect each other and who are committed to working together for our great country. we will publish a full statement setting out our position shortly. copies of this will be available at the end of this morning because my event, and on our website. my colleagues, who i am

also proud to call my friends, will now set out the reasons why they have each come to this decision, the principles and values by which we are guided, and how we intend to operate going forward as a new, independent group of mps. we will of course take your questions after eve ryo ne course take your questions after everyone has spoken. thank you. good morning, everybody. thank you, luciana. i good morning, everybody. thank you, luciana. lam good morning, everybody. thank you, luciana. i am chris leslie, the memberof luciana. i am chris leslie, the member of parliament for nottingham east. this has not been an easy decision for any of us. we have all been labour members of parliament for very many members of years, in my case three decades, but the labour party were joined, campaigned for and believed in is no

longer today's labour party. we did everything we could to say that, but it has now been hijacked by the machine politics of the hard left. as luciana said, our values haven't changed. we absolutely oppose this conservative government and desperately want an alternative which tackles the barriers of poverty and discrimination by extending opportunity for all. but british politics is now well and truly broken. in all conscience, we can no longer knock on doors and support a government led byjeremy corbyn or the team around him. why? for a start, the evidence of labour cosmic betrayal on europe is now visible for all to see, offering to actually enable this government was not brexit —— labour's betrayal on europe. constantly not allowing the

public final say, policy has been cast aside, no guaranteed full participation in the single market anymore, no exact same benefits, no movement towards a cosmic vote. choosing to stand by —— towards a people clause vote. choosing to stand by while our people are hurt by brexit is a fundamental violation of labour's traditional values but our issues go far deeper than brexit. the past three years have confirmed how irresponsible it would be to allow this leader of the opposition to take the office of prime minister of the united kingdom. many people still in the labour party will privately admit this to be true, but we owe it to our constituents now to say it publicly and honestly. the pursuit of policies that would threaten our national security through hostility to nato, the refusal to act to those

when facing humanitarian distress, preferring to believe states hostile to our country rather than believing our police and security services, these are all rooted in the labour leadership because my obsession with a narrow, outdated ideology. they are hostile to business, large and small, they make impossible promises which everybody knows in their hearts couldn't be kept without putting the economy at risk, and they constantly pit one part of society against another because to them the world divides between oppressor and oppressed, class enemies, when in truth the modern world is more complicated than this. and then, as luciana was saying, there is an appalling culture. intolerance, closing down of debate, abuse and hatred online, as you are seeing this morning, and off—line and party meetings. and anti—semitism. so we have no choice

but to say collectively, enough is enough. there has to be a better way forward , enough. there has to be a better way forward, and there can be a better way forward. thank you. good morning, everyone. and thank you, chris. my name is angela smith, lam the mp for penistone and stocksbridge in south yorkshire. my father was a printer by trade and my mother started work when i was a teenager, eventually moving on to work in the nhs. for my parents, working class pride was not about enjoying poverty and wearing it as a badge of honour. it was about self—respect, and believing that we could do better, that there was

nothing wrong in getting on in life. in1966, when many nothing wrong in getting on in life. in 1966, when many other five—year—olds rooted for england in the world cup, i had my first expense of political identity, when my mother told me there was a different competition going on and that we supported a man called harold wilson. my family believed that labour represented their interests and their values at westminster. underpinning that belief was a sense that labour would help those who faced discrimination and barriers when it came to bringing out the best in themselves. let me tell a brief personal story to illustrate the point. i went to a village primary and was recommended by my teachers for the top stream at our uniform local comp. it was 1972. imagine my parents' dismay when i was placed on the secondary stream. my mother was encouraged to complain

to the head teacher, who could not deny that decisions on the limited places available in the top tier had been based partly on where we came from. we lived in a council house. after one term at my new school i was advanced to the air stream, but unfortunately the damage was done. i doubted my academic ability and it hindered progress. it was only when i became hindered progress. it was only when ibecame an hindered progress. it was only when i became an adult i started to believe in myself and at 29 graduated from nottingham university with a good first degree. that process was long and difficult and entrenched my belief that nobody, nobody, should be judged by where they come from, nobody should have to work to matt, three, four times as hard to develop his or her talents and abilities. we all have something to offer, whoever we are. most people are like my family. they

do not want to be patronised by left—wing intellectuals, who think being poor and working class constitutes a state of grace. what they do want is a fair crack of the whip, and opportunities to succeed. they also want to believe everyone in our country bears a responsibility to make a contribution towards keeping our society safe and prosperous. but these values are no longer valid in today's labour party and that is why i have made the very painful decision to resign my membership and become an independent mp with my colleagues and friends today. gavin will now talk about our shared values. thank you, angela. my name is gavin shuker and since 2010! have been the member for luton south.

this is my first and onlyjob in politics. representing my hometown isa politics. representing my hometown is a great honour and i stepped up to do it because for me serving your community in that waits public service. we are leaving the labour party, not only because of what it has become, but because, like millions of others, we find that our values no longer find expression in today's broken politics. we believe ours isa today's broken politics. we believe ours is a great country. perhaps more importantly, so do the vast majority of the british people. we believe our first duty is to do what it takes to keep people safe. we don't think every problem in the world is created by the west. in fa ct we world is created by the west. in fact we are proud of our values, home and abroad. we want to work with other countries around the world to tackle our shared challenges, not turn our face against them. we believe a strong economy delivers the best public services and that government is the

custodian of money others have worked hard to earn. we back well—regulated business but in return we expect them to provide decent secure and well paying jobs. we believe in the innate creativity of individuals. people are powerful, and they are capable of taking responsibility in their own lives. they should, and government should work to remove the barriers of poverty, prejudice and discrimination that hold too many back. we believe in strong democratic institutions. a free press, the rule of law and politics that doesn't only bow to the loudest voices. we are sent to parliament to exercise our best judgment and provide leadership. we are representatives accountable to those who elect us, and we believe these are values shared by the majority of the british people, our friends and our neighbours. these are values that once would have been considered

mainstream in our parties of government. but not anymore. today they set to seek our communities against one another, poisoning our debate and dividing our country. at the of today's broken politics lie our broken political parties, guilty ofa our broken political parties, guilty of a wilful failure of action and an abdication of responsibility. the complete absence of leadership at the moment our country needs it most. competing visions of the past providing no hope for britain's future. to express these values into des's labour party is no longer possible. it has turned its back on the british public. and their hopes and ambitions, and that is why we have ta ken and ambitions, and that is why we have taken this step today. thank you, gavin. good morning, everybody. lam ann you, gavin. good morning, everybody. i am ann coffey, the member of parliament for stockport, a town i have represented for nearly 27 years. it is a great privilege to be

an mp. my father died a year before i was elected. he would have been proud to see the chance for a better life he had fought to give me realised in an achievement beyond his dreams. he believed passionately in education, but without the wilson's government clause commitment to providing routes to higher education through expanding places in polytechnics i would not have got a degree —— government's commitment. hope and determination by an individual is not enough. i spent 20 years working as a social worker with families, but social worker with families, but social work cannot be a response to inequality and lack of opportunity. ijoined the inequality and lack of opportunity. i joined the labour inequality and lack of opportunity. ijoined the labour party 41 years ago to elect governments who understood real opportunities for families only comes when the right policies are in place. i am proud of the achievements of the last labour

government. i thought i would be in the labour party for the rest of my life. but political parties are not an end in themselves in a parliamentary democracy. the labour party has lost sight of this. it is no longer a broad church. any criticism of the leadership has responded to with abuse and accusations of treachery. anti—semitism is rife and tolerated. the current leadership have been very successful at changing his party beyond recognition. and in doing so is failing the people who have supported the labour party all their lives, and who ijoined to help. loyalty cannot be an end in itself. so i leave the party with great sadness. but in hope that we, as an independent group, can start to change a political system in which

people feel they have no voice. i remain totally committed to continuing to serve my constituents. our values haven't changed. my values haven't changed. iron mike gapes, the member of parliament for ilford south. —— ian mike gapes. i have always considered myself labour, to my core. i grew up ina myself labour, to my core. i grew up in a working—class family, in counsel his family in essex. my dad was a postman and trade union branch secretary. my mum worked in a newsagent shop. my parents, my education, the year i spent as a

volu nta ry education, the year i spent as a voluntary service overseas teacher in swaziland, before i went to cambridge university, all taught me the importance of fighting racism, poverty and injustice. ijoined the poverty and injustice. i joined the labour poverty and injustice. ijoined the labour party more than 50 years ago in 1968. i've been active at all levels since then. from young socialist branch treasurer, to chair of the national organisation of labour students, and i worked for 15 years in the labour party headquarters, including as head of the international section of the party. and since 1992! have been the party. and since 1992! have been the labour uncooperative member of parliament for ilford south. i am sick labour and co—operative member

of parliament. i am sick and the labour party is now a racist and anti—semitic party and i am furious the labour party has been complicit in facilitating brexit which will cause great economic, social and political damage to our country. jeremy corbyn and those around him are on the wrong side on so many international issues. from russia, to syria, to venezuela. a corbyn labour government would threaten our national security and international alliances. threaten our national security and internationalalliances. now, threaten our national security and international alliances. now, this is personally very difficult for me. i've got lots of very good friends, locally, nationally and internationally, through the labour party. but i must be true to myself and my values. it has been a great privilege and honour to serve my fantastic

constituents in ilford south for 27 years, and! constituents in ilford south for 27 years, and i intend to continue to represent them as a member of the new independent group. thanks, mike. i'm chuka umunna, iam a member of parliament for streatham, the area i'm from and grew up in. as you've heard from all of the contributions, the values which have driven our decision today are shaped by who we are, where we are shaped by who we are, where we are from, our experiences. i'm of mixed heritage, and a quarter english, a quarter irish and half nigerian. you might not be able to tell. my forebears came to this country driven by the hope and optimism that if you put the effort m, optimism that if you put the effort in, you can get on and lead a good life in britain. my father arrived from nigeria with no money and he

worked his way up to become a successful entrepreneur. in spite of the prejudice he experienced, the platform this country gave him to succeed was britain at its very best. but we had our ups and downs. he, the only breadwinner in the family, was killed in a car crash when i was only 13. his death taught me that, regardless of your circumstances, people need one another. we want our families to get on in the good times but, my gosh, we need to support each other through the bad times. too many in britain face barriers in fulfilling their dreams, their potential. and people don't get the support that they need. we believe it doesn't have to be that way. fundamental change is needed. now, the last few yea rs have change is needed. now, the last few years have shown the established parties are simply not up to this challenge. they can't be the change, because they have become the

problem. they have failed to provide the leadership and clear direction, which the uk desperately needs. they are deeply divided, they have failed to fulfil their duties with the competence of the public rightly deserves. they put their party political interests before the national interest. and they don't represent the complex tapestry, which is modern britain. now, there are those who will say there is no alternative, we are doomed to be saddled with the same old politics, that we have to settle for voting for the least worst option or, you know, simply to keep the other lot out, stop them from getting in. that no matter how incompetent they are, we have no option but to vote for these people. we reject this completely. when our democracy is failing, the british people have ove rco m e failing, the british people have overcome the hurdles over history, to build a betterfuture. we demanded elected mps take precedence over unelected lords. we insisted

working men and women have the vote. we said our parliament should better reflect a nd we said our parliament should better reflect and look like the country, in terms of gender and ethnicity and now we've got to change our politics again. it is time we dumped this country's old fashion politics and created an alternative, that does justice to who we are today and gives this country a politics fit for the here and now, the 21st century, not the last one. so, we've taken the first step in leaving the old tribal politics behind and we invite others, who share our political values to do so, too. you might come from a labour background, but you might come from other political traditions. yes, it's a difficult decision, make no mistake, but think about it, you don'tjoin a political party to spend years and yea rs political party to spend years and years fighting the people within it. you get involved in politics, you joina you get involved in politics, you join a party, to change the world.

so, we invite you to leave your parties and help us forge a new consensus on a way forward for britain. we will sit together, as an independent group of mps in the house of commons from here on. we haven't yet assigned roles or responsibility between us, but we will have our first formal meeting asa will have our first formal meeting as a new group of mps in the coming days. we want to finish today by speaking directly to the people who sent us here, the british people. forfar sent us here, the british people. for far too sent us here, the british people. forfar too long, sent us here, the british people. for far too long, political parties in westminster, parties of which we've been a part, have been failing you. if you are sick and tired of politics as usual, well, guess what? so are we. that's why we've done what we've done today and why we commit to do things differently. we don't have all the answers, so we'll treat people like adults and be honest about the tough choices facing britain. we don't have the big money or infrastructure of the political parties. all we can do is

directly to our website. please sign up. we are asking you to help us shape what the next steps should be. building a new politics cannot be donein building a new politics cannot be done in committee rooms in westminster so we want to invite you, the british people, tojoin us in this endeavour. if you want an alternative, please help us build it. the bottom line is this, politics is broken. it doesn't have to be this way, let's change it. thank you very much chuka. before we go to the questions and answers, i look forward to taking contributions and questions you have. we would like to take this moment, as a group, to extend our thanks to our family and friends and the volunteers thatjoin family and friends and the volunteers that join us here today. we would also like to extend our

condolences to the family and friends of paul flynn, mp, who we learnt passed away yesterday. we will now open it up to questions. there is a microphone. there is one that aside. thank you. thank you very much indeed, bbc news. a question, really, to all of you. many of your colleagues in the labour party are going to feel that you have let them down. and you are betraying them by leaving when you should be sticking together. what do you say to your colleagues and members of the labour party who feel that way? and do you accept that, by leaving, because of the way our political system work, that makes a tory government more likely at the next election? thank you, laura. i will ask next election? thank you, laura. i willask mike... i made this decision, and it's a

very difficult decision, after a very difficult decision, after a very great effort. i did stay, and i did fight, and i've been fighting battles on twitter and elsewhere. and you'll see the reaction i've had over re ce nt and you'll see the reaction i've had over recent years. there comes a point where you have to recognise this is not the labour party that you were in. it has changed. and it has changed at all levels. the leader, the general secretary, the national executive committee, the national executive committee, the national constitutional committee and the region organising staff they have now appointed. this is not the labour party that i fought to save when neil kinnock was leader. it isn't the labour party that i fought against a trotskyist student politics, this is a labour party which has changed beyond recognition. you have to make a decision. it is notjust the politics. it is whether you can feel a moral integrity to go along with things you no longerjustify or

accept. i've come to my own breaking point. i cannot do that any longer. thank you. to address the second pa rt of thank you. to address the second part of your question, laura, we don't think that any of the major political parties are fit for power. we also believe that parties do not own voters. people up and down the country are saying to us, now, that they feel politically homeless. we are getting this every day, in our e—mails, when we knock on doors, it's happening all the time. people feel politically homeless. they are asking and begging for an alternative. this is why we believe our politics is broken and that something has to be done to build back politics that people believe in. we cannot be complicit in a political system which is broken and failing to put the country first and put people first. itv news. two

questions. firstly, seven mps might be enough for a dinner party but not necessarily enough for a significant political party. how many others have suggested to you they might be willing tojoin you have suggested to you they might be willing to join you and it have suggested to you they might be willing tojoin you and it is this desire to be a new movement? secondly, how do you think you are likely to vote in parliament? —— mike and is this a new movement. would you be willing to vote for the withdrawal agreement if it prevented no deal? would you be willing to vote with the conservative party? the first point, everybody has had a crack at the story, the da vinci code of how many and who and what's happened. there is a really obvious reason for that. we are politicians and human beings. we had conversations with each other all the time. you will know from your reporting that if you talk to collea g u es reporting that if you talk to colleagues that aren't here today, their assessment of the situation in their assessment of the situation in the labour party is remarkably similarto the labour party is remarkably similar to ours. it is an incredibly

harshjudgment to similar to ours. it is an incredibly harsh judgment to come out and make this stance today. there will be some who will see this today and will be agonising about what to do, because they agree with our analysis, but it's hard to do something new, it's really hard. so, look, absolutely, we might have a great dinner party with seven. i'm confident, however, that the arguments we are making, the recognition that neither of these parties are any longer fit for government, must impress on our collea g u es government, must impress on our colleagues the choice. and the choice for labour colleagues is whether they're willing to go out and defend electing a labour government with its views on anti—semitism, national security and its enabling of hard tory brexit. just on the point that you raised, pull, but a new movement, what have you. look, the usual way that things are done in westminster, you have a podium, someone goes up and tells you how it's going to be. we clear that there needs to be an alternative. people cannot be

saddled with this appalling choice of incompetence, frankie —— we are clear. the idea that you can kind of cook this up in westminster is not the way that i think people want things to be done —— frankly. we wa nt things to be done —— frankly. we want to invite all those, there are millions of people who are watching what we're doing today, we believe, who feel politically homeless. we need to get everybody involved in working out what the alternatives should look like. its form, its structure. we are not being dishonest. we think there needs to be an alternative, but for us to stand up, pontificate and declare a manifesto on this stage of day one of us having just left a political party would be getting a bit beyond where we need be today. instinctively, how do you think... on that, we put at our values, you will see on our wonderful new website theindependentgroup. if i haven't got that right, luciana will

discipline me. you will see our list of values, what we believe. it is about who we are. we have delivery told you a story about ourselves as people, because if politics is on people, because if politics is on people it is nothing —— but we have deliberately. we will vote on different things according to our values, we are independent. it might be that we had different views on different things but the consistent point, the meeting point is our values. it is notjust labour people but people from other political traditions. it is notjust labour mps who are privately wrestling with their consciences on every single day. we know of lots of other members of parliament and other parties. the whole thing is broken so parties. the whole thing is broken so we've got to change it. tom reina from sky news. would you now be prepared to fight by—elections either by triggering it yourself or if they are brought about by constituents who are unhappy. and if you could explain why now, if there was a moment, a particular trigger for deciding to make this

announcement today? in a way, those two parts a re announcement today? in a way, those two parts are answered by the same thing. we are at a time of massive national people and crisis. general elections, by—elections, that is not what is needed right now. we were elected in 2017 in our constitution, you don't just elected in 2017 in our constitution, you don'tjust vote elected in 2017 in our constitution, you don't just vote for a elected in 2017 in our constitution, you don'tjust vote for a delegate with a particular party colour, you vote for an individual. we feel that it's a fundamental principle in our parliamentary system that we use our judgment and our integrity to guide how we react to different events and circumstances. for myself, the brexit saga has been very much a tipping point. you know i've been trying for a very long time to push and cajole and nudge the labour party to do what i regard to point it towards its traditional values,

protecting jobs and livelihoods. instead, we've seen a consistent attempt to put political calculations above the national interest and that has been a tipping point. but there is a combination of issues, have you heard today. one more at the front and then i will come to the side. studio: we will leave that news conference. quite dramatic news. seven labour mps have set up the independent group. leaving the labour party. luciana berger, gavin shuker, ann coffey, chuka umunna, chris leslie, mike gapes and angela smith. they have accused the labour leadership of a couple of things. an obsession with a narrow and outdated ideology according to chris leslie, enough is enough. luciana berger has talked about the party leadership being institutionally anti—semitic and a culture of bullying and intimidation. we have also heard from gavin sugar. there has been a com plete from gavin sugar. there has been a complete absence of leadership at the moment which our country needs the moment which our country needs

the most —— from gavin shuker. they are concerned with brexit and chuka umunna has said that established parties, plural, are not up to this challenge, they are the problem, deeply divided. and they are putting party belittle interests before the national interest. he spoke about the request to the british public as well as mps from different parties potentially to leave national, tribal politics and join this new group. they have set up a website but they said they don't have big backers. chuka umunna said politics is broken, it doesn't have to be this way and let's change it. some reaction shortly but a statement from jeremy corbyn, the leader of the labour party. "i'm disappointed that these mps have felt unable to continue to work together for the labour policies that inspired millions at the last election and saw us increase our vote by the largest share since 1945. labour won people over on a programme for the many, not the few, redistribution of wealth and power, taking vital resources into public ownership, investing in every region and nation

and tackling climate change. the conservative government is bundling brexit while labour has set at a unifying and credible alternative plan. with millions facing the misery of universal credit, rising crime and homelessness and poverty, now more than ever is the time to bring people together to build a better future for us all". that statement from the labour leader, jeremy corbyn. we will get some reaction to that statement. i am joined in the studio. ayesha hazarika is a political commentator, and the guardian columnist 0wen jones can join us from north london. also damian collins is still with me. what is your reaction, 0wen, by those seven labour mps? for any of us who support the kind of broad labour cause, you don't always agree with every dot and comma of what has been put forward but you wish it well. as somebody who campaigned for labour when tony blair was needed,

even after the war in iraq, which killed hundreds of thousands of people. this the decent thing to do would be to stand in a by—election —— make the decent thing. they were elected on a manifesto which supported public ownership of utilities, higher taxes on the rich, in order to end austerity and the scrapping of tuition fees. these things are overwhelmingly supported by the british people and polling shows that. if they want to break from that in favour of what i think is old politics of the 1990s, which isn't relevant to the world of the financial crash, after people are angry, understandably, with the elites who plunged this country into crisis after crisis and walk away... i will remind you that they spoke about the labour leadership. they said the labour party was hijacked by the politics of the hard left in an attempt to divide the country. can you see why they are saying what they are saying? again, the policies that labour are putting forward our

objectively, according to every poll supported by the vast majority. if labour are hard left because of their policies, so are most of the british public. the polling shows about 80% of people support public ownership of water, three quarters of rail, energy. angela smith is one of rail, energy. angela smith is one of the mps who has just left. she spent the local elections right the murdoch press last year, posing the public ownership of water, which the vast majority of people support. —— opposing the. we will hear the word centrist over the next few days. they are not in reality, the real centre ground of public opinion is support for public ownership, higher taxes for the rich and ending austerity. i will leave it there because we want to get in a lot of stuff. thank you. for those listening to that live news conference, there was some bad language, apparently, we apologise if anyone was offended by what they might have heard. damian collins, cani might have heard. damian collins, can i ask what your view is? what you have had, including the invitation from chuka umunna for mps

from different parties to leave fundamentally divided mainstream political parties —— you have heard. to work towards the future by joining this movement. we had a series of very personal testimonies about the journeys that the former labour mps have gone on in setting up labour mps have gone on in setting up this independent group. it underlined, to me, is that for them in political parties not everyone agrees about everything all the time. but you work together because you think that's the best way of achieving your objectives and doing the best thing for the country. they obviously feel, now, that it is impossible for them to work within the labour party to achieve that, therefore, they have no option to leave. they cannot fight within the labour party. within the conservative party, we have seen the erg because concerns for some mps, would you consider leaving, given the pressures within your own party? no, not at all. what you have seen... no, not at all. what you have seen... there are difficult challenging issues. we have seen in the conservative party, particularly with the party coming together to

pass graham brady's are on the brexit talks, is a willingness to work together. within the labour party, those relationships have clearly broken down. there is a lot more to being a political party then what's in their manifesto and their policies. it is about internal culture, can you express different opinions? can you debate with your colleagues different ideas and points of view? what seems to have broken down and fail is that there isa broken down and fail is that there is a culture within the labour party that says if you don't agree with what the leadership agrees with, there is no place for you and it's driving people away. thank you. you have been an adviser to the labour party leadership in the past. we have had seven mps talking about anti—semitism, bad bullying and an obsession with a narrow and outdated ha rd left obsession with a narrow and outdated hard left ideology. what is your view of the decision that has been made and the timing? there is concern about whether this is what is needed at a time when we are less than 40 days until brexit.|j is needed at a time when we are less than 40 days until brexit. i am heartbroken about it. i'm very, very upset this has happened. the labour party has always been a broad

church. that's the great thing about the labour party. it's a tradition. it's a movement. i'm dismayed with the people who have made the decision to leave. but i'm also dismayed with a culture that has come into the labour party. i agree with what a lot of 0wenjones has said. quitea with what a lot of 0wenjones has said. quite a lot of the domestic policies are raging be popular. the ma nifesto policies are raging be popular. the manifesto from 2017 resonated on the doorsteps. the policies are good. the values that have crept into the labour party are very worrying. there has been huge, dismaying anti—semitism. the bullying is out of control. i'm very good friends with luciano burge. some of the m essa g es with luciano burge. some of the messages she's had wishing harm on her unborn baby, mike gates was saying i hope he doesn't make it after his heart attack. there is a viciousness in the labour party. i wasn't born into a labour family. viciousness in the labour party. i wasn't born into a labourfamily. my pa rents were wasn't born into a labourfamily. my parents were not that political. it isa parents were not that political. it is a tribe and a movement i love dearly and i want to stay part of

it. it is notjust about good policies on trains. i don't want good trains and bad culture because the labour party is nothing without our values of kindness, tolerance, fighting discrimination and in all its forms. what a lot of people on the left don't understand is anti—semitism is racism. anti—semitism is as bad as being horrible to a black person or a muslim person or an asian person. horrible to a black person or a muslim person or an asian personm you were advising... the labour leadership today, what would you be telling them to be doing?|j leadership today, what would you be telling them to be doing? i would ask them to reach out. the labour party has got the best chance of winning and being a government that any labour party leader has had in a long time. i worked for ed miliband as well. i think the policies are good. the diagnosis is good. but the culture stinks right now. if i were the labour leadership, i would be practising some of the kinder and gentler politics. i would reach out to people. i spoke to a lot of labour mps over the weekend and lots

of labour mps labour mps over the weekend and lots of labourmps are labour mps over the weekend and lots of labour mps are distraught about what is going on but they feel very isolated from the leadership as well. i would try and show a bit of love and draw people in. owen jones, doctor viewers watching this would be really concerned. certainly from the twitter traffic we have had —— a lot of viewers. they accuse people of leaving being a blairite traitors isa of leaving being a blairite traitors is a quote. but where does this leave the public at a time of, it's fairto leave the public at a time of, it's fair to say, national crisis with impending brexit. what would you say tojeremy impending brexit. what would you say to jeremy corbyn? impending brexit. what would you say tojeremy corbyn? does he just let them go? is this acceptable? of course. i think labour should be warm and reach out. at the end of the day, they've made a decision to leave. as i've said before, if you look atjeremy leave. as i've said before, if you look at jeremy corbyn orjohn mcdonnell or diane abbott, they were mps when tony blair was prime minister, invaded iraq, which they we re minister, invaded iraq, which they were beyond distressed about, not least because of the blood and carnage that resulted in the deaths

of 189 british service personnel and hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. but they didn't leave the party. they stayed and campaigned for a labour government. if you look at the discrepancy there, the difference... if you look back at the culture that existed then, i remember being on the left in the labour party when tony blair was leader. it was a very bullying and toxic atmosphere. anyone vaguely on the left was called... you are comparing that situation to now? you need to bear in mind that labour is one of the biggest political parties in the western world. there are people who behave badly within the labour party and anti—semites. anti—semitism is a despicable racism that has to be thrown out. there is no place in society for it and no place in a movement which is predicated on fighting bigotry. i have a lot of respect for luciana berger, i respect her stance against anti—semitism and on mental health,

for example. but the truth is, most of these mps are ideal logically opposed to increasing taxes on the rich, i do logically opposed to... ideological differences. we have to leave it there but thank you. we will go back to that news conference, which is still going on with the seven mps who are leaving labour. many people have joined the party in the first place wanted to do everything possible to mitigate it. and yet if we look at what's happened over the course of the past 11 months, at every single step of the way, whether it's us having to fight to get the international definition of anti—semitism with all of its examples incorporated into labour party policy, whether it was the fact that, most recently, and, again, we can talk about what happened in the intervening period, the parliamentary party called on the parliamentary party called on the leadership to declare and be open about what's happened. yet we have seen an obfuscation and figures that have been fudged and look at

the events of the last few weeks to hear and see how bad the situation really is. there are many different exa m ples really is. there are many different examples that have surfaced in the press and many that haven't. 0n examples that have surfaced in the press and many that haven't. on that basis, i don't come to that conclusion lightly. i've spoken up at every step of the way. i am proud of the parliamentary chair of the jewish labour movement but having stood outside parliament as i did with the jewish stood outside parliament as i did with thejewish community stood outside parliament as i did with the jewish community saying enough is enough, enough really has to mean enough and that's why i've taken this decision today. it is forjeremy, we have our views and it is forjeremy corbyn to answer that question but ijust want to say something. studio: bbc newsroom life is coming up next with continuing coverage of those resignations from the labour party. thank you for your company today. we will bring you that interview who was one of the first women in the uk to be convicted of coercive control tomorrow. it has been an unusual programme. we will introduce you to the

stu d e nts students who are taking on a months long challenge who want to live more sustainably. we ran out of time. find more about that project on our facebook page and on twitter. have a good day. the news channel will have everything. quite a mild and breezy picture across the country. some outbreaks of showery rain and in the north—west quite heavy and potentially thundery. scotland, northern ireland, north—west england, blustery showers and gusty winds with heavy downpours with hail and thunderstorms. eastern scotland and thunderstorms. eastern scotland and north—east england, mostly dry and north—east england, mostly dry and in the south—east, cloudy conditions with a few spots of rain in the afternoon. temperatures between nine and 11. most of the

showers fade away this evening, clearing skies and temperatures dropping overnight, colder than over the past few nights could just be a touch of rust in the countryside. tuesday starts on a dry and bright note, we should keep the sunshine for much of the day in the east and skies clad overfrom for much of the day in the east and skies clad over from the west with the arrival of the next area of the rain in the west. still some sunshine in the east and top temperatures 8—12. goodbye. you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's11am and this is today's breaking story. seven labour mps announce their resignations from the party

in protest atjeremy corbyn's leadership. it is time we dumped this country's old—fashioned politics it is time we dumped this country's old —fashioned politics and it is time we dumped this country's old—fashioned politics and created an alternative that does justice to who we are today and give this country policy is fit for the year and now, the 21st—century, not the last one. the seven mps — who are calling themselves "the independent group" — say labour has become institutionally anti—semitic being hijacked by the far left. lam i am leaving behind a culture of bullying, bigotry and intimidation. i look