you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's ham 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 forward to a future serving with colleagues who respect each other. this is the scene live in westminster where that news conference is taking place. we'll have full coverage of this developing story.

in the past hour, seven mps have resigned from the labour party in protest atjeremy corbyn‘s leadership and his approach to brexit and anti—semitism. the seven — who are calling themselves the independent group — include chuka umunna, angela smith, mike gapes, gavin shuker and ann coffey. at a news conference in westminster, chris leslie said the party had been "hijacked" by the far left. chuka ummuna called for mps from other parties tojoin them. fundamental changes needed. now, the last few years have shown the established parties are simply not up established parties are simply not up to this challenge. they can't be

the change because they have become 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 the public rightly deserves, we have put their party political interests before the national interest and they don't represent that 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 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 overcome the hurdles over history to build a better future. 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 and look like the country in terms of gender and ethnicity and now we have got to change our politics again. it is time we dumped this country's old—fashioned politics time we dumped this country's old —fashioned politics and time we dumped this country's old—fashioned 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 have taken this first step in leaving tribal politics behind and we invite others who share our political values to do so who share our political values to do so too. you might come from a labour background, but you might come from other political traditions, and yes, it's a difficult decision, make no mistake about that, but think about it, you don'tjoin a political party to spend years and years fighting the people within it, you get

involved in politics, you join the party to change the world, so we invite you to leave your parties and help us forge a new consensus on our way forward for britain. luciana berger — the mp for liverpool wavertree — explained why she was leaving the labour party. this morning we have all now resign 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, anti racism against all and social justice, the all, anti racism 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 am, and yet these values have been consistently a nd co nsta ntly violated, undermined and attacked, as the labour party today refuses to put my constituents and our country before party interest. i cannot remain ina before party interest. i cannot remain in a party that i have today come to the sickening conclusion is institutionally anti—semitic. in a statement, labour leaderjeremy corbyn said:

and labour's grassroots organisation momentum released this statement: an extraordinary moment for the labour party. we can speak to our political correspondent chris mason, who was at the press conference. it is now breaking up. chris. you're right, an extraordinary moment for the labour party and for these seven now former labour mps. in the last few months, we have reported the incremental developments around brexit, quite honestly, nothing

substantially changes. today is not one of those days. a huge moment for the seven mps in question. you could tell looking at the facial expressions of them when they were listening to each other how big a moment this is for them, not least because of all of the unanswered questions that you heard on the questions that you heard on the question and answer session about exactly where they go from here. there is a group of seven, united in the sense of disappointment with the labour party and you could hear their stinging criticism levelled by each and every one of them in the direction ofjeremy corbyn and where theirformer party has direction ofjeremy corbyn and where their former party has gone, but also a huge question they face now about the practicalities of their futures. you can expect some in the labour party to tell them —— insist they stand down and trigger a by—election. then there is the practicalities about how they function as a group at westminster. they are going to sit together in

the house of commons but we do not know if they have a leader or which portfolios they will each take on. would they vote with conservatives in some circumstances? it's a massive set of questions and we are already hearing from some still within the labour party that this kind of thing ends up making it easier politically for the conservatives and for theresa may, inevitably comparisons will be made with the sdp, that gang of four breaking away from the labour party inafew breaking away from the labour party in a few decades ago now and the criticism made in the end was that despite a good start, they didn't make enough of a breakthrough in westminster but perhaps made it easierfor a westminster but perhaps made it easier for a conservative party to win the general elections. that will be the criticism thrown in their direction. ultimately, they said the party of which they have been members for years and decades drifts

away from their own values and they are away from their own values and they a re left away from their own values and they are left with no choice but to leave. the big question now amongst many will be, as people walk in and walk out of this news conference, whether others decide to jump ship andjoin whether others decide to jump ship and join them. it's a difficult moment for everybody. i was struck by the strength of the language, "bullying, intimidation, second, betrayal, irresponsible to put jeremy corbyn in as prime minister, a threat to national security." they really didn't pull any punches. they didn't. racist was used as well as anti—semitic. what's striking is there are three things here that have gone on over some period of time to motivate this group to decide to pack their bags. either the three things, number one is the ideological gulf between them and where they sit within the labour party and movement, broadly

ce ntre—left, party and movement, broadly centre—left, points to is brexit, they are of the view that brexit is going to be a disaster and they want to see another referendum and feel thatjeremy corbyn has reneged on the promise of the timeline set out in september about pushing for another referendum or a general election and they don't feeljeremy corbyn has been as complicit in that as he should be and the third, most passionately articulated by luciana berger who isjewish, passionately articulated by luciana berger who is jewish, the passionately articulated by luciana berger who isjewish, the feeling from those on the stage thatjeremy corbyn has done nowhere near enough to root out the problem of anti—semitism, so that word racist has been thrown around but when you add up the critique that we heard from the platform this morning, a lot of it is the sort of thing you would hear expressed by conservative

mps. that would pain those on the stage to accept that, but it's a simple fact, they feel they have drifted away from the party, that they were a member of. the party has drifted away from them and, as they articulated, it is their view that neither of the big political parties are fit to govern. a key thing now, let's see if any others are willing to move. we've already seen state m e nts to move. we've already seen statements flirting with the idea and the last half hour that the views expressed on this stage align with their own, but at the same time you have others in the party, some of him might share some of the concerns expressed this morning who ultimately think that the simple electoral logic of this kind of move is to make a conservative government more likely at a general election and that is a big factor in perhaps tempting some of those who might have plenty of discontent washing around in their minds ultimately stay where they are. chris, we'll

let you find out some answers as to whether people are flirting with the idea of shifting. let's speak now to the labour mp, jo stevens. she's in our cardiff studio. a difficult moment for your party. are you one of those who might be flirting with the idea of leaving? absolutely not end on a morning when we in wales and across the uk labour party are mourning the death of our colleague paul flynn, mp for newport west yesterday, i feel very sad but i also feel that to make this announcement this morning the way that my colleagues did is a bit disrespectful. taking aside the timing about paul flynn, but taking the content of what they said, as i said to chris a moment ago, these are very, very damning indictments, words like betrayal, irresponsible,

racism, are some of those accusations fair? i think the language was very strong. i think those of us in the parliamentary labour party will feel very sad. i personally feel very sad and very disappointed at this morning's news. i value the support and friendship and camaraderie of many of the collea g u es and camaraderie of many of the colleagues who have left but they have made personal decisions based on their personal views. i don't agree with them. i think in order to change our party and make it better, we do have some problems. we have a problem with dealing with anti—semitism in our party. i believe we need to do that together, collectively, and i feel very believe we need to do that together, collectively, and ifeel very sad this morning at seven colleagues have decided that they can't continue within the labour party. you see disappointed but are you disappointed that your leader has failed to glue these people into the

party from my perspective, there are many in that group this morning who have since 2015 been unhappy and been vocal about their unhappiness. they will have reached their own decisions for their own reasons as to why they have done what they have done today. the rest of us are trying to make labour an electoral force for good. we want a labour government. we all stood on a labour ma nifesto government. we all stood on a labour manifesto as labour candidates in 2017, we were elected as labour candidates, and i think my collea g u es candidates, and i think my colleagues who have left today should do the decent thing and put themselves forward to their constituents again for election in a by—election to see whether or not they are re—elected as independents because they were elected as labour mps. what do you think your leader should do to make sure that others don't follow their example out of the door? i think that we need to be

much stronger on anti—semitism within the party. we need to get rid of anti—semites from the labour party. we are reflecting what is happening across the world in terms of more right—wing and nasty politics and populism and so we have to practice what we preach and i would askjeremy to practice what we preach and i would ask jeremy personally to practice what we preach and i would askjeremy personally to make a speech on this about what he is doing so that people can't accuse him anymore of being silent. he needs to come out and say, "i absolutely will tolerate anti—semitism in the party" and to make sure that the party deals with outstanding cases as quickly as possible and i think if that happened, many of us would be much more happy about what was going to happen in the future in those cases and it might actually make anti—semites in the party realise that they have no place in the labour party because they do not share our values. thank you for joining us. joining me now is the former labour party adviser, ayesha hazarika.

do you agree with what you heard from joe stevens, that the code of the problem here is the anti—semitism issue? the problem here is the anti—semitism issue ?|j the problem here is the anti-semitism issue? i think a lot of it is anti—semitism but i think a lot of labour mps and activists such as myself were distraught today and we had a stroke with everybody, the people who have left because it gives the tory party a lifeline at a time when the tory party is in crisis, and we are dismayed with the leadership because if you tell people to go away enough, they will one day, so it's a plague on everyone's house is at the moment. i think there is a lot of policies thatjeremy corbyn has put forward thatjeremy corbyn has put forward that a lot of activists and mps like. the last manifesto resonated on the doorstep. there are lots of domestic policy stuff that is popular with people from renationalising trains to be a more anti—austerity, all of that, but the labour party is notjust an added platform for policies, it's about

what kind of culture we are and we have always prided ourselves on being there to fight discrimination in all its forms, to fight racism in all its forms, and i think the left has got a blind spot about anti—semitism, i think there is a large number of people in the labour party right now who seem to think anti—semitism is not the same as racism, that it's somehow a separate thing that isn't quite as bad, and jo is right about the bullying and intimidation and lack of political tolerance which has reached fever pitch. i'm good friends with luciana berger and some of the messages she gets from labour party people who wa nt gets from labour party people who wantjeremy gets from labour party people who want jeremy corbyn as gets from labour party people who wantjeremy corbyn as prime minister, the most horrific anti—semitism, the most horrendous violence, wishing ill thoughts on her unborn child, that is not the labour party i joined. her unborn child, that is not the labour party ijoined. but her unborn child, that is not the labour party i joined. but the thing is that people like you have been warning of this for months now and the voices of the sieve leaving

saying, these people can't be part of the change because they are part of the change because they are part of the change because they are part of the problem, talking about the party leadership, are you confident this is going to be the wake—up call that changes things? i'd like to be. i'm a blind optimist but i hope the labour party wake up to this. i'm sceptical they will. they could show leadership right now by being kind and the response, being humane in their response, by understanding the real complexities that everyone is dealing with. if they carry on bullying people, mocking people, saying, "get out of our party, we don't want you anymore," they will be sorry because labour cannot win a majority of the public sees the labour party as the nasty party. the response from the leadership ban has been fairly bullish this morning. do you think there will be more mps out the door? possibly, yes, i think a lot of mps will be biding their time and watching what happens with this

group and also watching to see how the leadership and the officials in the leadership and the officials in the party respond, particularly on anti—semitism and particularly on brexit as well because don't forget, the brexit issue is tearing apart the brexit issue is tearing apart the conservative party and is also starting to tear apart the labour party. there is a big final push for a people's vote, that's what a lot of labour party activists and members want. leadership is resisting that so this could actually be the beginning of stuff which is actually worse to come for the labour party but i want to be clear, i'm very, very upset about this and all this does is basically provide a gift to the conservative party. thanks so much forjoining us. we can bring you some developments on this. former labour leader ed miliband has tweeted on this. he says... that is the view of former labour

leader ed miliband. we can cross to our westminster studio and speak to the labour mp neil coyle. your response to this announcement the seven are leaving you. your response to this announcement the seven are leaving youlj your response to this announcement the seven are leaving you. i find it desperately sad. i'm massively upset by the fact we are nine years into the most divisive government that has damaged the community i represent in the conservative party should be tearing itself apart, it's no longer doing a job in law and order and representing business, they should be falling apart and sadly because of internal problems that haven't been gotten on top of by those at the top of the labour party, instead we are seeing labour members of parliament and individual members of our party made to feel far too often that their values are no longer reflected by the party and in some cases their very being. luciano's case, a lot of the attacks her have come about due to a matter

of faith. that should not be happening in the labour party and should be better tackled and we have had warning in time to do this full stop when frank field left, some of us stop when frank field left, some of us stepped up the already existing effo rts us stepped up the already existing efforts to try and secure action to tackle the bullying and intimidation that goes on in some local parties. it is unacceptable in any political party but especially the labour party where our values and ideals are higher than those of other parties. white you sound very frustrated. are you thinking of leaving? no, but have already had a lot of online commentary saying i should be leaving and they are the problem. they are putting off people who would normally support the labour party. they are preventing good policies on housing, universal credit, education, they are part of the problem and they need reining in massively in the test for labour todayis massively in the test for labour today is whether that is done or

whether they are allowed to continue riding over our party's values in the wider test is around what will happen now for members because if theissue happen now for members because if the issue of europe continues to be ignored, if members' position continues to lack reflection in the state m e nts continues to lack reflection in the statements coming in the house of commons in particular, then we will have a bigger problem going forward. you said somebody is the problem. see clearly again, who did you say was causing the problem? my term is the swaggering brochure they lead the attacks, they pretend to labour party that existed in government didn't deliver for communities like mine even though we had better policing.|j communities like mine even though we had better policing. i want to interrupt you for a moment, you're basically saying that the leadership is failing to get to grips with some

people inside the party who are bullying other people? think that is self—evident and today is desperately sad because the outcome has been a harm as a result of those activities on labour's electoral prospects and the chance of representing my community and government. so in a word, while you are not following the seven, you can understand their decision? of course. there are many, many members of the party and parliament who share concerns and seek greater action and i will continue to do that from within the labour party. let's hear from chris leslie now — one of the seven mps — setting out why he was unable to remain in the labour party. holding back from offering the

public final say, public confidence has been cast aside, no guaranteed participation in the single market, no exact same benefits, no movement towards a people's vote. choosing to stand by while our constituents' lives and opportunities are hurt by brexit is a fundamental violation of labour's traditional values. labour front bench mpjon ashworth tweeted: the leader of the liberal democrats, vince cable, said on twitter: he also said his party would be willing to work

with the independent group. 0ur political editor, laura kuenssberg asked the seven mp' s if they were letting their fellow mps down by leaving the labour party. many of your colleagues in the labour party are going to feel that you have let them down, some of them may even feel that 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? secondly, do you accept that by leaving, because of the way our political system works, that makes a tory government more likely at the next election? i made this decision and it's a very difficult decision after a very great effort. i did

stay and i did fight and after a very great effort. i did stay and i did fightand i after a very great effort. i did stay and i did fight and i have been fighting battles on twitter and elsewhere and you see the reaction i have 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 and the regional organising staff they are now appointing. this is not the labour party that i fought to save when neil kinnock was leader. it isn't labour party that i fought against trots kyists labour party that i fought against trotskyists in student politics, this is labour party that has changed beyond recognition and it's not just the changed beyond recognition and it's notjust the politics, it is whether you can feel a moral integrity to go along with things that you no longer justify or accept and i have come to my own breaking point. i cannot do that any longer.

mike gapes, one of the seven. now time for a look at the weather. we started on a cloudy and mild note but there is some sunshine breaking through. equally there are sharp showers. a mild, breezy day with that mix of sunshine and showers, not too much sunshine and showers, here we are seeing the weather front bringing outbreaks of rain but away from the southeast, sunny spells, scattered showers, heavy across the west of scotland, northern ireland and northwest england where there will some hail and thunder. still reasonably mild, above what we would expect for the time of year. the showers are going to be easing a way through this evening and overnight so the skies are clear and it will bea so the skies are clear and it will be a colder night than we have seen recently, two or three celsius in the towns and cities, a touch of frost in the countryside. a chilly start tomorrow but looking like a decent day for most of us, sunshine

through the east but it moves —— migraine moves into the west, temperatures around 11 or 12 celsius at best. hello this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines: seven labour mps announced their resignations from the party in protest atjeremy corbyn's leadership. it's time we dumped this country's old —fashioned 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. the seven mps who are calling themselves "the independent group" say labour has become institutionally anti—semitic after being hijacked by the far left. i am leaving behind a culture of bullying, bigotry and intimidation. i look forward to a future serving with colleagues who respect each

other. in a statement, labour leaderjeremy corbyn said he was disappointed that the mps felt unable to continue to work together for policies that inspired millions at the last election. we can speak to our political correspondent chris mason who was at the press conference. good morning from the room where it all happened about half an hour ago. just over the road from parliament. let's talk to one of those now former labour mps who is part of this new independent group, angela smith, the mp for penistone and stockbridge in south yorkshire. former labour mp — how does that sound? really strange. i'm sorry to be in this place. i never thought

the day would come when i would resign my labour membership and the labour whip. having said that, i feel morally and politically that i am in the right place. we've lost the labour party. you know, the labour leadership hasn't only got hold of the... they've changed the locks, they've got the keys, they got the party machine. we are never going to get the labour party back to where it used to be, so i feel quite good today. i was struck watching each of you as you were speaking, that the others around the stage who were listening, and the facial expression for all of you was the same, one of sadness. of course. nobody wants to see a major political party hijacked by extremists, which is what has happened to us. auto them now. but we have to do what we have to do. we have to move on. it is a massive challenge that we face. i've got faith in the british people and i

believe they are looking for an alternative, that they do feel politically homeless, large numbers of them. i am confident we will get a lot of support out there. what do you say to jeremy corbyn, a lot of support out there. what do you say tojeremy corbyn, making the point that labour got more than 40% of the vote at the last election, ed miliband, the former leader who has expressed regret, fellow south yorkshire mp jonathan ashworth, expressed regret, fellow south yorkshire mpjonathan ashworth, who sits at the labour top table, saying a group of independents make it easierfor the a group of independents make it easier for the conservative party to wina easier for the conservative party to win a general election. what do you say to that central challenge that this makes it easierfor the conservatives? it is to misread the situation. politics is now very broken. that's the reality of where we are now. it's a different landscape to where we were 30 or a0 yea rs landscape to where we were 30 or a0 years ago. the british people are losing faith in the major political parties, all of them. i don't think they want a tory government any more than a labour government. they have

no trust in the lib dems either, so it is incumbent on us to face up to the challenge of building a politics that people can believe in and to build a sensible middle ground alternative to all the political parties. that's what people want, and it's what we want to deliver. there are lots of unanswered questions about where you guys will go in the future, because this is day one, but do you believe this group needs to become a new political party? let's see what happens. i hope so. that's what i would like to see. we have to see what the british people say to us first of all. that is our firstjob, to go out there, talk to the british people and get them to engage with us so people and get them to engage with us so that we can build a new movement from which perhaps a new party ca n movement from which perhaps a new party can be fun. but we have to do it that way round. thank you for talking to us. angela smith, the now former labour mp. 0ne talking to us. angela smith, the now former labour mp. one final reflection — in months and months of people like me standing in front of cameras like this and talking to people like you about brexit, where we haven't had that much to say i'm

very little has been changing, wow, a huge moment this morning, and one that could have very significant consequences. chris, thank you. we will come back to the huge moment shortly, but first of all, the sport. one of the world's most successful track athletes, caster semenya, has arrived at court in switzerland to challenge controversial plans to limit testosterone levels in female athletes. the sport's governing body wants athletes with a higher—than—normal level of male hormones to take medication before they compete, to ensure races are fair. our sports news correspondent, richard conway is in lausanne. this is a five—day hearing, and we saw caster semenya arrive this morning with her legal team, ready to challenge the judgment that athletes with naturally a curling ——

naturally occurring high levels of testosterone must take medication for months before taking part in elite events. she says the rules are discriminatory against her because she was born with hyper androgynous, a condition whereby... it is characterised by excessive levels of male hormones. 0n the other side, the iaaf say they must take action against this. i spoke to lord coe, the president of the athletics world governing body and this is what he had to say. this is a very important day. the core value for their iaaf is the empowerment of girls and women through athletics. the regulations that we are introducing our there to project that it might protect the sanctity of fair and open competition, and that is really what we are here to defend. both sides have made their position is quite clear now, but it is for this

3—person panel at the court of arbitration for sport to determine where they stand. the science behind this will be critical. it has been challenged by experts. the iaaf backs theirjudgment challenged by experts. the iaaf backs their judgment and challenged by experts. the iaaf backs theirjudgment and their research into this area, but a five—day hearing will conclude on friday night and it will then be by the end of march that we get what could be a very pivotal decision for both second pack —— make for bad second pack and the sport she com petes second pack and the sport she competes in. there is so much to play for tonight in the 5th round of the fa cup. chelsea host manchester united at stamford bridge — with both bosses knowing that a bit of silverware could make all the difference to theirjob prospects. maurizio sarri is under pressure at chelsea with his side losing four of their last nine matches in all competitions. 0le gunnar solskjaer may have lost his first match as caretaker manager of manchester united last week, but his stock remains high at old trafford and a good league and cup run could help him secure the role permanently. alexis sanchez scored twice for united in the last round,

to bring his tally to just five since joining from arsenal last year, and solskjaer thinks his form is improving. and that is all the sport for now. let's return to the seven mps who have resigned from the labour party in protest at jeremy corbyn's approach to brexit and anti—semitism. this is a flavour of why they say they were forced to act on day when divisions within labour could no longer be contained. it is time we dumped this country's old —fashioned 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. the labour party is now a racist, anti—semitic party. i'm furious that the labour leadership is complicit in facilitating brexit, which will cause great economic, social and political damage to our country. the values which i hold really d0,

and which led me tojoin ——the values which i hold really dear, and which led me tojoin the labour party as a student almost 20 years ago, remain who i am. and yet, these values have been consistently and constantly violated, undermined and attacked as the labour party today refuses to put my constituents and our country before party interest. the evidence of labour's betrayal on europe is now visible for all to see. offering to actually enable this government's brexit, constantly holding back from allowing the public a final say, conference policy has been cast aside, no guaranteed full participation in the single market any more, no exact same benefits, no movement towards a people's vote. choosing to stand by while our constituents' lives and future opportunities are hurt by brexit is a fundamental violation

of labour's traditional values. let's speak now to the labour mp and prominent brexiteer graham stringer. he's in our westminster studio. a racist, anti—semitic culture of bullying, failure on europe, you've heard it all — are you walking out the door? absolutely not. i'm sorry about those labour mps who are now no longer labour mps, but they are making a mistake. their arguments are making a mistake. their arguments a re pretty making a mistake. their arguments are pretty shallow. the first argument that was put was about changing politics by chuka. he gave a commitment to implement the 2016 referendum and repeated that until recently. 0ne referendum and repeated that until recently. one of the fundamentals of

politics is keeping your promises and telling the truth. the second argument, made by chris leslie, is that we are not keeping our promises on the referendum. 0f that we are not keeping our promises on the referendum. of course we are. the labour manifesto was clear. it was a brexit manifesto that said we would leave the european union, leave the single market, and we would look for independent trade deals. there is a rewriting of history. just lets stop on the europe issue for a moment, because i think what they are both referring to, probably, is the party decision which was made at conference, which was to leave the option of a second referendum on the table if labour party policy for a second election could not be achieved. now, that is what they are referring to as a betrayal, the fact that that has not been pushed. i am personally against a second referendum. i think it's outrageous to suggest there should be one when the first one hasn't been implemented. but it is still on the table. they didn't have the

confidence in their own views to put that down in front of the house of commons last thursday. then they could have tested opinion on that to see how much support there was. as i understand it, it is still on the table, although i am opposed to it. what they are clearly about is setting up a new political party, which they are entitled to, but they should do it in a truthful and honest way and stand for re—election. honest way and stand for re-election. going back to their criticism, a racist, anti—semitic party with a culture of bullying. absurd. there has clearly been some cases of anti—semitism within the labour party, and the labour party hasn't been as quick and effective as it should have been in dealing with that, but that doesn't mean that all 500,000 members of the labour party and the affiliated organisations, the trade unions, a racist. it is up to those of us in the labour party, and it would have

been better if those people had stayed, to try and deal with that issue. and where we haven't been as good as we should have been, to make ourselves better. the labour party is the main vehicle for social progress in this country. and i am very sad that those people are leaving. they are obviously sad as well. do you think it is an indictment of your leadership that it's let this fracturing happen and it's let this fracturing happen and it hasn't moved fast enough on the anti—semitic issue to restore confidence? it is a question for the people leaving. they have not state to argue their case. i am often in a minority within the labour party, andi minority within the labour party, and i think in a democratic party you have to stay and argue. it has been clear for you have to stay and argue. it has been clearfor some time, particularly from chuka but maybe other people who aren't part of that seven, that their agenda is not to change labour party policy, not to argue within the rules of the party,

but to set up a new party and to leave. i think if people want to do that, we live in a free country, and they are entitled to do it. but they should do it in an open and honest way. i think they've been dishonest about it, trying to damage the party before they leave. so, how much damage has the labour party sustained, do you think, as a result of these seven departures this morning? it is impossible to measure within an hour or so of the decision being announced publicly, but splits a lwa ys being announced publicly, but splits always damage political parties, so i've no doubt that it is not a good thing. it will have damaged us, but we have to work hard to make sure that the policies we were elected on, which will implement brexit and a whole programme of socially progressive policies, that we do our best to implement those decisions. you obviously have no intention of following them to the exit, but do

you feel that others do? you would have to be living in antarctica not to have heard the rumours. i am about the house of commons and talk to most of the labour mps, and i feel that some of the labour mps may leave. i hope they don't.|j feel that some of the labour mps may leave. i hope they don't. i mean, it's interesting to me, and somewhat puzzling, to think that this is the fault of those individuals for splitting rather than a failure of the leadership. it is their decision. they are responsible for that. and there will be some, i hope it isa that. and there will be some, i hope it is a small amount of damage to the labour party. we have been here before. we were here in the early 80s, and those people who left to join the sdp damaged the labour party and kept margaret thatcher and john major in office for 18 years. i think it is their responsibility. 0bviously, any leader of a party has

a responsibility to listen to all sections of the party, but in order to do that, people have to remain in the party and fight for their own particular views. graham stringer, thanks very much forjoining us. we can speak to our political correspondent chris mason who was at the news conference. i know you have had time to absorb reactions from across the political spectrum — what is your take? reactions from across the political spectrum - what is your take? yeah, where are we? half an hour or so on from this announcement. as your conversations have proved in the last 15 or 20 minutes, we are seeing mps lining up to offer their reactions to this. it is a huge moment in westminster and for the mps in question, and for the labour party. less of the waffle from me, let's talk to one of the now former mps, mike gapes. you have walked away from a party of which you have

been a member for... away from a party of which you have been a memberfor... 50 years. it will take some doing because it is a lea p will take some doing because it is a leap into the unknown. it is a very hard, difficult decision. i have lots of friends locally and nationally, and some internationally, through the labour party, and i never thought i would be in this situation. ultimately, you have to be true to yourself and your values, and when the labour party which ijoined and i was a memberof party which ijoined and i was a member of from harold wilson right the way through michael foot, neil kinnock, right the way through to tony blair and gordon brown and beyond, has been captured by the far left at all levels. then it's quite clear to me that the labour party is not the labour party, the traditional broad labour party, that ijoined in the 19605, and that i wa5 ijoined in the 19605, and that i was active in. i was a party official for 15 years. i was also

the leader of the labour party student organisation. the labour party runs through me to my core, and yet, i have to be true to myself and yet, i have to be true to myself and my values. and that's why i've made this decision today. given you we re made this decision today. given you were elected as a labour mp, shouldn't you trigger a by—election and stand as an independent?” shouldn't you trigger a by—election and stand as an independent? i was elected to serve my constituents. i made very clear in my election address that i would be a strong pro—european voice, would fight to say —— pro—european voice, would fight to say — — stay pro—european voice, would fight to say —— stay in the single market and customs union. you were a labour candidate. i was, but interestingly, election address was written and published before, and i stood on my re cord published before, and i stood on my record and won back the seat from the conservatives in 92 by 400 votes. shouldn't you just trigger a by—election and stand on your new platform? the british people at this time want voices in parliament to speak for a different kind of politics, and i will do that with my colleagues, and i will not be

resigning and forcing an unnecessary by—election. i will be fighting, as i have done, to represent my constituents, and my office in the constituency in the house of commons will deal with the housing problems, immigration problems, people coming to us about benefits, health and other issues all the time, but at the end of the day, members of parliament are not delegates or political parties. we are elected with our names on the ballot paper, not on a party list, to represent our communities. and i have done that for 27 years, and i'm prepared to engage and discuss with all my constituents on whatever issues. and if people are happy or unhappy, i will talk to them about this, but i will talk to them about this, but i will not be resigning to force a by—election. will not be resigning to force a by-election. what was clear listening to you and your colleagues is how big a moment this is for you, and how it's not an easy decision. it would have been easier to keep your mouth shut and stay in the labour party, but take on the

criticism that you will have no doubt weighed up before you did this and which is being articulated publicly by your former colleagues this morning, that the decision you have taken, whether it is right or wrong, makes it easierfor the conservative party to win a general election. i think all parties are broken. and there are big divisions in the conservative party too. i think it is possible there will be conservatives who will be breaking from the conservative party. i don't believe that the current model of british politics, especially in this brexit debate, actually reflects the real choices in the country. have you spoken to conservatives who are toying withjoining your you spoken to conservatives who are toying with joining your group?” know people in many parties who are very unhappy with their party at the moment. is that a yes or a no? i don't have any personal promise or anything from anyone else. but i know that there are many members of parliament in all parties who are extremely unhappy with their

inadequate, failed leaderships, and we need a new start in british politics. what we have done today might lead to that. it might not. it depends very much on the public and how they feel about this. ultimately, i have to be true to myself, and i could no longer justify remaining in the labour party, where i would have to go on the doorstep and answer the question, do you wantjeremy the doorstep and answer the question, do you want jeremy corbyn to be prime minister? i regard jeremy corbyn as a disaster as a political party leader, and i think he'sa political party leader, and i think he's a threat to our national security and international alliances. i had so many disagreements with him that i could not do that, so there is only one decision that follows from that. i cannot anymore be a labour candidate, so i have resigned from the party today. you might thank you for talking to us, we appreciate it. mike gapes, the now former labour party mp. more on this coming up throughout the day. time for the business news.

any risk posed by involving the chinese technology giant huawei in uk telecoms projects can be managed — that's according to cyber—security bosses. reports say it can be used in britain's 5g mobile phone network, despite allegations that it's used by china for spying. retailers have been accused of trying to water down proposals to boost bottle recycling. environmentalists say both large and small drinks containers should be forced to carry a returnable deposit of more than 15p — if the bottle is returned for recycling. but retailers say small "on—the—go" bottles cause the most litter, and large bottles are mostly recycled at home, so should not need the deposit. the government has urged families to check if they qualify for tax—free childcare after figures show that only a fifth of eligible families had signed up. the bbc found that the government had budgeted for a15,000 families

to take part in the scheme — which replaced the old childcare vouchers — but only 91,000 have done so. good morning to you. elsewhere, the prices being asked for houses are going up at their weakest rate for a decade. data from the property website rightmove shows that prices for newly advertised properties in february werejust a fifth of 1% higher that the same month last year. miles shipside is from rightmove. nice to see you. it is interesting, this, because there are a number of reasons for it, one of them brexit, people sitting on their hands and trying to work out what happens next. this is real evidence of what it does to us — it changes our behaviour and we don't want to buy houses. sellers are only 0.2% more houses. sellers are only 0.296 more confident in setting higher asking

prices compared to a year ago. the monthly rise of 0.7% is pretty much in line with the previous two february figures in the previous two yea rs, february figures in the previous two years, and the slowdown is about affordability getting through to buyers‘ lack of willingness to pay more and lack of seller pricing power. and there are so many reasons why pios might not and sellers might not be prepared to move. —— twice the numbers of buyers are down a96 the numbers of buyers are down a% on january a the numbers of buyers are down a% onjanuary a year ago, so the market is still operating at 96% of the capacity it was a year ago. what we are seeing now is average wage inflation outstripping new seller asking prices at the fastest rate since 2011, so that if people are

confident to go ahead, hopefully their average wages mean they can actually afford to pay the price that sellers are asking, or they will probably get a better property for their money. how do we solve the issue of affordability? it strikes me that we need to build more, but there is still reluctance. prices won‘t come down if we don‘t build as many houses as we need. exactly, and it is building the right properties in the right place. a lot more building starts happening compared to the rough time of 2009—10, but still below the projected levels that are required, so more supply, obviously, will take some heat out of pricing power and will mean that more people, particularly if wages are rising at 3.a% a year compared to 0.2% compared to a new seller

asking prices, that will help affordability as well as the supply of new houses. thanks for talking to us. in other stories we‘ve been following, natwest bank has paid compensation to a loan applicant after an employee told her "all vegans should be punched in the face". the bristol woman — who did not want to be named — applied for the loan to pay for a £a00 nutrition course. natwest said the customer‘s experience was "wholly inappropriate". it‘s offered to pay for her course and give her £200 in compensation. more pay rises could be on the way after new figures showed private employers are planning average increases of 2.5% for staff this year. the chartered institute of personnel and development reports that more employers are having problems filling vacancies and so need to offer higher salaries to attract top talent. the sportwear retailerjd has bought a minority stake in its rival, footasylum. jd has taken 8.3% of footasylum‘s shares for what it described as "investment purposes". jd says it‘s prepared to buy up

to 29.9% of the footwear retailer but it does not intend to make a takeover offer. big companies who pay their suppliers on acceptably like should be banned from bidding for public contracts. the federation of small businesses once firms to prove in advance that they are responsible players and they have called on the scottish government to withhold any contracts until they address the lamentable payment culture, as they call it. that‘s all the business news. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas the day started with cloud and outbreaks of drizzly rain, but there is sunshine moving on from the north and west over much of the country. this is the picture in newquay in

cornwall at the moment, the club clearing away and leaving blue skies. in the afternoon, sunny spells for many of us, but also blustery showers interrupting those blue skies. here is the satellite image over the past few hours. you can see this line of cloud across central, southern and eastern parts of england, then speckled cloud moving on from the north—west, so thatis moving on from the north—west, so that is where we have heavy showers, particularly in the west of scotland, northern ireland and north—west england, where there will be some hail and mixed in. more sunshine across eastern scotland and eastern england, but down towards the south—east, we will keep that cloud, with patchy outbreaks of light rain. temperatures will be above average, 9—12dc does not not quite as warm as it was in the past couple of days. in the evening, showers fade away, the sky clears overnight, so it will be colder than we have seen recently. temperatures in towns and cities down to around 203 celsius, a touch of frost in the

countryside first thing. tuesday sta rts countryside first thing. tuesday starts quietly, but if we look at the pressure set up, another area of low pressure is moving on from the atlantic, and that will be more of a player on tuesday afternoon. we start with sunshine across much of britain. we have more cloud pushing on across northern ireland, with outbreaks of rain later in the day. patchy rain pushing into western scotland, into wales as well, later in the afternoon. the east remains dry and bright, and temperatures will be similar to today. in the south, drier and brighter, with a return to sunny spells, and temperatures starting to creep up. we are looking at 12, 13 celsius at best during the day on wednesday. then it settles down during the second half of the week, because we have the jet stream, which is far north. this is it during the day on thursday, pushing to the north of the uk, meaning a big area of high pressure keeps things largely dry and settled for the uk, and for much of western europe as well. then the

temperatures will pick up towards the end of the week, so sunny spells around too, and we are likely to see temperatures up to around 16 celsius in the south, highs even of 18 celsius. you re watching bbc newsroom live. this is today‘s breaking story: seven labour mps announce their resignations from the party in protest atjeremy corbyn‘s leadership and his handling of brexit. it is time we dumped this country‘s old—fashioned politics and created an alternative that does justice to who we are today and gives this country politics fit for the here 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 after being hijacked by the far left. i am leaving behind a culture of bullying, bigotry and intimidation. i look forward to a future serving with colleagues who respect each other.

the labour leader, jeremy corbyn responds by saying he‘s disappointed that the mp5 felt unable to continue working together for policies that inspired millions at the last election. it's it‘s a huge day for them and a huge day for the labour party. and in other news: shamima begum — the london teenager who ran away to join is four years ago — tells the bbc that despite being only 15 when she fled the uk, she knew what she was doing and was capable of making her own decisions. and mps investigating "fake news" on social media call for stricter regulation and tougher action against facebook to end the spread of disinformation. good morning.

welcome to bbc newsroom live. seven mps have resigned from the labour party in protest they say there is a culture in the party of bullying, intimidation, anti—semitism and racism. let‘s hear from one of those who left, luciana berger. the values which i hold really dear and which led me tojoin the labour party as a student almost 20 years ago, remain who i am, and yet these values have been consistently a nd co nsta ntly 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 that i have today come to the sickening conclusion

is institutionally anti—semitic. chuka umunna called for support from people in other parties. so we have taken this first step in leaving 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, and yes, it‘s a difficult decision, make no mistake about that, but think about it — you don‘tjoin a political party to spend years and years fighting the people within it, you get involved in politics, you join the party to change the world, so we invite you to leave your parties and help us forge a new consensus on our way forward for britain. in a statement, labour leaderjeremy

corbyn said: and labour‘s grassroots organisation momentum also released a statement: joining me now from brighton is sam tarry from the transport salaried staffs‘ association, who is also a former campaign director forjeremy corbyn. your response this morning? i'm going to be honest, it‘s sad. it‘s sad for the millions of people who voted labour in this country and the hundreds of thousands of people that

would rely on labour getting into power. let‘s be really clear about what these people are intending to do. they cannotjust turn around and say that they are so fed up with labour that they do not get their voice heard, we the democratic party. many years ago i was campaigning against the iraq war outside of mike gapes‘s office, i didn‘t suddenly leave, i stood i fought for a different kind of labour party. the problem we‘ve got is that our electoral system, all that these are seven mps will do is condemn the next two or three elections to making it far harder for labour and the transformative government that could lift millions out of poverty, rebalance our economy, makes that far harder, so i see this is incredibly selfish, i‘m afraid. i think it is a move that is about them and i see the track record of some of these people that have decided to splinter away from the labour party, it‘s atrocious. people like angela smith, someone

who is in the pockets of big business, privatised water companies, you just think, really? these people aren‘t about a new politics, they really are exemplifying exactly the old politics thatjeremy corbyn‘s labour party is moving beyond. have you not just demonstrated what they are talking about? i kind of language of factionalism, our language of intimidation? they are claiming the party is anti—semitic. —— a language of intimidation. and despite efforts to change that, they say it is not succeeding. i think there is a real problem with anti—semitism and one that the party is moving to sort out and one that many of us, including myself, have spoken out strongly about. more needs to be done, i‘m not going to say that it doesn‘t. a lot more needs to be done. so when

you blame the seven, one of those sevenis you blame the seven, one of those seven is an mp who has faced sustained attack also from within the party, and she has been appealing to her leadership to solve that for a long period of time. yeah, and i‘m sad that luciano has gone and i wish her all the best with a new impending baby —— luciana berger. but with a new impending baby —— luciana but i wish these mps had not left the labour party. jeremy corbyn didn‘t leave the labour party when we we re didn‘t leave the labour party when we were privatising vast swathes of the economy, jeremy corbyn didn‘t leave when we went to war in iraq, he stood and fought for what he believed in and i think that‘s the right thing to do. in this country the labour party has always been a wide coalition and it still is a wide coalition and it still is a wide coalition and it still is a wide coalition so it makes me incredibly sad that mps have decided

to walk away from the party that has put them into power, put them into parliament and to walk away from the millions of people that desperately need a labour government, that‘s incredibly sad and i‘m afraid it‘s incredibly sad and i‘m afraid it‘s incredibly selfish as well. to push further on what you were saying that they need to fight from within, they would argue, i suppose, that there was a conference decision, that a second referendum was left as one of the options on the table from that unanimous conference decision by labour and that their leadership is not pursuing it. i think that is why they are talking the language of betrayal on the brexit issue.” they are talking the language of betrayal on the brexit issue. ijust simply don‘t think that is true. the union i work for is one of the most vociferous advocates of stopping brexit, opposition is incredibly clear on that. we are not saying we need to leave the labour party, we are saying that we need to push harder to actually deliver that

policy. arithmetic in parliament to give a second referendum has clearly not been there. that means we have to work through the sequencing of the motion that was agreed and all of us have signed up to if we wanted brexit or didn‘t want brexit in the labour party. that process still hasn‘t finished so this to me seems a little bit like throwing toys out of the pram just when we are getting to the crunch moment. 0ver of the pram just when we are getting to the crunch moment. over the next few weeks, our country‘s future will be decided by both labour and conservative mps in terms of what amendments they put through parliament and the final decision they arrive at over brexit and to relieve such a crucial moment, a moment of national crisis in which we asa moment of national crisis in which we as a labour party are trying to find the best way forward that brings people to get their unity is an utter dereliction of duty. very briefly, we have spoken about what should and shouldn‘t happen, what will happen next in your view? speaking pragmatically about a prediction, do you think others will

follow? there is no way that any of these mps can win an election. i would like to see them if they had the guts to call by—elections and stand for these values that they a p pa re ntly stand for these values that they apparently now believing, but i think what is much more likely is that they will hang on until the next election and just try and stand themselves and other candidates in as many marginal seats as possible, as many marginal seats as possible, asi as many marginal seats as possible, as i understand it, over a ten year strategy to damage the labour party. this is really a spoiler operation, it‘s a this is really a spoiler operation, it‘sa campaign this is really a spoiler operation, it‘s a campaign to destroy labour‘s chances at a general election and thatis chances at a general election and that is incredibly dangerous. i think there may be one or two others that decide to do it. i think it‘s pa rt that decide to do it. i think it‘s part ofan that decide to do it. i think it‘s part of an orchestrated plan. you saw some of the pr companies, the spin doctors and the spin merchants that were there today, there is no doubt that those people will be busy right now planning on the next mp that might resign. the strategy is a drip to try and discredit labour and

i don‘t believe that any of them... sorry, we‘re going to have to leave it there. i‘m going to take up that "i didn't it there. i‘m going to take up that "i didn‘t see any spin doctors this morning, but i wasn‘t in the room. thank you forjoining us. labour front bench mpjon ashworth tweeted: former labour leader ed miliband said on twitter... that is some of the response coming

let‘s speak now to the guardian columnist, dawn foster. she joins me via webcam from south london. are you surprised by all of this? not at the moment, to be honest. it has been a long time coming. there have been a lot of talks about this over and over again. we have had lots of discussions about people saying that they want to start a new separatist party and they believe there is a genuine route for it. i think what will happen next is the number will be very, very low. i would be surprised, given the reaction this morning to the slightly chaotic lunch whether any further labour mps will actually jump further labour mps will actually jump ship and i think at this point, a lot of labour mps will be realising their majority has grown since 2017 and will actually not really be wanting to go much further in terms of that. in terms of the

language used by those who broke away this morning, where you surprised by the vehemence of the way they spoke about betrayal, being second, the racism and anti—semitism of the party? i think that was going to always be the tone that was used, i think what i‘ve seen in the background has been a slightly different discussion. just to interrupt you for a moment, we have to leave viewers from bbc two. much more on the news channel in the next few minutes. staying with the news channel and going back to... 0h, she‘s gone. sorry about that. we will come back to analysis in a moment. meanwhile, let‘s look at the headlines. seven labour mps announce

their resignations from the party in protest atjeremy corbyn‘s leadership and his of brexit and anti—semitism. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn says he‘s disappointed the mp5 couldnt work together for policies that inspired millions at the last election.. shamima begum, the london teenager who ran away to join isis four years ago, tells the bbc she knew what she was doing. sport now. 0ne one of the world‘s most successful track athletes has arrived in switzerland against controversial plans to limit testosterone in female athletes. they want them to take medication before they compete so that races are fair. this is a five-day

hearing. we saw her arrive with her legal team. she is challenging eligibility rules which say that athletes with naturally occurring high levels of testosterone must ta ke high levels of testosterone must take medication for six months prior to competing in events. she says such rules are discriminatory against her because she was born with hyperandrogenism. 0n the other side, the organisation say they must ta ke side, the organisation say they must take action against this. much to play for tonight in the fifth round of the fa cup. chelsea host manchester united at stamford bridge and both bosses know that silverware could make a difference to theirjob prospects. maurizio sarri is under pressure at chelsea with his side losing four of their last nine matches in all competitions. meanwhle, despite losing his first match as caretaker manager of manchester united last week,

0le gunnar solskjaer‘s stock remains high at old trafford and a good league and cup run could help him secure the role permanently. alexis sanchez scored twice for united in the last round, bringing his tally to just five since joining from arsenal last year, and solskjaer thinks the chilean forward‘s form is improving. when you go through periods that you don‘t perform up to your standard, because we know there is a very, very good player, it‘sjust because we know there is a very, very good player, it‘s just one of them things, a bottle of ketchup when it never comes, but when it suddenly comes, loads... you‘re right! you can make it simpler, to be fair, but when it comes, it comes. i‘m sure it will be fine. now let‘s show you some incredible pictures from overnight. they‘re from the famous daytona race in florida. one of the cars slammed into the wall, and that started a chain—reaction which involved more than two dozen vehicles. not surprisingly a red flag stopped

the race for a lengthy cleanup. luckily it looked a lot worse than it was and no one was hurt in the pile—up. that‘s all the sport for now. i‘ll have more for you in the next hour. the uk schoolgirl who joined the islamic state group in syria has told the bbc that despite being only 15 years old when she left britain, she knew what she was doing and was capable of making her own decisions. shamima begum admitted to bbc news that she was a poster girl for is recruitment and apologised to britain forjoining the group. she says she is ready to face prison if she‘s allowed to return to the uk. 19—year—old begum told our middle east correspondent quentin somerville that she still has sympathy for the group and equated its crimes to coalition air strikes carried out against is. quentin tweeted that throughout the interview, begum held her two—day—old sonjarrar.

he is named after her first son who died while she was under is control. she says she would have let her first son become an is fighter but wants this son "to be british". she also said she knew of the is inspired attacks in manchester and elsewhere, but said she hadn‘t realised children were killed. here is your opportunity to apologise to some of the people that we re apologise to some of the people that were murdered by the group that you joined. some of the british men and some of the women, some of the kids from manchester were killed in the manchester arena. you must have heard about that attack. what did you think about that?” heard about that attack. what did you think about that? i was shocked, but... but? ijust couldn't... i do feel that is wrong, that some people did get killed. it‘s one thing to

kill a soldier, that is fine, self defence, but to kill people, like women and children, like the women and children that are being killed right now in bombings, it‘s a two—way thing, really. women and children are being killed back in islamic state right now and it‘s kind of retaliation. their‘s justification was that it was retaliation so i thought, that is a fair justification. facebook "intentionally and knowingly" violated data privacy laws, and needs much stricter regulation, according to a damning report by mps. the commons culture committee said the firm‘s founder mark zuckerberg failed to show "leadership and personal responsibility" over the rise of so—called fake news. the report is calling for a compulsory code of ethics for social media companies, which will be overseen by an independent regulator. an overhaul of current

electoral laws in the uk, and rules on overseas involvement in british elections. and the removal of known sources of harmful content, which was brought to light by the death of 1a—year—old molly russell, who killed herself after viewing images of self harm and suicide. facebook said it welcomed the digital‘s committee‘s report, and would be open to any form of "meaningful regulation". amol rajan reports. it‘s totally fake news. just fake. the term fake news has entered the mainstream in recent years. in america, there has been grave concern that the election of donald trump may have owed something to the interference by russia in the presidential election. an investigation by former fbi director robert mueller is looking into the allegations. the nearest thing to that in britain is the culture select committee‘s report on fake news and disinformation. its findings, published this morning, are scathing about technology companies and the legal and regulatory framework in which they operate. the committee says facebook intentionally violated both data privacy laws

and anti—competition laws. it says a new code of conduct, overseen by an independent regulator, should be set up. rather than companies apologising and repeating the same mistakes, we should have a regulatory system which can act against them if they fail to meet those standards. this system exists in broadcasting, it‘s common in other industries, and we neededin common in other industries, and we needed in the tech sector as well. facebook say they have taken extensive steps to weed out illegal or harmful content on its platform, including fake news. but coming so soon after the outcry over molly russell, the 1a—year—old who committed suicide after seeing pictures of self—harm on facebook—owned instagram, it shows that technology companies and those who legislate against them are entering a new era. amol rajan, bbc news. with me will moy, director of full fact, an independent fact checking charity. they are employed by facebook to

check content. what do you think of this report for mp5 —— mike from mps? our biggest concern since the government has said they are interested in this area is that they don‘t overstep and overreact and do something that infringes on free speech online and actually, we are lucky in this country, both government and parliament has taken their time, thought about it carefully. today‘s report is focused on actual harms and trying to solve them so, so far so good. it is quite damning of facebook. do you think thatis damning of facebook. do you think that is fair? yeah, they came to us last year, we‘ve been fact checking isa last year, we‘ve been fact checking is a charity for ten years in the uk, they said they have a programme of referring content to external groups so it can be flagged for facebook users. we spent six months talking to them about safeguards and every three months we will be reporting publicly on how it is working. so, yes, we are beginning

to see up close the scale of the problems and that was the first step and we need to do more. so they knowingly, intentionally broke some uk laws. do you think the laws need to be tightened ? uk laws. do you think the laws need to be tightened? absolutely, in particular election law is dangerously out of date. we need stronger election laws, we need election laws that are up—to—date for the internet age and if we had an election tomorrow it would not be safe from external abuse but also advertising has changed. just to be that if you took out an advert, you put upa that if you took out an advert, you put up a billboard or put it in a newspaper, everybody could see it and scrutinise it. modern advertising is highly targeted to specific people or groups. it is personalised intentionally and therefore it is not open to scrutiny in the same way. if we want democracy to work, it has be a shared experience. what about the parliamentary committee‘s ideas for an independent new regulator.

regulation of these technical industries is obviously very difficult. absolutely, it should be no different to internet companies than everybody else. the one note of caution we would have is that the committee refer to technical experts getting together to come up with a code of ethics. a code of ethics belongs to more than just the technical experts, it belongs to the public, so what i want to see is an open, democratic, transparent process with the public involves so these rules on transparency, on election laws, and political advertising can‘t get watered down in back rooms between the government and the internet companies, it needs to be done in public, accountable and responsive to everybody‘s concerns. it paints a worrying picture of the current situation in terms of our elections, in terms of our children being exposed to damaging content, all kinds of issues are highlighted. when is it going to get sorted? we should be

worried and it is urgent and it is time for the government to set out a pretty clear timetable of when this is going to turn into action. we do still need to be careful, it would be very, very easy to come up with something that sounds attractive which ends up infringing all of our free speech online but we know that election laws need to be updated. we know the principles, we have always applied them. if you say something during an election, your name has to be on it. that applies on paper now, it just doesn‘t apply be on it. that applies on paper now, itjust doesn‘t apply online so the same principles, a new world, and we can get on with that. facebook sounding cooperative. do you think they are responding in good faith and have realised the error of their ways ? and have realised the error of their ways? they have taken some concrete actions. they have been political advertising more transparent and then wait for politicians to act first. they have called us into help with fact checking content so they have done some concrete things. it is ultimately up to them to prove through their actions they are committed to this and we will be

keeping an eye on that and calling on them to do more. for help and advice on what is fake news, go to the bbc news website. lets go back to our top story, the resignation of seven mps lets go back to our top story, the resignation of seven mp5 from the labour party. let‘s get reaction from the shadow chancellor, john mcdonnell. what is your reaction to the news that these former mps have left the party? disappointed because i wanted them to stay and work with has to implement a manifesto we all stood upon because it was incredibly popular and it did give us the biggest increase in popular vote. the biggest labour share of the vote since 19a5. it comes at a time when our constituents are facing real hardship with universal credit,

rising crime, homelessness on a scale we have not seen for decades and the government is bungling brexit so we should be working together for the long—term interests of the country so i am disappointed but all of those mps stood on our ma nifesto but all of those mps stood on our manifesto in 2017, jeremy corbyn‘s ma nifesto, manifesto in 2017, jeremy corbyn‘s manifesto, they all increased their majorities, now they‘re on a different platform so the honourable thing, the usual thing for them to do now, is to stand down and fight a by—election in their constituencies. would it be dishonourable if they didn‘t do that? would it be dishonourable if they didn't do that? it's the usual and honourable thing to do, you stood on a labour platform, now for a different platform you should go back to a by—election. white different platform you should go back to a by-election. white do you think they have let down voters at their party? do you think they should regret it? i'm disappointed and saddened about it. it is better to stay in the party and argue your point. i‘ve been in a minority in the past four years and then you argue your case and sometimes you win your argument. we havejust lost

one of my closest friends, i love the man, he was in a minority or a number of issues and yet, for iraq, his views eventually prevailed. we shouldn‘t splinter this way. his views eventually prevailed. we shouldn't splinter this way. luciana berger says she feels labour is institutionally racist and couldn‘t stay in the party anymore because it doesn‘t represent her or her constituents. are you concerned about the message that that sense? of course i am, i‘m really saddened by it but i‘m also very saddened the fa ct lu cy by it but i‘m also very saddened the fact lucy anna —— lucy anna burger is leaving because if she stayed she could help us address it —— make luciana berger. you said she had your full support and that it was wrong. go back to what i said because that‘s not what isaid. what i said because that‘s not what i said. what i said was a people are

attacking lucy berger on anti—semitism rows, we should condemn them wholeheartedly. i said that some are saying she‘s about to form a new party and i said, that‘s not true and the should unite behind her. i have supported her throughout this issue of anti—semitism and we are going to lose the opportunity of having her advice and i regret that. these are seven mps have left labour today but there are some concerns perhaps from within the party itself that they want be the last mps to leave. what willjeremy corbyn do now to convince them to stay? what we do always, an open door and listen to people always but more importantly we are involving people all the time. that‘s in the development and implication of our policies. it is better to remain within the party, fight your corner, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but when you splinter off in this way, you lose your voice in the

party and if you splinter off, and you are going into another political platform, i think you have a responsibility to go back to the electorate and win by—elections on that platform and if you are no longer labour party mp, you should go back to that. do you regret any decisions that you have made or that jeremy corbyn has made that has led the party to this point? this is a real moment, labour mps are splitting off from the party, forming a new independent group and it is happening on your watch. on all the issues raised today as i suppose it reasons for leaving, i think we have made the right call but we can all learn from it. the argument that we no longer support people‘s vote was put forward, that‘s not the case, we deliberately kept that on the table, we have set out time and time again and it is there. on anti—semitism, we have put in place measures which i think will effectively tackle that issue but if anyone has continuing criticism, we will listen to them and implement those measures and with regret to

the —— with regards to the development of policy, the conference in september was the biggest in years and a number of these issues, we had a thorough debate, for example on brexit, unanimous decision whereby the democratic structures of our party but one thing you don‘t do if you lose an argument, you don‘t leave, you don‘t walk away, you stay and argue your corner and i think that is what all mp5 now and all party members were for doing. it's it‘s a little bit cooler for us today. lots of showers coming in across the north west, some of them heavy and potentially with hail and thunder. we also have a line of showers joining thunder. we also have a line of showersjoining forces thunder. we also have a line of showers joining forces with that cloud across the south—east and east anglia, keeping rain going in the next few hours through the afternoon. lots of showers coming into scotland, northern ireland and particularly the north west of

england, temperatures around 10 celsius. this evening, the rain clears in the south—east. 0vernight, the showers become fewer in the north, and the wind eases down as well. clearer skies will be developing. chili overnight. temperatures not far away from freezing. early sunshine will turn hazy, clouds coming in from the west, particularly in northern ireland, where there will be rain by the end of the morning, turning steadier and heavier in the afternoon, then moving into western scotla nd afternoon, then moving into western scotland later in the day. a south—westerly wind, still mild, though not as much as it has been. temperatures of 9—11dc. hello this is bbc newsroom live with carrie gracie. the headlines: seven mps have resigned from the labour party in protest atjeremy corbyn‘s leadership and his approach to brexit and anti—semitism. and his approach to brexit i am leaving behind a culture of bullying, bigotry and intimidation. i look forward to a future serving with colleagues who respect each other.

labour leaderjeremy corbyn says he‘s disappointed the mp5 couldn‘t work together on party policies — and the shadow chancellorjohn mcdonnell is calling for the mp5 to stand in by—elections i‘m disappointed by all of these mps, they stood on our manifesto, jeremy corbyn‘s manifesto, increased their majorities, and now they are ona their majorities, and now they are on a different platform. the usual thing to do now is to stand down and fight by—elections. in other news, shamima begum — the london teenager who ran away to join is four years ago — tells the bbc she knew what she was doing. and mps investigating ‘fake news‘ on social media call for stricter regulation and tougher action against facebook to end the spread of disinformation. train companies have proposed major changes to ticketing

on britain‘s railways. the rail delivery group says the current system is outdated and overcomplicated. it wants to see more flexible fares and a roll—out of electronic systems, like london‘s 0yster card, across the country. 0ur transport correspondent tom burridge reports. tap—in, tap—out travel has been the norm in london for years. now, rail companies say there should be a similar style system for passengers across the country. swipe, and you would automatically be charged the cheapest fare for your journey. and if you travel the same route often, your weekly rate would be automatically capped. it‘s a far cry from the system we have today, which train companies say is overcomplicated and full of anomalies. for example, a single can sometimes be almost as expensive as a return. the industry wants more flexible

fares for long—distance journeys, to avoid people rushing for the first off—peak service after the rush hour. passenger groups say change is needed, but worry there will be winners and losers. the issues go beyond the railways. this is about ticketing across rail, bus, tram, metro, and other forms of transport. we have got a ticketing system and a fare system that doesn‘t work for seamless door—to—door journeys. it doesn‘t work for people day in, day out, travelling to work, going to education or going to the shops. we need a simpler system that works across all forms of public transport. the train companies say the average price of a ticket wouldn‘t change under today‘s proposals. they consulted nearly 20,000 passengers. but real change to the way we buy tickets could take years. and, ultimately, it will be down to the government. tom burridge, bbc news. let‘s return to the seven mps who have resigned from the labour party in protest at jeremy corbyn‘s approach to brexit and anti—semitism. they say they were forced to act. it is time we dumped this country‘s old —fashioned 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. the labour party is now a racist, anti—semitic party. i'm furious that the labour leadership is complicit in facilitating brexit, which will cause great economic, social and political damage to our country. the values which i hold really dear, and which led me tojoin the labour party as a student almost 20 years ago, remain who i am. and yet, these values have been consistently and constantly violated, undermined and attacked as the labour party today refuses to put my constituents and our country before party interest.

the evidence of labour‘s betrayal on europe is now visible for all to see. offering to actually enable this government‘s brexit, constantly holding back from allowing the public a final say, conference policy has been cast aside, no guaranteed full participation in the single market any more, no exact same benefits, no movement towards a people‘s vote. choosing to stand by while our constituents‘ lives and future opportunities are hurt by brexit is a fundamental violation of labour‘s traditional values. i‘m joined by tim roache, general secretary of the gmb union. your response? i'm hugely disappointed. the timing of the not

so magnificent seven mps announcing their withdrawal of the labour whip couldn‘t be any worse. it shows to me that clearly they don‘t accept the manifesto labour stood on in 2017. they stood on that manifesto and were successful. it harms the prospect of a labour government being returned to downing street. and that is something that my members desperately need. to be fair to them, they did express a lot of sadness today. some of them have beenin sadness today. some of them have been in the party for 50 years. they would say that the party has deserted the values rather than them. on the conference policy, we heard chris leslie saying it has been cast aside. i was one who moved the motion of the congress policy around brexit, and that still holds good. we heard john mcdonnell, the shadow chancellor, say today again that, once all things are explored,

people‘s vote is on the table. if you listen carefully to what the seven mps have said, i think it is them that have betrayed the very principles labour stand on. we heard one of them say that the old politics are no longer fit for purpose. what will they do? set up they tinkering around the edges party? that was on the table into mac labour party leader —— that was on the table into leader elections. we need to look at the devastation the seven people have course. they are hardly the magnificent seven. when we saw the sdp— liberal split, we we re when we saw the sdp— liberal split, we were talking about serious heavyweight politicians. i‘m not saying everything is perfect and labour and saying everything is perfect and labourandi saying everything is perfect and labourand i am saying everything is perfect and labour and i am not saying they don‘t need to do more about anti—semitism. but in a family, you

don‘t always agree. you stay in, fight and influence. 0nce don‘t always agree. you stay in, fight and influence. once you walk away, you lose the right to stay and influence. the people who resist change cannot thereafter make change. they obviously felt that they tried from inside for a very long time. you might resist change? i‘ve never known a manifesto that has changed from the old ways so fundamentally. —— mike” has changed from the old ways so fundamentally. -- mike i have never known... labour need to do more to stamp out anti—semitism. it is like racism, you have to educate people and take them through an education process. you can stamp out anti—semitism and deal with it where it raises its ugly head, but i think thatis it raises its ugly head, but i think that is an excuse, frankly. i think these people‘s politics when they made the announcement this morning have been shown up for what they are. we are talking about one of these people who believe strongly in

these people who believe strongly in the privatisation of water. that is against our beliefs, the same with railways, the same with these people announcing certain polities that, frankly, i think their scripts were written by a tory speech writer. you and many others say that labour is a broad church. there have been people over the years who believed in privatising some aspects of infrastructure. it is a family. 0nce aspects of infrastructure. it is a family. once you walk away, you forfeit your right. it is not a serious threat in terms of a serious political party, but it is a serious threat to the ability of labour to be returned to government, and that is why i find it unforgivable. if they prevent a labour government that my members so desperately need, that my members so desperately need, that will be unforgivable. len mccluskey, the general secretary

of the unite union, said he had been expecting the split. this has been on the cards for a while. they have been setting this up. it is what it is, a group of individuals who decided to go a different path from the one that they stood on, the platform they stood on just 18 months they stood on, the platform they stood onjust 18 months ago. there isa stood onjust 18 months ago. there is a strong whiff of hypocrisy here. they stood as labour mps is a strong whiff of hypocrisy here. they stood as labour mp5 on a platform in the general election 18 months ago. all of them got massive increases in their majorities. i have to tell them, it wasn‘t because of their own personal charisma. it was because of the manifesto which promised to respect the 2016 referendum and take us out of europe. so, all of their heartbreak about what‘s happening in brexit

sounds a little bit hollow. the issue about anti—semitism i just think is grossly unfair. you have a new general secretary who has done more in the few months that she has beenin more in the few months that she has been in office than previous administrations. she has increased the number of people who hear of these cases. it is still a small minority of labour party members, andi minority of labour party members, and i think the whole thing is contrived. chris leslie spelt it out probably the best, saying, he could never supportjeremy probably the best, saying, he could never support jeremy corbyn as probably the best, saying, he could never supportjeremy corbyn as prime minister. he has been saying that sincejeremy was minister. he has been saying that since jeremy was elected democratically by the members, and ina sense, democratically by the members, and in a sense, it outlines and exposes exactly what they stand for. and history willjudge them. there is no doubt that if they regard themselves as democrats, i wonder whether they are going to stand down and create by—elections. a lot of them talked

about how proud they are to represent their constituents will stop well, if they are so proud of that, why don‘t they give their constituents the opportunity to see f they want them elected? it is the truth. their constituents elected the labour party. ajeremy corbyn ma nifesto. the labour party. ajeremy corbyn manifesto. and all this hand—wringing from them, frankly, fell a bit flat. well, the liberal democrat leader, sir vince cable, said the break—away group was not unexpected and he looked forward to working with them. we can speak to sir vince now. cani can i get your westminster insider view on this? do you think the language is a bit over the top or do you think it is fair? i don't know the details of the internal machinations of the labour party and what was done and what wasn‘t. i think these are good people, honest

people, and i think they are rather courageous to have taken the step they did today. as i said in our statement, i‘m looking forward to working with them. will you get a chance to work with them? many within the existing labour party, continuing labour party, say they should put themselves up for by—election because they stood on a labour manifesto, and now they represent some different manifesto and they should go back and ask the people. that is a predictably tribal reaction, and really not very sensible, i think. reaction, and really not very sensible, ithink. we reaction, and really not very sensible, i think. we are in the middle of a national crisis with brexit. i think for a group of people to precipitate some mini general election around this move would be extraordinary self—indulgence at this stage. but it is for them to decide. it is their future. is that a degree of expediency on your part, because on a certain level, they agree with some of your views? that is very far

from my thinking. i do feel that there is a good deal of scope for working with them, and potentially a larger group working with them, and potentially a largergroup in working with them, and potentially a larger group in due course, and also conservatives, because we shouldn‘t forget that the conservatives are also badly split, and there are a few of them who no longer see a future in the conservative party. i think this is the beginning rather than the end of something rather important. my role in that and my party‘s role is to be constructive. we have this massive issue of brexit to confront, and we have to do it in a sensible, grown—up way, without worrying about all the tribal battles that go on at westminster. there is something much bigger at sta ke. there is something much bigger at stake. that is certainly what the seven said this morning. they said this independent group would be a new centrist group, and they extended an invitation from anyone from any other party to think of joining them. what is your analysis on numbers? do you think they will —— there will be a stream for the

exit? i know there is a significantly larger group of labour p2 who are totally disaffected —— people who are totally disaffected. i think it is important that this isn‘t just a labour i think it is important that this isn‘tjust a labour breakaway. the splits within the conservative party arejust as deep splits within the conservative party are just as deep and perhaps even more bitter in some ways. i think that, in a way, is where we should look for action in the future. turning to what you intend to do with this group, you said you would be keen to work with them — what does that actually mean? there are two levels — one in parliament. i would hope that we are able to cooperate, possibly more, coordinate. that is for us to pursue through discussion. but certainly at a parliamentary level, i would through discussion. but certainly at a parliamentary level, iwould hope we are able to work together on some of the big issues. it isn‘tjust on brexit, but in the statements they made about defence and other matters, we are very much in the same place. there is also the

question of working with them on the ground. we have fought elections against them in the past, and it will require some maturity, i think, on all sides to work together with people who have been adversaries. but we will certainly try to do that. it sounds very motherhood and apple pie, but what does it mean in apple pie, but what does it mean in a concrete way to work together? in parliament, what will you do together? well, i don't know yet. this breakaway only happened this morning. we have had good discussions with them in the past about brexit and how we cooperate, and that will continue probably on a more open and deeper level. parliament is not back to full working until next week. we are still sitting this week, but i think there will be moves to cooperate in a more practical way than we have been before, and i look forward to it. why don't they just been before, and i look forward to it. why don't theyjust join your party? well, it's always been very

clear, i think, party? well, it's always been very clear, ithink, that party? well, it's always been very clear, i think, that they won‘tjust going to cross the floor. they have used this language about creating something new. i understand that, and i‘ve been quite open with them that what seems more important at this stage is not scoring or getting some kind of scalp but actually working with people who have the same approach to politics as we do. i think if they are grown up and we are, we can turn this into something really positive. some on the left, i suppose, with long memories and the labour party, would say the last time there was a big splinter off, 1981, it saw nearly two decades of tory government after that. is that what you want, so vince cable? tory government after that. is that what you want, so vince cable ?m certainly isn‘t. —— max... there are clearly people in the labour party who don‘t belong any more. i think it has to come from both sides. if

it has to come from both sides. if it was just that look relatively small labour split, there is a danger of reproducing the history which i was part of 30 odd years ago. i think this is something different, bigger and potentially much more positive. thank you for joining us. more on the politics later in the day, but first, let‘s ta ke later in the day, but first, let‘s take a look at plans to overhaul the way we recycle our plastic, because these are to be unveiled by the government today. it‘s expected a deposit return scheme will be introduced for bottles. but big retailers have been accused of trying to water down the proposals. our environment analyst, roger harrabin explains. plastic litter harms marine life, so the government is committed to introducing a deposit return scheme on plastic bottles and other drinks containers. industry lobbyists say the deposit should only apply to small on—the—go bottles. they are the ones most likely to find their way into the sea. environmentalists are fighting for a catch—all scheme for all drinks containers. many family—size bottles end

in the ocean too, they say. also the flow of materials for recycling would be improved if all containers faced a deposit. in their waste consultation, ministers will decide whether to back industry, or whether to back the environmentalists. what goes into your bins is another issue for debate. the government says it will standardise rules for the whole country to end confusion over what you can recycle and what you cannot. people who make fishing gear may be made to pay for the cost of the marine litter it creates. in order to tackle dumping, the makers of furniture, mattresses, carpets and tyres might also be obliged to pay for the ultimate cost of dealing with them. it is a radical shake—up of the way we deal with waste. ‘9 to 5‘ was one

of the defining films of the 1980s. it tells the story of three female office workers who take their sexist boss hostage. almost forty years on, who better to adapt it for the stage than dolly parton herself. breakfast‘s louise minchin spoke to her. dolly parton, what an absolute honour to meet you. thank you very much for talking to us on bbc breakfast. the look, it‘s so clever, it‘s so specific. what was it inspired by? there was a town tramp, trollop, in our town, and i thought she was beautiful, and everybody said, "she‘s just trash", and i said, "then i want to grow up to be trash", because i thought that was a look. and so i grew up to be trash! and i like to think i‘m a little more than trash, but ijust always loved that look — itjust seemed to fit my personality more than just plain stuff. i mean, i like to be flashy and gaudy, and be seen, i guess. # nine to five, for service and devotion # you would think that i would deserve a fair promotion. ..#

you‘re here because 9 to 5 the musical is out now. looking back, and i‘ve seen it, the themes, you know, the film came out so many decades ago, and the themes are still the same, about equality, about fairness. what you think about that? well, i think it‘s wonderful. we‘re getting another chance to revamp this, during this metoo movement, to shed more light on a subject that needs addressing. i think when the movie came out a0 years ago, it did a lot of good. i think it really helped a lot of things and opened a lot of doors for a lot of people. but, as always, you know, there‘s still work to always be done, and improvements to be made with anything, so i think this gives us another opportunity to kind of bring the subject up again for, like you say, the equal pay, and harassment in the workplace and all that. i'm not your wife or your mother — or even your mistress. what?! mm hmm. i am your employee, and as such i expect to be treated equally, with a little dignity and a little respect. it‘s interesting watching it because many of the lines

are the same from the film as they are in the musical, and they still get a laugh. they do, and i wrote a couple of new pieces for it so, you know, i think we took out the fantasy scene in the song of "hey, boss", kind of addressed the issues, talking about it‘s not all the men — it‘sjust some bad men, because i‘ve worked for a lot of good men. but i really think this is a wonderful time for women, and i think we‘re making great progress. so 9 to 5 — there are rumours of a follow—up. will you be involved ? of course i‘ll be involved. lily, jane and i are going to be doing that sequel that we‘ve talked about for years. i used to joke and say, "we better get after it, or we‘ll have to call it 95" — because we‘re getting there! but we actually are going to be part of it, big—time, with three new young girls still working at the old company we used to, and the story is that they wonder what happened to those three women who made those changes all those many years ago,

so they find us in different parts of the country, running successful businesses, and we all kind of incorporate and have some more fun and make some more good points, and it should be fun. really, really lovely to meet you. nice to see you, yeah. thank you very much indeed. in a moment it‘s time for the one o‘clock news. but first it‘s time for a look at the weather. it is set to get warmer later in the week, but right now, cooler air is coming on across the uk. there are shower clouds, especially to the north—west. this area of cloud comes from a long way south, and it is not across southern and eastern parts of england, still producing rain later in the afternoon and into the evening. lots of showers together with gusty winds in the north west of the uk. as we go through the night, the showers become fewer and lighter, the wind eases a bit as well, and the rain from the

south—east is long gone, so skies will clear. with lighter winds across southern parts of the uk, it will turn colder, temperatures close to freezing in one or two spots, possibly even across the eastern side of scotland. 0ne possibly even across the eastern side of scotland. one or two showers to start the day, many places dry, already clouding over in northern ireland. we will get rain, and the clu b ireland. we will get rain, and the club will spill in across all areas. rain comes over the irish sea and into western scotland later in the day. blustery winds, south—westerly, so temperatures will be similar to today, 9—11dc. mild forthe so temperatures will be similar to today, 9—11dc. mild for the time of year, though not as warm as it has been. these weather fronts look like they will drive more across the northern half of the uk. the rain could be steady and heavy across the hills of western scotland. a wet start here on wednesday. the wettest of the weather moves into the north sea towards scandinavia, and it becomes drier and brighter across a good part of scotland. still patchy rain across northern england,

returning into northern ireland. southern england, south wales and the midlands will be drive. temperatures back up to 11—13dc. rain across the northern half of the uk, then after that, temperatures will rise significantly again. the next weather system will be kept in the atlantic. this is the dominant feature. it is keeping it mild and dry in many parts of europe. with that high pressure roughly in still the same place, we are back to the situation we were last week, with the wind is coming all the way from the wind is coming all the way from the canaries, pushing the mild air across our shores. it breaks the cloud up as well, though there will still be some around on thursday and friday first thing. early morning mist and fog, temperatures rising everywhere, perhaps as high as 17 celsius. seven mps announce they‘ve quit the labour party — condemning jeremy corbyn‘s approach to brexit and anti—semitism. the mp5 said they felt betrayed. they aren‘t launching a new party

but urged others to join them. for my part, i have become embarrassed and ashamed to remain in the labour party. i invite you, the british people, tojoin us in this endeavour. jeremy corbyn said he was disappointed the mp5 felt unable to continue working with labour for the policies he said "inspired millions" at the last election. also this lunchtime. shamima begum tells the bbc she apologises for joining the islamic state group in syria, and says she was used as propaganda. i didn‘t want to be on the news at first.