this programme contains repetitive flashing images. it's being described as a "body blow" to manufacturing in britain. the japanese car maker honda is to shut its factory in swindon. thousands ofjobs will be lost, as production moves back to japan. the wiltshire plant will close by 2022. i think it's just going to be a sad day for swindon as a whole. it's notjust the workers here, but it's the whole of swindon, and all of the subsidiary companies and everything that goes with it. the local mp says the closure is due to global trading conditions, and not brexit. also on the programme: you don'tjoin a political party to spend years and years fighting the people within it. i am leaving behind a culture of bullying, bigotry and intimidation. seven labour mps say they've had enough and are quitting the party — over anti—semitism, and the handling of brexit. 3a migrants, including at least one child, have been rescued in the english channel.

and in a world first, a woman from oxford gets dna treatment — for the most common form of blindness — in the uk. and coming up on bbc news: will it be manchester united or the holders, chelsea, who'll secure the remaining spot in the quarterfinals of the fa cup? good evening, and welcome to the bbc news at six. the japanese car—maker honda is to close its entire plant in swindon, with the loss of 3,500 jobs. the company is expected to make a formal announcement tomorrow. production will end by 2022, with manufacturing going back to japan. honda has made vehicles in swindon

for more than 30 years and, today, the unite union desribed the closure as "a shattering body blow, to the heart of uk manufacturing". well, jon kay is in swindon for us this evening. yes, swindon was chosen by honda in the mid—19'80s, clive. this old airfield was transformed into a huge car production plant. ever since then, it has been at the heart of this town's economy and the heart of its economic revival. so when news lea ked its economic revival. so when news leaked out this afternoon that it could close with the loss of 3,500 jobs immediately here, thousands more involved in the supply chain, people here just absolutely shell—shocked. they have not been told officially yet, no formal announcement, it leaked out to journalists and on social media earlier, but as people are driving out tonight at the end of their shift, what they say time and time again as they are completely gutted.

heading out of the factory to a showroom near heading out of the factory to a showroom near you. heading out of the factory to a showroom near you. but for how much longer will honda be made here in swindon? workers leaving this evening expressed dismay. the reaction is terrible, doom and gloom. lots of families, lots of people with children, like ourselves, so gutted really, absolutely gutted. where does this review? it leaves us without a job. apart from that, i don't know no more, just gutted. have you been given any kind of timescale explanation about the decision? no, we haven't been told any new so we will just wait and see. we haven't been told any new so we willjust wait and see. we are hearing there might be a meeting tomorrow so we'll wait and see what they say tomorrow but it is a over social media, that is all we know at the moment. so he found out on social media? yes, we found out on social media? yes, we found out on social media. last month, honda announced it would shut the swindon site for six months in april to deal with disruption after brexit. the

reasons for a more permanent closure will now be debated by politicians and business leaders. but for this woman, recording a moment of local history this afternoon, it is simply sad day. it has been here for many years and it isjust one of the many companies that we are losing for one reason or another. i have two kids, i have a wife, this is my full—time job, this is my life, my lifeline. solam job, this is my life, my lifeline. so i am now technicallyjobless. job, this is my life, my lifeline. so i am now technicallyjoblesslj have got grandchildren. who live in swindon. and their parents work here. sol swindon. and their parents work here. so i am really concerned about them really. since it opened here in them really. since it opened here in the 1980s, honda has been a crucial pa rt the 1980s, honda has been a crucial part of swindon's economic transformation. from an old wiltshire railway town to a thriving young business community. there are now 3,500 workers employed at the site, but... you could double or triple that in terms of the job

losses potentially in the supply chain, soa losses potentially in the supply chain, so a very significant moment and bad news for the car industry. 0ver and bad news for the car industry. over the decades, workers here in swindon have known nervous times before. i didn't an uncertain global market, some worried this year could bring bad news. but few expected anything as bad as the closure they are fearing tonight. our business editor, simon jack, is here. simon, sadly, this is the latest in a string of disappointments for the uk car industry. yes, we had been a sad announcement they were not going to build the x trail suv here. for all these announcements, there is no one reason why a company make such a drastic decision, people rush to say it must be brexit related, there are other forces at work. for example, the eu has just other forces at work. for example, the eu hasjust done other forces at work. for example, the eu has just done a trade deal with japan which means japanese cars can come in from japan without ta riffs over can come in from japan without tariffs over the time and reduces the rationale for having

manufacturing in the uk or the eu. so that is one reason. the more broader question is whether it is sony who have moved hq to europe and panasonic and nissan who have reversed their decision, honda's decision today, there is a sense a deal struck between the uk and japan in the 1980s when margaret thatcher said we are the perfect outpost for you to manufacture in the uk with access to the eu, that deal has lately been broken and the japanese will say, we sent a 15 page dossier in september 2016 and we had to be ambassador making warnings, the management has said there are concerns about the uncertainty and that by failing produce that kind of clarity, that long—term promise was broken and japan, its industries feel they are in a way dismissed or exonerated from their commitment that they made 30 years ago. 0k, simon, many thanks. seven labour mps have resigned from the party, protesting jeremy corbyn's approach to brexit and anti—semitism. they've often been among the loudest

critics of the labour leader, and will now sit in the commons as independents. one of the mps, luciana berger, says she's "embarrassed and ashamed" to stay in the party. mr corbyn says he's disappointed by their decision, while the shadow chancellor is calling on them to stand down and face by—elections. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg's report contains flashing images. after a frenzy of rumours, making their way into a stifling, cramped, london room, labour mps when they woke up this morning. but after months of struggle to make their presence felt, at 10am, they sent e—mails to say they were labour mps no more. whether because of anti—semitism. the leadership has wilfully and repeatedly fails to address hatred against jewish wilfully and repeatedly fails to address hatred againstjewish people within its ranks. i am leaving behind a culture of bullying,

bigotry and intimidation. or ideas, a profound clash of ideas between this group and jeremy corbyn over another eu referendum. this has not been an easy decision for any others. the evidence of labour's betrayal on europe is now visible for all to see. offering to actually enable this government's brexit, consta ntly enable this government's brexit, constantly holding back from allowing the public a final say. maybe they believe brexit has broken our politics altogether, reckoning time for something new. it is time we dumped this country's old—fashioned politics and created an alternative. you don'tjoin old—fashioned politics and created an alternative. you don't join a political party to spend years and years fighting the people within it. you get involved in politics, you joina you get involved in politics, you join a party to change the world. so we invite you to leave your parties and help us forge a new consensus on and help us forge a new consensus on

a way forward for britain. 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 collea g u es together. what do you say to your colleagues and to members of the labour party who feel that way? this isa labour labour party who feel that way? this is a labour party which has changed beyond recognition and you have to make a decision. it is notjust the politics, it is whether you can feel a moral integrity to go along with things that you can no longer justify or accept. and i have come to my own breaking point, i cannot do that any longer. 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? people feel politically homeless and they are asking and begging for an alternative. it seemed none of them knew quite what to say at the end. not yet a political party with a leader or a manifesto, they‘ re not yet a political party with a leader or a manifesto, they're long held private fears now very public,

but how many others might follow them and leave him? good morning, how nice to see well this morning. good morning and goodbye. no party wa nts to good morning and goodbye. no party wants to say farewell to some of its support. i am disappointed, but all of these mps stood in our manifesto in 2017, jeremy corbyn 's manifesto, they'll increase their majorities, now they are different platform, so the honourable thing, the usual thing to do now is to stand down as to fight the by—elections. thing to do now is to stand down as to fight the by-elections. backbench unhappiness atjeremy corbyn is not new, but he has had powerful supporters from supporters from the start. there is a strong whiff of hypocrisy here. they stood as labour mps ona hypocrisy here. they stood as labour mps 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! but the cameras and the crush because there are others who believe the system can be repaired,

may be including a sprinkling of tories as well. this is notjust about brexit, this group causing such a frenzy believe our political system is broken, but whether this tiny number can grow to something with a real impact is something only weeks and months will tell. they know, though, this may be the biggest moment, a flash that fades. their hope, though, is to persuade their old colleagues and you that a few could become the many. that is the big question, is this just the start, could mob leaving the party? this group certainly isn't short of ambition but right now, they don't have numbers that add up to very much. behind—the—scenes, it is clear there area number of behind—the—scenes, it is clear there are a number of labour mps who are thinking about this, he was thinking very seriously about it. but they are miles off becoming inevitably some big political fighting are miles off becoming inevitably some big politicalfighting force. but with brexit criss crossing party

lines and causing such turmoil here at westminster, turned everything upside down, it is also not impossible that a sprinkling of conservative mps might also leave their party and join this group. but so far, at this stage, even though we are not far off the final brexit showdown in parliament, it seems this group is likely, at least in the next few weeks and months, to stay relatively small. but remember, theresa may has a minority government and that means even relatively small groups of mps could make a difference to the outcome, the alchemy of how things work out in these vital months. in terms of the labour party itself, it is no surprise many backbenchers, we know they have had concerns aboutjeremy corbyn elite —— jeremy corbyn's leadership for a long time as well as he has very enthusiastic support from many members around the country, but it is clear those concerns really are shared by many here in westminster, and even the

deputy leader of the party tonight, tom watson, who himself was elected by party members, warned that unless the party changes, well, more could follow these mps out of the door. and in very serious terms, he even said he does not always recognise the party that he loves. 0k, the party that he loves. ok, laura, thank you. laura kuenssberg, our political editor, at westminster. the justice secretary wants to scrap most short—term prison sentences, saying a radical new approach is needed to crime and punishment. david gauke says there s a very strong case for abolishing jail terms of less than six months for most offences, and replacing them with what he called robust community sentences. an internet search for "how do police find dna?" was allegedly made on a phone said to belong to the 16—year—old accused of murdering the schoolgirl alesha macphail. the accused denies abducting, raping and murdering the six year old, who was found dead in woodland on the isle of bute lastjuly. shamima begum, the schoolgirl from london who ran away to join

the islamic state group in syria, says she never wanted to be a "poster girl" for the terrorist organisation. having just given birth to a baby boy in a refugee camp in northern syria, she now says she wants the uk's forgiveness, and supports "some british values". but speaking to the bbc, she equated terrorist attacks in the uk with coalition airstrikes in syria. she's been speaking to our middle east correspondent, quentin somerville. underneath her black abaya dress, she cradles her two—day old son. only four years have passed since she left britain, but that's a lifetime in the islamic state group. shamima begum stuck with the extremists until the very last moment. but now, she wants forgiveness. myself, yeah, iwill admit i was the one that made the choice. even though i was only 15

years old, i did have... i do have like... i could make my own decisions back there, i do have the like, mentality to make my own decisions, but i did leave on my own, knowing that it was a risk. but i do admit it's my fault right now. i just want forgiveness, really. from the uk. like everything i've been through, i didn't expect that i would go through that and, you know, losing my children the way i lost them, i don't want to lose this baby as well. and this is really not a place to raise children, this camp. maybe temporarily but not permanently. if the islamic state hadn't fallen, if they hadn't been defeated, would you have stayed? no. i would have left. she was brought to this camp in northern syria after she and her dutch jihadi husband surrendered to kurdish forces. she says she no longer supports is but still mouths its propaganda. so, here's your opportunity, then, to apologise to some of the people who were murdered by the group that you joined, some of the british men,

some of the women, some of the kids from manchester who were killed in the manchester arena, you must have heard about that attack, what did you think about that? i was shocked but... but? but i just couldn't... i didn't know about the kids, actually, but... but i do feel that it's wrong that innocent people did get killed. it's like, it's one thing to kill a soldier that is fighting you, you know, it's self—defence, but to kill people, like women and children, just like people, like the women and children in baghuz that are being killed right now, unjustly, by the bombings. it is a two—way thing, really. because women and children are being killed back in the islam state right now. and it's kind of retaliation, like, theirjustification was that it was retaliation so i thought, ok, that is a fairjustification. the home secretary says anyone returning from the islamic state

group will be investigated and may be prosecuted. mr speaker, the house will have also seen the comments of shamima begum that's she's made in the media and it will have to draw its own conclusions. quite simply, if you back terror, there must be consequences. shamima begum is unwanted here in syria and unwanted at home. as the islamic state's caliphate collapses, it leaves more than just rubble in its wake. 12 more british women arrived at this camp in the last week alone. quentin somerville, bbc news, northern syria. the time is 18.15. our top story this evening... it's being described as a "body blow" to manufacturing in britain. the japanese car maker honda is to shut its factory in swindon, leading to thousands ofjob losses. i'll be reporting on the pioneering

treatment aimed at halting the most common form of blindness in the uk. and we'll have news on the rematch with the american deontay wilder. the social media giant facebook says it's open to "meaningful regulation," after mps called for a compulsory code of ethics to stop the spread of fake news. a commons committee described the technology firms as "digital gangsters" and said facebook‘s founder mark zuckerberg has failed to show "leadership or personal responsibility" over disinformation on its site. our media editor, amol rajan, has the story. big technology firms have long enjoyed a light touch when it comes to regulation and democratic scrutiny. that era is over. in america, the former fbi director robert mueller is investigating whether russia interfered in the election of donald trump. although it doesn't have the same

investigatory muscle, the nearest equivalent in britain is the commons select committee inquiry into fake news. its extensive scope includes the power and influence of technology giants in britain. the committee is fiercely critical of facebook, saying it knowingly and intentionally broke the law in both data privacy on both data privacy and competition. on the rules governing who targets voters, the committee says currently they are not fit for purpose and voters deserve more transparency on who is funding the adverts that they see on social media. the committee says the era of self—regulation has to be over. a new code of ethics overseen by an independent regulator and funded by a levy on tech companies is now urgent. on the british data firm cambridge analytica that collapsed last year, there is evidence that the individuals involved have simply set up a new company with a different name. the committee wants that and alleged russian interference formally investigated. rather than having a system where the tech companies just apologise when things go wrong and carry on repeating the same

mistakes, we should have a proper statutory regulatory system which imposes standards on the tech companies with a regulator that can act against them if they fail to meet those standards. this system exists in broadcasting, it's common in other industries, and we need it in the tech sector as well. facebook say they have taken extensive measures to combat harmful content and make political adverts more transparent. we fundamentally changed as a company since the start of this inquiry. if you want to know where a company prioritises, you should look at where it invests, and we've invested a huge amount in people and technology to tackle the issues of online harm that this report raises. nearly two years in the making and weighing in at 108 pages, this report has done plenty of intellectual heavy lifting, but any new rules for big technology firms will ultimately have to be devised by government. a small inflatable boat carrying 3a migrants has been intercepted off the coast of dover. they include a number of women and children, who were brought back to shore by border force officials.

our special correspondent lucy manning has more from dover. well, their had been something of a lull in crossings across the channel but with the weather improving, this is now the second one in five days. the home secretary has declared this asa the home secretary has declared this as a national emergency situation at the end of last year it does not seem to be stopping this year. 3a people in a small boat, and that is thought to be the largest number of migrants in one boat making that crossing. border force boats patrolling the channel, early morning, and this patrol boat, two cutters under lifeboat are called into action after a small inflatable boat crowded with migrants is intercepted off the coast. they were brought into the port at dover covered in bla nkets into the port at dover covered in bla n kets to into the port at dover covered in blankets to protect them from the cold. 3a migrants were rescued,

including men, women and children. at the moment, it's not clear what nationality they are. many recently have been iranians. they've been taken to be interviewed by immigration officials. three people we re immigration officials. three people were arrested. the lifeboat towed in the vessel they had used to cross the vessel they had used to cross the channel, with 3a people on board it will have been overloaded and dangerous but still the crossings continue to race it is deeply concerning that we have had another arrival today and it underlines the importance of making sure that we have round—the—clock aerial surveillance up and down the english channel and on the french coast. it's incredibly important that we ta ke it's incredibly important that we take action to stop the traffic before they set off. last year, 539 people attempted to cross the channel in small boats affect 434 of them making the journey between october and december. the bbc believes around 90 people this year have arrived at the same way. however, that number is just a small

fraction of those who arrived here on the back of lorries into our ports. the national emergency the home secretary declared suur—hamari read two cutters, one is now patrolling these waters, the other still hasn't arrived and is being repaired. lucy manning, bbc news, dover. the south african double olympic champion caster semenya has accused the governing body of athletics of discrimination. the 28—year—old middle distance runner has launched a landmark hearing at the court of arbitration of sport. she's seeking to overturn a new set of rules proposed by the iaaf, which would force "hyper—androgenic" athletes to take medication, lowering their genetically high levels of testosterone. a woman from oxford has become the first person in the world to have gene therapy to try to halt the most common form of blindness in the uk, age—related macular degeneration. surgeons injected dna into the affected eye under local anaesthetic, and the whole procedure

took less than an hour. our medical correspondent fergus walsh has this exclusive report. can you see the letters on this line, the next one down? no, it's become a blur. little by little, janet osborne is losing her sight. she has age—related macular degeneration, amd. it's a massive problem in the uk, affecting several hundred thousand people. the condition means her central vision is blurred. you're not clear, but i can see your glasses and your ears... can you see the colour of my eyes? no. you can see the light, can you...? in a world first, this professor of ophthalmology at the university of oxford is going to use an injection of gene therapy to try to halt amd in her left eye. so how does it work? in some people, as they age, genes responsible for the eye's natural defences start to malfunction and begin destroying

the cells in the macula, the most sensitive part of the retina, responsible for sharp central vision. in this trial, an injection is made at the back of the eye, a harmless virus infects the retinal cells and releases a synthetic gene. this is used by the cells' own machinery to make a protein. it's hoped this will stop the immune system overreacting and keep the macula healthy. the procedure at oxford eye hospital is done under local anaesthetic, and takes less than an hour. if it works, the implications would be huge. imagine a future in which the commonest cause of blindness in the uk could be prevented by a single injection. that's what's at stake here. because if this treatment is successful, it could be offered to patients before they've lost any vision, stopping their disease in its tracks. approximately 350,000 people in the uk are severely sight—impaired by age—related macular degeneration.

a genetic treatment administered early on to preserve the vision in patients who would otherwise lose their sight would be a tremendous breakthrough in ophthalmology and certainly something i hope to see in the near future. it's too early to know if janet's sight loss has been stopped, but she'll be monitored over the coming year along with other patients in the trial. it would mean a lot to you to keep your vision? it would be amazing, absolutely amazing. there is already a gene therapy treatment for another rare form of blindness. if its successful forjanet‘s common condition, it would help many older people retain their sight and their independence. fergus walsh, bbc news, oxford. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett. well, it is a getting better sort of

week but i'm sure today's weather came as a shock to the system for many places. it has been cooler and we have had some rain as well, particularly and the likes of hampshire, where it took awhile to clear away. it has now moved further north across the uk into scotland and it has been a day for chasing rainbows, a lot of showers around here. over the next few hours the rain in the south—east will move away, still got some heavy showers moving down far as wales and northern england but overnight the showers become fewer and lighter and the wind tends to ease down a bit as well. so we will have some clearer spells developing. a little bit chilly across some southern and eastern areas of the uk, temperatures will be getting close to freezing in rural areas. tomorrow will be dry and bright for the most part. through the day it is going to cloud over from the west and by the end of the morning we got rain across end of the morning we got rain a cross m ost end of the morning we got rain across most of northern ireland. by the afternoon it will be getting into western scotland. probably the brightest weather is going to be across east anglia and the

south—east. temperatures will be very similar to today. most of the rain will be affecting the northern half of the uk, those weather fronts pushing across northern areas. quite heavy rain for a while over the hills of western scotland. and the cumbrian fells as well. then the rain moves away towards scandinavia and for many parts of scotland it will become drier and brighter. further south again it's going to be a dry day, temperatures starting to rise of just a a dry day, temperatures starting to rise ofjust a little bit. later on in the week to next weather system will be kept out towards the atlantic, this is the big feature, a large area of high pressure which is keeping most of europe mild and dry and quite sunny. their is colder air in the north—east of europe but we are on the warmer side. warm air from the canaries, 15—16d widely by friday, as high as 17 or sweet after that, and if we get that in scotland it will be a record for february. a reminder of our top story...

described as a "body blow," to manufacturing in britain. the japanese car maker honda, is to shut its factory in swindon. thousands ofjobs will be lost. that's it. so goodbye from me. now on bbc one, let'sjoin our news teams where you are. hello this is bbc news. the headlines: japanese car—maker, honda, is expected to announce its swindon plant is to close — putting 3,500 jobs at risk. seven labour mps have quit the party — condemning jeremy corbyn's handling of anti—semitism and brexit. the border force intercepts a small boat carrying 3a migrants off the coast of dover.