the competition watchdog says that a the merger puny sainsbury‘s and as per again as we go into the middle part of next week. our code merger puny sainsbury‘s and as per ourcode —— might merger puny sainsbury‘s and as per our code —— might as —— like a merger between sainsbury‘s and asda could put up prices. a quick look ahead at what else is coming up this three mps quit describing theresa may's handling evening on bbc news. we will bring of brexit as disastrous. you the latest from london's 02 they've joined the breakaway arena, where some of british music's labour mps in the commons and blamed brexiteers. biggest stars are gathering this evening for the brit awards. we will the hardline, anti eu awkward squad also speak to former tornado pilot that have destroyed every leader mandy hickson as the iconicjet for the last a0 years are now running the conservative makes its final farewell fly—past party from top to toe. over the country. and, as ever, we they're calling for more mps to join will take the newly formed independent group in parliament, which now numbers 11. we'll get reaction from voters. also tonight... islamic state bride shamima begum reacts to plans to revoke her british passport, she tells the bbc she expected more sympathy. doubts over the proposed merger between sainsbury‘s and asda, the competition watchdog says it

could mean higher prices. what did these businesswomen think about the gap between men and women growing in hundreds of companies in the last year? and dua lipa is one of the front runners at tonight's brit awards as the stars gather for uk music's biggest night. and coming on bbc news, manchester city take the quest for a possible quadruple to germany. they are playing schalke in the league. good evening and welcome to the bbc‘s news at six. three conservative mps have resigned

from the party today and did so with a savage attack on theresa may's handling of brexit. heidi allen, anna soubry and sarah wallaston said the party had been taken over by hardline brexiteers. in a dramatic moment of parliamentary theatre the three mps joined the newly formed independent group of former labour mps on the opposition benches. the prime minister said she was "saddened" by the resignations. here's our deputy political editor, john pienaar, his report contains flash photography. small in number, big ambition. today a trio of mps walked away from the tory party and joined the breakaway band who had already quit labour, taking their first steps into the political centre as an independent group. with the labour quit as they make 11. jeremy ryan joined last night. the new recruits setting up their grounds for divorce from the tory party. friends and family who

enabled me to win... wrecks it a big reason for going. the hardline, anti—eu awkward squad that have destroyed every leader from the last 40 destroyed every leader from the last a0 yea rs destroyed every leader from the last a0 years are now running the conservative party from top to toe. they are the conservative party. i am not leaving the conservative party, it has left us. the conservatives said another had grown too harsh. i am tired of feeling numb. ican too harsh. i am tired of feeling numb. i can no longer represent the government in a party that cannot open their eyes to the vulnerability of those in society. which has deepened what we have had the power to fix. all three have lost faith in theresa may's handling of brexit. theresa may's handling of brexit. the party that was once the most trusted on the economy and business is now marching us towards the cliff edge of a new deal brexit. why do you believe such a small handful of

mps can transform politics in the way that you say that emma if i may, isa way that you say that emma if i may, is a new party part of your plans and if it is do you accept that the oddsin and if it is do you accept that the odds in the political system are heavily against you succeeding?m is against us, but we have got to try. we have got to try. 0ver is against us, but we have got to try. we have got to try. over the coming weeks and months we will be having conversations and most importantly reaching out to the country to see what they would like from a new, moderate, sent a grand party. high drama has become commonplace. brexit is at a critical stage, the prime minister cornered and cornered again. now this is more evidence of a huge spring in traditional party loyalties. this is something of a breaking point. tory collea g u es something of a breaking point. tory colleagues have reacted, some insider at the foreign secretary in berlin. these are extremely talented people and i hope one day we will be

able to welcome them back into the conservative family and we will be able to do that by showing them the brexit we will deliver in accordance with the referendum is not the brexit of their worst fears. others demanding they face by—elections. let the people vote in those constituencies and see what people there think about this. here, at the moment the three no former tories took their new places, comradeship for new friends, a hostile act to the big parties and to a prime minister still refusing to rule out a new friends, a hostile act to the big parties and to a prime minister still refusing to rule out a no—deal brexit. we can take no deal off the table by agreeing a deal. the three tories had alreadyjoined the independent group and begun the long ha rd independent group and begun the long hard climb to political influence. when we look back on these scenes, quitting their party may seem like the easy bit. as we've been hearing, one of the mps who quit today is anna soubry, mp for broxtowe in nottinghamshire. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth has spent the day in her constituency.

it seems serene at beeston conservative club today, but the va ca ncy left by conservative club today, but the vacancy left by anna soubry‘s decision to leave the party has caused ripples. not many were keen to talk, despite their welcome sign, still working out what it might mean here. most people inside say they only heard the news by the media this morning and they are keen to digest it before they make any comment. the local chairman did give a statement about anna soubry plasma departure. she has been a hard—working departure. she has been a ha rd—working and dedicated departure. she has been a hard—working and dedicated mp and we wish her all the best. we will be selecting our new conservative candidate as soon as possible. no mention of brexit which has been contentious. this constituency voted to leave the eu, but their mp has been a vocal critic of how brexit playing out. i think she gets a people's backs up. she will not

stand a chance as an independent, not as a conservative to be honest. she has done the right thing. why? we voted for something and now we know the full facts which are do it again. there has been tension between anna soubry and some members of her own party. last summer she said there was an attempt to oust her and more recently there have been claims that across the country conservative mps who do not back brexit are at risk of being pushed out. here they say that is nonsense. when you are in a constituency that wa nts to when you are in a constituency that wants to leave, surely you should have an mp that was to support leaving? is anna soubry out of step with her constituents? michael voted for her and brexit. she wanted to stay but the people voted to go out andi stay but the people voted to go out and i thought she was meant to be

representing us, but she is not. derek wanted to leave the eu as well, but has a different view. party politics are killing the best interests of this country. i think the mp5 are having to go along the party lines. little home and here over anna soubry‘s decision, some suggesting they should have a say over her future. suggesting they should have a say over her future. let's get more from our deputy political editorjohn pienaar. first labour and now the conservatives, what does this all add up to? this was a memorable moment, a dramatic moment. you could not ask for a clearer demonstration of the way brexit has ramped up strains within the party and between the public and politicians. is it an historic moment? we have seen party is split in the past and in recent yea rs is split in the past and in recent years the dominance of the two big

parties has continued. this breakaway group is a long way away from forming a new party and further away from making a big impact on politics. it is a subplot to the wider story of brexit. the prime minister's almost desperate search for a deal to get through parliament and the commons could conceivably ta ke and the commons could conceivably take control of brexit if theresa may cannot. the numbers of ministers now ready to vote against their own government on the way if what they have to do is there. we have seen the big parties splintering at the edges and that has added to the tensions in the parties and to the pressure on theresa may and jeremy corbyn as they try to manage their divided parties. you can expect to see more of the same in the weeks and months ahead. a senior labour frontbencher has made an emotional apology tojewish people on behalf of his party. the shadow international trade secretary, barry gardiner, told

the commons the party had let the jewish community down, amid the controversy over claims of anti—semitism within it. meanwhile, theresa may has flown to brussels for crunch talks with the european commission president jean—claude juncker, as the clock runs down to brexit. 0ur europe editor, katya adler, is in brussels for us. katya, what hopes are there today of a breakthrough? i have asked you the question before. to make a deal, any deal, between two side you need a meeting of minds. but behind me in the european commission you have theresa may on the one side and jean—claude juncker on the other side and two very different perspectives. dangerously different from the point of view of those hoping for a brexit deal. theresa may and her colleagues have intimated that could be an imminent breakthrough on the backstop, that guaranteed to keep the irish open. but that optimistic talk has been slapped down here in

brussels. jean—claude juncker told me there is no breakthrough. in fact the eu is warning of what he sees as complacency. some are saying the eu a lwa ys complacency. some are saying the eu always gives n in the end, but eu leaders see the backstop notjust as a guarantee for the northern ireland peace process, but as a guarantee for is a very lucrative single market. providing assurances on the backstop legally binding or guarantees, no problem for the eu. but weakening the backstop and providing a guaranteed and they and a unilateral get out clause for the uk, that is something the eu say they will never do. shamima begum, the 19—year—old who left britain to join the islamic state group four years ago, has told the bbc she expected more sympathy from britain. it follows the home secretary's decision to try to strip her of british citizenship.

0ur our home affairs correspondent daniel sanford reports. the 19—year—old who left school to join as and who hasjust given birth had appealed for help to return to the uk but learn today the government was instead taking away her british nationality, though her baby will still be british. her british nationality, though her baby will still be britishlj thought baby will still be british.” thought they would be a bit more sympathetic because of my situation andi sympathetic because of my situation and i explained i did not know fully what i was getting into. i made a mistake. i was hoping that i would have some sympathy and understanding, but clearly not. in parliament the home secretary explained why the government has deprived so many people who want to join as of their nationality. where they pose any threat to this country i will do everything in my power to prevent their return. this

includes stripping dangerous individuals of their british citizenship. this power is only used in extreme circumstances were conducive to the public good. in extreme circumstances were conducive to the public goodm in extreme circumstances were conducive to the public good. it has been suggested that sajid javid made the decision partly for political reasons, to look tough and enhance his leadership ambitions. but he insisted it had been looked at by experience government lawyers and officials here at the home office and it was an absolutely laughable decision. shamima begum left britain asa decision. shamima begum left britain as a 15—year—old schoolgirl. at the police she had been groomed. now four years later she is losing her british citizenship and being told to rely rely on her bangladeshi nationality to her mother. it is unjust and i did not think they would be allowed to do that. i do not have dual citizenship. i only have one citizenship. some

immigration lawyers questioned the fairness of the decision which would not have been legal if she had been off completely british heritage. not have been legal if she had been off completely british heritagem there is evidence of wrongdoing she should be prosecuted in a court of law in this country. if that is not significant evidence to prosecute her, how can you inflict the severest penalty upon her without appealing to a court of law. her appealing to a court of law. her appeal is likely to take months to go through the course and this evening the bangladeshi foreign minister said he was concerned she had been wrongly identified as a holder of dual citizenship. he said there was no question of her being allowed to enter bangladesh. 0ur correspondent quentin sommerville interviewed shamima begum in syria. this is the second time i've spoken to shamima begum, and today she was far more downbeat. she said she was shocked and upset by the decision of the home secretary to strip her of her british citizenship. she said she believed that decision to be unjust.

she said she wasn't bangladeshi, she'd never been to bangladesh, and that she barely spoke bengali. it is not my home, she said. this was a life—changing decision, and she was surprised that the home secretary or no—one from the home office had spoken to her directly. in fact, no—one from the british government or the british military has visited her and investigated her case, she said. she regrets being a member of is. she said she had a change of heart when they imprisoned her husband, a dutchjihadist, and tortured him. she maintains that escape from is territory was almost impossible. they did manage to get out in the end, in a group of 50 other people, with the help of a people smuggler. she says that she understands why the british public are unsympathetic towards her, because of the scale and the horror of the islamic state group's crimes. when i asked her, what would you tell a young person considering joining is or another extremist group, she said, no, don't do it,

they are lying to you. her priority now is her three—day—old son, jafar, and she says that she'll be looking after him, wherever the two of them end up. a proposed merger between the supermarkets asda and sainsburys could be blocked after the uk's competition watchdog said the deal might lead to higher prices and less choice for customers. the competition and markets authority is concerned the proposal, which would create the largest supermarket chain in the uk, will lead to a "poorer shopping experience" for consumers. sainsbury‘s has called the findings "outrageous". emma simpson reports. they are already two giants of the grocery world, and they want to get even bigger, to fend off the likes of aldi and lidl, but the regulator doesn't like this merger one bit. we think it's likely that prices will rise, service levels will deteriorate, or both. and the reason we believe

that is because of the reduced competition in grocery shopping in supermarkets, grocery shopping online, and purchases of fuel at the compa ny‘s petrol filling stations. popping to the shops here in watford — sainsbury‘s, asda and tesco are all here competing for customers. this merger would mean the big three becoming the big two, controlling nearly 60% of the uk grocery market. i don't think it'll be an advantage to the shopper. i think it's more for them than for us. as long as their standards don't drop, i don't mind. on this main road, asda and sainsbury‘s are literally side by side, but their plan to merge now looks in serious doubt. the regulator has raised concerns in just about every possible way, from reduced competition in hundreds of local areas to online shopping and higher petrol prices. but sainsbury‘s claims this deal would mean lower prices and that the regulator's

approach is flawed. with brexit looming and a completely unpredictable set of competition rules, i mean, who would invest in this country? this is just outrageous. today's findings are provisional, but the concerns raised may prove too big and complex for both companies to overcome. this controversial megamerger now seems destined to never make it to the checkout. emma simpson, bbc news. the time is 6:18, our top story this evening — defections from the conservative party, three mps quit tojoin the conservative party, three mps quit to join the breakaway labour mps conservative party, three mps quit tojoin the breakaway labour mps in the commons, blaming tory brexiteers. and still to come... after a0 years, the iconic tornado is being retired with a series of farewell fly—pasts. coming up on sportsday on bbc news, 39 years old and still hitting as

big as ever, the self—styled universe boss chris kyle smashes england's bowlers to all parts in the first one—day match in barbados. a0% of companies are reporting a wider gender pay gap this year the the previous year, according to research by bbc news. firms with more than 250 employees are legally obliged to disclose the difference in average pay received by their male and female employees annually. so far more than a thousand organisations have done so, with banks recording the biggest discrepancies overall. 0ur economics correspondent dharshini david has more. high on the menu of topics at networking breakfast are pay and progression. some women may feel short—changed, but they have plenty of ideas on what is needed.” short—changed, but they have plenty of ideas on what is needed. i think, generally speaking, women tend to be less u pfro nt generally speaking, women tend to be less upfront when it comes to money and things. whether you are giving

value, that's what matters. but the gap really opens up once women have children. one of the directors at a major bank, she had twins, and she didn't want to go back to her full—time practice, she wanted to go back to part—time. she worked at the company for 12 years as managing director — they refused. company for 12 years as managing director - they refused. but what does the gender pay gap actually mean? if you line up all the men and women in a company in order of their pay, its women in a company in order of their pay, it's how the salary of the woman in the middle compares with that of the middleman. so it's not just about whether men and women are getting equal pay for equal work, but also to what extent women are joining and progressing to more senior levels. last year, men and an average of 18.a% more than women, and two out of every five companies who filed so far have seen their pay gaps widen. we appreciate you

joining us... france will be finding companies who don't improve, but our government says there is good reason why pay gaps may temporarily increase. for example, engineering has traditionally been a very male dominated industry, they are doing great things to try to improve the pipeline of young women entering the industry, and sol pipeline of young women entering the industry, and so i think we perhaps would need a more nuanced view than simply fining people. businesses should not think that i am sitting on my hands waiting, i am impatient, and there is always the ability of government to do more if required. banks still have some of the biggest pay banks still have some of the biggest pgy gaps. banks still have some of the biggest pay gaps. changing practices and culture takes time, but at heathrow airport, they eliminated their pay 93p- airport, they eliminated their pay gap. we've been implementing things like a piece of software thatjudges the gender bias of the language in job adverts. for us, it is about removing barriers that we might not even know about. the conversation

won't end soon. 0ver even know about. the conversation won't end soon. over 9000 companies are yet to reveal the numbers. some may be even less palatable. dharshini david, bbc news. let's take a look at some of today's other news. new legislation to extend the no—fly zone for drones around airports will come into force next month. the exclusion zone will increase from about half a mile to three miles. police will also have the power to stop and search people suspected of using drones near airports. the food ordering app just eat says it will remove all restaurants with a hygiene rating of zero from its platform. any new outlet that wants to join will now have to be rated at least a three on the five—point scale. the movie is in response to a bbc investigation which found such ta keaway investigation which found such takeaway on the app. from the skies over afghanistan, kosovo and most recently iraq, the tornado has been the raf‘s frontline warplane. now, after a0 years, the iconic aircraft is being retired. to mark the end of an aviation era, three tornados have been making a series of farewell fly pasts, and our defence correspondent jonathan beale was given exclusive

access to one of the flights. 0nce once more to the skies, but not much for —— not for much longer. the bbc on board one of the last four lights of the raf‘s tornado. it has been in service for a0 years. of the raf‘s tornado. it has been in service for 40 years. faces raf cottesmore outfield coming up. 0riginally cottesmore outfield coming up. originally designed to fight the cold war to carry nuclear weapons, but it first went into combat over the desert in 1991. problem the mission is to attack an iraqi appeal... several were lost in a hail of iraqi anti—aircraft fire. john nichol was among those who lived to tell the tale. nearly 30 yea rs lived to tell the tale. nearly 30 years in operation, you can absolutely put it up with the spitfire in an iconic status. just a

a few weeks ago, wing commander james heaps was conducting air strikes on is. now it is a chance to enjoy the tornado's final goodbye back home. the best job anyone could have. but for his passenger, it has been more of a challenge. i think i ama been more of a challenge. i think i am a landlubber! but soon there will be no more rides in one of the raf‘s most iconicjets. jonathan be no more rides in one of the raf‘s most iconic jets. jonathan beale, bbc news, raf marham. i think he was all right there! if you want to see the tornados, they will make their last light of these tour over scotland tomorrow, and on the 28th there will be a final ceremonialflight over the 28th there will be a final ceremonial flight over raf marham and cran well. dua lipa, little mix, george ezra, giggs, big british stars all gathering right now for the 39th brit awards at london's 02 arena. for only the second time

in the history of the ceremony, there are more women than men up for the night's biggest prize, album of the year. 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba is on the red carpet for us. yes, women definitely leading the way this year, dua lipa was a double win at last year, or nominations, as has anne marie, while florence + the machine has recognition in multiple categories. tonight is about rewarding the best, most ground—breaking music of 2018, not necessarily the biggest selling. take that year's ceremony, ed sheeran had dominated the charts, but stormzy beat him to the biggest awards. but there is always space to reflect the tunes that millions have been listening to, and it sure will been listening to, and it sure will be opened by hugh been listening to, and it sure will be opened by huthackman performing a number from the film the greatest showman, the soundtrack to that movie was the uk's biggest selling album of 2018, so it promises to be

album of 2018, so it promises to be a good show. lizo, many thanks. time for a look at the weather now, here is matt taylor. i can't promise you white sands, as you say and play skies, but caribbean warmth is heading our way. —— azure sea and clear skies. these will be with us tomorrow, lifting temperatures to an unseasonably warm 17 or 18 degrees through thursday and friday, particular in the north of the country. cloud and outbreaks of the country. cloud and outbreaks of drizzle this afternoon, continuing for a few of you into tonight, clear skies across south—east england in the north—east of scotland, where it could be quite chilly, temperatures low enough for a touch of frost in aberdeenshire. patchy rain and drizzle coming and

going, 6—10d as we start the thursday morning commute. still damp and grey in places, especially in the west, but a lot of rain and drizzle fizzling out through the day, the cloud were left, things brightening across parts of east wales, a good part of england and eastern scotland, hazy sunshine breaking through, and a little bit of caribbean warmth, 0k, not into the 30s, but made teens for many, 17 and the moray firth, and eastern england, certainly likely, if not a little bit more. the winds will turn southerly, then we turn our attention to the ever from north africa and the canaries, which brings more sunshine after morning fog on friday across the south—east, a little bit of rain for a time in northern ireland and the far west of scotland, but for most a beautiful spring day with temperatures in the mid teens, climbing into the high teens in some areas, that unusual warmth and dry and sunny weather for

thatis that is all from us, we can nowjoin the bbc news teams where you are.