this is bbc news. the headlines at 2pm: a passenger plane crashes in ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board, including seven british citizens. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, warns mps that if they get crucial votes wrong this week they risk losing brexit. the decision to strip two british women of their uk citizenship, after they travelled to syria to join the islamic state group, pre—dates the case of shamima begum. the family of a 23—year—old british woman missing in guatemala say they're "desperately worried" for her safety. aston villa footballer, jack grealish, is attacked by a spectator — as his side play local rivals birmingham city. and in half an hour here on bbc news: after the latest spate of knife attacks, the week in parliament takes a look at what's being done to try and stop the stabbings.

good afternoon. authorities in ethiopia say there are no survivors after a passenger plane crashed with more than 150 people on board. the ethiopian airlines plane was carrying 149 passengers and eight crew. seven of those onboard were british, along with more than 30 other nationalities. the plane had only come into service a few months ago. this morning it took off from the capital addis ababa, en route to nairobi in kenya. it came down six minutes after take—off. it's not clear yet what caused the boeing 737 to come down. from nairobi, alistair leithead reports. ethiopian airlines flight 302 was due to arrive in the kenyan capital nairobi this morning with 149 passengers and eight crew on board. it took off from addis ababa

at 8:35am local time. butjust six minutes later, it disappeared from the radar. it crashed near the town of bishoftu, 37 miles from the airport. a search and rescue operation was launched, but it soon became clear there would be no survivors. the ethiopian prime minister's office put out a statement expressing its deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost loved ones. we need to make sure that the relatives and friends who are meeting them at nairobi airport, who were supposed to meet them at nairobi airport this morning, are supported in the best way possible in this time of anxiety. among the dead were people from 33 countries. a major international united nations convention is due to start in nairobi on monday and delegates were arriving today. some un staff died in the crash. seven british nationals were also among the dead. the aircraft was brand new. ethiopian airlines,

africa's biggest operator, received its boeing 737—800 max aircraft lastjune. the plane that crashed was only delivered in november, four months ago. it had flown up from south africa this morning. and it is the same type of aircraft bought by lion air that crashed off indonesia last october with the loss of 189 passengers and crew, also shortly after take—off. boeing said it was deeply saddened and that a technical team was ready to provide assistance. now all thoughts are with the families of those killed. alistair leithead, bbc news, nairobi. now joining me from jakarta is aviation analyst gerry soejatman, who has been watching the story unfold. i guess not least because this is horribly familiar after events a few months ago in indonesia. it is and originally i was hoping it would be something different because if it is

a repeat then something must be done quickly but sadly with the confirmation from ethiopian airlines at the press conference, they said the crew did say they were having problems and were returning. it is similarto problems and were returning. it is similar to what happened in that lion air crash in october and data from the various flight tracking websites show similar signs but it's early days and at the moment we are worried it might be the same thing. tell us about this plane model and what the problem might be if these crashes are linked. the 77 max is used worldwide and there is a particular feature with the max due to the need for more efficient engines, they need a larger engine than the previous boeing 737 and

that means they have to put the enginea that means they have to put the engine a bit further forward and higher compared to the previous version. so that a facts the balance. it affects the balance and at the edge of the normal operations envelope, so when the aeroplane is about to lose left, signs or the position of the engine might cause the nose to not go down as the aeroplane loses a lift, which will aggravate the situation, so boeing put in manoeuvring augmentation system so the aeroplane would automatically push the nose down but that system relies on a sensor senses the difference from the angle of the aeroplane and the incoming wind along the pet access. was the

sense that one of those sensors was fa u lty sense that one of those sensors was faulty in the indonesian crash? problems were found. but we don't know if that is the same in this case. what measures have boeing taken and the us federal aviation authorities who license their planes, what measures did they take after the indonesia crash to alert people to this problem? they warned of the potential issue and the faa also issued what is called an error warnings directive and boeing is working on a fix. the first version of the fix was supposed to come out next month and that was put back untiljune but we will see. if this accident points in the same direction i think it will come back again. we don't get the preliminary

air accident investigation reports until november of this year. presumably we cannot wait if there is any uncertainty over this, the authorities will have to take temporary action. for the indonesian one, for that lion air won the preliminary one is out. but after this accident if there is any suggestion it is the same problem. this accident if there is any suggestion it is the same problemli think that is what made boeing come up think that is what made boeing come up with the fix which is not released yet so if this point in the same direction that preliminary will come out in one month and if that points in the same direction, if the fix is not out yet, they will put it out. forgive me, iwas fix is not out yet, they will put it out. forgive me, i was getting confused between the lan error report which came out in november, we get at preliminary report next month and and a final report. it is

a terrible situation for those who may have lost loved ones in crew or passengers. gerry soejatman in jakarta, thank you for being with us this afternoon. let's talk now to the bbc‘s emanuel guenther, who was on line from the crash site in ethiopia. can you describe the scene there? the rescue recovery a re describe the scene there? the rescue recovery are ongoing and a big area come the actual crash site of this flight, come the actual crash site of this flight, and from what i can see the area of impact is about the size of area of impact is about the size of a football pitch, and everywhere

people have been walking around the cordoned area can you can see plane parts all over and police forces are concentrating on the recovery effort. we understand that earlier they were sent the remains of various people and several onlookers have come here, a lot of them just looking and some of them have been telling me when crash happened they heard a loud bang and the plane burst into flames, and looking at the crash site i can see that because not much remains of flight 302. so now it's a question of a recovery operation rather than the

hope of helping anyone who may have beenin hope of helping anyone who may have been in the crash. any indication of how long emergency services and investigators are likely be working? i think it will take several days because we have seen the rescue services, every part of the every that has been cordoned off, we have seen several officials who came by helicopter but they have left and we expect recovery efforts here will continue for a few days. this crash was sometime after 5:a5am local time. did any of the eyewitnesses you talked to give any indication of how quickly they were able to reach

the scene after they heard the explosion? many of the villagers came here quite quickly and the rescue services came probably one or after, it might be a calming area but the terrain is quite difficult to get too but rescue services have been here, when i was coming to the crash site we saw several fire engines, and the response was quite quick. emanuel, just outside bishoftu, where the plane came down, thank you. let's go live to nairobi and our africa business editor. this isa and our africa business editor. this is a very busy airport hub. what a fa ct is a very busy airport hub. what a fact because this news had there?

the international airport is africa's fourth busiest airport, and so far the authorities here site flights are going on as normal including flights to and from addis ababa but at the terminal behind me that families of those who were on that families of those who were on that aircraft have been gathered and they are being transported to a nearby hotel for an emergency centre has been set up for them to receive information and counselling in that area is being closed off to the public and the press and some of our collea g u es public and the press and some of our colleagues outside the hotel have heard sobbing and family is trying to come to terms with the extent of the tragedy. when you look at the reports early on, people turned up at the terminal and heard this news but didn't know whether their relatives or loved ones were on that

flight relatives or loved ones were on that flight for another flight. how busy is the addis ababa to nairobi flight path? there are a lot of flights between the two cities and it is considered a routine flight like a shuttle, it's about two hours, ethiopian airlines flight this route regularly, they have four daily flights and possibly do it out of muscle memory and this is a new aircraft that just flew in this morning from johannesburg and turned around, and addis ababa airport is seen as that dubai of africa, ethiopia is the most successful airline in the continent and it has made this a hub for ferrying passengers on to asia and europe and north america so that is the confusion for people who did not

know what flight people were on. what is that safety record like? know what flight people were on. what is that safety record like ?m has one of the best records in the african skies. in 1990 61 of its aircraft was hijacked, also the nairobi addis ababa flight, there we re nairobi addis ababa flight, there were also crashes in 2010 and 2015, one in accra and one from beirut but nothing compares in recent memory to disk. when you look at the record of ethiopian against other african airlines, it ranks near the top. thank you, good to speak to you despite the circumstances, thank you for your update. let's move on now. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, has warned conservative mps that they risk losing brexit altogether if they fail to back theresa may's deal in the commons on tuesday. he said there was "wind in the sails" of those trying to stop britain from leaving the eu

and warned there would be devastating consequences for the conservative party if brexit does not happen. his comments come after leading brexiteers said delaying the uk's departure would do "incalcuable harm" to public trust in politics. our political correspondent jessica parker has this report. part of the congregation today, theresa may leaving her local sunday service. but, this coming week, she must herself trying to herd a rather different crowd. the ayes to the right, 202. the noes to the left, 432. one that so comprehensively rejected her brexit deal injanuary. the foreign secretary says those who want to stop brexit now have the wind in their sails and that voting down the agreement will only aid that cause. we are in very perilous waters and people who want to make sure that we deliver this result need to remember that, if it fails, people are not going to afterward say it was this person's fault,

or this group of people's fault. they will say there was a party that promised to deliver brexit, we put them into number 10, and they failed, and the consequences for us as a party would be devastating. all eyes are on what concessions the government can win from brussels on the backstop — those arrangements for keeping the irish border open. but there is no sign yet of a breakthrough and among those waiting for the outcome, this former brexit secretary. he is farfrom convinced by the deal, but is certain brexit must happen or else. britain will get its trump moment. what happens is that the british people, who voted for this, and a large number of remainers, who didn't vote for it, but still think it should be carried through because they believe in democracy, will see a government walking away, a parliament walking away from a question that they themselves put to the people. it is a high—stakes week ahead. on tuesday, the commons is expected to vote on theresa may's brexit deal. if she loses, on wednesday, mps will be asked if they want

to leave without a deal. if they don't, it is anticipated, on thursday, they will be asked if they want to extend article 50 — delay brexit. labour does not want the prime minister's withdrawal agreement, or a no deal, but say any extension must serve a purpose. how long do you want? as long as necessary and i think myself we could agree labour's deal within a matter of weeks. the european union has looked positively on that. in all the discussions we have had, they see it as the foundation of a proper negotiation, and, to be frank, that is what the prime minister should have done two years ago. two days to go before the big vote here in westminster, 19 days until the uk is due to leave the eu. it has long been said things could go right down to the wire, and they have. jessica parker, bbc news. i'm joined byjill rutter from the nonpartisan think tank the institute for governement.

it works with governments of all political colours and examines politics and how machinery functions andi politics and how machinery functions and i suppose this is the biggest challenge it has faced in decades. it's an amazing challenge because 19 days from brexit and we still don't know when and how we leave the eu so in terms of getting ready, people aren't clear what they are getting ready for and that is difficult, the prime minister argued she needed her deal done and dusted, that is why she signed it last november but she has seen zero progress. in terms of what happened this week, talk is through what mps will do on tuesday. the first thing is whether there is anything from brussels that might be unveiled tomorrow, maybe some emergency “— unveiled tomorrow, maybe some emergency —— to shake the hands of jean—claude dunkirk but assuming we

don't see much, the prime minister might makea don't see much, the prime minister might make a statement tomorrow but the government has to make a motion to approve her deal, we expect that on tuesday, another go at the meaningful vote which had that massive defeat injanuary, then advance that happen on the assumption she loses. if she loses on tuesday, then she said she will offer the commons on wednesday the chance to vote to leave the eu with no deal in place. we don't now how the government plans to vote on that. if the commons rejects the option of leaving with no deal, there is another motion which it said will be on the 14th of march which will allow mps to instruct the government to seek what the prime minister called a short and time limited extension but those measures will be amendable, so it will be interesting to see what backbenchers

propose. we also don't know if the government were to whip on wednesday ona no government were to whip on wednesday on a no deal brexit, the number of ministers who might not vote with the government if they want to kill off no deal as an option and whether the government wants to do that. jeremy hunt indicated that the government wanted to keep no deal as an option but if it is faced with the prospect of a lot of ministerial resignations, they could equip it or try to whip it but site as a matter of conscience mps could stay on but suspend collective responsibility over heathrow, that would be at possibility or a possibility would be to say it's a free vote and eve ryo ne be to say it's a free vote and everyone could make their own judgment. in most circumstances the house of commons makes that judgment. what does it mean for

government, have we been in a situation before work nick cummins decides it will, and that is different from official government policy and the government is still in office, it could carry on with this? governments face defeat quite often, they sometimes decide they will withhold bills and what is different now is that this is the only policy, it is the big thing the government is doing and we had that bizarre situation injanuary government is doing and we had that bizarre situation in january were government is doing and we had that bizarre situation injanuary were on one day the government went down to its biggest ever defeat on a significant issue, a total defeat normally that would be curtains for our government, they must lose a no—confidence motion but the next day parliament voted that although they hated the policy they had

confidence in the prime minister, and you might see that again, it's a lwa ys and you might see that again, it's always possible that labour decides that maybe it lies another confidence motion and says the government cannot do this, that would be difficult with a short timetable, the other thing is that the commons isn't in control of this because they can only instruct the prime minister to ask for an extension, it is up to the eu to decide whether to agree and what to offer so just because the uk asks for one set of extensions, it is not clear that it will be the offer back from the eu. jill rutter there, thank you. more than 50 businesses in northern ireland have written an open letter to mps urging them to unite behind a deal to leave the eu. they warn that a no—deal brexit would have a damaging impact on the local economy and political stability — and urge them to compromise. among the companies that signed were bombardier, coca—cola

and queen's university belfast. a man has been arrested after attacking an aston villa footballer on the pitch during their match against local rivals birmingham city. it happened shortly after kick—off when the man ran after midfielderjack grealish. the man was led off by stewards and the aston villa captain was able to continue playing. aston villa went on to win the game, with jack grealish scoring the winning goal. two more british women who travelled to syria to join the islamic state group are reported to have been stripped of their uk citizenship. reema and zara iqbal, who are sisters, left their home in east london in 2013 after marrying is fighters and are now living in detention camps in syria with their children. our home affairs correspondent dominic casciani has this report. the latest scenes in syria as families flee the chaos. as the self—styled islamic state's last stronghold collapses, the humanitarian crisis deepens, and some of those seeking sanctuary are foreign—born women who supported is. an increasingly difficult legal question for western nations — should they be allowed home,

or kept out for good? the bbc has learned more of the british women who went to syria have been stripped of their citizenship. what do we know about the women whose names havejust emerged? they are called reema and zara iqbal, from east london. they left for syria in 2013 and, between them, they have five children. amber rudd, the former home secretary, deprived them of their citizenship in her last year in power. like shamima begum, their children were born british, and lawyers and charities have argued that whatever the wrongs of the parents, the children have rights the uk must protect. today, a minister defended the decision not to rescue ms begum's baby, who died days ago. this is a war zone. the mother chose to join a terrorist organisation — to leave a free country to join a terrorist organisation — and we have to think about the safety of the british officials that i would send

into that war zone. 104 people lost their citizenship in 2017, but none of these decisions resolve what to do with their children — a legal minefield that could end up in the courts. dominic casciani, bbc news. the family of a 23—year—old british woman missing in guatemala say they're "desperately worried" for her safety. catherine shaw, from witney in oxfordshire was last seen on march 11th in the lake atitlan area of the country. her parents said her disappearance was of "great concern". a foreign office spokeswoman confirmed it was supporting the family of a british woman and were "in contact with the local authorities". a climber is seriously ill in hospital in aberdeen after being stranded overnight on a mountain in the highlands. the 57—year—old man, from nottinghamshire, was airlifted to safety from a peak in the glencoe area yesterday — reportedly suffering from hypothermia. a second climber was also rescued but is in a stable condition in hospital. hen harriers, which are rare birds of prey, are being deliberately targetted

and killed, according to the rspb. in the most recent case in wiltshire one of the birds, which was being tracked by a satellite tag, has vanished and is presumed dead. police are investigating, and there are concerns over a government plan to introduce more hen harriers into the wild, as andrew plant reports. out on the hunt for a bird of prey. teams have been searching this wiltshire countryside. it's where vulcan, a rare hen harrier, satellite tag suddenly stopped responding. but both the bird and its tag have disappeared. sadly, suspicious occasion. so that tag just one day stopped working? stopped working — so the tag was in very good health, so that could only have happened through human interference, , and it's being investigated by wiltshire police as a very suspicious case. hen harriers almost died out in england. now, just a handful are born every year. conservationists tag the strongest ones. of 3a chicks in 2018, they tagged 11. six have now vanished, tags included

— deliberately shot, say the rspb. so the question is, why would anyone want to kill one? well, that's a difficult question to answer, because this is a blatant criminal act. they are a highly protected bird. but that is what you think is happening, that people are deliberately... that is what we know to be the case. there have been convictions. unfortunately, there has been a pattern of birds of prey going missing in the area, and there is intense shooting. there has long been a plan to introduce more hen harriers back into england. the experts say that the environment can support a lot more breeding pairs. but, because of what has been happening to those tagged birds over the past few years, the rspb now say that plan should be put on hold. absolutely. all the research tells us that the environment in england can support hundreds of hen harriers, and yet we only have 34 chicks. and the one limiting factor, let's make no mistake about this, is illegal persecution. there is an estimated 575 pairs left

in the wild, most in scotland. the rspb say, until the birds can be properly protected, they will continue to vanish into thin air. andrew plant, bbc news. if you re a keen gardener you may have noticed new pests amongst your plants. this year the warmer weather has seen insects more commonly found abroad turning up in our gardens. for the first time the southern green shield bug, which attacks fruit and vegetables, has made the royal horticultural society's list of top ten pests and diseases. melanie abbott from bbc radio 4 s you and yours programme reports. this little thing might look pretty harmless, but the box tree caterpillar is top of the garden pest list for the third year running. this time—lapse film shows the damage they can do to the box hedge in just one day.

they are at home with the unseasonably warm weather we've had lately, and in hotter climates they have really taken hold. there have been great problems in london and the surrounds and its beginning to spread. i've seen pictures in parts of france where box caterpillars are native on the hillside, and entire hillsides have been stripped, there are huge numbers of moths that come down to the villages and towns into the summer months and it becomes impossible to eat out of doors. so we're coming into the box alternatives garden. this area shows there are viable alternatives that the caterpillars won't eat, and they can be shaped and pruned in the same way as a box hedge. this chap has made its way into the top ten for the first time ever — it's the southern green shield bug. this one is preserved, but come august, you might find them in your garden. they do prefer more southerly climes, but it is becoming established here in the uk. slightly bigger than the native

green shield bug, the advice is to hand—pick them off. laborious, but it avoids pesticides. it's not just heat that's causing problems. it's got honey fungus in its roots. honey fungus has topped the list of diseases. it thrives in damp weather, if dry conditions follow like we saw last year, roots will struggle to get water. it's rotting it right away. this is, you know, it will have killed the tree by preventing it from taking the water up from the soil. and now even after death, it's carrying on rotting into that wood and using it as a food source. once it's taken hold, unfortunately there's not much you can do about it. gardeners do need to think about protecting and preparing the soil for dry weather. the royal horticultural society has just employed the uk's first garden water scientist. if you are planting in your garden, then mulch, organic mulch over