this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. is to hand—pick them off. the headlines at 3pm: a passenger plane crashes laborious, but it avoids pesticides. in ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board, including seven british citizens. it's not just heat that's causing problems. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, it's got honey fungus in its roots. warns mps that if they get crucial honey fungus has topped votes wrong this week the list of diseases. they risk losing brexit. it thrives in damp weather, hen harriers, the rare bird of prey, if dry conditions follow are being deliberately like we saw last year, ta rgetted and killed, roots will struggle to get water. according to the rspb. it's rotting it right away. this is, you know, it will have killed the tree by preventing it aston villa footballer jack grealish is attacked from taking the water up by a spectator — as his side play from the soil. local rivals birmingham city. and in half an hour here on bbc and now even after death, it's carrying on rotting into that news, bbc wales investigates wood and using it as a food source. undercover officers paid to spy once it's taken hold, on political activists 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 the top of your soil will actually help the roots to stay cool and it

avoids the soil losing quite so much moisture from evaporation. the drier weather has kept some problems at bay, like the disease leaf spot. and who knows, if it continues, plants like these might one day thrive notjust in the greenhouse in wisley gardens but in our back gardens. melanie abbot, bbc news, wisley in surrey. now it's time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. you might want to tie things down that might get blown over because there is a turbulent weather in the forecast. trees and branches have been coming down, problems with snow. tricky travel conditions continuing this afternoon. gusts of 40 continuing this afternoon. gusts of a0 or 50 continuing this afternoon. gusts of a0 or50 mph continuing this afternoon. gusts of

a0 or 50 mph widely. the snow this evening and overnight is confined mainly to the high ground in scotland, northern ireland and north england. it is a cold night. temperatures just above freezing. the wins lose some of the strength but they will be quite widely up to 30 mph. high pressure will tend to ease away tomorrow. increasing amounts of sunshine, mainly dry, although cloud gathering across the western isles and northern ireland later. the week ahead will see gale force winds, some heavy rain but also drier and brighter spells. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... a passenger plane has crashed in ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board, including seven british citizens. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, has warned mps that if they get crucial votes wrong this week, they risk losing brexit.

bbc news has learned that 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. the aston villa footballer jack grealish has been attacked by a spectator during the game against local rivals birmingham city. now on bbc news, a look back at the week in westminster. hello and welcome to the week in parliament. coming up... after the latest spate of knife attacks the government's urged to do more to stop youngsters dying on our streets. what on earth will it take for him

to recognise this is an emergency that requires an emergency response? as the government makes last minute attempts to wring concessions out of brussels ahead of the next key brexit vote, cabinet minister geoffrey cox says he's put forward a clear plan to break the deadlock over the northern ireland backstop. it has come to be called cox's codpiece. what i am concerned to ensure that what is inside the codpiece is in full working order. and we hearfrom the campaigner who wants women to be able to succeed to hereditary titles. we cannot allow in 2019 any area of society to say it is ok to treat sons in preference to daughters. but first, on wednesday the chancellor, philip hammond, will give his spring statement. it's not a budget, but will update mps on the state of the uk's finances. and while the chancellor isn't expected to set out any tax and spending measures, that won't stop the opposition telling him where he should

be directing funding. health and education are always near the top of that list, but he's also likely to face continued demands to spend more on policing to help tackle knife crime which has been on the rise with lethal consequences. after the fatal stabbings of two i7—year—olds, the home secretary came to the commons to make a statement — his message, this cannot go on. serious violence is on the rise. communities are being torn apart. and families are losing their children. we all wish that there was one thing we could do to stop this violence, but there are no short cuts, there is no one single solution. and he addressed concerns about police resources. we must ensure that the police have the resources to combat serious crimes. i am raising police funding to record levels next year. up to £970 million more including council tax. a labour mp read out a list of all those who'd died

in knife attacks this year — and appealed for ugent action. what on earth will it take for him to recognise this is an emergency that requires an emergency response? jeremy corbyn confronted theresa may about knife crime at their weekly session of prime minister's questions. can the prime minister not recognise there has to be an holistic response to this? you cannot keep communities safe on the cheap by cuts and privatisation, you have to invest in all of our communities, and every part of this country. something this government incapable of doing. an attack rejected by theresa may. more money into our local authorities. £1.3 billion next year. voted against by the right honourable gentleman of the labour party. more money into our police. nearly £1 billion extra available to them next year. voted against by the right honourable gentleman and the labour party. 17—year—old jodie chesney was one of the most recent victims of a knife attack. her local mp spoke of her "profound

sadness" at the death of her constituent. the public don't want to see politicians throw blame at one another for these stolen lives. they want to see them take responsibility of what is within their control, provide resources as necessary, and then demonstrate a relentless and total commitment to snuffing out violent crime. and the pressure continued. later in the week labour asked an urgent question after the chancellor philip hammond said in a bbc radio interview that forces in england and wales could redeploy exisiting resources to tackle knife crime. we had a crisis meeting yesterday where the police chiefs demand emergency funding. home secretary supports that, says we want £15 million emergency funding. the chancellor goes on the radio this morning and says, not a question of additional resources, it is a question of re—prioritisation by the police. pathetic. absolutely pathetic.

it is about time the government listens to what police chiefs are saying. it shouldn't be a matter of debate. they want emergency funding so they can surge police numbers into those areas where there are problems. in the short term that is what works. of course we need a public health approach in the longer term. but surge police numbers into those areas, that needs emergency funding. he said the chancellor should be told "where to go". i may not share with him some of the language he has used. but the meeting yesterday was not a crisis meeting. it is part of a programme of meetings that the home secretary has regularly with chief constables. the minister said the government wanted to listen to what police chiefs needed and "take that forward". now of course we couldn't get too far through the programme without talking about brexit. on tuesday mps will vote again on theresa may's withdrawal deal.

there have been last minute attempts to try to find a solution to the irish backstop — the insurance policy to stop a physical border springing up on the island of ireland. a clutch of theresa may's mps want it to have a definite end date and the attorney general — geoffrey cox — has been back and forth to brussels to see if there's any room for compromise. well, mr cox was in the chamber on thursday to answer questions about just how those talks were going. we have been engaging in focused, detailed and careful discussions with the union and we continue to seek legally binding changes to the backstop which ensure that it cannot be indefinite. these discussions will be resumed shortly. 0n the 29th of january the prime minister told the house, "what i am talking about is not a further exchange of letters but a significant and legally binding change to the withdrawal agreement.

it will involve reopening the withdrawal agreement." given the response he has had in brussels, and the remarks of the french minister on the radio this morning, can he tell us whether it is still government policy to seek a reopening of the withdrawal agreement? it is government policy to achieve the necessary change in the backstop which will cause me to review and change my advice. that is government policy. that is the discussions that we are having. it has come to be called cox's codpiece. what i am concerned to ensure is that what is inside the codpiece is in full working order. they say the definition of insanity is repeating the same thing and expecting different results, so given that the attorney general has not and will not be able to change a single word of this withdrawal agreement, how exactly would he describe the government's plans for this

house next week? the plans for next week are not mine to decide but what i can tell the honourable gentleman is we are discussing detailed, coherent, careful proposals. we are discussing text with the european union. i am surprised to hear the comments that have emerged over the last a8 hours that proposals are not clear. they are as clear as day and we are continuing to discuss them. how can he provide objective advice to this house on which we rely when he will in effect be marking his own homework? mr speaker, the law is the law. the question as to whether or not whatever is negotiated with the european union affects the legal risk of indefinite duration of that backstop is a matter i shalljudge

impartially and objectively, because if i did at first i would be impartially and objectively, —— because if i didn't, first i would be conscious that there are many lawyers who are eminently capable of deciding. you may be right from a sedentary position, too many. but eminently capable of deciding if it is right or wrong. labour said it had been reported that if mr cox won any concessions from the eu he'd be putting them to a so called "star chamber" of conservative mps and lawyers. will he now commit first of all to publish any advice he gives to the prime minister on any concessions he receives? secondly will he record what is said by him in this star chamber so that all mps can make a decision on tuesday on exactly the same information? the honourable gentleman is labouring under a misconception. i am not appearing before any star chamber on this,

side of the house or the other. i shall i assure him be wholly open about my advice. he asked will i commit to publish it. i will commit now to say to this house that i shall publish my legal opinion on any document that is produced and negotiated with the union. later, mps pressed ministers to confirm that a series of votes they'd been promised would go ahead. they're due to vote on theresa may's deal on tuesday. if that's not approved then on wednesday, mps will vote on whether or not to leave the eu with a no deal brexit. and if that's also rejected, the next day they will vote on extending the timetable for the uk leaving the eu. we've been here before eith the leader of the house when she said to me categorically that the last meaningful vote would go ahead. only for it to be pulled a couple of days later. though we are grateful for all the assurances that this will go ahead next week, with she write to party leaders with a cast iron commitment

of the sequence of events put forward by the prime minister will be honoured in full? we need to have it written down. the leader of the commons, andrea leadsom, repeated the timetable and said she'd given mps as much clarity as she could. now, let's a take a look at some other news from around westminster. the northern ireland secretary was forced to apologise after she said killings by the security forces during the troubles were "not crimes". karen bradley had been responding to questions in the commons about legacy issues, with the dup suggesting there had been too few prosecutions. very few prosecutions and investigations are under way. innocent victims are being left behind with thousands of unsolved cases. when is the secretary of state going to address this issue and put in place a mechanism to investigate the over 90% of acts of terrorism that caused those murders? the honourable lady sets out the figures very powerfully. over 90% of the killings during the troubles were at the hands of terrorists. every single one of those was a crime. the fewer than 10% that

were at the hands of the military and police were not crimes. they were people acting under orders and under instruction and fulfilling their duties in a dignified and appropriate way. i look forward to working with her more to make sure that we can deliver the much—needed reforms and changes that we all want to see. later ms bradley said those comments "might have been open to misinterpretation". the point i was seeking to convey was that the overwhelming majority of those who served carried out their duties with courage, professionalism and integrity, and within the law. i was not referring to any specific cases, but expressing a general view. of course whenever there is evidence of wrongdoing it should always be investigated, whoever is responsible. these are of course matters for the police and authorities who are independent of government. there were two defeats for the government in the lords on its trade bill, which needs to pass before the uk leaves the eu. the first saw peers demand parliament has a say on ministers negotiating strategy before future trade talks. the second backed a labour

proposal for the uk to stay in a customs union — or trading tax arrangment — with the eu. it would offer certainty and stability to british industry thereby protecting jobs, and allow businesses to secure new training opportunities. the outcome and the benefits of any customs union are known. no. they would have to be negotiated. the transport secretary, chris grayling, says he won't resign over the decision to settle a legal case with eurotunnel and pay the company £33 million. in december, the department for transport contracted three suppliers to provide additional freight capacity on ferries for lorries in the event of a no deal brexit. but eurotunnel said the contracts were handed out in a "secretive" way. i have no confidence

in his handling of this. should think about walking. the record of this transport secretary is that of a departmental wrecking ball. the total cost of the mistakes, it has cost the taxpayer {2.7 billion. there is a complete lack of humility with regard to the fact that £33 million of public money has been wasted. could he stand up and say sorry? i regret the fact that we were taken to court. i regret that. it was a risk that we acknowledged was there. i stand by the decision to make sure that we could guarantee the supply of drugs to the nhs in the event of a new deal brexit. of a —— no deal brexit. many of us have sympathy. we believe that he was urging his colleagues for the last two years to make contingency planning for no

deal and he was frustrated by other people, perhaps in the cabinet, who did not want to do so. if mistakes have been made because of these decisions it is not the fault of my honourable friend. the scottish parliament and welsh assemblyjoined forces on tuesday to urge theresa may to change her stance on brexit. for the first time in 20 years of devolution they debated identical motions. they both voted to delay the planned exit date of march 29th — and to oppose a no deal brexit. the approach of the uk government is unforgivably reckless. no deal should be definitively ruled out, not just at the end of march but period. today from edinburgh and cardiff, we demand that it is. in recent months the welsh and scottish governments have been clear, that no deal would be a catastrophic outcome. as members have made it clear this afternoon, that is the proposition that we are debating this afternoon.

that is the possibility that we are united in our cause, in scotland and in wales, to say to the uk government, to take decisive action to ensure that no deal can not be the way in which we leave the union. a recall petition is being opened against peterborough mp fiona 0nasanya. 0nasanya — seen here in the plain black coat — was jailed in january for lying about a speeding offence. she had claimed someone else was driving her car when it was spotted in july 2017. the mp has now been released from prison — but lost an appeal against her conviction. if 10% of her constituents sign the petition a by—election is triggered. ms 0nasanya will be allowed to stand as a candidate. i have received a letter this afternoon from the registrar of criminal appeals, informing me that her application for leave to appeal against her

conviction has been refused. this notification triggers the provisions of the recall of mps act 2015. i will be writing to the relevant petition officer, to inform that person that fiona 0nasanya is therefore subject to a recall petition process. it will be for that officer to make the arrangements for the petition. the culture committee heard from men who'd been addicted to online games — many of which involve role—play in a fantasy world and playing against strangers. the most i ever played was 32 hours straight, at university the first year, i did not eat or sleep or anything, i didn't leave my room, just 32 hours. a conservative mp says the house of lords should follow

in the footsteps of the royal family and allow daughters to inherit titles. at the moment, the vast majority of hereditary peerages and titles pass to the eldest son rather than the eldest child. and with 92 places in the house of lords reserved for hereditaries, that means some daughters of peers are losing out to their brothers. my bill would seek to extended the succession to the crown act, to include all hereditary titles to a straightforward piece of primary legislation consisting of just a few clauses. it would wuite simply mean daughters would be treated the same way as sons for the purposes of succession, it seems to me to be a very natural step to take after amending the principal for the royal family. i resist, as a conservative, change for change‘s sake. but this is one of the things that both should be and could be amended. but his plan was

opposed by an snp mp. but it cannot be, in a parliamentary democracy, that we believe that someone whose father in the 12th century chopped somebody‘s heid aff. not head, for hansard, but heid. has a place of honour and economic privilege and political leverage in a parliamentary democracy. it is an affront to those who have campaigned to ensure liberty and dignity for all. martin docherty hughes. well, i caught up with charlotte ca rew pole from the organisation daughters' rights, which is campaigning for the change and asked her what she made of philip davies' bill. we think it is fantastic. it's been a long time coming.

this is centuries of male primogeniture which needs to be overturned. we cannot allow an 2019, any area of society to say that it is ok to treat sons and preference of daughters. a lot of people would say we have better things to deal with at the moment. it is busy, but everything needs adjusting and dealing with. you cannot sweep it under the carpet and pretend it isn't happening. philip has presented the bill, saying let's take this opportunity and change while we can. it is a simple, straightforward bill. there is no reason why it cannot be put forth through on the 22nd and a second meeting. —— through on the 22nd and the second reading. and i have argued that the answer to this is to do away with hereditary titles. doesn't he have a point? it may be. this is not an endorsement to the 92. the easiest way to do is make a small incremental step in at four o'clock bill that would allow

the artist the same rights as a four clause bill that would allow daughters the same rights as sons. wouldn't you be putting your efforts into getting rid of hereditary titles, there is much chance if that is getting this equaliser? that is a more complex subject to tackle. in the meantime like many reforms, this is an incremental step. in the same way that some women were first given the vote, towards all voting rights, will give girls better equality doing this. there are other steps that they can be taken in the future. that is another argument. this argument is about why that exists, he needs to be made more fair. charlotte ca rew pole. let's see what's been happening in the wider world of politics this week. gary connor has our countdown. at five theresa may visited salisbury to mark one year since the novichok attack. she paid tribute to the beautiful, welcoming city in a statement. it was tweeted out by number ten with a picture of bath instead. four.

a nauticalflair to events in the commons. mps debated ferry contracts. there is no need for the honourable member to chunter "ahoy there!" from a sedentary position. at three. a nice little fixer—upper. harold wilson's holiday home is on the market. the prime minister was a regular visitor to the isles of scilly. just £a25,000. two the night during a debate on the trade deal, managed to be brought brief and self company three. to the delight of fellow peers. i made a speech of brilliance over several columns. and at one. fresh from brussels, the attorney—general referenced his role of making changes to the northern ireland backstop. it has become known as cox's codpiece. the honourable gentlemen refers to cox's codpiece. gary connor. the late tony benn was labour's

longest—serving mp — spending a total of a7 years in parliament. a leading left—winger, he fought a successful battle to renounce his hereditary peerage, in order to continue in the commons. his archive of papers and recordings has now been given to the nation under the acceptance—in—lieu scheme — settling £210,000 of inheritance tax. simon vaughan has this report. tony benn a9.57a. dennis healey 50.a26. september 1981. left winger tony benn narrowly loses labour‘s deputy leadership vote. in a diary that night he recalled his wife's reaction. she said to me if you have popularity without power, which is what you want. it was a shrewd comment. perhaps on me personally. but at the same time,

it was a terrific result. the former cabinet minister and a long—time labour mp and dedicated diarist died in 201a. his archive has been acquired for the nation in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the british library. political pamphlets, tapes, personal mementos and written and audio diaries spanning 80 years. hundreds of archived boxes he stored in four purpose built ships. —— in four purpose built sheds. diaries from his childhood and a time track from his student days. he maps out how he is spending each hour of each day, from a boy he saw a sign as a gift and time as a currency that was to be spent and not to be wasted. i think this impulse is behind his creation of this extraordinary diary series. the diary acts as a way for him to try and fix time, to try and see how he is spending his time. this is the first time that i have

dictated my diary on tape. but it will allow me to speak much more frankly than i could do if i was to take it to a secretary. it does contain secret information, and must remain under lock and key. i'm very interested in the audio aspects of his diary. he recorded daily events, mostly onto cassette tape, about 1966 until 2009, some a3 years. it was a vast amount of audio material there to monitor. about 8,000 hours or more. he published several volumes of diaries but they represent only a tenth of the total material. it could take up to five years for the full archive to be catalogued and made available to researchers. in a diary from 1936, then aged 11, he gave himself some rules for living. do accounts every night, empty pockets every night. then at the bottom of it here, he says "leave a good name and keep up a reputation".

so i think he certainly lived up to that. simon vaughan. and that's it from me for now, but dojoin kristiina cooper on bbc parliament on monday night at 11, for the start of what promises to be another dramatic week at westminster. but for now from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye.