welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america syrian forces backed by the us have and around the globe. my name is lewis vaughanjones. begun their assault on the last our top stories: enclave held by so—called islamic state. thousands of women and children have left the area in recent days, with many is supporters surrendering to kurdish forces. a malaysian court drops murder a day of mourning has been declared charges, as one of the defendants in ethiopia after a plane crash charged with the murder killed all 157 people on board. of kim jong—un‘s half—brother two the boeing 737, owned years ago is acquitted. by ethiopian airlines, a malaysian court's set to free was carrying passengers siti aisyah imminently. from more than 30 countries. we'll be live from kuala lumpur. it came down shortly after taking families and fighters leave off from the capital addis ababa. the islamic state group's last it's the second air crash in five stronghold in syria as the final assault by western—backed forces begins. we have a special report. months involving this type of plane. ethiopia declares a national day of mourning after the plane crash outside addis ababa that killed the trial of two women accused of killing kim jong—un‘s half—brother has all 157 people on board. resumed in malaysia. the pair are accused of smearing the toxic nerve agent vx on kim jong—nam's face and, thousands protest in moscow in kuala lumpur airport against plans to cut off russia's two years ago. they deny murder, saying they thought they were taking part in a tv prank. now on bbc news, it's time for a look back

at the week in parliament. hello there 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's come to be called ‘cox's codpiece'. what i am concerned to ensure is that what's 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 that it's ok to treat sons in preference of 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 — just one — that we could do to stop this violence, but there are no shortcuts, there is no one single solution. and he expressed concerns about police resources. we must ensure that the police have the resources to combat serious violence. i'm 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 urgent 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, in every part of this country — something this government is 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 existing resources to tackle knife crime. we had a crisis meeting yesterday

where the police chiefs demand emergency funding. the home secretary supports that, and says we want £15 million emergency funding. the chancellor goes on the radio this morning and says it's not a question of these additional resources, it's a question of re—prioritisation by the police. pathetic. absolutely pathetic. it's about time the government listens to what the police chiefs were 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 real problems. and in the short term, that's what works. of course we need a public health approach in the longer term. but surge police numbers into those areas — that requires 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's part of a programme of meetings that the home secretary has regularly with chief constables. precisely as one would hope that

home secretaries do. the minister said the government wanted to listen to what police chiefs needed and "ta ke 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,

mr speaker, 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. on the 29th ofjanuary, the prime minister told the house, "what i'm 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's 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. i would say, mr speaker, 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 this — 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 48 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? well... mr speaker, the law is the law. the — the — 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 that i shall judge entirely impartially and objectively, because if i didn't, first, i would be conscious that there are many, many lawyers who are eminently capable of deciding — you may be right from a sedentary position, too many — but eminently capable of deciding whether i've got myjudgement 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 mp5 can make a decision on tuesday on exactly the same information? the honourable gentleman is labouring under a misconception. i'm not appearing before any star chamber eithr on this side, or the other. i shall, i assure him, be wholly open about my advice. he asked me, will i commit to publish it? i will commit now to saying to this house that i shall publish by 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 when she's in 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. while we're grateful for all the assurances that this will go ahead next week, with she write to party leaders today with a cast—iron commitment that the sequence of events put forward by the prime minister will be honoured in full? i think 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 and injuries? mr speaker, the honourable lady sets out the figures very, 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 ensure 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, where 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 arrangement — with the eu. it would offer certainty and stability to british industry thereby protecting jobs, and allowing businesses to secure new training opportunities. it presupposed in the presentation of this that 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. his handling of this shambles has been shameful. i, for one, have no confidence in his handling of this. he really should think about walking. the record of this transport secretary is that of a departmental wrecking ball. research into the total cost of the secretary of state's mistakes, both in his current role and at the department forjustice, found that he has cost the taxpayer {2.7 billion. there is a complete lack of humility with regards to the fact that £33 million of public money, taxpayers' money, has been wasted. could he just stand up and say sorry to them? i very much regret the fact

that we were taken to court. i very much regret the fact we were taken to court. it was a risk that we acknowledged was there. but i stand by the decision to make sure that we could guarantee the supply of drugs to the nhs in the event of a no deal brexit. many of us on these benches have considerable sympathy with the secretary of state. 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. and if mistakes have been made because these decisions have been taken at the last moment, it is not the fault of my right honourable friend, but he is too much of a gentleman to actually argue this in his own defence. 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 — notjust at the end of the march, but period. and today, from edinburgh and from cardiff, we demand that it is. in recent months, the welsh government and the scottish government have been clear that no deal would be a catastrophic outcome. and as members have made it clear here this afternoon, that's 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 cannot be the way in which we leave the european union. a recall petition is being opened against peterborough mp fiona onasanya. onasanya, seen here in the plain black coat, was jailed injanuary for lying about a speeding offence.

she'd 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 onasanya will be allowed to stand as a candidate. i have received a letter this afternoon from the registrar of criminal appeals, informing me that fiona onasanya's application for leave to appeal against her conviction has been refused. this notification triggers the provisions of the recall of mps act 2015 and i will accordingly be writing to the relevant petition officer to inform that person that fiona onasanya 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, in university, the first year. i didn't eat or sleep or anything, i didn't leave my room, just 32 hours on dark souls. 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 extend the succession to the crown act, to include all hereditary titles through a straightforward piece of primary legislation consisted of just a few clauses. it would quite simply mean daughters would be treated the same way as sons for the purposes of succession, and it seems to me

to be a very natural step to take after amending the same principal for the royal family. i obviously 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, as i said, in the 12th century chopped somebody's heid aff. .. laughter. ..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's fantastic. it's been a long time coming. this is centuries of male primogeniture which needs to be overturned. we cannot allow, in 2019, any area of society to say that it's ok to treat sons in preference of daughters. but a lot of people would say "hasn't the government really got better things to be dealing with at the moment, given that it is just a little bit busy?" they are busy, but everything needs addressing, everything needs dealing with. so you can't sweep it under the carpet and pretend it isn't happening. so philip has presented the bill, so let's take this opportunity and change it while we can. it's a very simple, four clause bill. there's no reason why it can't be put forth through on the 22nd in the second reading very easily.

now, a lot of people have argued, as martin docherty—hughes argued in the commons, that the answer to this is to do away with hereditary titles. doesn't he have a point? that's as may be, as is with the 92 hereditary peers. this is not an endorsement for the 92 or for the peerage. but while it exists, it has to change. so the easiest way to do is this is make a small incremental step in our four clause bill that would allow daughters the same rights as sons. but wouldn't you be as well to put your efforts into getting rid of hereditary titles altogether? isn't there as much chance as that as getting the rules equalised? we could. that's an infinity more complex subject to tackle. so, 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, we'll give girls better equality doing this, and there are other steps that they can be taken in the future. but that's another argument. this argument is about while this exists, it needs to be made fairer. charlotte ca rew pole.

now, 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 which was tweeted out by number ten with a picture of bath instead. at four, there was a nautical flair to events in the commons on thursday as mps debated ferry contracts. there's no need for the honourable member for dewsbury to chunter "ahoy there!" from her sedentary position. at three, a nice little do—er upper. harold wilson's holiday home is on the market. the former prime minister was a regular visitor to the isles of scilly. a snip at £a25,000. at two, lord carr managed to be both brief and self—complimentary, to the delight of fellow peers. and i made a speech of coruscating brilliance over several columns.

laughter. several columns of hansa rd. and at one, fresh from brussels, the attorney—general referenced his role of making changes to the northern ireland backstop. it's become known as ‘cox's codpiece'. the right honourable and learned gentlemen referred to cox's codpiece. gary connor. now, the late tony benn was labour's longest—serving mp, spending a total of 47 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, 119.5711. denis healey, 50.1126. cheering. september, 1981.

left—winger tony benn narrowly loses labour's deputy leadership vote. in an audio diary that night, he recalls his wife's reaction. she said to me "you have popularity without power, which is what you want." and it was a shrewd comment on my — perhaps on me personally. but at the same time, it was a terrific resound. the former cabinet minister, long—time labour mp and dedicated diarist died in 2014. his archive has been acquired for the nation in lieu of inheritance tax, and allocated to the british library. political pamphlets and tapes, personal mementos and written and audio diaries spanning 80 years. hundreds of archive boxes he stored in four purpose—built sheds. diaries from his childhood and a time chart from his student days. he maps out how he is spending

each hour of each day. from a boy, he saw a time as a gift and time as a currency that was to be spent and not to be wasted. and i think this impulse is behind his creation of this extraordinary diary series. the diary acted 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 dictating to a secretary. it does, of course, contain secret information, and must remain under lock and key. i'm very, very interested in the audio aspects of his diary. he recorded, you know, daily events, mostly onto cassette tape, between about 1966 to 2009 — some 43 years — so there is a vast amount of audio material there to mine through — about 8,000 hours or more. benn 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, benn, then aged 11, he gave himself some rules for living. one, do accounts every night. two, empty pockets every night. and then, right at the bottom over 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 11:00 for the start of what promises to be another dramatic week at westminster. but for now, from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye.

hello there. monday could start off with mixed fortunes across the country. some wintry showers will continue to produce a light dusting of snow. some icy stretches around first thing, just like we had on sunday morning in derbyshire. it is going to be a cold start for all of us, and the sleet and snow showers to the north—west should gradually ease as we go through the day. lighter winds, as well, in comparison to sunday, and we will actually get to see some decent spells of sunshine around on monday. make the most of it, it is not set to last. top temperatures of eight to last. top temperatures of eight to 11 degrees. now, the winds will strengthen to gale force in the far north—west. cloud and rain are raised by the end of the day, all

tied into this area of low pressure which is going to bring some very wet weather in from the atlantic and also some gales or severe gales for also some gales or severe gales for a time through tuesday into wednesday. so our week ahead looks pretty stormy. we will see a spell of severe gales, some heavy rain, and hopefully some drier spells as well.