today at 5 we're live at westminster — as mps prepare to give their opinion — on leaving the eu without a formal deal. the day after the prime minister's deal was heavily defeated — mps are to vote on a no—deal brexit on 29th march — as mrs may insists an agreement is still possible. i want to leave the european union with a good deal. i believe we have a good deal. yes, no deal is better than a bad deal but i want us to leave on the 29th of march and leave with a good deal. but for labour — jeremy corbyn accused the prime minister of plunging the country into chaos — and he called for a general election. the prime minister's deal has failed. she no longer has the ability to lead. this is a rudderless government in the face of a huge national crisis.

also today in his spring statement — the chancellor urged a cross—party compromise on brexit to lift the ‘cloud of uncertainty‘ hanging over the economy. leaving with no deal would mean significant disruption in the short and medium—term and a smaller, less prosperous economy in the long—term than if we leave with a deal. meanwhile the eu's chief negotiator — insists that the deal negotiated by mrs may is the only deal available. again, the house of commons says what it doesn't want. now this impasse can only be solved in the uk. in the event of a no—deal brexit — ministers say that tariffs would be cut — on a range of imports from outside the eu — and there'd be no new checks at the irish border.

it's 5 o'clock. we‘re at westminster where in a couple of hours‘ time the house of commons will have an opportunity to vote on whether the uk should leave the eu without a formal deal in 16 days‘ time. last night the house of commons rejected theresa may‘s withdrawal agreement for a second time and groups of backbenchers have put forward amendments to press their own preferred ways forward. the chancellor philip hammond called today for a cross—party consensus on brexit — despite the prime minister appearing to stick to her own deal. the eu‘s chief negotiator — michel barnier — warned the risk of britain leaving without a deal had "never been higher". our political correspondent alex forsyth has the latest. westminster is digesting developments. the prime minister‘s brexit plan rejected again by mps. so what now? questions to the prime minister.

the labour leader said theresa may‘s deal was dead, urging a change of tack. isn‘t it time she moved on from her red lines and faced the reality of the situation she has got herself, her party, this parliament and this country into? the prime minister still striving to be heard. i may not have my own voice but i do understand the voice of the country. they want... seeming determined to press on despite defeat. they want to end free movement, they want to have our own trade policy, want to ensure laws are made in this country and judged in our courts. that‘s what the deal delivers, that‘s what i continue to work to deliver. but with no current agreement, parliament will this afternoon get a say on whether the uk should leave the eu at the end of this month without a deal. it won‘t be binding, but expect strong views. will you vote for no deal? members of the government, like all tories, can vote how they want.

even among them, there is division. i know what i think, which is that leaving without a deal would be very bad for our economy and very bad for our security. we have prepared for no deal, but it would be disruptive for businesses and damaging to our union. but no brexit would be far more damaging to our democracy. planning for a possible no deal is under way. today, the government said there would be no tariffs on most imports. brexiteers argue leaving without an agreement must be an option. i hope that parliament will vote not to take a no deal off the table. it‘s crazy to disable yourself as you go into a negotiation, it makes no sense at all. in scotland, the first minister, visitimg a car company, condemned the lack of certainty for business so far. getting close to three years on from the brexit referendum, companies like this one i'm visiting today don't know the trading environment they will be operating in 16 days' time. that is utterly unforgivable.

with division so entrenched, nobody knows for sure what will happen. parliament is deadlocked. if, as expected, most mps say this afternoon they don‘t want to leave without an agreement, then tomorrow they will get to vote on possibly delaying brexit. but it isn‘t clear what exactly an extension to the process would be for. eu negotiators said the uk would have to make the purpose of any delay clear, warning a no deal brexit was closer than ever. again, the house of commons says what it doesn‘t want. now this impasse can only be solved in the uk. so, the prime minister is under mounting pressure to unblock the parliamentary logjam. with increasingly limited options as to a way through. alex forsyth, bbc news, westminster. just to recapture if you are joining

us. just to recapture if you arejoining us. mps will continue to debate whether to rule out a no—deal brexit ahead of tonight‘s vote. it started a few hours ago. it was opened by michael gove. let‘s hearfrom michael gove — who stood in for the prime minister — as he opened the debate. this house voted to give the people of this country a choice over whether or not we were to remain or leave the european union. 17.4 million people, a clear majority voted to leave. it is a mandate we must respect and an instruction we must deliver. it is also the case... just a minute. it is also the case that at the last general election both principal parties stood on manifestos which pledge them to deliver our departure from the european union. it is vitally important that we honour that manifesto promise, those instructions and our democracy. those outside this house who sent us

here to act on their will and to deliver that mandate will take a very very dim view of those who seek to frustrate, deny or dilute the mandate that we were given. that was just part of the message delivered by michael gove. let‘s get the thoughts now of our chief political correspondent — vicki young — who is in central lobby. there has been a bit of change in the last error so in terms of what mps will vote on? there have but it may change back again, things are very confusing here today over the votes which may happen later.

firstly they said the government motion talks about the house not wanting to leave without a deal on the 29th of march but also acknowledging that in law, it is still the default position unless a deal is passed. you then have an amendment put in place. caroline spelman, a senior conservative put forward an amendment which rejected leaving without a deal. notjust on the 29th of march but in any circumstance. she has since said that she will not push that to a vote. people thought that had gone away but now we hear someone else might push this to a vote so massive confusion about whether that will be voted on or not later this evening. it is very important because that is a vote about taking no deal of the

table completely. there could be conservative minister is who want to vote for that but are being told not to buy the government. are we back in resignation territory? the second amendment to this is more cross— party amendment to this is more cross—party but more conservative. this is on the so—called malthouse compromise. this sets out what people call a managed no deal. the government would extend article 50 to the 22nd of may. it would stand still but there would be no changes to our relationship with the eu but we would pay money in order to make that happen. so that is another pretty complicated scenario. that is much less likely to get through the house of commons. some conservatives will vote for it and some not, labour will not be backing that one. this all comes after to these may‘s deal was massively rejected again, a huge defeat. many people say it is the end of the road for her deal but

ido the end of the road for her deal but i do not think she thinks that. ministers are saying meaningful 43 is coming down the tracks but what with the alternative be? the chancellor seemed to suggest it was time to reach out for party compromise. —— michael —— cross party compromise. tonight we have a choice, we can remove the threat of ano choice, we can remove the threat of a no deal exit, tomorrow we will have the opportunity will have the opportunity to make a way forward towards building a consensus across this house for a deal we can collectively support to exit the eu in an orderly way, to a future relationship which will allow britain to flourish, protecting jobs and businesses. as ever we had on a parallel universe here because the vote tonight, they are not changing the law but what they will do is give a clear indication of how the house of commons views about leaving the eu without a deal. as ever, the

political reality here is incredibly important. if the house says we do not want to leave the end of march without a deal, the prime minister herself will be voting for that so there will be pressure on her with votes coming for the extension of article 50. we understand theresa may has asked her cabinet to go for a meeting with her in her office. a meeting this evening before that vote. we will have to wait and see what comes out of that. many thanks, vicky young with the latest information there from inside the palace of westminster. i‘m joined now by the northern ireland minister, john penrose. where to stand on this deal? i think it isa where to stand on this deal? i think it is a mistake to take no deal of the table. i voted for the deal last night but having been turned down by

parliament yesterday, we are now in a different world. we will weaken oui’ a different world. we will weaken our negotiating position if retail the eu that no matter what they do, we will not leave without a deal. which therefore disagree with the chancellor who several times today said a no deal will be harmful in the short and medium—term and was something that business did not want to happen? that is wired voted for the deal yesterday because i think it decent deal would be far better but that is not where we are this morning after the vote night. we do not have a deal and we are less likely to get a deal if we weaken oui’ likely to get a deal if we weaken our negotiating position today. we will undermine her own possession. we have to keep it there so they know we can walk, even if we don‘t wa nt know we can walk, even if we don‘t want to, if we have to. people will be watching and saying that a minister wants to keep no deal on the table. absolutely because we do

not have a deal at the moment. i voted for the deal, parliament disagreed so we are not in a world where there is a deal available today. where is the evidence the eu will look this no deal possibility in any kind of different way, next week either recapture to how they have looked at it so far? there is no evidence. let me turn around. if we say we are unwilling to leave without a deal, and the eu does not give us a deal, does that mean we will not leave at all in defiance of a democratic decision in the referendum? i‘m someone who voted to remain. iam referendum? i‘m someone who voted to remain. i am a democrat first and foremost and i think it would be damaging to british democracy if we end up not leaving at all after two

yea rs revolving end up not leaving at all after two years revolving round this issue. it would be appallingly bad news so it would be appallingly bad news so it would be appallingly bad news so it would be better if we had approved the deal yesterday but we did not so we need to make sure that even though it is is good, it is better to have a no—deal brexit than no brexit at all. the chancellor also calls for a more forceful cross— party calls for a more forceful cross—party approach to get a better consensus in the eyes of commons on a deal. at some stage this nation has to knit itself back together. the last two years have been incredibly divisive, families and particle parties divided. we have to start coming back together as a society not just in start coming back together as a society notjust in parliament but more broadly so he is right about that. this sooner b start the better. if we can come up with something then we must. if that is your view, you must surely be unhappy with the fact the gap —— the prime minister has seen to be relu cta nt to prime minister has seen to be reluctant to reach out at a much

earlier stage? i do not follow. why has the prime minister not reach safer cross— party has the prime minister not reach safer cross—party consensus earlier? we had seen evidence of that. there have been phases in this negotiation, endless visits to brussels, several weeks ago now you saw her talking to the labour party, trying to reach out tojeremy corbyn and him initially refusing to come and him initially refusing to come and speak to her at all. in due course he then said he does something about workers‘ rights for example. there have been attempts but you are right, they have not borne fruit either in discussions with brussels to the extent everyone wa nted with brussels to the extent everyone wanted or with the labour party. you also correct that means —— that does not mean we should stop trying. can i ask your sense of where the commons is right now, as the commons going to reject the notion of a no deal at this point? i hope it does not reject the notion of no deal. there is another amendment that

everyone‘s talking about and i think eve ryo ne everyone‘s talking about and i think everyone will oppose that because that would lead us to no brexit at all for the reasons i havejust described. i hope therefore people will remember that there is a democratic imperative here which we must not cut across and that we must honour, regardless of where you started, even if like me started as a remainer yourself. your point of view is clear. think about tomorrow, if the commons. against the no deal scenario at this point and then tomorrow there is the question of an extension to article 50, how would you then vote? i think most people would understand as shorts, very limited and fixed extension, if you had to have it. which does not get is on to the european elections, exactly. if that was being done with a purpose to allow people more time

to prepare for a no—deal brexit, or perhaps to give us another swing at the negotiations, then i think people would say that may be worth doing and would be worth doing. it is an open—ended commitment because we are not going to leave at all, we‘re not going to honour the brexit vote then that is a dangerous place to be. thank you very much for joining the northern ireland minister joining joining the northern ireland ministerjoining us. here we are at westminster. thinking about votes coming up but what is our perspective in strasbourg? our europe correspondent adam fleming is in strasbourg. what details about thinking there right now? the eu has a 2-pronged approach right now after the defeat of the deal last night. firstly, wrapping up preparations for no deal. michel barnier says the chance of the uk leading with no deal at all is higher than ever. secondly

thinking about how to react as bat to an inevitable request for an extension of article 30 by the prime minister. tonight‘s vote is not a massive priority but tomorrow‘s vote is more significant. let stop to some representatives. are you going to watch the vote tonight, does it tell you anything? no, i usually do not watch those votes because there are better shoes on television. not watch those votes because there are better shoes on televisionm parliament votes to take no deal of the table, does that tell you anything about what parliament things? is it really excluding no deal in any case? apparently not. 0ne deal in any case? apparently not. one is talking about it no deal at the end of the month which is a limited statement. it will not tell asa limited statement. it will not tell as a lot. what we need from the

british parliament is a positive vote as to what kind of outcomes they want to see. i vote against no deal is again a negative vote which may combine people who vote that amendments for totally opposite reasons so fio, amendments for totally opposite reasons so no, i will not be holding my breath about that vote. the vote tomorrow on extending article 50, without the positive vote that tells you something? it is a positive vote to buy time but buy time for what? that is totally unclear. unless parliament gives us an indication of what it wants, a second referendum, a permanent customs union or something like that? we will not know how to interpret that. if theresa may comes next week to the european council asking for more time, the first question will be how long and the second what for? if he has no answer to that, if i were in charge, i would say, we give you one

month and use that time to come back with the plan and then we will see if you need more time to let the plan happen but if your plan is give me an additional time to run down the clock, i do not see exactly what purpose that serves. the clock, i do not see exactly what purpose that serveslj the clock, i do not see exactly what purpose that serves. i am glad you said that because i have now heard one month, 2.5 months, nine months, 21 months, the eu doesn‘t have a clue what to do a extension request. i think there is a broad consensus here for a short one. i would say that one month is halfway between them and the european elections so i think it makes sense. two months brings the next deadline in the middle of the european elections and you don't want that to happen. maybe another month help us, or parliament to find a direction and we can discuss again. but setting the next

direction —— next one during the european election, do not do this.|j spend european election, do not do this.” spend my time chasing michel barnier tank auditors, does he tell you more than you tells us? he is a very good listener. he is a negotiator. he works on behalf of the european parliament and european council so of course it explains his exchanges with the british negotiators but by and large he listens to what the parliament has to say. good news is that we are fairly united as to what we wa nt that we are fairly united as to what we want to do so it is rather as talking to him than the other way round. that is one of his qualities, the ability to listen. to design a has a problem with that quality obviously. thank you very much. and ept then strasbourg will get their final say after a final deal has got to westminster. —— naep is here in

strasbourg. -- meps. the government has announced what duties it will impose on imports if the uk leaves the eu without a deal. most goods arriving in the uk won‘t face tariffs and there won‘t be customs checks on products entering northern ireland from the republic. ministers say the plans will protect british industries and consumers. but business leaders warn the plans will take a "sledgehammer to the economy". our business correspondent jonty bloom reports. tariffs are simply taxes on imported goods. some things come into the country without any taxes on them, but many goods from around the world are taxed. normally that is done to protect certain industries like farming, clothes manufacturing, or steel. at the moment as a member of the eu, all trade between members is tax—free and we follow eu rules on taxes for imports from the rest of the world. if we leave without a deal, all that will change overnight and the government will have

to set its own taxes on imports. so, today the government is proposing a new tax on every imported car of 10%. a tax of up to 12% on imported crockery and many items of clothing, and new taxes on many agricultural products including butter, cheese, chicken, lamb and beef. 0verall, fewer goods will face tariffs, but british industry will only have weeks to prepare for huge changes. the biggest change in terms of trade this country has faced since the mid 19th century being imposed on this country with no consultation with business, no time to prepare, and this is no way to run a country. there will also be taxes on our exports to the eu if we leave by the end of the month, meaning industries like farming could lose a huge market for their produce. 0n cereal products such as wheat and barley, fruit and vegetables,

eggs, the government has decided to set tariffs at zero on imports. at the same time, our farmers producing those products will face high tariffs on any goods they want to sell to the eu. that‘s just going to add real problems to those farm businesses and many will struggle to continue to operate. but there is a hole in these plans, no taxes will be collected at the northern ireland border, creating a huge back door into the uk. the effect on northern ireland itself could be particularly dramatic. from the perspective of northern ireland, while scrapping tariffs for eu imports might keep prices where they are, part of the problem is that they are potentially at a competitive disadvantage, they become a potential dumping ground for people trying to get products into the uk without having to go through the rest of europe. and all these changes will last just 12 months, meaning more uncertainty and change for the british economy next year. jonty bloom, bbc news.

tariffs would be maintained to protect some industries, like agriculture. joining me now from harpenden is stuart roberts, vice president of the national farmers‘ union. thank you forjoining us. lots of your members will be very alarmed by some of the reports today and for the impact of this tariff regime when it is changed? absolutely. one, we have been clear from the outset that no deal is catastrophic. there have been limited protections for some sectors in the tariffs and ends this morning but a huge number of sectors there is no protection, so cereals, wheat and barley, eggs, fruit and veg but also new discussion or a little discussion

about what happens to exports. we have a very high tariff wall to get overfor have a very high tariff wall to get over for things have a very high tariff wall to get overfor things like have a very high tariff wall to get over for things like lamb and other things. i have to say things are still looking very bad in terms of if we do end up with a new deal, it is catastrophic. we have been creative about that. michael gove in the house today will say, this is a serious position, there could be 40% ta riffs serious position, there could be 40% tariffs on some cases, you talk about exports, what could be done to alleviate any of that? what use it to your members about that. the other thing to remember, the uncertainty we face at the moment is having an impact today, notjust in 16 days. i was talking to a serial merchant earlier, there are no export shipments of malta and barley booked for april through to june. that is unusual. it has been clear

to us for some time, we have to avoid no deal. we need a deal to get us across avoid no deal. we need a deal to get us across the line to give us a frictionless trade with our biggest customer in the european union. to speu customer in the european union. to spell out timescales, if there is a no—deal brexit, we are talking about some kind of exit on the 29th of march, that in little time to prepare, if there is no extension to article 50, what would that mean to people you represent? there was my colleague on your report a few minutes ago and he said clearly, some businesses would not survive that. it is catastrophic. for me the other bits in all of this which gets ignored is the standards to which we produce. we have the third most affordable food in the world and we

operate some of the highest animal welfare and environment standards. we have had little concrete reassu ra nces we have had little concrete reassurances around protecting the standards. as you say, we are only 16 days away. if we just kick the can down the road, we are still faced with no deal potentially. for knee we have to get a deal on that deal has got to give us three inflections trade and one that protects our very high standards that as farmers outplay to produce two. thank you very much forjoining us. joining me to talk in more detail about these proposed trade tariffs in the event of a no—deal brexit, i‘m joined by victoria hewson, senior counsel of the international trade and competition unit at the free market thinktank institute of economic affairs. thank you for coming over. it is a complex area and lots of years will have a notion about tardis, what for

you and the main issues that is a no—deal brexit? you and the main issues that is a no-deal brexit? it is a default in a no—deal brexit, the uk would have to apply tariffs on goods from the eu that are not currently applied and vice versa. the eu would have to apply tariffs to goods imported from the uk. the eu has their hands tied, they cannot just the uk. the eu has their hands tied, they cannotjust decide as our government has announced they will eliminate tariffs. that would be unthinkable for them whereas the uk as an independent country has the ability to take steps and ends today of reducing and broadly eliminating a lot of tariffs on goods. tariffs arejust a lot of tariffs on goods. tariffs are just attacks. it means you have to be input duty on goods which are imported into a territory. ultimately those taxes are paid for by the consumer. when you talk about

agriculture, this is such a live issue, what could be the potential impact on the farming industry wanting to sell for tabloid ? impact on the farming industry wanting to sell for tabloid? that is a crucial factor. —— wanting to sell for tabloid? that is a crucialfactor. —— to wanting to sell for tabloid? that is a crucial factor. —— to sell food abroad? agriculture is well known as being one of the most difficult areas to progress in trade negotiations and policy, it is highly protected around the world, not just the highly protected around the world, notjust the eu. notjust in tariffs and imports but also regulations. it means for british farmers they have been highly protected for generations by these high tariffs. has the government announced they would eliminate tariffs on agriculture to protect consumers? that would have been a real challenge forfarmers that would have been a real challenge for farmers and i understand why the government has

taken the measures that it has in retaining quite high tariffs to protect our farmers. that said, while they will be protected in our markets, in the absence of the deal, the eu will apply its tariffs to exports from the uk so there will be some changes. there will probably be some changes. there will probably be some rebalancing of agricultural products that we are exporting to the uk. what will more likely happen is they will re—divert to the uk domestic markets where because we have tariffs on agricultural goods from the eu, nationally produced british products will be more attractive and more competitively priced in the market. to talk to you. thank you very much indeed. time for a look at the weather. here‘s ben rich with the forecast.

stone gareth has dominated the weather over the last 24 hours. still some strong winds and heavy rain at times over the next few days even though the storm is sliding away into scandinavia. still plenty of isobars, which means it is quite breezy and the winds will pick up again as we go through tonight. 0utbreaks again as we go through tonight. outbreaks of rain across northern ireland, scotland and to northern england and wales before midnight and sliding before east anglia and the south—east. temperatures of five to9 the south—east. temperatures of five to 9 degrees. tomorrow, soggy start but the rain becomes confined to england and wales and clears away through the morning and a mixture of sunshine and showers. although it is cloudy across the far south—west. blustery, 45 to 55 mile an hour wind gusts. temperatures between nine and

13 degrees. this is bbc news. we are live at westminster where the brexit debate is continuing ahead of the series of votes at 7pm. more on brexit in a moment but first some of the other stories in the headlines: donald trump‘s ex—campaign chief paul manafort has been given two more prison sentences relating to charges of conspiracy and witness tampering. he now faces almost seven—and—a—half years in jail. a postmortem examination carried out on a british backpackerfound dead in guatemala has concluded she died from a blow to the head. the body of catherine shaw, who was 23, from witney in 0xfordshire, was found on monday near the top of a hiking trail. the black box from the ethiopian airlines plane that crashed on sunday killing all 157 people on board, is to be sent

to germany for analysis. at least eight children have died and many more are feared trapped after a building containing a school collapsed in the nigerian city of lagos. two gunmen have opened fire at a school in south—eastern brazil, reportedly killing at least six students and two employees. the gunmen, who were wearing masks, killed themselves after the attack at the state school in suzano, near sao paulo. a man has been arrested in estonia on suspicion of murdering a 34 year—old woman in west london. laureline garcia—bertaux‘s body was found buried in a shallow grave in her garden in kew last week. in the moment i will tell you more about the chancellor‘s spring statement where he talked about the brexit context as well. it was a

very interesting statement in many ways and we will have one of the treasury ministers to talk about that. we will also talk about the latest debate on the brexit amendments coming up in less then 90 minutes. now, let‘s get the sport with chris mitchell. good evening. the runaway favourite altior won the big race of the day at cheltenham, the queen mother champion chase. it was a record equalling 18th consecutive victory for the horse. the 11—4on favourite — with the dark cap in the centre here, was farfrom dominant and was challenged late on in the race. jockey nico de boinville had to dig deep to win by one—and—three—quarter lengths. altior‘s winning runs started in october 2015. the 5/4 favourite ‘tiger roll‘ later romped home unapposed in the cross country chase. the grand national winner was ridden by keith donoghue, the result gave trainer gordon elliot his first winner of the week.

yesterday, declan rice was named ireland‘s young player of the year, today he‘s in the england squad for this month‘s euro 2020 qualifiers. the west ham midfielder has been capped three times by the republic, but they were only friendlies and his request to switch nationalities was approved by fifa last week. he‘s the only new face in a 25—man squad to face the czech republic at wembley a week on friday and then the match away in montenegro three days later. gareth southgate says he‘ll fit in very well. we have tracked him for quite awhile. i think they are really big decisions when you are asking a player transfer association. you have got to be very clear that you feel they have a future with you. that said, there was never any guarantees made to him. that is also important, you have got to be playing well to get in the squad.

but his form has been excellent, we like what we have seen in terms of his character, his leadership qualities. we have seen him play as a leading player and a centre back. i think he will fit well into the way that we work. three english teams have already reached the champions legaue quarterfinals, liverpool can make it four out of four tonight. they are in germany ahead of their match against bayern munich. the tie is all square after a goalless first leg at anfield. liverpool are fighting for the premier league title as well but the manager doesn‘t think losing in europe would help them at home. if we deserve to go through, if we play good football, it could mean it could change the world for us. if not, on thursday morning, we say it‘s over now, let‘s concentrate on fulham. it‘s only one game, a very important game, and more important games will come. england centre manu tuilagi has rejected a lucrative offer from french club racing 92 and signed a new deal with leicester tigers. his contract ran out last summer

and he had discussed terms with racing but has opted to stay with the tigers. he said on leicester‘s website "i love the club and i want to repay the loyalty they have shown me in my time here". the length of his new deal has not been revealed. that‘s all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. the chancellor delivered his spring statement earlier today. he warned that brexit and the vote to reject the eu withdrawal agreement, was casting a "cloud of uncertainty" over the british economy and his most urgent task was to lift it. he said the office for budget responsibility had reduced its growth forecast for 2019 to 1.2%, rather than the 1.6% predicted in last year‘s budget. here are some other key points from the statement: police forces in england

will receive an immediate £100 million to help tackle a rise in knife crime. the chancellor also announced a £3 billion ‘affordable homes guarantee scheme‘ which will be aimed at building 30,000 affordable home forfirst time buyers. and all secondary schools and colleges in england will receive free sanitary products from september. let‘s hear what the chancellor had to say about knife crime and extra funding for police forces in england. police funding is due to rise by up to £970 million from april. many police and crime commissioner is have already committed to using this extra funding to recruit and train additional police officers. but that ta kes additional police officers. but that takes time and action is needed now. so the prime minister and i have

decided exceptionally, to make available immediately to police forces in england, an additional £100 million over the course of the next year. ring fenced to pay for additional overtime, targeted specifically on knife crime and for new violent crime reduction units to deliver a wider cross agency response to this epidemic. ahead of the spending review, my right honourable friend, the home secretary will work with the police to consider how best to prioritise resources going forward, including newly funded manpower to ensure a lasting solution to the problem. newly funded manpower to ensure a lasting solution to the problemm the brexit context he talked about £26.6 billion war chest, to boost the economy if mps vote to leave the eu with a deal. philip hammond vowed to free up more money to cut taxes

and spend on public services in a "deal dividend". but he said these spending plans were based on a smooth brexit. i‘m joined now by mel stride, conservative mp financial secretary to the treasury. thank you forjoining us. this cloud of uncertainty is quite appropriate today, how big is this cloud and how concerned you about it? we want to have a deal because if we can get a deal done we can get rid of the uncertainty weighing on businesses and the economy at the moment. what the chancellor was saying is some of the chancellor was saying is some of the figures he has seen from the 0br are better than they were in 0ctober. more headroom and more money to spend supporting the economy. we want to support our vital public services or lower taxes. what we want to avoid is to spend it supporting an economy under

pressure from no—deal brexit. the best outcome on the brexit front is we get a deal done, get the economy moving, get the uncertainty lifted and get investment and employment up further, which is already at record levels, and into better times ahead. if he is saying if there no—deal brexit com you can forget any extra spending? he is saying what we want to do with our improving numbers with the resilience of the economy, growth that has been going on for nine years and is projected to last for another five years, get the money into vital public services. like the money we have already committed to the national health service. the largest injection of cash into the health service and we are only able to do that because of the resilience and growing economy. he said that will continue if we have an orderly brexit, rather than plugging holes that appear because we are out without a deal. to be

clear to the viewers on this, the knife crime money, that will be spent, that is not conditional on anything to do with the deal? that is an absolute commitment? so the headroom you refer to, £26 billion, that was projected back in october as 15 billion. we recognise knife crime is a big problem facing society with horrific things happening almost on a daily basis. it isa happening almost on a daily basis. it is a complex area but one of the elements is having the resources put in. that 100 million will go into addressing that particular issue. there will be people watching that‘s a given you have lots more headroom, as you say and that knife crime is a big issue and is increasing, he could have allocated 100 million or more to that? the police are also getting 970 million additional funding next year and there will be more money going into the police as

well. it is not all about money. it is about having a comprehensive, holistic approach to this problem, which is deep and complicated. young people tragically getting involved in gangs. county lines, distribution networks and then getting people into the right place and out of that activity is equally as important as the money. what the chancellor said todayis the money. what the chancellor said today is that the money that is needed, it will be there. on the brexit conundrum, it was interesting the prime minister was sitting there still saying her deal, she thinks is the best available. then you heard the best available. then you heard the chancellor saying actually, i think we are in a position now where we should be looking for a consensus deal, reaching out into a more meaningful way, i am deal, reaching out into a more meaningfulway, iam paraphrasing, across the commons to get a deal that can command a consensus view in the commons. where do you stand on

that? where i stand and where i think they both stand is on the importance of getting a deal. we have negotiated something with the european union but we are unable at the moment to get it through parliament. we have to regroup, have the vote on getting no deal off the table and have the extension of the article 50 vote tomorrow in the event the motion tonight goes through. then re—engage to try to keep moving towards the deal. it won‘t be over until the 29th of march. you know how eu negotiations tend to go, they always go to the wire. what this prime minister has shown, plenty of people will criticise us for a variety of things, but she has shown a personal determination to do the right thing for our country and i think she will continue to do that. my personal view is, we will get there with a deal. it was always going to very bumpy and that is proving to be so. your colleague said earlier that he thinks the no deal should still be

on the table, it is part of, an important part of any future negotiation, do you agree with that? this brings us back to the motion tonight, which i will be supporting. it is saying, we don‘t want a no deal, but if you read the motion it makes it clear that we recognise that in the absence of a deal, we are going to have no deal. the eu needs to think long and hard about that. nice to talk to you, thank you very much. the treasury minister agreeing tojoin us very much. the treasury minister agreeing to join us outside parliament. it is like it was yesterday, pretty lively and lots of colour and flags. lots of campaigning and lots of sloganeering going on, part of the democratic process that we are trying to grapple with at the moment and sense people have a very different view about what parliament should be doing and indeed what some members

of parliament are trying to achieve in this process. there you have it, it isa in this process. there you have it, it is a scene we are quite familiar with now. people in loud voice once again today. miles away from westminster, in hartlepool, my colleague fiona trott is there. another morning when nobody knows what the day will hold. paul thompson runs a restaurant in hartlepool. it trains and employs young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. in this town some 70% voted leave. the things that people really want to know in towns like hartlepool are things like, you know, are my gas bills going to go up and down? what‘s going to be the cost of utilities? what are food costs going to be? we want to know what the real impact is going to be to people like us. things like borders and unions and that are very abstract proposals for a lot of the everyday people. what will the reaction be in this town if we don‘t leave the eu on march the 29th? if politicians don‘t listen to that very strong message that was sent out,

particularly from towns in the north, there will be absolute chaos and anarchy. in this butcher‘s shop, there‘s disappointment in mp5. i just think the politicians are acting like a pack of schoolkids in the playground, fighting and bickering amongst each other, backstabbing. and at the end of the day, they need to get their heads down and get the job done. and for this customer, a complete change of heart. brexit should be abolished. it should be just stopped now. because what they told us at the beginning has all been a pack of lies. it‘s never going to end. so cancel it. here at hartlepool marina, they are restoring the coronia, a ship which has historic ties with europe, it evacuated 900 soldiers from dunkirk during the second world war. how do you want your mp to vote today? i want him to vote for a hard brexit. we need to come out now because we have had two and half years of negotiations and it hasn‘t

got us anywhere. i agree totally with what eric hasjust said. we just want to leave. let's leave now. back in 2016, people in this town wanted to set sail on a new adventure. but like these boats, they‘re not going anywhere yet. fiona trott, bbc news, hartlepool. just over an hour to go before we get the votes in the house of commons. we had the vote yesterday and today another set of votes and tomorrow, possibly more on the possible extension of article 50 if thatis possible extension of article 50 if that is what this process leads us to. let‘s recap how we got here and what‘s up next. yesterday, theresa may‘s withdrawl deal was rejected by an overwhelming majority for a second time, with 391 voting against it, versus the 242 who backed her a majority of 149. tonight, mps are voting on whether to leave the eu without a deal on the 29th of march.

just to be clear, this vote only applies to that specific date, and so would not rule out the prospect of a no—deal exit later this year. if a no—deal exit on the 29th of march is rejected, mps will vote tomorrow on delaying brexit by extending article 50, that‘s the legal process that takes the uk out of the eu. and after that? it‘s by no means clear. what can we expect for the rest of the week? with me is dia chakravarty, brexit editor of the daily telegraph, and sam coates, deputy political editor of the times. sam, four viewersjustjoining sam, four viewers just joining us, what will mps be voting on at 7pm?

the idea is, the house will have its first big chance to say no to no deal in some form or another. the government wants everybody to vote ona government wants everybody to vote on a motion that will say let‘s have no deal on march the 29th but keep the principle of no deal on the table. people are suspicious of this because people think theresa may wa nts to because people think theresa may wants to keep her deal on the table but it would take away some of the risk of britain leaving without a deal. but it is symbolic, we would have to have an alternative plan put in place, oran have to have an alternative plan put in place, or an agreement of exactly the terms of an extension with the eu in order to stop no deal. it is quite fast—moving at the moment, that looks like a couple of amendments that may overtake that motion. 0ne amendments that may overtake that motion. one is a straight no two are no deal amendment. caroline spelman which would be a blanket rejection, she put that down and then try to ta ke she put that down and then try to take it off the table again.

essentially what is going on, a lot of conservative remainers are gathering around the prime minister in the biggest possible number to support her motion. and there is another plan, the malthouse plan. this is a group of brexiteers, to reopen the negotiation, leave the european union without the withdrawal agreement, take out the backstop. it is an ambitious, difficult plan. a lot of tory mps think why not? that could be put to a vote and we will be looking at those details clearly. we will learn a bit about no deal, a bit about who does not want to take no deal of the table and who thinks we should go back to brussels and do another renegotiation in the next six or seven weeks. that is the extent of what we have learned today. on the last option, people will be saying what is the point of having an

amendment and voting on something that the eu will not accept in a million years. is that correct reading? i am not optimistic about the eu entertaining bar. even though i think it would be a good idea. i don't think it would be, i don't know how it could go ahead because they have said multiple times there is no way they will entertain this. the one thing that might move them, if you believe they also don't want us if you believe they also don't want us to leave without a deal. it is a difficult thing for them, particularly for ireland, which will remain part of the european union. so that is the only thing i can think of that if the eu thinks there is no other alternative at all, they might actually give us that. just one more thing, a lot is being said about how badly the government has handled this and that is all true,

but it seems to me like the rest of the government's colleagues, the re st of the government's colleagues, the rest of the mps in parliament are unsure about where they want us to go from here. motions supporting us staying in the customs union or a single market has also been debated and amendments have been voted down. first injanuary and amendments have been voted down. first in january 2018 and june 2018 so first in january 2018 and june 2018 so the eu have a lot of reason to be confused, notjust so the eu have a lot of reason to be confused, not just what the government wants but what mps want asa government wants but what mps want as a parliament. sam, if we can look ahead 24 hours, let‘s say for example, mps expressed the view they don‘t want no deal on the 29th of march, are you certain they will vote to extend article 50? march, are you certain they will vote to extend article 50 ?” march, are you certain they will vote to extend article 50? i do think it looks like they will vote to extend article 50. but it is complicated. what mps will be voting for tomorrow is to give theresa may

the mandate from parliament, to go and seek an extension with the european union. the european union, like britain is split and they could offer an 18 month, two year extension. 0ther offer an 18 month, two year extension. other countries are keen to offer a short extension that could potentially make it more likely that her deal gets one more chance to go. then if that is granted, there will be about in the house of commons to see if mps accept that. if those conditions are seen as owners, if two more inside the european union isn‘t something mps want than they are free to vote it down. and then three days to go before march the 29th we could leave dramatically. because today‘s vote are symbolic which would need further steps. that is the dilemma. britain has to answer a further question which is, what on earth would it use the additional time

for? would it look to get her plan to again overlook to force a different plant on her. if parliament voted for something, would theresa may do it? downing street will not be specific on these questions so we will have to wait and see, like we have done so many times before. 16 days to go. we are out of time here as well. thank you for joining out of time here as well. thank you forjoining us. out of time here as well. thank you for joining us. thanks out of time here as well. thank you forjoining us. thanks to them for their expert analysis but a quick reminder, it is andrew neil presenting life in westminster as mps prepare to vote on whether to rule out leaving the eu on the 29th of march. andrew coming up on the bbc news channel and on bbc two at 7pm. you can follow it online and on radio five live. you canjoin me back here from around 4:45pm ahead of the expected vote at a 5pm on whether to extend article 50. i will

bring you the latest as it happens ofjonah is a full 40 5pm for all the business. you will not miss any of it. the bbc news six coming up, i will be back at mpm but now let‘s the weather. plenty going on in the weather. storm gareth has been dominating. gusty winds, 75 miles per hour across western scotland. in liverpool, gusts of 62 mph. those winds have eased because the storm is spinning to the east. but this is not the end of the unsettled weather. notice another weather system starting to come in from the atlantic. 0ver system starting to come in from the atlantic. over the next few days we will see further bouts of strong winds and heavy rain at times. let‘s look at where storm gareth is at the moment. this area of low pressure

sliding out across scandinavia. plenty of white lines on the chart and it is breezy and nothing too dramatic. gusts of wind around 30 to 40 mph and strong in places at the moment. temperatures as we end the day generally at 10 degrees. through the night, outbreaks of rain across northern ireland and scotland. pushing into northern england and wales before midnight and the wet weather spreads in to ease. the winds pick up a little bit more and the overnight temperatures not dropping very far. we get into tomorrow, a soggy start thanks to this weather system. it is moving relatively quickly. the rain quickly becomes confined to england and wales and then it should clear away south eastwards. it will leave behind the date of sunny spells and showers. some of the showers heavy and blustery. wind gusts of 55 mph in the exposed spot. it is cloudy across the far south—west are particularly in devon and cornwall with patchy rain here. 708 degrees

across scotland may be 13 across south wales and southern england. 0n friday, further outbreaks of rain clearing south eastwards during the morning. then a mixture of sunny spells and showers. showers wintry high ground in the north. here it will be chilly but mild towards the south and another windy day, particularly in northern scotland. that area of low pressure from friday clears away. but here comes another one for saturday and this could be a deep feature indeed, could be a deep feature indeed, could bring some very strong winds. very heavy rain and for some others over the weekend as the low pressure ru ns over the weekend as the low pressure runs into cold air, there could even be snow, particularly over high ground in the north. check local details and any weather warnings on the bbc weather website.

welcome to bbc news. it‘s six o‘clock — we‘re live at westminster as mps prepare to give their opinion on leaving the eu without a formal deal. the day after the prime minister‘s deal was heavily defeated mps are set to vote on a no—deal brexit on 29th march as mrs may insists an agreement is still possible. i want to leave the european union with a good deal. i believe we have a good deal. yes, no deal is better than a bad deal but i want us to leave on the 29th of march and leave with a good deal. but for labour, jeremy corbyn accused the prime minister of plunging the country into chaos and he called again for a general election. the prime minister‘s deal has failed. she no longer has the ability to lead. this is a rudderless government in the face of