the eu says it will only agree to a short brexit delay if mps finally back the prime minister's deal in the commons. under intense pressure from all sides, theresa may asks brussels for a brexit delay but tilljean the 30th at the today at 5.00 — latest. -- the president of the european council says a short extension june. the outcome of a long extension to the brexit process is possible, would be this house spending yet if mps at more endless hours contemplating its navel on europe, and failing to westminster approve address the issues that matter to our constituents. this is the letter she wrote. the prime but eu leaders still have minister's deal. to approve any delay to brexit and tonight there's no guarantee donald tusk confirms he's received that they will do that. the prime minister's letter asking to extend brexit if the prime minister cannot let her until the end ofjune. deal through or a short delay, could all the brexit fatigue is she quit? also on the programme tonight... increasingly visible, and justified. aid agencies say thousands we cannot give up thinking, of people are still stranded in trees and on roof tops five days until the very last moment, after a tropical cyclone which struck south east africa. a positive funerals are held for the victims of the christchurch mosque attacks, as new zealand's

solution. prime minister calls for a global fight to root out racist amid angry scenes in the commons, theresa may says right—wing ideology. mps will vote for a third spiralling out of control. time on her meaningful deal next psychiatrists criticise social media for allowing images that glamorise week. the outcome of the long extension and encourage would be this house spending yet more endless hours contemplating its navel on europe, eating disorders. and failing to address the issues and a landmark moment for women's that matter to our constituents. football as ba rclays announce the first multi million we are now in the midst pound sponsorship for the women's super of a full—scale national crisis. incompetence, failure, league. and intransigence from the coming up on bbc news: an fa prime minister, and her independent tribunal has found sheffield united's sophie jones government, have brought us to this guilty of racially abusing renee point. we'll have the latest from westminster and brussels, and we'll be talking to a former head of the foreign office for his view on where brexit goes next. the other main stories on bbc news at 5.00 — a race against time to save thousands of people hit by cyclone idai, which has left a path of devastation across southern africa. the first funerals take place for the victims of the gun attack on two mosques in christchurch, as the only briton who was there

talks about what he saw. 50 people, dead. and the bodies were stacked on top of each other. people just falling. the windows going out. i can't explain it, i can't. how i got out, i don't know. and google is fined nearly 1.5 billion euros by the european commission for blocking rival online search advertisers. european council president donald tusk says the eu will allow britain to delay brexit, but only if mps finally approve the withdrawal agreement they've already rejected twice.

in a statement a short time ago, mr tusk said a short extension is conditional on a "postive vote" in parliament. it follows a letter the prime minister wrote to mr tusk, asking for a delay to brexit until the end ofjune. any extension would have to be approved by all 27 eu leaders at their summit tomorrow. donald tusk responded to mrs may's letter about an hour ago. today, i received a letterfrom prime minister may, in which she addresses the european council with the request to approve the so—called strasbourg agreement between the uk and the european commission. and to extend the article 50 period until the 30th ofjune 2019. just now, i had a phone call with prime minister may about these proposals. in the light of the consultations

that i have conducted over the past days, i believe that a short extension will be possible. but it will be conditional on a positive vote on the withdrawal agreement in the house of commons. the question remains open as to the duration of such an extension. prime minister may's proposal of the 30th ofjune, which has its merits, creates a series of questions of a legal and political nature. leaders will discuss this tomorrow. when it comes to the approval of the strasbourg agreement, i believe that this is possible, and in my view, it does not create risks, especially if it will have the

ratification process in the uk. at this time, i do not foresee an extraordinary european council. if the leaders approve my recommendations, and there is a positive vote in the house of commons next week, we can finalise and formalise the decision the extension in the written procedure. however, if there is such a need, i will not hesitate to invite the members of the european council for a meeting to brussels next week. even if the hope for a final success may seem frail, and although brexit fatigue is increasingly visible and justified, we cannot give up thinking until the very last moment a positive solution. of course, without opening up

of the withdrawal agreement. we have reacted with patience and goodwill to numerous turns of events, and i am confident that also now, we will not lack the same patience and goodwill at this most critical point. donald tusk‘s statement this evening comes after an extraordinary session of prime minister's questions we will now go to brussels. can you please decode what mr tusk has been saying? he made it very plain that this extension, the short extension, to the 30th ofjune of that theresa may has asked for, he recommends to the 27 leaders, that they should be minded to accept that on that condition, that the meaningful vote, the agreement on the

table, is passed by parliament next week. and he indicated that the eu would be willing to sort of try to help by indicating that it was giving its full backing to those extra reassurance is given the other day and strasbourg. what he did not say is very important too, i think. he did not say what would happen in the event parliament voted the deal down again, or even perhaps parliament does not vote at all, because we do not know if that is for certain at the minute. what he said was, there could be another emergency meeting of the european council, which means the summit of european leaders, next week if necessary. why might that be necessary? i guess it could be necessary? i guess it could be necessary if the deal was voted down again, and then the uk comes back asking for a longer extension. the uk could seek to revoke article 50 still and put a stop to the whole process , still and put a stop to the whole process, that could still happen, so there are still many ways that this could go. but what donald tusk is saying very clearly, is

that for this deal, and he talked about patients wearing out, he talked about brexit fatigue setting in, it seems that the eu is wanting to force the issue a bit and force mps to co nfro nt force the issue a bit and force mps to confront that issue. do they want to confront that issue. do they want to let this deal go through as it is now or not? that seems to be the choice that mr tusk has put in there. and the indications are that that comes because of the sense of frustration on the eu side has grown, that this process needs to reach a conclusion at some point, and then clear decisions made. we have been hearing that the eu wants clarity. donald tusk‘s statement this evening comes after an extraordinary session of prime minister's questions a few hours earlier, where mrs may attacked the house of commons. she said parliament had "indulged itself "on europe for too long". the labour leaderjeremy corbyn described the brexit stalemate as a "full scale national crisis". 0ur political correspondent iain watson reports.

this time is running out for a deal. the uk is due to leave the eu at the end of next week. but theresa may's proposals have been rejected twice by mps. so today, she wrote to the eu, asking for a delay to brexit. do you think it will be a long or short delay? as she confirmed to parliament, this delay would be relatively short. a longer extension would oblige the uk to hold elections to the european parliament. i do not believe such elections would be in anyone's interests. the idea that three years after voting to leave the eu, the people of this country should be asked to elect a new set of meps is, i believe, unacceptable. it would be a failure to deliver on the referendum decision that this house said it would honour. if the eu agrees, then brexit could be over by the summer. i have therefore this morning written to president tusk,

the president of the european council, informing him that the uk seeks an extension to the article 50 period until the 30th ofjune. and in that letter to the eu, theresa may makes it clear that she will bring back her twice—rejected deal and ask mps to vote on it all over again as soon as possible. it's time for this house to determine it will deliver on brexit for the british people. that's what british people deserve. they deserve better than this house has given them so far. months of running down the clock and a concerted campaign of blackmail, bullying and bribery has failed to convince the house or the country that her deal is anything but a damaging nationalfailure and should be rejected. and some other labour mps were exasperated the prime minister was determined to bring her deal back a third time rather than explore alternatives. what she is doing by sticking to this failed plan is deeply

dangerous for our country. in the national interest, i beg this prime minister to think again. but this long—standing brexiteer saw any delay to brexit as a betrayal. if you continue to apply for an extension to article 50, you will be betraying the british people. if you don't, you will be honouring their instruction. prime minister, it is entirely down to you. history willjudge you at this moment. and was she hinting that herjob would be on the line if she was forced into a longer extension? as prime minister, i could not consider a delay beyond the 30th ofjune. what guarantee can you give the british people that, at the end ofjune, if we still do not have a deal, we honour that referendum result and we leave?

if it is the case that there is an extension, this does not actually take no deal off the table, it leaves that as a point at the end of that extension. so a short delay to brexit has been requested. if the prime minister had asked for a longer extension, she risked resignations from some long—standing leave campaigners in her own government. but her central argument has had to change. it's no longer her deal versus a long delay and possibly no brexit at all — it's her deal versus no deal. i'm extremely concerned that if we go for a short extension, we increase the chances of no deal by about 60%. for a government to do this when the government's own position is that no deal is not something it wants to pursue, i think it's downright reckless. so it's clear — theresa may will ask for a short extension to brexit, but the eu has to agree. and their decision will have a major impact here at

westminster. 0ur chief political correspondent vicki young is in westminster. a pretty feeble atmosphere at westminster, even recent standards. yes, it started with prime minister's questions, with theresa may laying out that she would ask for a short delay to brexit, and making it very clear that she would not consider a lengthy delay to brexit. she things it is not good for the country and the people do not want that, and that it will not solve anything. her message to parliament was brutal, get behind my deal or come up with a plan which can work. and as we know so far, that hasn't been the case. the indications are she may be making a statement later, addressing the country presumably to explain why at the 11th hour she has to delay brexit, even though over 100 times, she assured people that the uk would be leaving the eu at the end

of march. she is also meeting opposition party leaders in the next hour or opposition party leaders in the next hourorso, and we opposition party leaders in the next hour or so, and we do not know what you will be sent to them, but presumably the same message that it is time to get behind her deal. we can now speak to a labour mp. is time to get behind her deal. we can now speakto a labour mp. it seems that because of what donald tuskis seems that because of what donald tusk is said, a short delay to brexit only happens if a deal goes through. how do you now see the choices facing you next week if the info but comes back for a third time? it is a choice between the prime minister's deal, living with i'io prime minister's deal, living with no deal, or a long extension to the article 50 process. i do not support a no—deal brexit, but at the same time, i a no—deal brexit, but at the same time, lam a no—deal brexit, but at the same time, i am not sure a no—deal brexit, but at the same time, lam not sure how we can justify to the public and other long extension to this process, particularly if we do not have a plan for what comes next. we need to break that deadlock, move forward, and start negotiating what our future relationship will look like

rather than arguing over the withdrawal agreement, which i think most mps support. you have been talking to the government and other mps in all parties, about how to break that deadlock, and you are looking towards the next stage of brexit negotiations, because this is only the beginning of the end. there is now a whole negotiation which will start about the future relationship. so what are you proposing? we propose that there is a way for putting into the withdrawal agreement bill, the role for parliament, but we are in this mess because at the very beginning, the prime minister went off on her own, the prime minister went off on her owi'i, came up the prime minister went off on her own, came up with what she wanted, and tried to negotiate that with europe. but she never thought to think whether that would get through parliament. so we suggest in this stage, let's start from scratch with where parliament should be, making sure there is a negotiating mandate we can all agree on, and then making sure that when she has a final trade deal, she agrees it was parliament before she agrees it

with europe. resetting that relationship, and we propose an amendment which we hope to later the meaningful vote three, whenever that comes, saying that we agree this deal subject to legislation put in parliament pass rates into statute and giving us the role we deserve going forward. and with sections of the conservative party, do you think, be appealed to by this? because you presumably see this as a safeguard depending on who becomes prime minister. yes, and this week will very much focused on whether theresa may is prime minister by the weekend, but at the same time, there could be a change of government or prime minister, could be a change of party and government. so we propose an insurance policy that says, what are we end up with a new conservative prime minister we have the general election that the liberal party wants and jeremy corbyn as prime minister, there is still consensus across the house as to where the negotiation too. —— the labour

party. so parliament simply cannot agree what the prime minister has agreed with europe. do you get a sense from your labour colleagues that the three—way choice is focusing them to get behind her?|j think focusing them to get behind her?” think it is focusing minds, but there is a core of the parliamentary labour party that will vote for nothing because they do not accept we are leaving the european union. we have tried to find a way to giving some certainty and comfort to labour mps that if we had really prime minister's deal, there will be a role for us post—deal vote three, and we are not advocating any particular style of political declaration, we are it has to be canada or it has to be norway, we wa nt canada or it has to be norway, we want to enshrine the rights of parliament so that we have a role in negotiations, and i do not see why any memberof parliament negotiations, and i do not see why any member of parliament would the to giving parliament the right to reject those things. thank you very much. indications are that theresa may will bring back ideal for

another vote next week. mps will have a lot think about. thank you very much, vicki. the headlines on bbc news — the president of the european council donald tusk says a short extension to the brexit process is possible — if mps back theresa may's withdrawal deal. theresa may tells mps they will vote for a third time on her meaningful deal next week. and in other news — a desperate race against time to save survivors of cyclone idai, which has killed hundreds of people across southern africa. in sport, the fa have signed a deal with barclays to sponsor the women's super league. it has been described as the biggest ever brand investment into women's sport in the uk. the multi—million pound deal starts next season, and will run untiljuly 2022. an fa independent tribunal has found sheffield united pass sophie jones guilty of racially abusing another player during a match against tottenham hotspur in january. she has been given a

five match ban, at the club has set her contract will be terminated. and bad news for scotland boss alex mcleish, celtic defender kieran tierney will miss their opening euro 2020 qualifier in kazakhstan tomorrow due toa hip qualifier in kazakhstan tomorrow due to a hip injury. i will be back with more on those stories after 5.30. the first funerals have taken place in new zealand for the victims of last week's gun attack on muslim worshippers that left 50 people dead. hundreds of mourners gathered at a cemetery near one of the two mosques that was attacked in the city of christchurch. 50 people were killed in total, and more burials are expected in the coming days. in an interview with clive myrie, new zealand's prime minister has called for a global fight to root out racist right—wing ideology. i don't think any, any leader, anywhere, can really prepare themselves for

those moments. but it's fair to say, i happen to be, though, the prime minister of a particularly peaceful nation, an inclusive nation. a place where 200 ethnicities and 160 languages are spoken. we pride ourselves on being well—known as a welcoming place. in fact, the terrorist who brought this act to new zealand chose us for this terrorist act because we are all of those things. and so, shock was, of course, my immediate reaction. how could this happen here, to us, and to this community? how concerned are you of a rising tide of white nationalism in new zealand? how bad is that situation getting, do you think? my call would be a global one.

you know, i'm very clear here to make the distinction that, yes, this was an australian citizen, but that is not to say that we do not have ideology in new zealand that would be an affront to the majority of new zealanders, that would be utterly rejected by the majority, the vast majority of new zealanders. but we still have a responsibility to weed it out where it exists and make sure we never create an environment where it can flourish. but i would make that a global call. what new zealand experienced here was violence brought against us by someone who grew up and lived their ideology somewhere else. so, actually, if we want to make sure that globally we are a safe and tolerant and inclusive world, we cannot think about this in terms of boundaries, and that's the kind of leadership i think we need to see on this issue. the prime minister of

new zealand. as the funerals for victims of the new zealand attack start taking place this week, more survivors are coming forwad to talk about what happened that day. nathan smith moved to new zealand from dorset 13 years ago. he was the only british man present in the al noor mosque when the attacker opened fire. 50 people, dead. the bodies were stacked on top of each other, people just falling. the windows going out. i can't... i can't explain it. how i got out, i don't know. bang, bang, bang, bang, and it was relentless. but it wasn't right in the room, it was... people were looking at each other... to be honest, i thought it was firecrackers or maybe electrical problems. then all of a sudden, the windows started going out. i could see people just falling forward. people standing up just falling over. i got up, and i can't remember from the minute i got up to the minute i was out the back.

lots of people gone. the person whose house i got married at, gone. when i first became a muslim, i had one foot in islam and one foot out of islam, and it was very difficult. he took me in as a son, for a long time, he taught me everything, pretty much, that i know. a gentle man, a fijian man, gone. just because they are wearing something different, they have beards and they are not dressed the same or eat the same food, they are still the same. they laugh, they are happy, they are sad. they are good people. and the best ones, not coming home.

the only british citizen present when that attack happened in christchurch last week. nathan smith. the united nations warns cyclone idai has caused a "massive disaster" in southern africa. the authorities in mozambique fear the death toll there could be more than 1,000, while many have also been killed in zimbabwe and malawi. across the region, tens of thousands have lost their homes, with some victims trapped on rooftops and clinging to trees awaiting rescue. aid workers say there's also a threat of waterborne diseases. our world affairs correspondent naomi grimley reports. shattered buildings and water — that's all that seems to be left of the city of beira, which took the full force of cyclone idai. watch how the lonely figure in the centre of your screen wades towards what's left of a home. in a landscape where tree tops are now lapped by water, one man is precariously winched to safety by rescue

workers. a swathe of land 50km wide is completely submerged. many have been left clinging to roofs, as these pictures show. thankfully, aid is arriving in the shape of food, shelter kits and cash assistance, but it will reach urban areas first. rural communities will have to wait longer for help to come. so we're talking about a huge crisis. to give you a sense of that, we've probably only accessed about 10% of the area that's currently affected, to even get a sense of what those needs are. so, beyond that, we're looking at probably around 600,000+ people affected. across the border in zimbabwe, the government has admitted itjust can't cope with the sheer scale of this disaster. too many people have the same story to tell. translation: there is hunger here. houses were washed away. we don't have a place to stay.

all our food stocks were damaged and children died. we are suffering. everybody knows that, on top of the destruction, flooding and mud, cholera and other diseases will inevitably follow. 0verall, it's thought that more than 2.6 million people could be affected across three countries. already, experts say it could be the worst such disaster ever seen in the southern hemisphere. in zimbabwe, thousands of people have been left homeless, aid agencies are struggling to reach survivors in communities that have been cut off due to flooding. joining me now from the capital of mozambique, maputo, is carlota silva, deputy head of mission for the international medical charity medecins sans frontieres. thank you forjoining us. can you describe the latest situation where

you are in mozambique? well, the situation remains extremely worrying. after six days after the cyclone, there is a lot to be alarmed about, so there is the emergency response, the need for a huge emergency response. 0ur teams are currently presenting a project on hiv at the health centre, and an emergency team arrived just yesterday, so we are still trying to do an assessment. we are in an initial phase, first trying to collect information from our people, and at the same time, trying to see the needs. so the majority of health facilities have been destroyed, the hospital as well. it is still

partially functional, and received 1500 wounded over the weekend. but the majority of the houses have been wiped out, so you are facing an emergency of floods as well as the cyclone. and it is not only in the city, but the surrounding areas. the surrounding areas are much more difficult to access. the roads have been cut, and the majority of places are flooded. so mostly now, it is the rescue teams to try and get the people. but we have little information from the outside area. we are concerned, because we know that the dams in zimbabwe, they are full, so there is a risk of increased flooding. and for us, as the city of beira is now without water and power, and a population of 500,000, there is an increase of waterborne and airborne diseases,

such as cholera, it is now an issue. and from our side, we will focus mostly and from our side, we will focus m ostly o n and from our side, we will focus mostly on trying to offer emergency care, and also to continue the care we we re care, and also to continue the care we were providing on hiv. we started today in the hospital, and tomorrow we will hopefully do some more cleaning to try to provide care in the transit centres that beira has started. and hopefully we will have a team assessing outside of beira as soon as possible. we have been looking at pictures from your own agency amongst other people, of the devastation of there. do you have any idea how many people may have died in this disaster, and also how many people are homeless because of the cyclone? well, the official death is 200, but we know it is very underestimated. even officially here, this it is probably

about 1000. we know that there is probably in terms of displaced people, close to 400,000 people. this is the data shared, but it is not really... we did not have access to it, so we cannot confirm, because it is still in an initial phase of the response. 400,000 people displaced and that is just mozambique. other countries are also hard hit by this. we are still in an initial assessment phase. we are acting on the ground since today. hopefully we will manage to go out of beira at the weekend. in zimbabwe thousands of

people have been left homeless by the cyclone and ministers they are admitting the field to anticipate the magnitude of the disaster. . the majority of food aid and supplies are still stuck here. we have seen for ourselves the difficulty of trying to access some of these areas by road. some of these narrow roads are blocked.

now, president emmerson mnangagwa has gone into those areas to see the extent of the devastation himself. officials say that 98 people are confirmed dead, but the anecdotal evidence we have heard from villagers suggests that this figure could be much higher, into the hundreds. this is the fifth day since the cyclone hit and the united nations is saying that for those yet to be reached, time is running out. here is that where there. it is the spring equinox today. it has felt springlike out there for many of as. that seems apt particularly when we had sunshine, temperatures around 19. midlands, northern england, east anglia. 0ther midlands, northern england, east anglia. other areas have been played with quite a lot of cloud through today. through tonight even where we have had those clear spells they will tend to fill in with cloud. most of us cloudy by the

end of tonight, mist and health organ parts of the west. all the while this band of the west. all the while this band of rain across the far north—west of scotland. it will not be a cold night. tomorrow will start. through tomorrow not quite as much sunshine as we had today. east wales, west midlands could see temperatures down a little bit. this patchy rain still affecting north—west scotland. rain becomes widespread on friday. sing south eastwards on friday night. on saturday things will feel a little bit cooler.

this is bbc news. the headlines. the european council president, donald tusk says a short brexit extension is possible — if mps back the prime minister's withdrawal agreement. thought the brexit fatigue is increasingly visible, we cannot rule out a positive solution. meanwhile, theresa may says mps will vote for a third time on her meaningful deal next week. in other news, a desperate race against time to save survivors of cyclone idai — which has killed hundreds of people across southern

africa. and the first funerals take place for the victims of the gun attack on two mosques in christchurch. here is the sports news. an fa independent tribunal has found sheffield united's sophie jones guilty of racially abusing renee hector during a match against tottenham hotspur injanuary. jones was charged last month, after hector reported receiving "some monkey noises from an opposition player" during a women's championship game. jones, who denies the charge, has been served with a five—match ban. sheffield united have said that her contract, which was up for review in the summer, will now be terminated by mutual consent. in the last few minutesjones has released a statement. she maintains

that she is not guilty and is quitting the sport. barclays will become the women's super league first ever title sponsor, in a deal the fa has called "the biggest ever investment in uk women's sport by a brand". the three—year partnership is understood to be worth in excess of £10 million and will start from next season. former england goalkeeper rachel brown—finnis says it's a game changing moment. huge deal, it is a landmark achievement. there's been so many historical moments in women's football over the last ten, 15 years, certainly. with regards to the professionallising women's football, but this has been the final piece of thejigsaw, we have has the media coverage, players have been allowed to become professional, and that continues to grow and move in the right direction, but the commercialisation of it, the sponsorship of the league,

that has never been done before, to see that signed and sealed and confirmed to start next season is probably the most exciting piece in this continuing journey. wales will be the first of the home nations to play during this international window. they face trinidad and tobago tonight in a friendly in wrexham. the game will serve as a warm up ahead of their opening euro 2020 qualifer against slovakia on sunday in cardiff. star players gareth bale and aaron ramsey aren't expected to play this evening. wales manager ryan giggs thinks it's a good opportunity for some of his yonger players to stake a claim for a starting place. players are at different stages, some players need games, some

players do not. this is a good opportunity, the friendly fixture, that we can have that. that six—day build—up for some of the players. some of them will not be involved tomorrow, others need a game, whether that be at 90 minutes or 45, we will have to see as we go along. celtic left—back kieran tierney will miss scotland's opening euro 2020 qualifier in kazakhstan tomorrow with a hip problem. he was expected to replace captain andrew robertson, who misses the game after having dental surgery. celtic midfielder callum mcgregor will now captain alex mcleish‘s side. sunderland striker will grigg has been ruled out of northern ireland's euro 2020 qualifiers against estonia and belarus with an ankle injury. the 27—year—old has returned to his club and will miss the matches at windsor park on thursday and sunday. ufc fighter tj dillashaw says he's vacated the bantamweight title after being informed that he failed a drug test in his last bout against henry cejudo. the american stepped down a division to take the fight

but was stopped in just 33 seconds by flyweight champion cejudo. he says he was informed of the adverse results afterwards and was "voluntarily relinquishing" his title while he deals with the matter. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. more now on the latest brexit developments, and the prime minister has written to the eu asking for a delay to brexit until the end ofjune, telling mps she's opposed to a longer extension and is preparing to put her brexit deal to a third commons vote. meanwhile, the eu has said it will agree to theresa may's request — but only if parliament approves the current withdrawal agreement. 0ur chief political

correspondent vicki young is in westminster. it sounded this lunchtime as if the prime minister was saying she is prepared to have one more attempt to get her deal through parliament, then that would be it, and parliament would have to come to its own conclusions and try and decide what it wants. if it doesn't want her deal, and it does not want no deal, and that is doing the votes have gone in the past, what does it want? theresa may was also critical of mps saying they have spent too long navel—gazing about the eu, it is time to confront the realities. and that got an angry response from former attorney general dominic grieve. i have never felt more ashamed to be a member of the conservative party. she spent most of her time castigating

the house for its misconduct. at no stage did she pause to consider whether it is in fact they way she is leading this government which might be contributing to this situation. i have great sympathy for her. i have known her for many years. we have a personalfriendship known her for many years. we have a personal friendship beyond and outside of this house. but i have to say, i could have wept. wept to see her reduced to these streets, and wait to see the extent to which she was now simply zigzagging all over the place, rather than standing up for what the national interest must be. some stern words they are from dominic grieve. i am sure the prime minister will say that she has negotiated a deal with the eu and she still believes that is the best way forward. she is urging mps now to look at the alternatives. i am nowjoined by conservative mp. another attempt to get her deal through next week. the eu making clear at the moment there will be

no short extension unless it goes through, will that persuade you to change your mind? i do not think it would. ina change your mind? i do not think it would. in a sense nothing has changed, to coin the prime minister's favourite phrase, unless something actually changes within the agreement itself. the eu is not indicating they are going to change anything. the speaker has made clear we cannot just the anything. the speaker has made clear we cannotjust the same vote again. if the prime minister brings it back to the house and the speaker does allow it again, it will fail again. if he had not blocked it last night, it was going to feel again. a smaller vote against what it would still have been voted down. it is not entirely clear, not for the first time, quite how or why this will change the outcome. i guess if there are labour mps who feel there is a risk of no deal at the end of next week, that might

make them add some other of your collea g u es make them add some other of your colleagues who have said they would shift, it might make them change their minds. it isjust possible. but these are the numbers, last time three labour mps voted for the prime minister's deal. that would require to get to labour votes of 20 plus, even then you would need to whittle down from concerned conservative side, who are worried about the backstop, let us assume that is even fixed, but there is a third group of people, at least it doesn't, maybe 15, saying they are not going to allow the same team that negotiated withdrawal agreement to then negotiate for the next two years on the future trade deal. for those people they will say, that is fine, but we are still not happy unless it isa but we are still not happy unless it is a different bunch of negotiators in place. is that something that party managers are offering to mps, conservative mps? is it being

floated as an idea, that maybe they could be persuaded to back the deal? i have not heard it put like that. it is not something anyone has said to me. i am it is not something anyone has said to me. iam not it is not something anyone has said to me. i am not really clear that is on the cards. something intriguing that theresa may said at prime ministers questions today, if it does not go through by the 13th of june she would not be prepared to extend it any further, which means what exactly? is she going to stand down? but we are at an impasse. neither of these various different outcomes looks particularly likely to succeed. i do not see much has changed in that we do not know that europe will even allow us to go ahead and the speaker will allow us to go ahead. what do you see is the solution? theresa may was clear to parliamentarians, you have failed to grasp this, failed to make a decision. it is not what i want, it is not what i am calling for, but i

have said for a long time the outcome of all of this is eventually you have to go back to the country, throw the cards up in the air, and see what the country once in terms ofa see what the country once in terms of a parliamentary majority. 0ne party, one view, orthe of a parliamentary majority. 0ne party, one view, or the other. that is fraught with difficulty for all the parties, certainly the two big parties, who are entirely divided over what the policy should be over this europe issue. even that is not without complication, but eventually there has to be an outcome because parliament needs to have an in—built majority for one view or the other. i was talking to dominic grieve, the great remainer campaign last week about this, and oliver letwin. they said maybe there isjust about this, and oliver letwin. they said maybe there is just not a majority to get above the line for any view at all when it comes to brexit. if that is the case, where else do you go apart from a general election? thank you. something for

eve ryo ne election? thank you. something for everyone to look forward to if parliament cannot come to a decision, maybe have one more think about it. with me is former head of the foreign office, sir simon fraser. thank you for being with us. what is your reading of where we are right now? the eu saying they will give a delay but only if the prime minister gets her brexit deal through that meaningful vote next week. gets her brexit deal through that meaningful vote next weekm gets her brexit deal through that meaningfulvote next week. it is difficult to have clear views on things because events move so fast that it seems to me that we are in a game of brinksmanship. the prime minister is trying to push her deal through. the eu, on their side, we like her to get the deal through, they are fed up with the entire process. she has asked for a

short extension, they have said they will only give that if she gets the deal through. the question is does she have a chance of getting the deal through next week? if she does not get the deal through, what happens? it depends when the vote is next week. some people say it could be very late. i think if she does not get the vote through we will then see the real last chance saloon discussion of extension, at that point, whether the british agreed to go for a longer extension, or whether the eu agreed to grant a short extension despite her not having got the deal through will be on the table. neither side wants no deal but there is a risk that no deal but there is a risk that no deal could happen by accident if we fail to reach agreement. the vote could be the day before the 29th. leaving only one day, potentially just hours, to try and stop no deal. it could. if that is what is going to happen it is

an irresponsible way to happen it is an irresponsible way to run the country. i do hope that she has her deal sooner than that so that there is a last opportunity if she does not get it through to avoid the catastrophe of going over the edge by accident. and you think that the eu want to avoid an accidental no deal and that although they are seeing now they can only be an extension if the deal comes through, when push comes to shove, they might change their minds on that, soften their position? they will not soften their position? they will not soften their position? they will not soften their position on reopening the negotiation withdrawal. but they do not want no deal because a do not wa nt to not want no deal because a do not want to be held responsible for no deal. look at their own economy, it is not going great, does not in their interest to have no deal. we have not heard the last word on either side. do you think the eu 27, we have taught throughout this process about how united they have beenin process about how united they have been in their dealings with the uk,

are they still united ? been in their dealings with the uk, are they still united? we were hearing noises from the fridge today that they were not keen on an extension or there were conditions attached. it is in negotiation. nobody is going to move now. the eu site adding united in their position. what they do not want is a series of short rollover extensions without any reasonable clarity about when it is leading. that is why they are attaching conditions. the alternative to that would be a longer extension because we agree that we need to think it through again. that is hugely complicated because of the european parliament elections which we would then have to put candidates forward on. that he would lead to another political exercise on our side as well. speaking of that, what about the prime minister's position? she seems to be hinting in the commons today that as prime minister she would not wa nt to that as prime minister she would not want to see a longer delay than the end ofjune, indicating or hinting perhaps that she might not stay on as prime minister if that were to be the case. there is speculation she will make a statement this evening.

do we have any inside track on what you might be saying to the people? there is speculation she is going to make a statement this evening. the last time that happened there is a huge amount of speculation of what she might see edge did not see much. some people are speculating she may see if she gets her deal through she will step aside so someone else can ta ke will step aside so someone else can take it forward. let us wait and see what she says. but in parliamentary questions today she did say as prime minister she would not pursue this beyond the 30th ofjune. what would you say, we have talked about both sides playing this game of brinksmanship, what would you say about this handling of the entire brexit process since the referendum on both sides? comment on that as a former head of the foreign office, i don't know how free you are to talk about that. we had

a referendum without people understanding what was involved. we made the one easy decision which is do you want to be in the eu were out. people said they wa nted in the eu were out. people said they wanted to be out. we have not then solved any of the difficult decisions about what sort of brexit we want, what sort of relationship we want, what sort of relationship we want. what we have seen over these 1000 days is that we do not have a view on that. there is no majority for any outcome. some people are saying there would be possibly a majority in the commons for a customs union, that kind of brexit, a much softer brexit than the one the prime minister has opted for. that may be the case and we may get to that but the trouble for the prime minister if that is to get to that she will have to break her party. the party will not unite around that. so far she has favoured party unity. the only way to get that sort of solution is to cross party

boundaries. just briefly, that has been the criticism of her, she has been the criticism of her, she has put party unity above the country. that is one of the criticisms and i think it is true. also she has taken a firm position in negotiation without being clear on how she will deliver them. that has not been successful. thank you so much for being with us and sharing your thoughts with us. former head of the foreign office between 2010 and 2015, thank you for your time. a record number of possible victims of trafficking and modern slavery were referred to the uk authorities last year. the national crime agency says the rise to almost 7,000 cases was fuelled partly by so—called county lines gangs who force children and vulnerable adults to supply drugs. our home affairs correspondent danny shaw dug into the figures. a big rise in the number of children. from just over 2000 to just over 3000 in a year. the national crime agency believes this is primarily because they are seeing more cases where young people, some as young as 11 or 12, are being groomed by gangs, coerced by gangs, into

delivering drugs for them. going from big cities to rural towns to coastal towns. they're taking heroin and cocaine and, in some cases, vulnerable adults are seeing their homes used in these towns as the basis for these 00:53:14,1000 --> 00:53:17,475 drug supply operations. clearly, we don't know whether there is a genuine increase in all these cases of trafficking and modern slavery or if it is simply because there is more awareness of the problem and ability to report these problems to the authorities. but certainly, the evidence is that the county lines operations are a growing problem and a real concern is how young many of these victims are. increases in the cost of food and alcohol helped to push inflation higher last month. the rate of price changes, measured using the consumer prices index, rose to 1.9%. that's up from 1.8% injanuary. but the office for national statistics says house prices are rising at their

slowest rate for almost six years. the european commission has fined google nearly $1.3 billion for breaking european anti—trust rules. the eu's competition commissioner said google had engaged in illegal practices when brokering advertising linked to searches, in order to cement its dominance. it's the third anti—trust fine imposed by the eu on google. almost a year ago des lally from brecon set himself a daunting challenge. he promised himself he'd climb the highest peak in south wales 365 times in 365 days, to raise money for charity. well now he's nearly done it — as john maguire reports. what number are we on? 356. nine to

go after this one? yes. five days. the deadline is looming, this saturday marks one year since des set himself the challenge of climbing to the summit 365 times in 365 days stop it was to raise funds and awareness for two charities. a marathon, not a sprint. 0n des's busiest day he has climbed the 500 metres to the summit four times to keep himself on schedule. it is a huge physical challenge. last summer he was forced to take a long break after suffering

heat exhaustion. when you are turning up at nine o'clock at night, it is dark, 78 mph winds, lashing down with rain, you are on your own, here you go again, but you think about the reasons why you are doing it, and you get on your way. number 356 done, time to look back at some of the highs and lows of so many assets. another attempt by mother nature to halt the progress. there has been a number of occasions when it has been like that. it is ha rd when it has been like that. it is hard going. it is verging on dangerous as well. he has battled through a whole year of sun, snow and storms. ahead now, just one thing, success. time for a look at the weather. here's ben

rich with the forecast. you have also claimed that summits, maybe not 365 times. just once. it was nice to see what the view from the top is light, when i went it was cloudy and snowy. it isa i went it was cloudy and snowy. it is a beautiful part of the world. not a bad day there today. decent weather over the next few days. things are settled for the rest of this week. and mild as well. south—westerly winds wafting mild here in our direction. there have been mixed fortunes in terms of sunshine. some of us have had quite a lot of cloud, best of the sunshine across east wales, into the midlands, england, east anglia. some places have got up to 19 degrees during today. through this evening we will continue to see some late brightness. bear in mind the sun is about to go down. it is the spring

equinox today. sunset times across the uk ranging from... 0nce equinox today. sunset times across the uk ranging from... once the sun has gone down, there will be cloudy conditions for many of us through tonight. the odd spot of drizzle, fog here and there. the outbreak of rain in western scotland. tomorrow morning we start off quite mild. a lot of cloud. spots of drizzle, misty and murky conditions. through the day many places predominantly dry, bright and sunny spells through east wales, the midlands, north—east england. but not as much sunshine as today. still outbreaks of rain across western scotland. temperatures a little down on today. look ahead to friday, areas of mist and marked first thing. england and we are is an eastern scotland, some spells of sunshine. this band of

rain moves into western scotland and northern ireland. it turns when the across the far north—west as well. gusts of 50, 60 mph, maybe a touch more. behind that band of rain we start to see something a little bit cooler spreading in from the north—west. that is a sign of what is to come as we head for the weekend, a cold front sinking south eastwards through friday night. high pressure builds in behind. dry weather for the weekend. some of that will be wintry, the air will be turning chillier. it is not a plunge back into the deep freeze of winter but it will feel less springlike. if you wintry showers for the north and west of scotland.