theresa may arrives here in brussels, asking eu leaders for a delay to brexit. the prime minister says it's with great personal regret that she's having to request an extension until the end ofjune. i am still working on ensuring that parliament can agree a deal so that we can leave in an orderly way. what matters is that we deliver on the vote of the british people. thank you. the other eu leaders are gathering now for another crucial summit that will consider the uk's request for a delay. that needs to be discussed now among the european heads of state and government this afternoon. we've always said that any extension has to have a purpose, so we will see how that discussion goes. the other main stories this lunchtime... the murder of six—year—old alesha macphail — a judge

sentences her teenage killer to life in prison after studying reports on what he did. each of these reports contains clear admissions by you of your guilt. not only that, and this is a terrible thing to say of one so young, but they paint a clear picture of a cold, callous, calculating, remorseless and dangerous individual. clinging on for life in mozambique after the cyclone that's left millions homeless. and the long road for transgender athletes hoping to compete at next year's tokyo olympics. and in the sport on bbc news, scotland get their euro qualifiers under way later this afternoon. alex mcleish‘s side face kazakhstan at the astana stadium.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. theresa may has arrived here in brussels, where she will ask eu leaders to grant a short delay to brexit. in an address to the nation last night, the prime minister said it was a matter of great personal regret that she had to make the request and she blamed mps for failing to secure britain's departure on time. the president of the european council, donald tusk, has already suggested that the other 27 leaders will grant an extension, but only if the commons approves mrs may's withdrawal agreement. this report is from our europe correspondent, damian grammaticas. departing downing street, the prime minister. she has run down the clock and now heading for brussels, the pressure is on her. days until

tracks and no agreement passed. —— days until brexit. eu leaders gathering ahead of her seem unified still. they say it is time for parliament to make a decision. only after that might a delay to brexit be possible. it is very important to know what the british parliament wa nt know what the british parliament want and know what the british parliament wantand in know what the british parliament want and in the last months it was easy for the british parliament to say what they do not want but now it is time to decide. what if no deal passes parliament? the question i put to luxembourg's prime minister. should the uk be granted a longer extension? if you organise european elections, we can discuss that. i will not want a delay after european elections if you do not have elections. people quite frankly fed up on the european side of the uk?” have sometimes the feeling like we are waiting in the waiting room.”

hope this time they will come. ireland's prime minister has said it is time to cut the uk some slack but mrs may will still have to convince eu leaders how a delay will help.” have a voice at any extension has to have a voice at any extension has to have a voice at any extension has to have a purpose so we will see how that discussion goes —— i have a lwa ys that discussion goes —— i have always said. eu leaders are sceptical she can get parliament to pass the deal. jeremy corbyn was in brussels today talking to the eu, still pressing his alternative vision. our determination as to prevent a no deal exit from the european union next friday and we therefore are looking for alternatives and building a majority in parliament that can agree on a future constructive economic relationship with the eu. at summits before, mrs may has if anything hardened attitudes among other leaders, not won them over. this may be her last chance. as i said

yesterday, this delay is a matter of personal regret but a short extension would give parliament the time to make a final choice that delivers on the result of the referendum. what is clear is that you's patients with the uk are starting to run out. other countries wa nt to starting to run out. other countries want to avoid a chaotic exit next week but increasingly they also want brexit done. damian grammaticas with that report. and we can speak to damian now. following events this morning for us. following events this morning for us. they can be unpredictable events, eu summits, but has donald tusk given them an easy option for now? well, he has given them the clear instruction or direction and it is very likely the eu leaders will follow that. that is what we have been hearing as they have started arriving at the summit this morning. they are inclined to look positively on the request for the short extension. on the key condition that the parliament... it

would be dependent on the parliament vote next week in london. but what they seem very certain about is they do not want to grant an extension up until the end ofjune, much more likely 22nd may, before european elections, and they would only as deluxe and i promised you told me consider a longer extension if there is no positive vote next week —— and they would only as the luxembourg prime minister told me. they would only as the luxembourg prime ministertold me. mrs they would only as the luxembourg prime minister told me. mrs may has important meetings now and she will talk to the french prime minister, i believe, and donald tusk as well, before she addresses all of the 27 leaders and she has a job to do to convince them because the question will be, do you think this can get through parliament? they still remain unconvinced about that which is why i think other options could still be open. a lot will depend on

how she handles the sun the coming events in london in the coming days. still very much open questions and they look to play for —— how she handles this and the coming events. the prime minister going into a meeting with emmanuel macron. it may be, given his hard line, the most important meeting she has today. they will probably be discussing what happens if the deal goes down again next week. as the coalition able to secure a vote on an alternative plan and get through all of the subsequent legislation. not much trust in brussels, it is fair to say. we will be here this afternoon in the evening and we will bring you all the reaction from this eu summit. it is one to watch. indeed. thank you. christian fraser in brussels. in her statement to the nation last night, the prime minister blamed mps

for the prospect of a delay to brexit, saying she was on the same side as voters, who, she said, were fed up with political games. mrs may said parliament has done everything possible to avoid making a decision on the way forward. but her remarks have provoked anger among many mps, who've accused her of using inflammatory language, as our political correspondent jonathan blake reports. are you going to call on her to resign? cabinet ministers keeping quiet in public, the morning after. calm comings and goings cannot hide the tension in westminster that came toa the tension in westminster that came to a head last night. theresa may pitched herself against parliament and blamed mps for the brexit stalemate. so far parliament has done everything possible to avoid making a choice. motion after motion and amendment after amendment has been tabled without parliament have a decide on what it wants. quickly and publicly the backlash began. opposition mps and her own hit back.

a pit which, to be honest, trying to blame us now when we have been doing the right things —— a bit rich. blame us now when we have been doing the right things -- a bit rich. in instead of saying, i am the prime minister, the buck stops here, she said, the buck stops over there, do not blame me. we have a representative parliamentary democracy and members of parliament cannot simply be asked to forfeit theirjudgment cannot simply be asked to forfeit their judgment and cannot simply be asked to forfeit theirjudgment and their cannot simply be asked to forfeit their judgment and their judgment has been, actually, pretty clear, that her deal is flawed. this cabinet minister defended the prime minister against claims she was pitching mps against the public.” do not see it like that. all mps have a responsibility to make sure we avoid no deal and we will all be trying to do that over the next few days. boris johnson was unusually camera shy this morning. no sign theresa may has persuaded him and others dead against her deal to budge but there was some support from mps who see it as the only

option. clearly, she has moved mountains to try to get this deal through and the interesting thing is, there is no other game in town. the government has confirmed it plans to give mps another vote on the prime minister's brexit deal next week but if it does not pass the turnaround, what then? the choice we have now is one of resolving this issue or extreme unpredictability, do we resolve the oi’ unpredictability, do we resolve the or have brexit paralysis? warnings aside, some say they felt less safe after the prime minister possible statement last night, the speaker gave his view on hostility towards mps. none of you is a traitor, all of you are doing your best. this should not be and i am sure will not prove to be a matter of any controversy whatsoever. if theresa may was hoping mps would forget

their deep dislike for her brexit deal and suddenly see the big picture, so far at least it seems she will be disappointed. her statement last night appeared to be an attempt at shock tactics but it could have backfired. the dp whose votes are crucial to the prime minister have said they will not be threatened into supporting her deal —— the threatened into supporting her deal -- the dup. our assistant political editor norman smith is at westminster. if the prime minister wanted to provoke the anger of mps, she certainly seems to have succeeded.” rather suspect mrs may's intervention will come to be seen as a major miscalculation by her team because if anything it seems to have solidified opposition with many mps up solidified opposition with many mps up in arms because they take the view that it is the prime minister and her deal that are to blame for the deadlock. others are angry because they think it is just wrong for a prime minister to in effect

denigrate parliament, the cornerstone of oui’ denigrate parliament, the cornerstone of our democracy. but above all because many think her comments were dangerous. at a time when mps, yes, do receive daily threats of abuse, violence, even death threats, for a prime minister to be almost in their view almost inciting people against parliament oi’ inciting people against parliament or presenting brexit as the people versus the politicians, it is dangerous, and that is why we saw the direct and charged intervention from the speaker saying, i believe in this place, all of you must continue to do and say what you believe to be right. the ramifications of her comments are, i suspect, the prospects of her getting her deal through parliament next week have become ever more remote. we heard from the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, this morning who acknowledged mrs may was a prime minister under extreme pressure and

you wonder if that in part explains those remarks, remarks which in quieter, calmer times mrs may might not have made and would she wonder if now she already requests. norman smith, assistant political editor. thank you. satellite photos have shown the scale of the flooding caused by cyclone idai in mozambique, a vast inland sea of over a thousand square miles. hundreds of people have died in the country and the authorities there say 15,000 people are in urgent need of rescue. more have died in neighbouring zimbabwe and malawi and, across the region, millions have been left homeless. from mozambique, anne soy reports. lucky to be alive, but growing desperate by the day. these people may have survived the worst storm ever seen here,

but now, they have nothing to eat and nowhere to shelter. cyclone idai swept away almost everything on its path. it created small islands where a city once stood, trapping those who survived it. nearly a week later, relief has started trickling in. south africa has sent its military helicopters to deliver aid. international organisations are also planning more. the uk has sent emergency shelter kits and family tents and more aid is on the way. the british government has set aside £18 million for the relief effort. and here, in the capital, a huge aid operation is getting under way. i have seen individuals and companies arriving here with foodstuffs and other basic supplies, coming to donate to people who have been affected by the cyclone. i am told that so many volunteers turned up here today that some of them had to be turned away. the supplies will be shipped to the affected region,

but there are challenges ahead. across the border in zimbabwe, some relief, as more people are rescued. thousands need help to get out. the injured and the vulnerable are given priority. tough choices that rescuers have to make with their limited means. the true scale of this disaster is not yet known. there are fears of worse times ahead as heavy rains continue to pound the affected area. rivers upstream could burst their banks, causing more destruction. the conditions here also put many at risk of contracting diseases. they sing. thousands have lost everything, but they are making do with what they can as they wait for more help to arrive. anne soy, bbc news, maputo.

and we can talk now to anne in maputo. we can see behind you part of the aid operation swinging into action. that is right. a human chain distributing some of the nations that have just arrived on a pick—up truck. these donations will be repackaged into smaller bags that can be given to families. volunteers have been arriving here, signing up to help in the coming days. so that they know who will come at what time. community led approach, bringing people together from all walks of life. united. this is not the only humanitarian effort going on. the president is tier with the cabinet leading efforts.

international efforts including the world food programme, world health organization, they are delivering aid, medical supplies to those who need it. but it is still a huge challenge. some of the people, up to 100,000 people, have still not been reached, cut off for more than a week now. the time is 1:17pm. our top story this lunchtime... theresa may has arrived in brussels, where she will ask eu leaders at a summit to grant a short delay to brexit. and still to come... a sharp rise in the number of people being tricked into making payments to fraudsters from their bank accounts. and in the sport on bbc news, the toast of cheltenham, bryony frost, is going to miss next month's grand national meeting at aintree. she's broken her collarbone after a fall earlier this week.

new zealand is to ban all military style semi—automatic weapons and assault rifles after last week's gun attacks in christchurch, which left 50 people dead. the prime minister, jacinda ardern, said new zealand's history has changed forever, and now its laws would too. naomi grimley reports. another day of mass funerals at a cemetery in christchurch. these graves are a physical and poignant reminder of the toll of last week's attack. but as the grieving continues, the political spotlight has shifted starkly to the country's gun control laws. new zealand's prime minister has lost no time in announcing decisive reforms. new zealand will ban all military style semi—automatic weapons. we will also ban all assault rifles. we will ban all

high—capacity magazines. it's a sign of the times that opposition to this ban is scarce. new zealand has tried and failed to reform its gun laws several times in the past. this time though the political class seems to accept it's different. we have a duty to respond to violence with non—violence, and i think that you will see parliament act decisively on this in the very short future. an amnesty is now in place so the owners of affected weapons can hand them in. the government has even laid aside funds to buy back weapons so that owners are to some degree compensated. parliament aims to have the reforms on the statute book by mid april. hopefully nothing like this would happen again and i hope the gun laws will stop it from happening again. the consequences of what we've seen is terrible and something must change.

new zealand has never had the same attachment to guns as america. the speed of these laws comes in stark relief to the reaction to tragedies there, as the us gun lobby has resisted reforms from successive administrations. naomi grimley, bbc news. the teenage boy who abducted, raped and murdered six year alesha macphail has been sentence to life in prison, and told he'll spend at least 27 years behind bars. the judge said 16—year—old aaron campbell was a cold and calculated individual who had shown "not a flicker of remorse" during the trial. lorna gordon was at the high court in glasgow — you may find some of the details in her report upsetting. six—year—old alesha macphail, described as a beautiful, kind and smart girl. her family said they'd been left devastated and heartbroken by her murder. her killer, aaron campbell, today

admitted he carried out the crimes. throughout, he has shown no remorse. thejudge, lord matthews, gave details of what campbell said happened the night he abducted the little girl from her bed in the family home. you said that alesha was drowsy and became a bit more awake when you went outside. at one point, she asked who you were and where you were going. you said you were a friend of her father's, and that he was taking her home. over the next few days, you were totally unconcerned, other than to be mildly amused that the police had not arrested you. the court also heard distressing details of campbell's mindset. that when he saw alesha in her bed that night, he saw a moment of opportunity. in the background reports, campbell said, during the trial, it had taken everything to stop himself laughing. alesha's family said that when their little girl's future was taken,

so was theirs. a statement was read on her mother's behalf. in the macphail family and georgina's family, it is not a 27—year sentence, it is a life sentence. they will never, ever, ever be the same again. campbell will serve a minimum of 27 years in jail. the judge warned that he viewed campbell's possible rehabilitation and reintegration back into society as remote. lorna gordon, bbc news at the high court in glasgow. the royal college of physicians has dropped its opposition to assisted dying, following a survey of hospital doctors in the uk. the college says it will now take a neutral stance on whether doctors should be allowed to help terminally ill patients end their lives. our medical correspondent, fergus walsh, is here. how significant is this decision? its symbolic only, it makes no difference at all to the law, assisted dying bill is illegal, punishable by up to 15 years in

prison. if you look at the figures, 43% of doctors polled were opposed to the college supporting assisted dying. 32% were in favour. more doctors opposed and yet the college has switched to a neutral position. it's done that because it said on such a contentious issue they needed to bea such a contentious issue they needed to be a supermajority of 60%. now it will be welcomed by those who are campaigning for assisted dying bill but it has infuriated and dismayed opponents, who say it's a sham poll, it's a travesty, politically inspired. so a lot of argument about this, but it does actually take the royal college back to the position it was prior to 2006, when it was neutral. fergus, thank you very much indeed. the home office has been accused of a "shockingly cavalier" attitude towards the detention of people in immigration removal centres. a report by mps on the home affairs committee says the government has

"utterly failed" to ensure the safety of detainees. it calls for sweeping changes — including a limit on how long people can be held. our home affairs correspondent, danny shaw, reports. immigration centres were largely hidden from view until this — undercoverfilming at brook house removal centre suggested staff were struggling to cope. the footage on bbc panorama showed detainees being threatened, and force used excessively at the facility near gatwick airport. it sparked an enquiry into immigration detention by the home affairs committee, and its findings are damning. it says there are serious problems with almost every element of the system. the report describes an institutional culture where detention is used to enforce removals, and found that some people were detained for more than three years, which it said was unacceptable. we are detaining far too many people, we are detaining them for too long, and we are very often

detaining people who just should never be detained, whether that's because there's no grounds to detain them, or because they are vulnerable to being seriously negatively impacted by detention. they may be torture survivors, for example, or they may have pre—existing mental health conditions which means detention is totally inappropriate for them. the committee said the detention of windrush migrants had wrecked their lives. thousands came to britain in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, but some later found themselves at risk of being deported and we re held in immigration centres. if the windrush scandal was the wake—up call that the home office had lost sight of the human beings who they are taking decisions about every day, today's report is a reminder that those problems are still ongoing and that they impact not only members of the windrush generation but many other people who are caught up the web of the home office. the home affairs committee calls for a 28 day detention time limit, unless there

are very exceptional circumstances. it also recommends thatjudges oversee the process, so people aren't held when they shouldn't be. the home office says it's looking closely at whether time limits should be introduced, but points out that only a minority spend longer than a month in detention. danny shaw, bbc news. there was a sharp jump in the number of people being tricked into making payments to fraudsters from their bank accounts last year. 84,000 customers were affected, paying out thousands of pounds on average. i m joined by our personalfinance correspondent, simon gompertz. simon, explain what sort of scams we are talking about. it could be that you buy something online and they ask you to pay by bank transfer rather than by credit card, or debit card, and that in itself should be a red flag, and then the item doesn't appear. or it could be much more serious usually, that fraudsters take over the e—mail account of a trader, it could be

someone account of a trader, it could be someone doing some building work for you, and then they send out invoices with the fraudster‘s bank account details asking for money and it gets sent over. the losses can be tens of thousands of pounds in those cases. let's have a look at the totals because its £354 million in total lost by personal customers and businesses last year, a sharp increase on the year before. but up 45% from the first half to the second half of last year, so are going up 84,000 people affected and on average it's more than £4000 lost time stop the problem here is that if you've authorised the payment then it's unlikely that the bank will pay you back stop they reimburse people in a minority of cases. that's changing from the end of may. there is a new voluntary code from the banks, under which they say they will be refunding more people in these cases. but they can still get out of it if they can prove that you were grossly negligent. simon, thank you. transgender athletes

are likely to compete at next year's tokyo olympics. the international olympic committee are expected to come up with new guidelines, amid a fierce debate on the issue. some argue that trans—athletes can have an unfair advantage, while others say denying people the right to compete in the gender they identify with is a violation of their rights. our sport news correspondent alex ca pstick reports. in colorado's open country an elite cyclist enjoys the freedom of the open road. this is jillian bearden, but her careers has not always been an easy ride. she's transgender. for more than 30 years she was known asjonathan. after transitioning, a rule change paved the way for her to race against women. i finally was in the field that i identified with. i felt very good in that field. it was an amazing day and i remember at the start line, you know, with 30 other women around me, and i had kind of tears coming out of my eyes. we want to compete and we want to do it fairly and we'll take whatever measures we need to.

trans women can take part in the female category as long as their testosterone levels are below a prescribed limit, but it's controversial. recent comments from former sports stars have made headlines around the world. the tennis great martina navratilova called trans—female athletes cheats, for which she later apologised. the sensitive nature of the debate is why many current competitors are reluctant to speak out, but victoria hood, a british cyclist who also runs an all women's team, feels it's too important for her to stay silent. they're born male, so they have a male body. that body goes through puberty with that influx of testosterone which then shapes their body. just by lowering that testosterone for 12 months, that's not going to eliminate a performance advantage. i don't want it to be the case that people can't do sport. ijust — sport has to be fair. the issue has posed difficult questions for sports governing

bodies, which make up the rules and regulations. new guidance is expected from the international olympic committee, which is striving to find a balance between its promise of inclusivity while ensuring fair play. we spoke to the man responsible for shaping the ioc‘s policy on trans—athletes. i think it's important that we get a resolution to this as agreed as it can be amongst the whole breadth of stakeholders, where there's these extremes of view, but most of us are somewhere in the middle where we want people to be able to compete but we also want it to be fair, and so i think we need to sort it out as soon as we can. back in the foothills of the rockies, jillian bearden is focused on the road ahead. the debate over the inclusion of trans—athletes is long and complex. a permanent solution that satisfies all sides seems a distant destination and there may well be many more mountains left to climb. alex capstick, bbc news, colorado.