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tv   BBC News at Six  BBC News  March 28, 2019 6:00pm-6:31pm GMT

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you are watching bbc news, our latest headlines. the government has planned a brexit vote for tomorrow which splits its deal and considers tonight at 6:00pm, only the eu withdrawal agreement. a new brexit vote. this time theresa may the speaker says the motion is new wants mps to sign off and substantially different. on just part of her deal. the speaker says the motion is new and substantially diffe re nt.|j really do encourage all honourable it could be theresa may's final chance to secure a brexit and right honourable members to legacy, but will mps back her? support this motion of the house so politicians of all political parties that we can leave the have a duty to put the national interest first so we can put this controversy behind us and move on to a brighter future. but there's a stark warning from business leaders today. the damage has already been done. to westminster we say, we are frustrated, we are angry. you have let british business down. mrs may's plan to hold a vote on just part of her deal pushes a decision on britain's future eu relations to another day.
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also tonight... the aftermath of grenfell. dust and debris found near the tower contain toxic chemicals which could cause cancer. the woman who cannot feel pain. a genetic mutation means jo cameron can burn herself and not know about it. i'm so honoured and privileged to be given this fantastic responsibility to lead us forward. from caretaker manager to the main man. manchester united give ole gunnar solskjaer the job he's "dreamed" about. and coming up on bbc news... it's a bronze medal at long last for gb‘s four man bobsleigh crew from the sochi winter olympics.
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good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. in what many are seeing as a last ditch move to secure a brexit legacy, the prime minister has decided go for a new parliamentary vote on her eu withdrawal agreement tomorrow. but, as ever, there's a catch. this time, mps will be asked to back the part of the agreement that deals only with the divorce, leaving the political declaration, which describes britain's future relations with the eu, to another day. our political editor laura kuenssberg explains what lies behind theresa may's latest parliamentary manouevre. they won't just be they won'tjust be talked into it. still too many quarrels about what to do. mark is in a real minority here because he... 17.4 million people. ministers still want to move forward theresa may's compromise with the eu to end all the noise.
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politicians of all political parties have a duty to put the national interest first, so we can put this controversy behind us and move on to a brighterfuture controversy behind us and move on to a brighter future for the controversy behind us and move on to a brighterfuture for the british people. but conversations are over for now. the allies they need. the dup, who will not back the deal, together with a core of brexiteers who are still holding out. one thing i would like to see is i think we should go back to the eu again, keep the arm of french and open and explain there is still time for an exchange of letters providing a legally binding exit from the backstop. there is a trickle of brexiteers who will back theresa may's deal now she has promised to leave. they are urging colleagues to join them. you also want to leave the eu. guy's and girls, it's up to you. if only it were that simple for theresa may. tomorrow she will have another go at getting this place behind her deal. but it's not a third attempt at getting the whole
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package through, which has already failed twice. you might want to call tomorrow the day of meaningful vote 2.5, because mps will only be asked to vote on the divorce deal with the european union. they will not be asked to give anotherjudgment on the whole package which includes a plan for the long term. number ten says it's the last chance to be sure of avoiding a long delay to brexit. but splitting up the controversial two parts might not avoid defeat.- decouple them, she should be asking the labour party to vote for a brexit without a political declaration that tells you what the future relationship will look like and that can't be right, which is why the two documents absolutely have to go together. even with tories, number ten‘s latest wheeze simply might not work. we are all sharing that deal on the table... even those who didn't back brexit can't agree. we have been in the eu for 45 years and we would hope the settle m e nt for 45 years and we would hope the settlement we decide on will last us
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for another 50 years. it shouldn't be one that we are held to vote for at gunpoint. i can see that there will be no majority for any of the options, and you can't easily get people to support different... they ta ke people to support different... they take us to a different place. second referendum. that's not the point, we can't support a deal. the second referendum wouldn't support a deal that supports the trade—offs in any deal we settle on. my answer to the problem of complexity is to pass a binary choice back to the people, that doesn't settle that one bit. how is your party going to sort this out? we have been having this argument for nearly three years.” think the solution to this lies in looking beyond the party, to parliament as a whole. we need a process that reached across to the other side of the house of commons and worked with the other tribes and factions in the other parties. there are so many factions in the other parties. there are so many doubts though about the prime minister's deal getting through, whether into halves or at the same time, that behind closed
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doors mps the same time, that behind closed doors mp5 from all parties are hunting for solutions.” doors mp5 from all parties are hunting for solutions. i won't be voting for this half deal and it's another outrage from the prime minister trying to sycophant parliament, trying to bash us all over the head again and i don't think it will work, which is why i am working closely with colleagues from across parties to find a solution out of this crisis. number ten is trying, still trying, to find an escape from the dark hole they are in. tomorrow they will ask parliament to allow them to take another step. and remember how we got here, theresa may spent years getting together with the eu to get this deal, but mps voted it down. she then had it tweaked and mp5 voted it down. she said last night she would quit if mps backed her. and instead of putting the whole thing on the table tomorrow, she is now essentially asking them to turn it into a essentially asking them to turn it intoa game essentially asking them to turn it into a game of two halves, just voting on the first part of the deal that sorts out our departure and leaving the longer term for the next
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few weeks. but it's still not certain that that will even get through because people, george, are really dug into their positions. labour have said they will not vote for it. those key northern irish allies, the dup, have also said tonight they will not back the government tomorrow. where this is tricky, though, and whether the government might be accused of pulling some kind of stunt, is that tomorrow was supposed to be brexit day, the day we have been due to leave the european union for such a long time now, and the government tomorrow will be challenging for people to vote against the idea of what was promised to the public all those months ago. and labour have previously said they didn't have a problem with the divorce deal, they accepted the eu's verdict that it couldn't be renegotiated. so number ten are facing another stiff test, but they hope that this move might give them another sense of momentum. studio: laura kuenssberg, thank you.
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now, as we've heard, without a majority in the commons theresa may is dependent on winning the support of northern ireland's dup. last night they made it clear they would not back the prime minister's deal as it stands. emma vardy is at stormont this evening, home of the assembly of northern ireland. emma, what could change the dup's minds? the short answer, doing away with the backstop entirely. but we have heard time and time again from brussels, that's something they say they are not going to agree to. if they are not going to agree to. if the backstop were to come into force, it could mean northern ireland being treated differently to the rest of the uk. the thing the dup dislikes the most. so there have been all these other avenues explored to try to make it more palatable. the first one, one of the big ones, the so—called stormont flock, giving this place, the northern ireland assembly a say in whether we enter the backstop, and also promises that if northern ireland has to keep following eu laws than the rest of the uk would do the same and stand by it. but
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there is distrust within the dup over whether those promises would be kept and the party certainly doesn't wa nt to kept and the party certainly doesn't want to be sold out further down the line. so another carrot dangled is to give the dup a seat in future trade talks with the eu. but again, there are suspicions over whether there are suspicions over whether the government was ever really serious over giving them a place at that table. and of course if they did decide to do that, it would raise big questions over whether scotla nd raise big questions over whether scotland and wales could demand the same thing. so that brings us back to the backstop, getting the ink on the paper of the withdrawal agreement changed in a legally binding way is the thing that many in the dup at this stage now believe is really the only thing that could genuinely get them onside. of course, it's the thing the eu is com pletely resista nt to course, it's the thing the eu is completely resistant to as well. if you think all of this has been a headache over the past two years, then rest assured, many people in northern ireland would agree with you. a place which voted to remain
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in the referendum. but within the dup, there's a feeling that even a long extension, even a couple more yea rs of long extension, even a couple more years of all this uncertainty, still be preferable to voting for a deal which they believe chips away at northern ireland's place within the united kingdom, the most fundamental thing that the party believes in. emma vardy, many thanks. we've reported before on the effect brexit uncertainty has been having on british business. well, today we had one of the starkest warnings yet. the head of the british chambers of commerce, adam marshall, couldn't have been clearer when he took aim at politicians. "you have let british business down," he said. our business editor simon jack reports now on the impact brexit is having on some firms. where do you go to escape from brexit? how about this caravan and camping site in dorset? hello. hi there. pat and john headed back from spain in time for the original brexit date because they had so many unanswered questions. insurance, motor home travelling insurance, our private medical.
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a big thing for us is our mobile phone roaming charges, because that's the only communications we have when we are abroad. there is also the delays on the other side of the channel. there's also things like our driving licences. we don't know if they stack up. and the dogs? we don't know about how their passports stack up. we don't know about blood testing, the rabies jab. real questions that are affecting real life choices and creating some business winners and losers. all the quality ones are german. campsite owner dave is one of the few winners. we are having a fabulous year so far. we were 300 bookings up in february on last year and march is following suit. there is a lot of uncertainty with the economic climate and the brexit situation. the pound is very weak against the euro. are the ferries going to be congested with extra freight coming in if there is a no—deal situation? it is perhaps incredible that we don't know what kind of brexit we're going to get yet, and when. but for businesses, the effects of it are very real and it's creating winners,
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like this camping and caravan park in dorset, but it's creating many, many more losers. for most businesses, it's that combination of caution, confusion and frustration at the political impasse that's causing real—world damage. businesses like this one here in portsmouth. jane muggeridge makes fruit cordials and vinegars. last year she sold nearly 30,000 bottles, until bottles became one of her biggest brexit problems. these are our cordial bottles. the french have decided they're not going to make or supply them any more because of the uncertainties with brexit. that's 50% of our business out of the window straight away. can't you get them from somewhere in the uk? no, the british don't make pretty bottles. they make bog—standard, plain bottles. what do you think politicians think about with business? do you think they recognise the needs of business? well, politicians don't listen to small businesses. they don't really care, i don't think. businesses big and small from all around the country came
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to westminster today. the message was simple. get the deal done. remove uncertainty and lean in to investing in what is a great economy. finding a neat way to decouple from europe is the key to getting business moving again. simon jack, bbc news. an independent study analysing soil and dust found around grenefell tower in west london has revealed concentrations of toxic chemicals that could cause long term health problems including asthma and cancer. samples were gatherered six months after the fire in the tower block that claimed the lives of 72 people. public health england said it would analyse the findings of the study and continue to monitor air quality near the tower. tom symonds reports. i would say that this stuff is definitely not good for touching, professor anna stec gathered three bin bags of this stuff from the streets and flats around grenfell tower. lots of burnt insulation but also soil and scrapings from window blinds. some of it found just over a
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kilometre from the tower. we found a number of chemicals that are categorised as, for example, respiratory sensitisers that might potentially lead, for example, to asthma. but also more focused on the carcinogens, or the chemicals that are classified as carcinogens. she says there is a higher risk of cancer and asthma, but it will take further studies to determine how high a risk. monitoring has found no evidence of contaminated air, but this is the first study of the wider environment. the government has welcomed the professor's research, but has also said that the risks are generally very low. the problem is that people living this close simply don't believe it. this resident keeps cleaning this strange black mock from her flat. that's off the furniture, yes. it's black. it's 21 months on. and then there is what local people call the grenfell
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cough. following grenfell, it all started with a hot sensation in the throat and chest, and then gradually it propagated coffin, a very dry cough, very unpleasant. it's as if someone cough, very unpleasant. it's as if someone is scratching you on the lungs. has the fire made health here worse? people feel they've had to force the authorities to address that question. we have children who cannot put their hands in the soil. it's almost two years after the fire. there has, apart from the professor's sampling, there has been none taken. nobody came in. where is the duty of care? the government was warned about professor stec‘s early findings last february and has finally now commissioned a new study. no samples have yet been gathered. tom symonds, bbc news. our top story this evening... a new brexit vote in parliament tomorrow. this time it's on the withdrawal agreement alone.
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but will mps back theresa may? solskjaer takes it. 0h, he's scored! once he was a goal scorer, now he's the main man. ole gunnar solskjaer is manchester united's new manager. coming up on sportsday on bbc news... it's ten wins in a row for england's women cricketers, who will return home after completing a twenty20 series whitewash over sri lanka. imagine a world in which you feel no pain. that's what it's like for 71—year—old jo cameron — it's all she knows. the pensionerfrom inverness has a genetic mutation which means she feels virtually no pain, and never feels anxious or afraid. she didn't realise she was different until doctors were astonished that she didn't need painkillers following a serious operation. our medical correspondent, fergus walsh, reports. she's had her teeth knocked
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out, broken her arm, suffered serious burns, yetjo cameron didn't feel any of it. jo cameron simply doesn't sense pain. i put my arm on something and only realise it's burning when i can smell flesh burning. it's not clumsiness. the normal reaction is, you cut yourself or burn yourself, once, maybe twice, then you avoid that because your brain says, don't do that. my brain doesn't say, don't do that. as for giving birth to her two children, again, painless. before i realised it, i'd had the children, so it wasn't a case of, i'm a martyr, i don't feel pain. it was, i'm prepared to take anything because they tell me it's going to be awful. i felt things, i felt my body stretching, i felt peculiar feelings, but nothing to make me... no pain. the chilli challenge. ok? this isjo with her husband and doctor eating super hot chillies, a breeze for her. scientists have analysed her genes and found she has two dna mutations. one shuts down the pain
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pathway from the brain. what we hope is to be able to exploit the mechanism to manipulate pain thresholds in people that have chronic pain, and there's a vast problem of around about six or 7% of the population who have ongoing excruciating pain, so we really do need some new therapies. we have our pinprick box. the team showed me some of the instruments they tested onjo. no matter how hard the needle was pushed, it didn't hurt her. yeah. yeah? i can't stop being happy and i just forget things. jo's gene mutation also boosts her mood, and she's never anxious, but it also affects memory, and she often loses things. however, it's her inability to feel pain which may ultimately help others. fergus walsh, bbc news. a record number of children from working families in the uk are living in poverty,
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that's according to the latest figures from the department for work and pensions. the national housing federation says spiralling rents and mortgage costs have put a third more children into poverty since 2010. our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan is with me. michael, how do we define poverty in this case? last year, people were said to be living in absolute poverty if they were in a household that had less than £247 a week to live on after they had paid their rent or mortgage. that is £35 a day to pay for live's essentials such as food and heating. statistics show there were an extra 200,000 children living in absolute poverty in the uk. there are 3.7 million children living in absolute poverty. a
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benefit freeze, rising prices and wages not rising as fast as inflation are responsible. the majority of children in poverty are in households where someone has a job. ministers say they are tackling poverty and are looking at what more can be done to improve the life chances of the poor. but amongst all the statistics today, one highlights the statistics today, one highlights the scale of the challenge. last year, the poorest 20% of people in the uk earned the same in real terms as they did in 2005. michael, thank you very much. manchester united have appointed ole gunnar solskjaer as permanent manager on a three—year contract. the norwegian arrived at old trafford on an interim basis in december to replace jose mourinho. he spent 11 seasons as a united player, scoring the winning goal in the 1999 champions league final. dan roan has more. asa as a player, he was super sub, and as coach, he came on loan, but
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today, ole gunnar solskjaer became the main man at manchester united, handed one of the biggestjobs in world football on a permanent basis. i always had that dream in my mind to have this responsibility for this huge, fantastic, family of a foot ball huge, fantastic, family of a football club. i am so honoured and privileged to be given this fantastic responsibility to lead us forward. jose mourinho's toxic reign at old trafford ended in december, sacked amid fallouts with key players. with a modest coaching pedigree, many thought that ole gunnar solskjaer would be replaced this summer. but he transformed manchester united's fortunes and masterminding one of the club's biggest victories against psg, a win that effectively secured him the job. the way he started, gone about his business, the smile on the player's faces, and the staff and
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everyone, it is light, wow, he has done something special. solskjaer becomes the fourth manager in six yea rs becomes the fourth manager in six years tasked with reviving the golden days of the sir alex ferguson era. he has reinvigorated the spirit of the club and promoted young players, but now the true test begins, and some believe the appointment of a director of football and some new signings are needed to help him succeed in the long term. solskjaer won everything here as a player. the hope now is that he delivers similar success from the dugout in this, his dream job. let's get more on our top story now. as we've been hearing, there will be another debate and vote in parliament tomorrow on mrs may's brexit withdrawal agreement. can she win it? and either way, what happens after that? our deputy political editor john pienaar has been taking a look at the options. for theresa may, parliament's become a hostile environment. every pm admits there's something scary about the commons.
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theresa may could be forgiven for hating this place. her brexit deal has been blocked twice, so the plan now, try again to win the house and buy time to get her deal through. tomorrow is about the eu divorce, and the fight over britain's future relationship with europe still comes later. and it still looks tough. promising to go failed to do the trick, and as someone put it, she fell on her sword and missed. so, how is the search for more votes going? not very well. the fight over the future's just warming up. agreeing the so—called withdrawal agreement easily hard enough on its own. the democratic unionists, led by nigel dodds, just aren't buying promises to safeguard the union when britain leaves. that's made it harder to win round rebels like jacob rees mogg, who won't back the deal unless the dup's on board. others say the same. even with potential leadership candidates like borisjohnson, and like david davies on side, mrs may needs more.
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her offer to resign has made it harder to win round leave—accepting labour mps. they don't want to see a more brexiteer pm. as for the post—brexit future, mps couldn't agree an alternative plan yesterday. but a so—called softer brexit, sticking with eu customs rules, came close. a new referendum wasn't far off, either. and that frightened some brexiteers who are coming to see mrs may's deal as the best brexit on offer, just not enough. so, britain may end up back in brussels seeking more time. the eu gave mrs may until tomorrow to agree a deal if it wants a brexit extension to may the 22nd to fix the details. or if her dealfails, face a tight deadline on april the 12th. that, on paper, could mean a no—deal brexit in a fortnight. now, team may is hoping they can at least get mps behind the terms of divorce, their withdrawal agreement, and that would be enough to get past april the 12th and give britain until the third week in may
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to get the whole brexit deal passed. otherwise, there would be two weeks to agree something else — a softer brexit, a referendum, even, some say, a snap general election. and that would mean asking for more time, may be a much longer extension. the eu could well agree, though it is the last thing brexiteers inside and outside government want, let alone theresa may. so, the prime minister's still trying to beat the odds again tomorrow, hoping to keep her plan alive, to pass on a legacy, to be the pm who settles brexit. until the next big row, that is, under new management at number ten. john pienaar there. let's go back to our political editor laura kuenssberg in westminster. laura, is this going to be third time lucky for mrs may? it doesn't look like that as we speak at 6:30pm today. by tomorrow afternoon, the
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picture might look very different. throughout this process, there have been so many twists and turns. things have often changed in a flash, but as things stand, labour is not going to come on board, although some of their mps might back to reason made tomorrow. dup are not in the mood to play ball, either. at best, the numbers look extremely tight for the prime minister, but this is all part of downing street's strategy, although that perhaps sounds too grand a word, it is their day by day effort right now to find another scrap, another chance, another step, another chance, another step, another way forward, never knowing if they will be able to succeed, but determined, probably above all else, to keep going. but of course, that means to keep going. but of course, that means at the same time that parliament is taking more and more control of this situation, trying to find a compromise that could work for different parties, although not everybody would be happy with whatever they are able to come up
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with. and of course, for all of us, that means while these political machinations become more and more intense, the uncertainty goes on for british people abroad, for eu citizens here, for businesses trying to plan, for all of us wondering what on earth is going to happen next. this process really feels like it is on the edge of the rail at the moment. unpredictable hardly begins to cover it, george. that brings us to cover it, george. that brings us to the weather. very colourful day with blue skies and spring flowers. there will be more on the way tomorrow as well. it is turning chilly out there under the clear skies. still windy in the north—west of scotland, but those will ease down. this cloud sinks further south scotland and northern ireland. there may be fog patches,
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chiefly in the south—west, and a pinch of frost. it will warm up in the sunshine tomorrow, bags of that developing in england and wales. more cloud for northern ireland, northern and western parts of scotland, some drizzle towards the highlands as well. here, temperatures will be pegged back. temperatures could hit 17 or 18 celsius in the south—east of england. this weekend, some changes on the way. daytime temperatures will drop as the weekend goes on. it will drop as the weekend goes on. it will be dry for many parts of the country. we have a weather front on the scene, that is the cloud that is coming into the north—west tomorrow. it is very weak as it moves south, and behind it, the colder air will be dragged in as well. there is our weather front on saturday, mainly a band of cloud, not much rain or drizzle heading into northern england and north wales. sunny spells ahead of it and behind it. those showers in north—west scotland could turn wintry later. it will be cold enough. in the south, the last
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of the warmth, with highs of 17 celsius. on sunday, the band of cloud will be across southern england. fairweather cloud bubbles up, so sunny spells and a dry day. light winds, but we are in that cooler and fresher air, with typical temperatures of 9—10dc. that's all from the bbc news at six, so it's goodbye from me. and on bbc one, we nowjoin the bbc‘s
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