this is bbc news. i martine croxall. the headlines: tomorrow, mps will vote again on alternative brexit options — a cabinet minister says theresa may might have to change her plans as a result. i don't think it's sustainable to say, well, we'll ignore parliament's position, and therefore leave without a deal. i don't think that is a sustainable position for the government to take. police in england and wales are being given greater stop and search powers to tackle rising knife crime. the islamic state group reveals its secrets. we talk to captured british is fighters. anyone that's still immersed by islamic state methodology is wrong. it's a gang.

a comedian with no political experience is on course to win the opening round of ukraine's presidential election. the founder of facebook, mark zuckerberg, calls for governments to play a more active role in regulating the internet. and at 11:30 we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers yasmin alibhai—brown, and martin lipton. stay with us for that. good evening. as mps get ready to vote again on possible alternatives to theresa may's brexit deal tomorrow, the prime minister has been urged not to ignore them if they back a softer brexit. thejustice secretary david gauke said that ignoring the will of parliament would not be

a sustainable if mps agree a way forward. mrs may's deal has already been rejected three times, but this week could see her trying to get it through a fourth. here's our political correspondent iain watson chanting: shame on you! the original brexit day has been and gone and the protests carry on. chanting: give us all a final say! this week, crucial decisions will have to be taken if mps are to avoid leaving with no deal by the new deadline of april the 12th. tomorrow, parliament will debate alternatives to the prime minister's proposals. and this cabinet minister made it clear he could live with a closer relationship to the eu, if that's what mps want. if parliament is voting overwhelmingly against leaving the european union without a deal, but is voting in favour of a softer brexit, i don't think it's sustainable to say, well, we'll ignore parliament's position and therefore leave without a deal.

was the prime minister seeking divine intervention today to break the deadlock? she could resurrect her defeated deal and hold a fourth vote on it this week, if it appears to be more popular than any of the alternatives. up to nine different options could be discussed by mps tomorrow. some would see the uk retaining close links to the eu, such as a customs union, making trade easier with the european union but more difficult to strike trade deals with other countries. and single market membership — again, easier trade but less control of immigration. but some mps are still pressing for no deal, and others say that any deal should be put to a new referendum. and that is the option favoured by labour's deputy leader. we need to move beyond brexit and it seems to me the only way we can do that now is with a people's vote, that is the solution,

not an option. theresa may faces some tough choices this week. there is no question of her cancelling brexit, or as it's known in the jargon, revoking article 50, but some other options favoured by mps, a customs union for example, also run counter to the conservative manifesto. if she goes along with that, she could lose some of her top team around her cabinet table. or she could take a different option and call a general election. a senior conservative has said pragmatic preparations are under way for a possible election, but that prospect has horrified many in the party and a former occupant of number ten. i think a general election will solve nothing at this moment. so what is his solution? in the interests of ending the chaos we have now, and that could continue, we must have a government that has a working majority, and that is the only reason for a time—limited unity government. so, a cross—party government to unite a sometimes very cross country. not likely, but these days, normal political rules don't apply. iain watson, bbc news, westminster.

and as iain explains, mps are taking control of parliament again tomorrow, less than a week after their last attempt at finding a way forward, was inconclusive. there is a growing confidence at westminster that mps this time i'd be able to unite around a closer relationship with brussels, for example a customs union, although that's not certain. but whatever they agree it is not binding on the government. so what they are then likely to do is pass a law on wednesday instructing theresa may to go back to brussels and ask for a longer debate of brexit to try to work out an alternative deal. in response she might say hang on, i got one ready here, bring back her own deal and ask for a vote, or she might say i'm not going to do that, i'm going to resign, or she could call an election. any of these is possible, i don't know which will happen and quite frankly neither does anyone else! police are to be given more freedom to use stop and search powers

in an attempt to reduce knife crime in england and wales. more police officers, at less senior ranks, will now be able to authorise the tactic in areas where knife crime is high. campaigners have questioned the effectiveness of stop—and—search and described the move as "disappointing and regressive". our home affairs correspondent dominic casciani has the details. another knife off the streets, found in a stop—and—search in north london. some a0 fatal stabbings so far this year. now police in the seven most affected areas are being given a search power banned when theresa may was home secretary. the whole government agree that stop—and—search is a vital power. we still, of course, want it to be targeted and focused and intelligence led, which it will be, but with these new powers is increased powers — we all agree, including the prime minister, this is exactly what's needed to help fight the rise in serious violence. knife crime fell after 2011, but it has been rising

for almost five years. the police‘s use of stop—and—search plunged over the last decade from 1.4 million times a year to less than 300,000. that fall after concerns the tactic was failing by unfairly targeting young black men. now, an enhanced power returns for a year—long pilot in london, greater manchester, the west midlands, south and west yorkshire, south wales and merseyside. the main stop—and—search power requires police to have a reasonable suspicion someone is carrying a weapon. they could use it if this knife detector raised an alert. today's changes mean police in the key areas can search anyone in the neighbourhood where they believe violence may, rather than will, occur. while there is no proof of a direct link between the rate of knife crime and the use of stop—and—search, many police officers believe it deters people from carrying blades — they think twice about being stopped and the risk of prison.

but critics say it is still intrusive and any increased use will be highly controversial. too many of my experiences and stories i've heard have been very unpleasant, which leads to building a lot of tension between police and young people, to the point where you have young innocent civilians running away from police just to avoid being stopped and searched. police chiefs say they are listening to concerns about how they use their powers. tomorrow the prime minister hosts a summit to hearfrom officers themselves about how to reverse the deadly violence. dominic casciani, bbc news. nathanieljames is a youth trainer working in schools across the west midlands. he told us how he helps to build trust between young people and the police around the issue of stop and search. some police officers, they can't relate to young people, so there is a blockage when it comes to speaking to the young person because, you know, they might speak down to the young person instead of speaking

to them respectfully. then the young person speaks back to them disrespectfully and it goes round and round and round and round. so this is why i do teach young people that, you know, you show respect and you receive respect back. so that's one of the main things, is just the way of how you approach them and the way you speak to them will ultimately reflect on how they will speak back to you. but you also teach young people about their rights if stop and search happens to them. just briefly explain what they are. yeah, so, you know, we have something that's called go wisely, which is different categories of what young people should be doing when they are being stopped and searched. we also do something called good cop vs bad cop, where we talk about a police officer asking certain questions that they are not meant to ask, and the questions that they are allowed to ask. so it's about empowering the young people so that they know how to speak to the police when they are stopped. and you're meant to get

a receipt from the officer? yes, yes, yes. so the receipt, that will mean that after they've been searched, if they are stopped by another police officer, that they can show that receipt. also it will have the name, the station, so if they would like to lodge a complaint against a police officer then they can take the receipt to their local station and lodge a complaint. your cousin died as a result of knife crime. how powerful is it when you share the story of the impact of your cousin's death on your family and community? it's a massive powerful tool. my part is what i talk about, it's called the ripple effect. it's when one person gets stabbed, you're not just stabbing that person, you're stabbing so many people in that family because so many people are affected, not only the family, the community. when there is a stabbing, it just sends fear amongst young people and amongst parents, and especially our young people who then think that they must arm themselves because they're hearing that young people their age are going around stabbing people.

police investigating a series of suspected linked stabbings in edmonton have made another arrest. a man aged in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of gbh and taken into custody at a north london police station. the first man arrested on suspicion of gbh also remains in custody. a woman and three men were all approached from behind and knifed in the back — two are in a critical condition. a man has been charged in connection with an incident near london's st pancras station on friday evening. terry maher, from north london, faces charges of obstructing the railway and causing a public nuisance. it relates to an incident where a man spent the night sat on top of the station roof, causing a number of rail services, including eurostar, to be severely disrupted. mr maher will appear before magistrates tomorrow. in ukraine, a comedian with no political experience is on course to win the most votes in the presidential election. exit polls suggest volodymyr zelenskiy, who plays the president in a satirical tv show, is expected to beat the incumbent petro poroshenko —

in the first round of voting today. jonah fisher reports. fact is very quickly catching up with fiction in ukraine. this is the moment that a comedian who plays the president in a tv show found out he was beating the real president by more than ten percentage points. these are just exit polls, but the political establishment here has been shaken. what is your reaction to these exit polls? great! this is the first fight. i'm very happy. but this is not the final. you think you will win the second round ? we will see, i think so. i spent a day with mr zelenskiy during the election campaign.

at the time his grasp of politics was weaker than his understanding of british comedy. benny hill. he is more understandable than monty python. for me, monty python is better, i'm sorry. ukrainians feel they know how mr zelenski would perform as president because they have seen him star in a tv show as a teacher who turns into a principled, honest president. this is the man he is set to face in the second round. real