you're watching the bbc news at 9am with me carrie gracie. theresa may's chief whip attacks the government's handling of brexit — and accuses ministers of trying to undermine the prime minister. this was, i think of the worst example of ill discipline in cabinet in british political history. this is business live mps will try again later to find from bbc news with sally bundock and ben thompson. a way forward on brexit — after failing to find a majority another important day in the brexit process as lawmakers on any alternative plans last week. try to break the deadlock. the prime minister's deal remains live from london, the most popular option that's our top story on monday the 1st of april. so far and also its the most well fought through option. thought through option. teachers and nurses could be legally obliged to warn about young people at risk of violence — that's one of the ideas ahead of a special knife crime summit today. almost two million workers will get a pay rise from today it may be april fools‘ day but it is no laughing matter in parliament. mps will once again vote on theirfavoured option for leaving the eu. we'll be looking at what two years of uncertainty has meant for investment in the uk.

also in the programme... china's cheerful after a manufacturing up—turn in march and hopes the world's second—biggest economy may be on the mend. it has certainly brought some cheer to the financial markets, a strong day in asia and this is the scene in europe. also on the programme: loved up livestock. . .. how a dating app for cows is helping connect farmers and livestock — and it's big business. and today as electric scooters take europe by storm — we want to know are they the future of urban transport or an unnecesary nuisance? the uk has banned them already, but others including paris have given them the green light. let us know what you think — just use the hashtag bbcbizlive. a warm welcome to business live.

do get into edge, it is our fourth birthday today, business live, and we are celebrating by leading on brexit —— to get in touch. the uk parliament will hold another indicative vote on brexit alternatives in a few hours‘ time. and prime minister theresa may is considering her next move after her withdrawal agreement was defeated for a third time last week. so what does the investment picture look like in the uk since the brexit vote? according to a study by the london school of economics, british companies have diverted almost $11 billion worth of new investment away from britain to the eu since the brexit vote. so uk firms have hiked investment in the eu by 12% since june 2016 as a direct result of the vote according to the lse data. the study also found that new investment from the eu to britain has fallen by 11% since the referendum —

worth around $4.5 billion. our political correspondent nick eardleyjoins me now. sorry, nick, almost missed you there. so tell us about the day ahead, yet more deliberation on how we leave. yes, but still on that fundamental question of what is the uk parliament one team from brexit? we have seen them rejected the prime minister ‘s plan three times now, it is possible it might come back for a fourth but the question parliament has been unable to answer is what it does one. last week, we had a round of votes where eight brexit options, everything from staying in the single market to leaving with no deal in place at all were all voted on. nothing got a majority so there will be another round of votes on some of those options today. what we

did see last week is that parliament seems to favour a closer relationship than the one the prime minister is offering. the options that got the most votes last week we re that got the most votes last week were things like a customs union, potentially something like common market 2.0, which would mean staying in the single market as well, potentially even and confirmatory referendum on any deal parliament does pass. will there be clear light at the end of the tunnel today? no because the government has said if parliament comes up with something it doesn't lie, it won't necessarily implemented but the hope from some mps is that, by tonight, we might know a bit more about whether any particular brexit option could get through parliament. nick, thank you for now. and now it is time to go to ben. thank you, better late than never. that is the political climate, let's talk about investment. spencer crawley, co—founder and general partner

at firstminute capital, a $100 million investment fund joins me now. welcome to the programme. sally was running through some of the numbers and they are pretty stark when we look at the investment that has been diverted away from the uk. what are your investors telling you about how attractive the uk is as a place to do business? thank you for having me andi do business? thank you for having me and i think there is no doubt that a significant brand damage has been inflicted on the uk with the very prospect of brexit. we haven't had brexit of course, yet. that means people feel less welcome in this country, whether you are a software developer in stockholm thinking about moving to london or an entrepreneur about to set up a second business in the uk. and this matters because the tech sector is 8% of ourgdp, matters because the tech sector is 8% of our gdp, so i think it is worrying and there are lots of good reasons why the uk is still a good place to do business. tech is one of those things that is so cross—border, very international by its very nature. what are the

practical hurdles of brexit? what does it change fundamentally for tech firms? one key thing is talent, retaining talent and attracting talent. if you are looking to build a global business from the uk, and we have had lots of successes, your key challenge is attracting the best people to work for your firm and if you are a talented engineer, you have choices. you have choices to go and work for many companies across the world so if there is uncertainty around practical matters, visas, skilled immigration, etc, that hits you hard and then there is the more visceral sense of feeling welcome in the country. the government will say they are working on their white paper, looking at how to address the immigration issue and who they want to come here and tech and high tech and skilled jobs are still welcome but it is your second point, whether the uk looks receptive, welcoming, open to investment and you say that is the thing most badly damaged?m is the thing most badly damaged?m is but i would caveat it by saying we come from a position of strength

in that the uk still produces more billion—dollar technology businesses anywhere in the world outside of us and china. london is a force, the financial centre of europe, universities here are producing brilliant talent, so there are lots of reasons to be optimistic but i think britain needs to shout out that we want people with the best talent to come and work here. how optimistic are you that the tech industry will get what it wants?|j am industry will get what it wants?” am hopeful because i think the worst case scenario here for both, for all involved, is no deal and i don't think the eu wants that, i don't think the eu wants that, i don't think parliament one state or the majority of the country wants that, but there is still a huge amount of uncertainty —— back don't think parliament wants that. spencer crawley, thank you forjoining us. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. an investigator forjeff bezos says saudi arabia hacked the amazon chief executive's phone and leaked the data to the national enquirer tabloid. the investigator — gavin de becker — linked the hack to coverage

of the murder of saudi journalist jamal khashoggi in the washington post, which mr bezos owns. saudi arabia has not yet commented on the allegation. easyjet has warned that uncertainty surrounding brexit is hurting its business and discouraging potential customers from buying flights. customer demand for ticket sales for the next six months — which includes the peak summer season — is unexpectedly weak. and the budget airline has already said it expects to make a loss of $360 million in the first half of the year. two million uk workers on minimum wage are now receiving a pay rise. workers aged 25 and over on the national living wage will receive a 4.9% rise from monday. however, the pay rise comes as bills ranging from council tax to the tv licence fee become more expensive. manufacturing in china got an unexpected boost last month, and that's helping ease worries about a slowdown in what is the world's

second largest economy. let's get more detail on this, it gave a big boost to asian trading today. sharanjit leyl is in singapore. tell us more about how china is doing. it is easing worries notjust in china but the global economy too, simply because china is the second—largest world economy, and with all of the concerns over the us china trade war and brexit, asian markets are breathing a sigh of relief and rising as a result of this new data. essentially, it showed the chinese manufacturing sector register a surprise return to growth in march following government effo rts growth in march following government efforts to boost the economy. this was shown in a private survey which offers a gauge of the manufacturing and showed it rising to an eight—month high. it rose to 50.8 in march. we know that any reading above 50 indicates expansion and it echoes the official manufacturing

figures that were published a day earlier, which also pointed to a jumping activity. we know beijing has taken jumping activity. we know beijing has ta ken lots jumping activity. we know beijing has taken lots of jumping activity. we know beijing has ta ken lots of steps to jumping activity. we know beijing has taken lots of steps to support the economy to combat slowing growth, so this is the first sign we have seen this pay off. thank you, sharanjit. that have seen this pay off. thank you, shara njit. that is have seen this pay off. thank you, sharanjit. that is the news from china and it helped trade in asia. japan and hong kong much higher at the start of the new week. and a strong day on wall street on friday helped to filter through to asia today. in europe, we also have a good performance so far on the stock markets. we have been going for nearly a0 minutes. but the manufacturing data coming out of europe is really quite disappointing. across europe, manufacturing stalling to see their lowest level of activity since 2013. we mentioned easyjet saying it has got a downbeat six months ahead. their shares today are down 7% on the ftse 100, their shares today are down 7% on the ftse100, the ryanair shares are

also down today. let's look ahead to the us week. and michelle fleury has the details of what's ahead on wall street today. how worried are american businesses about the economy? well, this monday should provide some indication. the ism, the manufacturing report for march, is due out later. focusing on manufacturing conditions in the us, it can help build or reduce confidence in an economy's performance. it could also provide us with a hint of what to expect from this week's big economic event and that is friday's monthly jobs numbers. america's central bank has indicated it plans to be patient when it comes to future rate hikes. the question is will march's employment figures test that? tight labour markets have usually led to higher wages higher prices. also watch out for the us—china trade talks because they return to washington. after discussions last week in beijing, progress appears to have been made but it's not clear how soon a deal will be reached. michelle there in new york in a very fa ncy michelle there in new york in a very fancy jumper.

joining us isjeremy thomson—cook, chief economist at world first. nice to see you. last time you were here, it was, sort of, let's say negotiations were ongoing around brexit and you described it as "hell week". is this hell week 2.0?m brexit and you described it as "hell week". is this hell week 2.0? it is this interminable process of back—and—forth are not being able to agree on anything. the indicative birds today, the government paid no attention to them last time and probably has no desire to pay attention to them today. so what is happening today? the debating time today has, some would say, been taken over today has, some would say, been ta ken over but today has, some would say, been taken over but mandating the government business and discussing what else we can do around brexit. so apart from the government deal, which has been voted down three times, do we want a customs union? do we want a confirmatory referendum? do we want to be members

of e fta ? referendum? do we want to be members of efta? we will continue to debate that and there will be vote later on tonight. interestingly, away from the uk, hearing about china, we have discussed that already, manufacturing data is stronger in march but the european numbers are really quite grim today? this is probably the most important story globally, as much as brexit continues to dominate here. the ca nary continues to dominate here. the canary in the coal mine is always the manufacturing sector and particularly the asian one but obviously the chinese numbers were good, but the koreans were better, their numbers were better, the japanese numbers were better but we are not seeing it in europe and maybe that is the case that the industry is in those different areas differ so much. the car industry in europe has been hit by the move away from diesel and the continuing slowness of the european economy. it may be a turning point in asia we are starting to see. it may not bottom out anytime soon. but it is encouraging. it is encouraging and

something hopefully something markets will build on as we are seeing on the screen at the moment. jeremy, thank you, jeremy will return to talk about all sorts of things, including the scooters that are taking europe by storm. sally: have you been one? i tried andi sally: have you been one? i tried and i fell off one. sally: have you been one? i tried and ifell off one. ben: they are big in paris, i think. and ifell off one. ben: they are big in paris, ithink. sally: that is where i tried and fell off. plenty more to come. a match made in heaven. we'll meet the man who created tinder for cows and farmers are keen to swipe. who moo? indeed. more funds coming up shortly. —— more puns. you're with business live from bbc news. you won't have to spend a penny... ..to spend a penny. commuters at some of the uk's busiest train stations from today will be able to use

the station toilets for free. sally: it is a special birthday edition of the show today that is puntastic. network rail generated about five million pounds per year from 16 million annual users of its toilet facilities but has scrapped the charge. ben: let's speak to kevin groves, network rail‘s chief spokesperson, about the decision... why now? you have done it in other stations and these are the last ones that are going free. it is one of a number of initiatives we are bringing in to make things a little bit easier, a bit better, for passengers on a day to day basis. today, it is free toilets, we have brought in free water fountains, better seating on concourses, and platforms. just small things that makes life a little bit easier and better for passengers. ben: we said there that you are making quite a lot of money from this, about £5 million a year. where does the money come from now? i assume you needed that cash. so today also marks the start of a new

five year spending and investment plan for the railways, so over £a0 billion is going to be spent and invested on railways between now and 202a, so these are some small, little things we are going to put passengers first. 0bviously, little things we are going to put passengers first. obviously, the biggest thing people want to see is more trains on time and our focus for the next five years, and we have incorporated the loss of revenue from toilets into the spending plans, is to focus on getting more trains to run on time, on performance. that is what passengers really wa nt performance. that is what passengers really want to see, trains running on time and today is just an example of small things we can do now to make things better for passengers and, in the long term, it is about getting a more reliable and better performing railway for those millions of people who rely on the railway every day. sally: we will have to leave it there, kevin grows, thank you very much from network rail. we will keep an eye on those promises of delivering on time, etc, to see if they are fulfilled. let me take you to the business live page, we have talked about easyjet

and euro zone inflation but an update from the new york times, it says readership has reached one million and in a climate where traditional subscriptions are falling, the revenue from print media, it is rising for them, 1 million. still less can the wall streetjournal and million. still less can the wall street journal and the million. still less can the wall streetjournal and the new york times. microglia you're watching business live — our top story: british mps are voting on what the future direction of brexit could look like in a bid to break the deadlock and give some certainty back to businesses. full coverage of that on bbc news throughout the day. it seems like there's a dating app for everything and everyone these days. whatever you're into, there's an app for it. but how about the dating app for livestock. it may sound like an april fools joke, but it exists

and it's called is tudder. and it's worth remembering that agriculture is still big business farming underpins the food and drink industry which is worth $1a7 billion to the uk economy. ben: in 2017, there were 721,000 beef cattle in england and 168,000 in wales. but how do you buy and sell them? sally: the traditional way meant taking them to a market. but now — there's an app for that. our next guest has developed sellmylivestock. co. uk, a digital marketplace which enables farmers to buy and sell livestock — it's an internet marketplace for trading cattle, sheep and pigs. and also tudder as well. jamie mcinnes is the co—founder of hectare agritech and hejoins us now. good morning, nice to see you. let's first of all start with the app, i know it is just part of the business but it is the bit we have got interested in. how does it work? so

we we re interested in. how does it work? so we were noticing that farmers were using genetic data more to make decisions when buying livestock. we we re decisions when buying livestock. we were having a joke in the office about how wouldn't it be awful if there is genetic data on tinder next to your dating profile. i certainly probably wouldn't have got married! but we thought a swipe based data app would be very good for animals because farmers could look and sit at their genetic data and swipe left or right. what sort of genetic data do you need? milking performance records, breeding performance records, breeding performance records, scrotal size, bits and pieces. and to what extent does that help farmers? i presume it saves them time and money? it saves them time and money but the traditional way to take animals would be to market. our co—founder took his animals on a 100 mile round trip, mixing with other animals, it was bad for bio—security and health reasons. this isjust in the uk, cattle being sold between farmers and the uk. currently it is. we

started in 201a, we have a6,000 farmers across the uk, one in four of the uk's farmers, so we have made a massive impression but we are looking to spread to the us and further afield. is this the sort of first digitalisation of what is an age—old industry? the farming methods have changed but the concept of buying and selling cattle and breeding cattle hasn't changed in centuries, has it? it is changing. farming, there is a huge focus on technology in the production side of it. but at micro hectare, we are trying to put a focus on the trading efficiency side of it, so allowing farmers to reach a wider audience rather than going down traditional routes. where is this going? you have mentioned you are mainly working in the united kingdom but farmers worldwide have seen what you have been up to and have approached you to say, actually, we could do with this where we are, certainly in the united states. absolutely, we have been inundated since we

launched tudder, australia, south america and i think we are possibly looking at a world food shortage in the not—too—distant looking at a world food shortage in the not—too—dista nt future looking at a world food shortage in the not—too—distant future so i think farmers are commercialising and looking to make business more efficient. you have talked about patients a lot because i imagine technology has disrupted so many other industries and revolutionised her traditional industries work. i imagine technology opens up sony tours in agriculture but you have to be pretty patient when it becomes too —— technology has opened up so many doors in agriculture but you have to be pretty patient. there is an unfair misconception that farmers don't want to adopt technology. they had it shoved under their noses regularly and if you can show a tangible benefit to the business, they are much more likely to adopt it. is there an investment cost because what they have to have a bit of kit? no, it is the smartphone, probably the biggest tech revolution infarming in probably the biggest tech revolution in farming in the last 20 years. we don't charge for basic trading, we

charge for value added services like haulage and finance etc. and finally, i have got to ask the brexit question, because farmers, of course, depending on what they sell and what they are growing, it affects them in very different ways. it does. a no—deal brexit wouldn't be very favourable for some of the land farmers in the uk but until we find out what brexit is, i don't think us as a business... what is the mood among farmers? probably the same as all of us, what is actually going on pressure mark and we will deal and adapt when we know the actual outcome of the negotiations. jamie, really nice to see you, good luck with it all, really interesting business. tudder. here we go. let's give you a break. this is how to stay in touch. stay up to date with all the day's business news as it happens on the bbc‘s business live page. there is insight and analysis from our team of editors right around the globe. and we want to hear from you, too.

get involved on the bbc‘s business live page at bbc.com/business. on twitter, we are at @bbcbusiness and you can find us on facebook, @bbcmoney. business live, on tv and online, what you need to know, when you need to know. jeremy is back to look through some of the paper stories. jeremy, this one caught our eye, we have been talking about this morning, these scooters and it seems if you go anywhere in europe, big cities, they have a lot of them so viewers know what they are, they sort of thing. you can rent them by the hour or the day or whatever but they are a bit of a menace, aren't they? a bit of a menace and also, they? a bit of a menace and also, they are going to be congesting up streets more than bicycles are doing at the moment, some people think. we have seen a lot of free bike apps, certainly here in london, but around

the world. i love how companies don't really say what they do. this one is called bird, and there is one called lime, and... they are very successful, lime and micro bird are very well established and lime is the one i tried to use in paris and the one i tried to use in paris and the scooters, they look like they are abandoned. and one thing you can do is make money by taking them back and charging people have found that people have unfortunately been nabbing the scooters, them and then as they are off grid for longer, the company as they are off grid for longer, the com pa ny offers as they are off grid for longer, the company offers more money to take them back to a charger and people have been putting it back into the charger and claiming the reward. so there is a scarcity thing. there is also an issue. sally says they are hugely successful, we can't deny that but the rules are a bit different. people might understand you can't ride the bike on the

pavement and you should be in a cycle lane. this is a very grey area, isn't it? are you on the road? the pavement because what you need training? every toddler or young child has a scooter which they pedal along with their feet, along the pavement, happy as larry but these have motors, they go 15—20 mph so if you are walking and get hit by one, it will hurt. you are not supplied with a helmet, elbow or knee pads. this is why london has not signed up yet. exactly, because while it may be changing the nature of transport, it may also be hurting us in the long term. let's hear what the viewers thing. sorry, we were busy having a chat. vivian says they have been trialled in adelaide and the main issue is people not realising they are treated like a motor vehicle so the same rules apply. jane says they are all over auckland and christchurch and new zealand, accidents have risen enormously. we have got loads. selena says i

have one i bought in the united states, i live in a town centre and use it for errands. you can keep an eye on that. thank you, see you soon. hi, there, good morning. last week, we had high pressure in charge and it was settled in fairly warm, temperatures in the height amid teams. this week, this is no aprilfull, it is going to be colder, some rain or showers, snow over the higher ground and the return of some overnight frosts. higher pressure is just about holding on today. it is slipping away, we have this cold front that will move its way and across northern and western areas and that will herald the changing conditions through tonight and into tomorrow. today, for england that way is, lots of dry weather, lots of sunshine, a bit more cloud towards northern

england, more toward scotland and northern ireland where there will be showers and more persistent rain and the weather front moving its way into the far west later on. temperatures 8—10dc, we could still reach 1a—16 in central and southern areas later on. it is through tonight that as the rain continues tonight that as the rain continues to move its way southwards and eastwards, it will bring in the colder air behind it. there will be some showers, they will turn wintry of the higher ground. temperatures overnight two or three degrees, holding on to something a little bit milder in the south—east, 5—7 celsius but throughout tuesday, the milder in the south and east is gradually pushed away as cold air from the arctic really digs in behind this weather front. and on that weather front, there will be some rain during tuesday across central and eastern areas initially. a lot of that rain will tend to clear away. behind it, there will be some sunshine but also some showers moving in, those could be heavy, perhaps some thunderstorms and perhaps some thunderstorms and perhaps wintry over the higher ground but a really different feel

in the weather through tomorrow. northerly wind, maximum temperature is only 7—10 celsius. throughout tuesday night and wednesday, you have this area of low pressure here and that has got a weather front on it which is going to move its way west but there is some uncertainty, as that weather front moves westwards, because with the cold air digging infrom westwards, because with the cold air digging in from the north, that moisture coming in, there could be some snow over the higher ground of scotla nd some snow over the higher ground of scotland and through northern parts of england. that is just one to watch. elsewhere, a mixture of sunny spells and showers, though showers could be a little bit wintry with some hail and sleet perhaps, and feeling quite cold again, really, maximum temperature is getting to 7-10 maximum temperature is getting to 7—10 celsius. the rest of the week still looks pretty cold and pretty u nsettled still looks pretty cold and pretty unsettled with april showers. bye— bye.