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tv   BBC News at One  BBC News  April 2, 2019 1:00pm-1:31pm BST

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theresa may holds a marathon five hours of cabinet talks to try to find some way out of the brexit deadlock. as ministers consider the options, the eu's chief brexit negotiator said a no deal departure by the uk was now more likely. if the uk parliament does not vote in favour of the withdrawal agreement, in the coming days, only two options would remain. living without an agreement or requesting a longer extension. we'll bring you all the latest from westminster and brussels and be asking what possible outcome there might be to this unprecedented political crisis. also this lunchtime. a neo—nazi is facing jail after plotting to murder the labour mp rosie cooper. a court heard how jack renshaw bought a 19—inch knife to kill the mp.
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i was targeted not as rosie cooper the person, but as rosie cooper, the member of parliament. i was to be murdered to send a message to the state. after years of civil war in afghanistan, what chance for new talks to try to end the conflict? a silent killer on our streets. scientists reveal the inside story of how air pollution affects your body. and the rowerjames cracknell on the challenges of returning to the oxford cambridge boat race as the oldest competitor ever. i've kept fit, and then... but not this fit, as i found out. but enough to be able to get back into it. and coming up in the sport later in the hour and bbc news, the race for a top four finish is hotting up in the premier league. arsenal are third after beating newcastle.
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good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. theresa may is presently locked in a prolonged meeting with her cabinet, trying to decide on a way forward on brexit. last night, the commons rejected four alternatives to the prime minister's withdrawal agreement, although one which proposed staying in a customs union with the eu lost by only three votes. the eu's chief brexit negotiator michel barnier said that a no—deal exit by britain became more likely with each day that passed. ourfirst report this lunchtime is by our political correspondent nick eardley. isa time is a time to go for no deal, minister? what on earth happens now? time for a customs union, minister? another deadline is approaching.
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questions keep coming. time to go for no deal? but answers, far less. there is still huge disagreement about our future and what it should look like but we really are rich crunch time. i think what we all have to recognise is that the prime minister's deal is actually the best one on the table. the problem with all of the other options that were rejected last night is that none of them is as good for the united kingdom. the compromise option, the one which delivers on the eu referendum but, at the same time, enables us to accommodate the wishes of those who wanted to remain in the eu. that is the best compromise. but that argument does not worked so far and even if the pm a's deal does come back, it faces a massive uphill battle. ministers in their have big decisions to make. mps have so far rejected all the options they have been optioned but they don't want to leave without a deal. brexit they can only be postponed again if there
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a reason for it. and the government needs to figure out if it swallow potentially a month long delay and, if so, what is it for? and so today cabinet ministers are discussing detailed plans to ramp up preparations for a no—deal brexit. mps had tried to agree their own plan but couldn't find a majority for anything. four options, alternatives to the government steal, or rejected. mps said no to a customs union, no to staying in the single market, no to enough of a referendum, no to the option of cancelling brexit if there was about to be no deal. some have had enough of trying to compromise.” to be no deal. some have had enough of trying to compromise. i have given everything to an attempt to find a compromise that can take this country out of the european union while maintaining our economic strength. and our political cohesion. i accept i have failed. i have failed chiefly because my party
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refuses to compromise. i regret, therefore, to announce that i can no longer sit for this party. no, don't go, come on. applause the honourable gentleman has told the house. labour had wanted another chance to vote on alternatives. the prime minister still has been rejected by a very large majority on three occasions. if it is good enough for the prime minister to have three chances at her deal, then i suggest that possibly the house should have a chance to consider again. now a cross— party a chance to consider again. now a cross—party group is trying to force legislation to stop no deal. they admit it won't be easy and say it's definitely worth trying. this place is that, there is gridlock in british politics. how to get things
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going again is the big question eve ryo ne going again is the big question everyone here is trying to answer. well, eu leaders have been watching events in westminster and are holding talks on the latest developments. from brussels, here's our correspondent adam fleming. over breakfast in brussels, michel barnier sat out the menu of options facing the uk. pass the deal in the next few days and briefly delayed brexit for a few weeks to settle the details or... if the uk parliament does not vote in favour of the withdrawn agreement, in the coming days, only two options would remain. leaving without an agreement or requesting a longer extension of article 50. it would be the responsibility of the uk government to choose between these two options. he's willing to change the part of the deal about the future to make it
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more appetising to mps, who want to close economic relationship. but the terms of the divorce are settled. close economic relationship. but the terms of the divorce are settledlj terms of the divorce are settled.” don't want to make any comment. just we are waiting for news from london. when is the last moment of the news could come? we are waiting, we are still waiting. the chief negotiator has laid out some of the choices and some of the costs but what happens nextin some of the costs but what happens next in brexit is a decision for eu leaders when they meet theresa may ata leaders when they meet theresa may at a special summit in brussels next week. the european commission presidentjean—claude junker on a visit to rome today said he was still waiting for answers from the uk. just like the rest of the eu. we have a plan. if our plan with the uk isn't working, we need the united kingdom to come forward with another plan that will work. we haven't seen that yet. next stop for michel barnier this morning, briefing at
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the european parliament. if the uk ends up staying for longer, it will have to take part in the elections for this place. an idea no one seems very keen on. we'll have the latest from adam fleming in brussels, but first our assistant political editor norman smith is in downing street norman, just how difficult is it going to be for ministers to reach any agreement today? the very fact that this meeting is having to go on for five hours, that this meeting is having to go on forfive hours, longer if that this meeting is having to go on for five hours, longer if you include the lunch break, tells you how difficult and fraught of this cabinet meeting is and how problematic it is to reach any sort of agreement. that said, my expectation is at the end of this process , expectation is at the end of this process, they will once again decides to try, try again with mrs may's deal because not much enthusiasm for leaving with no deal, there doesn't seem to be much appetite for a general election which means going back, trying to get mrs may's deal through the
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commons, and i think we will see a familiar strategy, a bit of character, a bit of stick. the carrot might be changes to the political declaration which is the second part of mrs may's deal to include possibly some suggestion that we could, down the line, join a customs union. now that might help win over more labour votes. and the stick will be the warning that if mps stick will be the warning that if m ps vote stick will be the warning that if mps vote it down again, then we face a lengthy delay and come in that, mrs may might be helped by those mps who last night failed to reach any agreement on an alternative brexit strategy. who are now saying that tomorrow they will seek to pass legislation to force a mrs may to delay brexit. i suspect mrs may will use that to tell her brexiteers why the back of my deal or you could be facing a long, long stay in the eu. norman, thank you. adam fleming is in brussels.
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what does the eu fear most given where we are now? they are worried about quite a few things, paralysis in the uk which means a special summit next week to sort things out doesn't really lead anywhere. they are also worried about this idea of the uk staying in for much longer while all of this is sorted out and being an obstructed process when the eu was trying to make big decisions like who was the new president of the european commission and next year when they have got to sort out their next long—term budget, which will last for seven years, so they are worried about all that stuff. one thing they are less worried about, though, is handling the fallout from the uk leaving without a deal. the european commission has just said every day for the rest of this week one of their bigwigs will doa this week one of their bigwigs will do a press conference explaining all of their contingency measures and just how prepared they are for the uk leaving without any kind of deal oi'i uk leaving without any kind of deal on the 12th of april or thereabouts. to british ears, that sounds a
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little bit of bravado. 0k, adam, many thanks. our reality check correspondent chris morris is here. gridlock in westminster for the what are the options? i think if you haven't got a deal pushed through parliament in the next couple of days, really, we know the default option is leaving with no deal and that could happen as soon as next week. april the 12th is the deadline. the commission and the eu may add on a couple of weeks but i think the negotiations will be pretty much over. we know the majority in the house of commons is bitterly opposed to this, although a significant number of conservative mps think of the best option. if you don't have no deal, you could revoke article 50 altogether, cancel brexit, no majority for that, so an extension is the most likely way forward. we are not talking about another month, a few weeks, the eu would offer something like nine months to a year, a much longer period, which would also mean the uk
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having to take part in european elections. the government doesn't wa nt to elections. the government doesn't want to do that but parliament might try to force it to do so. what would you do if you had that longer extension period? hell is another general election to try to produce a parliament where there was a majority for something —— might hold another general election. you could have a referendum. the fear on the european side is even after a year, you could still get to the place where the uk doesn't yet know or hasn't yet agreed exactly what kind of brexit it once. 0k, chris, thank you. well, the uncertainty around brexit is causing continuing anxiety for business — let's speak our correspondent simon gompertz. what are they saying? what is grabbing attention today is the uk boss of the german engineering company siemens, a very important investor here, who wrote to mps yesterday encouraging them to sort something out and has been speaking
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to the media today, and saying that britain is at risk of trashing it's a fabulous reputation with the rest of europe. now, they are german however they employ 13,000 people here, have sales of £5 billion, invested a lot, and he says if he took a big investment project to berlin for approval, it would simply be rejected as things stand. we are wrecking our reputation as an economic powerhouse, he says. if a solution is found, then the investment is returned. so it adds to the picture of stalemate in parliament and near standstill in the economy. the confederation of british industry is saying that it's desperately disappointed by what happened last night, small businesses saying similar things, and both worried about the renewed possibility of no deal. the pound, though, a little bit of reassurance there. it has fallen half a cent against the dollar down to 1.35, but
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stands above its level of earlier this year. simon, thank you. it can be revealed this lunchtime that a neo—nazi is to face jail after plotting to murder the labour mp rosie cooper. it can be revealed this lunchtime that a neo—nazi is to face jail in a trial at the old bailey, the court heard how jack renshaw bought a 19 inch knife to kill the west lancashire mp and a female police officer. the plan was scuppered by a whistle—blower, who spoke exclusively to our correspondent daniel sandford. in february 2016, the neo—nazi group national action was at its height, staging a provocative protest in liverpool. ten months later it was banned as an extreme right—wing terrorist group. but then its leader, chris lithgow, decided to take the group underground and prepare for a violent race war. his ultimate plan was there was going to be a number of islamist or other groups‘ bombings, and then we'd respond with our own.
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and he believed that that would generate random acts of terrorism of lone wolf—type people. robbie mullen initially joined national action because of its uncompromising neo—nazi views and its young membership. but he turned against them, ultimately foiling a plan to kill an mp. he can only speak about it now the case is over and told me it was the group's shift towards extreme violence that led him to act. what was it about the way that national action were going after the ban that made you decide you need to take action? i didn't want to be involved in killing anyone, or a group of people that i was involved with killing people. i just didn't want anyone to get killed or hurt. robbie mullen started secretly passing information to the anti—racism group hope not hate, and injuly 2017 was present at a national action meeting in a warrington pub when one
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of those present, jack renshaw, told the group he bought a large sword and was planning to murder his mp, rosie cooper. so he said he'd bought this machete, ready to kill rosie cooper, and that he'd take hostages in the nearby pub. and he'd demand that the detective investigating him come to him in exchange for the hostages. then he'd kill her, and then he'd be killed by the police. was there anyone there who tried to stop him? no. that was the ultimate aim of the group, really. the politicians are who they class as the traitors, so by him going out and killing what they see as a traitor, that would be good for the group. the mp who was at risk is now calling for politicians to be better protected. i was targeted not as rosie cooper the person, but as rosie cooper
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the member of parliament. i was to be murdered to send a message to the state. it's our democratic values, our way of life and our freedoms which are being attacked by the likes of renshaw and extremist groups like national action. when the time comes, they'll be in the chambers. it can now be reported that jack renshaw, who's been convicted of planning to kill her, is also serving a prison sentence for grooming adolescent boys online for sex. daniel sandford, bbc news, at the old bailey. the time is 1:17. our top story this lunchtime... theresa may holds a marathon five hours of cabinet talks to try to find some way out of the brexit deadlock. the eu's chief brexit negotiator said a no deal departure was now more likely. and coming up... the rower james cracknell on the challenges of returning to the oxford cambridge boat race
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as the oldest competitor ever. coming up in the sport in the next 15 minutes on bbc news, a blow for england lionesses. chelsea star fran kirby has withdrawn from the squad for the friendlies against canada and spain. now, what does all this air pollution do to our bodies? well, with growing scientific evidence that toxins in the air are more damaging to our health than previously thought, cities around the world are making radical efforts to restrict polluting vehicles. from next monday, london is intoducing an ultra—low emission zone for the dirtiest vehicles. it will cover the current congestion charge zone and will run 2a hours a day, seven days a week. the most polluting cars, motorcycles and vans will be charged £12.50 a day on top of the congestion charge, which is £11.50. larger vehicles will pay £100.
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our science editor david shukman reports. outside a school, we use a heat camera to reveal air pollution. scientists are discovering that it's far more dangerous than previously thought. the exhaust stands out in this video, because it's hotter than the surroundings. it flows right beside the children. they're closer to the ground than adults, so their health is more at risk. this is the equipment that you'll be using to monitor air pollution, and how clean or dirty the air that you're breathing over that week is. to find out more, researchers hand out pollution monitors. these backpacks are fitted with devices to measure the quality of the air. so it sucks in air and stores all the data here. the children themselves are well aware of what pollution can mean for them. air pollution can go through your lungs and make you feel sick and you can, like, maybe go to the hospital. you can't tell it, because it's
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invisible, but air pollution basically is dirty air so it could cause asthma and it could, like, make you really ill. and this boy, alfie, tells me how he's suffers, when the air is bad. it hurts, like, here and here. so i had to stay up one night because my chest was really bad because of all the polluted air, and i couldn't go to sleep. my mum had to stay awake, because she was looking after me. over the years, we've learned more and more about what air pollution can do to us. but we can't see the stuff, so let's imagine the tiny particles and gases that are drifting around. and, as we breathe them in, we're coming to understand the range of effects they could have inside us. the first impact is in our airways and lungs, risking inflammation and asthma attacks and diseases like lung cancer. and then down inside the lungs, the smallest particles can actually
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cross into the bloodstream and cause more harm — blocking arteries, increasing the danger of heart disease and of stroke. and pollution may also reach the brain. links to dementia are being researched, but the biggest concern is for children. we now know it affects notjust the respiratory system, but the cardiovascular system, your heart, your brain, all the different parts of your body, how it develops. so our understanding of the health impact has increased and, really, we're learning that we need to deal with this much more urgently than we thought. a hot exhaust pipe spews out pollution. next week london will launch a major effort to clean up, by charging the dirtiest vehicles to come into the centre. scientists say that's desperately needed. david shukman, bbc news. and you can check if you'll have to pay the new charge by entering your vehicle registration number on the transport for london website. talks are to resume this month aimed
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at ending the ongoing civil war in afghanistan, which started nearly 18 years ago. government officials will meet taliban representatives in qatar, in an attempt to halt the violence that has claimed over 100,000 lives. lyse doucet has been to helmand province, where the bulk of british troops were based before withdrawing in 2014. the war can feel far away here in lashkargah, the capital of helmand, a conservative southern province. this means danger. no danger, he says. butjust a year ago, the taliban were very close to here and they were pushed back. you can see the life that it's in the city now. the roads are full of traffic, the shops are open and full of goods. is it better or worse now in lashkargah?
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lisch -- lisch —— business is good for this man. making peace makes sense. he sells goods across this province. still intel ban hand. the taliban buy things they once banned. speakers for music, phones with cameras. translation: the taliban sons of the soil. they are our brothers. we are not sad for their return. security will improve, our economy, our politics, everything will be solved. if only peace were so easy. until a few months ago, this was a front line until government forces pushed the taliban back beyond this river. and so now, the city feels peaceful. but this province has the strongest presence of taliban anywhere in afghanistan. 70 to 80% of the districts either controlled or contested by them. which means wherever you go, war is not far away. i met the elders at this camp
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on the edge of the helmand river. forced to flee here years ago, they have lived through it all. the youngest among them has only known war. translation: when there is war in a country, i can honestly say whatever dreams you have you cannot reach them. i have graduated from school and want to be a doctor, but if this war goes on, my dream will not come true. and today, security is tight. taliban have slipped into lashkargah, placing a bomb under a journalist's car. afghan government forces secured this city where british troops were once based. us forces still do battle in this province. there is more talk now of peace with the taliban. but on the ground, an old war goes on. a simple blood test which speeds up diagnosis of pre—eclampsia during pregnancy is to be rolled out
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across the nhs in england. women who develop pre—eclampsia have dangerously high blood pressure, which can be fatal if left untreated. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. for decades doctors have relied on blood—pressure readings and a protein test to diagnose pre—eclampsia in pregnant women. but these are relatively imprecise methods and there is a concern that too many cases get missed. now researchers have developed a simple blood test that is faster and more reliable. i look after women who have lost a baby from pre—eclampsia, and it's heartbreaking for them and it's tough for all of us in the health service. we know what a difference it would make if we could reach that diagnosis earlier, and if we could really see which women need that extra care, so that we can help the women and hopefully help their babies, too. pre—eclampsia is a condition that can develop in the second half of a pregnancy, from about 20 weeks. it is suspected in almost one in ten pregnancies,
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affecting around 80,000 women in the uk each year. many cases are mild but, if left untreated, it can cause serious complications, for both mother and baby. lauren ardron has first—hand experience of how devastating pre—eclampsia can be. now a mum of three, she's experienced pre—eclampsia in all of her pregnancies, but lost her first baby at 26 weeks. she knows the value of getting an early diagnosis. it's very important. very, extremely important to families, especially if you've gone through what we've been through, if you've lost a baby or you've had a previous pregnancy that was really difficult through pre—eclampsia, at least you know you can go on to get an early diagnosis if it happens again, so you get the best possible care. nhs bosses in scotland and wales say they will look closely at the research, while nhs england has already announced the test will be made more widely available across the health service, meaning the risk of pre—eclampsia can bejudged much more accurately, and making sure treatment starts quickly. dominic hughes, bbc news.
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the boat race is a firm fixture on the sporting calendar and the rivalry is heating up between crews as oxford and cambridge universities prepare to take to the water this weekend. well, this year the cambridge boat has a very familiar face — the two—time olympic champion james cracknell will be taking part and, at a6, he'll be the race's oldest ever rower. tim muffett has been to see him train. the first oxford and cambridge boat race took place in 1829. it's a truly historical sporting event, and another piece of sporting history will be made on sunday because the oldest competitor to take part will be doing so, and he's with me now. james cracknell, 46 years old, ten years older than the previous oldest rower. how does it feel? well, it's strange. i don't actually feel... i feel obviously a lot older than i was when i raced at the olympics, but society changes. 46 isn't actually as old as it used to be. and i think part of what i've always
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believed in is being fit and healthy is something i think we should all be, rather than ijust did it because i had to in order to get a sports life. kept fit. but not this fit, as i found out, but enough to be able to get back into it. you're studying a degree at cambridge university, which enables you to take part. what has it been like to go back to that student world and combine that with training as well? to be honest, back into studying has been harder because when i first went to university there was no internet. it's actually quite easy to drift because if you don't check your e—mails that often you don't realise what you're missing and suddenly, "oh, i appear to have missed loads." it's been organising the studying, especially at the start of term, if you don't get on top of it then and then when the end of term when there is more and more rowing, especially in this term, you find there aren't enough hours in the day. you underwent a serious head injury in 2010, didn't you? that has had a long—term
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impact on you. you've been the first to acknowledge. how important has this goal been to focus upon and in helping you train? i think the reality is with anyone that's suffered an injury of any kind is that there's a perception about what impact it has. whether it be a footballer, an acl, is he going to be the same? for me, i think some of the presumptions people make, if you can, study the course that you're really inspired to study at one of the best universities in the world and compete in a tough event, as well. a lot of those questions will disappear but also it will hopefully act as a motivation for people who want to make a change and not be judged by others or have ceilings set by other people to say, "actually, i believe i can do this. "i'll show you i can do it and don't bother questioning me." james, very best of luck. thank you. thanks forjoining us. and best of luck to oxford, as well. the current standings,
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83 wins to cambridge, 80 to oxford over the years. last year, cambridge won, so i'm sure oxford will be doing everything they can to change that. it all takes place on sunday afternoon right here on the river thames and it will be live on bbc one. tim muffett. time for a look at the weather. here's tomasz schafernaker. yesterday was glorious, today the opposite? it is awful in the south—east at the moment, cold and drizzly. earlier i was thinking about the tyne in february when we had 21 degrees, but either it or not. it is well below—average right now, it feels like a couple of degrees above freezing when you add on the wind, especially tomorrow. cold air from the arctic has pushed the mild air to the east of us, we are stuck in a pattern of chilly air from the north, sleet showers, hail showers, rain showers for most of us, we will not be building snowmen. but in northern parts of britain we could get a covering of

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