in washington have ended after a two hour meeting. earlier, the us more than doubled tariffs on $200 billion worth of chinese goods. beijing says it will retaliate. the united nations says at least 65 migrants trying to reach europe from libya drowned when their boat capsized off the coast of tunisia. local fishermen rescued 16 survivors. a 24—year—old norwegian woman has died after contracting rabies from a stray dog in the philippines. birgitte kallestad was travelling when the puppy she took in bit her. she fell ill soon after returning to norway, and died at the hospital where she worked.

now on bbc news, the week in parliament. hello and welcome to the week in parliament, your indispensable guide to the world of westminster and beyond. with all the dull stuff surgically removed. theresa may's still here — and her mps aren't happy. isn't it time to step aside and let someone knew lead our party, our country, and the negotiations? but the prime minister says she's not the problem. if it were an issue about me and how i vote, we would already have left the european union. and you're not imaginging it — it really is the longest parliamentary session since the war. it reminds me of a very old groucho marx film

in which he is chairing a group of academics and before they can say anything, he said, "i don't care what you say, "whatever it is, i'm against it." all that and more to come. but first... the rumblings about her future continue and the race to succeed her is under way. but theresa may is still in downing street, despite the efforts of conservative mps to get her out. and we're still in the eu, despite her efforts to get us out. her critics are many, but it's the brexiteers who seem keenest to challenge the prime minister directly, armed with ammunition from the local election results in england. can i say to my right honourable friend the prime minister, she has tried her best, nobody could fault or doubt her commitment and sense of duty but she has failed. she has failed to deliver on her promises, we have lost 1300 hard—working councillors. and sadly the public no longer trust her to run the brexit negotiations. isn't it time for her to step aside

and let someone knew lead our party, our country, and the negotiations? first of all, first of all, may i say to my honourable friend that i am sorry that we saw so many good conservative councillors lose their seats last week, very often through no fault of their own. i've been a councillor, i know the hard work and dedication that it takes. i've also been a councillor who has stood in an election against a difficult national background and under a conservative government. so i know what that feels like as well. and i thank all those councillors for their hard work and i congratulate those conservative councillors who won their seats for the first time across the country as well. can i also say to my honourable friend, actually this is... wait for it, wait for it. actually, this is not an issue about me and it is not an issue about her.

if it were an issue about me and how i vote, we would already have left the european union. but we haven't. deadlines have come and gone. and the government's confirmed the european elections are going ahead. in whitehall, the politicians are still talking, senior figures from labour and the government trying to break the deadlock. in the commons, at prime minister's questions, the two major leaders preferred to talk about other things, although both drew their own conclusions from football and the champions league results. in view of the amazing performance of liverpool last night, perhaps the prime minister could take some tips from jurgen klopp on how to get a good result in europe. i actually think that when we look at the liverpool win over barcelona last night, what it shows is that when everyone says it is all over, that your european opposition have got you beat, the clock is ticking down, it is time to concede defeat, actually we can still secure success

if everyone comes together. although, of course, liverpool are still in europe. the snp — excluded from the cross—party talks — were still keen to talk brexit. scotland doesn't want a labour tory brexit stitch up. scotland voted to remain and once again with no scottish representation in the talks, our nation is being ignored. does the prime minister think this is good enough for a supposed union of equals? the prime minister must confirm today that any deal would be put back to the people for a final say. can i say to the right honourable gentleman, as he knows i have had talks with him in the past on the issue of the brexit deal, i have also discussed the matter with the first minister for scotland. it has been made clear that any discussions on these matters should be with the first minister for scotland. in relation to the question of a second referendum, i remain absolutely of the view, as i have always been and i'm not

going to change my answer to him, that we should be delivering on the result of the first referendum that took place. change uk wouldn't take no for an answer. people are fed up with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition blaming each other and only caring about a brexit that suits them. meanwhile in enfield 3a,000 children live below the poverty line and face a brexit future that offers them nothing. parliament is gridlocked. when will the prime minister do the right thing, go back to the country with the people's vote? can i say to the honourable lady, i have answered the question about a second referendum earlier, and my view hasn't changed in the few minutes since i answered that question. by thursday, mps were trying to find out when they'll get a fourth meaningful vote on the prime minister's deal, or even get to see the withdrawal agreement bill to put it into law. is the government going to bring

back the withdrawal agreement bill next week? we need that certainty because you will have seen the research from the incorporated society of musicians, the ism, which shows that the uncertainty over brexit is continuing to cause real damage to a very important part of the music industry, which is a very important part of ourgdp. they have concerns about future work, mobility and visas, transportation of instruments and equipment and health and social security. 63 respondents cited difficulty in securing future work in the eu 27 ea countries as the biggest issue they face is due to brexit. and more than one in ten respondents reported that offers of work have been withdrawn or cancelled with brexit given as a reason. could we have more certainty for that sector? she asks when the withdrawal agreement bill will be introduced. obviously, it is subject to the talks with the opposition benches so i'm sure she'll be able

to get an update from her own side. it is the government's intention to seek cross—party agreement to get a bill that the whole house can support. it is absolutely essential that we leave the european union and three years on it is utterly unacceptable that we haven't done so yet. and what i can say to all honourable members who are concerned about the impact on businesses and on people going about their everyday lives is that if they would support the withdrawal agreement bill, then we can put these issue is to rest and get on with a very important that our constituents are concerned about. mr speaker, we didn't get an answer to the meaningful vote withdrawal agreement but i think the house deserves one because the rumour is that the government are going to bring it back next week, the first being the suggested date. so, what are the government's plans for the meaningful vote? when are they going to bring it back? in what form will it be? because this purgatory cannot go on any longer. nothing is being done,

important bills need to be brought back to this house and we need to get back to work. we rose early on two days this week and this place is quickly becoming an international laughing stock. the problem, the fundamental problem we have is that his party don't believe in abiding by the result of referenda where this party does. we had a referendum in 2016 and are determined to deliver on the results of the referendum to leave the eu. they had a referendum in 2014 and regardless of whether they have another referendum, the only time they will abide by that is if they get the results they want. (pres) andrea leadsom — one of several cabinet ministers seriously considering throwing her hat into the ring to replace theresa may. two years ago next month the queen opened parliament, setting out the government's legislative agenda. doesn't time fly? you may remember the state 0pening had "reduced ceremonial elements" due to, as parliament's website delicately puts it, "the unique circumstances

of the general election". and that session is still going on. on thursday it became the longest parliamentary session since world war ii. dr alice lilley from the institute for government and professor vernon bogdanor from king's college london can explain why this matters. alice, first of all, why does this matter? this session could go on forever, couldn't it? there is certainly nothing to stop the government from doing that, it is perfectly within its rights to keep this session going. i think the big question, though, for parliament, is what does keeping this session going actually change? firstly, does it get us any closer towards breaking the brexit deadlock in the house of commons? and secondly the fundamental reality of this session remains, which is that the government is in minority. legislating as a minority is difficult enough. doing so when you have an issue as divisive as brexit makes it even more complicated. and already in this session, party discipline within the government has

broken down even further, so it can keep the session going but those fundamental problems are still there. vernon, it is rather unusual, isn't it? parliamentary sessions are used to last a year or about that. it's completely unprecedented, i think. you've got not only the brexit deadlock but both parties deeply internally divided. so we've got the very peculiar, indeed unprecedented, situation of a government which can't get either its brexit policies through or any other controversial policies through but also parliament won't get rid of it because they decided to vote in january not to support a motion of no confidence. so you've got a government which is hobbling along without any legislative support in parliament and not able to achieve anything. and that is a remarkable situation. alice, mps can still legislate, though, can't they? they're very busy at the moment. some days. yes, absolutely. and actually if you look at the quantity of legislation

the government has passed in this session, it is actually very comparable with what you would usually expect from a government. what is different, though, is the content of that legislation. the government has really chosen to focus a lot of its energies on its brexit bills. outside of that, it has not really want to do anything very contentious so that it can really its political energy on these divisive issues. what we're seeing now, though, is the sort of non—contentious bills the government is introducing, so things to do with circus animals, leases in kew gardens, they are really now essentially distracting us from the fact that there hasn't been much progress on brexit and there is still this impasse in the commons. so, yes, the government is legislating, mps are getting through plenty of things but when you consider that this is a government in the first session of the new parliament, outside of brexit it is not really passing the kinds of big set piece legislation we would expect. vernon, is there a way

out of this deadlock? we are still some way, of course, from the long parliament at 16110 which i think went on for 20 years. there are three ways out of the deadlock. either parliament passes the deal, which is non—negotiable, or at least the withdrawal agreement part of it is non—negotiable. either that happens or it votes no confidence in the government and we have either another government or a general election, or it decides upon a referendum. they are the three alternatives. they've been there for some time. they were well summed up by theresa may. either the deal or we leave with no deal or no brexit. and it is up to mps to make up their minds. and, really, they've had a long time to do so because the irish backstop was agreed in december 2017. if mps were so strongly opposed to it, why didn't they say that a bit earlier, a little before the brexit date loomed so large on the horizon? the behaviour of the mps, it reminds me of a very old groucho marx film in which he chairs a group

of academics and before they can say anything, he said, i don't care what you say, whatever it is i'm against it. and that is the attitude of mps on brexit, as far as i can say. so, alice, would a new queen's speech change anything? or is this going to go on forever? how will it end? the million—dollar question. certainly, a new queen's speech would offer the government to perhaps reset some of its priorities, to offer a bit of a shop window as to what its legislation would be. you would still have to get it passed, though. you would still have to get it passed. it would face a debate and vote on the queen's speech, historically, that is something that has been treated as a matter of confidence. under the fixed—term parliaments act. it is a little bit less clear what the formal effect of the government losing the vote on the queen's speech would be but politically it would be enormously damaging and it would make it very difficult for them to continue. vernon, how will it end for you? i wish i knew the answer to that question. if i did, i would be rich man.

but i think what may be worth pointing out is the rather poignant fact that in her first speech as prime minister, theresa may laid out a large agenda for dealing with the problems of provincial england and those struggling to manage, and hardly any of that agenda will go on to the statute book because parliament has been deadlocked for so long. the behaviour of the mps, it reminds me of a very old groucho marx film in which he is cheating a group there was a rare outbreak of cross—party consensus as a new law to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses cleared its first parliamentary hurdle before going on for detailed scrutiny. continuing to allow wild animals to perform often absurd and unnecessary behaviours for our amusement in travelling circuses goes against this government's efforts and this house's interest to raise awareness and respect for animals. circuses are no place for wild animals. this is a view not only shared

by animal welfare organisations but by the vast majority of people across the country. and, i am very glad to see, by members on both sides of this place here. electric cars are growing in popularity. in the lords, peers were keen to plug in and go green — but there were obstacles such as the lack of charging points. would it not be a good idea for parliament to give an example to the rest of the country? we have got a87 parking spaces between this house and the other place. i am told there are two charging points in the house of commons and there are three more promised for royal court. how can we expect the country to take us seriously if we cannot put our own house in order? i completely agree with my noble friend. we do need more charging points within the house. i certainly used to drive and i do no longer. i use public transport and i would also encourage noble lords to do the same. the education secretary says schools in england will be held accountable for the exam results of excluded pupils in england.

damian hinds was responding to a government—commissioned review that looked into off—rolling, with weaker or disruptive pupils removed from the school register to improve league table results. we will work with 0fsted to both define, so there is greater clarity for school leaders, and tackle that practice of off—rolling, where children are removed from school rolls without following a formal exclusion procedure, in ways that are in the interests of the school rather than the pupil. does he not accept that pupils are at greater risk of exclusion when support staff have been lost as a result of funding cuts? how can we implement early intervention when the very services that provide it are being stripped away? and mps — and the rest of us — got a glimpse of their temporary future with the release of plans for a commons chamber to host debates while the builders move in to the crumbling palace of westminster. the chamber will be built at richmond house, former home of the department of health. not everyone‘s happy.

the costings that we have currently date back to 2012, 2014. that is something that has got to be reviewed and looked at again. and of course what has happened since those original costings is things like security has had to be enhanced following the attacks on westminster. we will get that clarity but we are not yet at that stage in relation to the wider restoration and renewal costs. the chamber will be built at richmond house, former home of the department for health. not everyone is happy. is my right honourable friend aware of the growing concern at the demolition of the award—winning listed richmond house to make way for a permanent replica house of commons where mps can be parked for many years? given the decant may now be delayed till 2028 will her government ensure that for reasons of safety we get on with the work as quickly as possible and when a decant becomes necessary it is for as short a time as possible into a temporary

cost—effective chamber? my right honourable friend has raised an important issue because this palace of westminster is recognised over the world as a symbol of democracy. obviously the decision that was taken by parliament to approve the restoration and renewal programme was a huge step towards its protection. we will be introducing the bill, which i am pleased we are able to do that. the decision to move to richmond house was a matterfor parliament. i understand that although richmond house will be substantially developed the proposals will retain richmond terrace and the whitehall facade. i am sure, as was indicated by my right honourable friend at the end of his question, that he will agree with me that it is imperative that parliament keeps the total bill as low as possible.

that decant — as it's known — is due to take place in the mid—2020s. what are the odds on the first debate in the new chamber being on the latest brexit developments? now, 20 years ago scotland, wales and northern ireland gained a greater say over their own affairs when tony blair's government began devolving powers from westminster. we asked bbc experts to assess what impact devolution has had. in wales, it got off to a shaky start after voters only narrowly backed the idea of a national assembly. daniel davies reports from cardiff bay. if i had been standing here 20 years ago i'd be standing in a car park. this building, the senedd, the home of the assembly, didn't exist. in the early days they met around the corner and had very limited lawmaking powers. what's more, the institution could only spend money, it could not raise it through taxes. that and much else besides has changed.

last month it acquired the ability to raise or lower income taxes. now there are plans to change its name to the senedd or parliament, meant as a sign of the assembly's growing maturity as a legislature. but in other ways things have stayed the same. despite the growing workload there are still 60 assembly members. is that enough? it's a topic of ongoing debate. and labour has retained its grip on power. there have been four labour first ministers who have led the institution since the beginning. turnout at elections has been low. never higher than 46%. and some surveys suggest that a lot of people still don't realise it is this place, not westminster, that is responsible for the public services they rely on. daniel davies. the scottish referendum result in favour of devolution — and a more powerful parliament was far more emphatic. here's david porter.

there was huge optimism in 1999. perhaps too much optimism when the parliament came into being albeit in a temporary home. they moved into their new home a few years later which was hugely over budget. but what i think it did, it gave parliament the institution confidence to say physically, we now have a building in the centre of edinburgh which is making laws which affect the lives of ordinary scots on health, in education and transport. there of course have been spats with westminster. there have been turf wars. more so when you have had a nationalist administration in holyrood and a unionist administration down here in westminster. but sometimes those arguments, those rows, are talked up by either side. during these 20 years we have had more powers going to holyrood and we have also had some very big constitutional events. we had the 2014 scottish independence referendum, the faultline if you like, of scottish politics. more recently the brexit referendum. scotland voted to stay within the european union and the snp government at holyrood is opposed in principle and practice to brexit, would dearly love to see it stopped. but for all the critics of devolution prior to 1999, i think very few people now would want to go back 21 years

before the scottish parliament came into being. david porter. and what of northern ireland? without a government for the last two years. from stormont, here's jayne mccormack. devolution has brought with it all sorts of twists and turns here in northern ireland. the success of the good friday agreement in 1998 paved the way for stormont, but it has had a rocky existence ever since. the nature of power—sharing means that unionists and nationalists have to share power together, and we have seen the assembly collapse a number of times. in 2010 the powers ofjustice and policing were devolved for the first time. a sign perhaps that things were stabilising. butjust six years later and financial scandal tore

through the institutions and collapsed of the dup—sinn fein executive. since then we have had talks after talks, even a snap election, but so far this place remains dormant. the british and irish governments say their focus is on restoring devolution so that decisions on health and education can be taken again. the murder of lyra mckee the journalist last month changed the dynamic once again and we saw talks begin this week in a bid to try and kick—start the assembly once more. but so far there has been no sign of progress and there is a long way to go. jayne mccormack. a change of pace now — what's been happening in the wider world of politics? ryan brown has our countdown. at five, red faces down under after a bank note featuring australia's first woman mp was found to have a typo. the reserve bank said that responsibility will be spelt correctly in the future print runs. at four the wife of conservative mp andrew bridgen launches the lifestyle blog you didn't need.

hashtag the wives of westminster. at three, meanwhile the mums of westminster have a new favourite channel. she watches this chamber. for some reason she is a keen follower of the bbc parliament channel. i am sure there is lots of other people who will be watching the parliament channel also. at two, continuing our family theme, there is a new baby in town. snp‘s ian blackford doesn't quite know who it belongs to. can i also congratulate the duke and duchess of wessex and... sussex. at one, the pm is still the queen bee and conservative mp hugh merriman calls for a parliamentary beehive. we would all get a tremendous buzz if we see parliament as a hive of activity. ryan brown creating his own buzz there. before we go, there's just time for a quick look at the newspaper headlines. and the guardian reports that the prime minister of bhutan spends his weekends

working as a surgeon. the paper tells its readers that dr lotay tshering was a highly regarded doctor before he entered politics. which is re—assuring to know. but perhaps we should be relieved our leaders spend their weekends hill—walking or making jam. thank you for watching the week in parliament. mandy baker will be here on monday night at eleven o'clock on bbc parliament with the latest from the commons and the lords. but from me, david cornock, bye for now. hello there.

well, it's an improving picture gradually through this weekend. we're going to see high—pressure building in, and that's going to kill off a lot of the showers, and produce more sunshine. so gradually the temperatures will rise, but we're not expecting a heat wave in the next week or so. but it's certainly gonig to feel better than it has done of late. now, the overnight rain will clear away from southern parts of england and high—pressure will begin to buil in from the west today. so we could see a few early showers across the south—east. these fizzling out but then, as temperatures rise into the afternoon, we'll either see more showers developing and these will be mainly across the eastern side of the uk. some showers could be quite heavy there for the northern isles. there will be a cool north—westerly wind across northern coast of scotland and head further south. better temperatures for southern scotland, around the mid—teens celsius, and it will be dry as well. plenty of showers central and estern parts ofengland. the odd heavy maybe thundery one too. with the best of the conditions of further west. and we'll see highs i think

of around 15—16, maybe 17 degrees. and then through saturday night, it turns dry, the showers die away. clear skies — recipe for another cold night, in fact. across northern areas we could see a bit of a patchy frost. into sunday then, a big area of high pressure right on top of the uk keeping all these weather systems well away from us. so it's going to be a mainly dry day. a chilly to sunday, mind you. a little bit of early mist and fog, clearing away quickly. the nlots of sunshine. but as temperatures buld into the afternoon, we could see a little bit of fairweather cloud just developing here and there. maybe just an outside chance of an isolated shower in the south—east. top temperatures again around the high teens celsius. always a little bit fresher along the north sea coast and that is because, as we head onto next week, we will still have high pressure with us, but we'll always be tapping into something cooler across more eastern areas, whereas further west, we'll be drawing up warmer airfrom here. so there will be this east—west contrast. sp for monday then, high—pressure still with us.

could see a bit more cloud though across northern scotland but spmegood spells of sunshine for most of the country. in fact, some areas seeing wall—to—wall sunshine. and the warmest spots will be further west — 19, maybe 20 degrees. a bit cooler across the east coast.

hello and welcome to bbc news. i'm reged ahmad. they're the world's two biggest economies — but at the moment they're engaging in a trade war that's threatening to escalate even further. china's vice president has denied trade talks with the united states have disintegrated — despite the failure of discussions in washington. liu he said that setbacks were inevitable and the two sides have agreed to meet again in beijing. the united states has now introduced 25% tariffs on some chinese imports — and is working to impose tariffs on even more chinese goods.