opposition parties say they'll try to pass a law to stop the uk leaving the european union without a deal. labour, the lib dems, the snp and the greens are among those who've signed a pledge to work together to try to make no deal impossible. i will put forward a proposal which will make sure that parliament is able to to debate a legislative way of preventing the government crashing us out with no deal. downing street has accused the opposition parties of seeking to sabotage britain's position in talks with brussels. also tonight... women who say they were sexually abused by american financier jeffrey epstein tell a court they're angry he died in prison and avoided justice. the future of two of england's oldest football clubs, bury and bolton wanderers, hangs in the balance tonight. a decade after the bloodiest summer

in the afghan war, the men, women and families still trying to cope with the aftermath. it's taken four or five years out of my life in terms of being stagnant, drinking, doing things i wouldn't normally have been doing if i hadn't have been in the army and hadn't been let down at the end. and the teenage sisters praised by the emergency services after they rescued a father and son from the sea, with their lilo. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news, despite the financial problems in football, the games continue with west ham in second—round league cup action against newport county. good evening. opposition parties have agreed

to work together to try to stop britain leaving the european union without a deal. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, says mps will take the first steps towards trying to pass a law blocking a no—deal brexit when parliament returns next week. the greens, the snp and the lib dems were among those who pledged to work together today. they also said a vote of no confidence to bring down the government remained an option. downing street accused them of trying to stop brexit happening altogether. our political correspondent ben wright reports from westminster. the pace is slow and the parks are full. around parliament there is little sign of the storm to come but with borisjohnson prepared to take the uk out of the eu without a deal, the heat is on opposition parties trying to find a way to stop him. i will put forward a proposal which will make sure that parliament is able to debate a legislative way of preventing the government crashing us out with no deal. for two hours, jeremy corbyn held talks with other opposition

parties in his office, agreeing mps should try and force borisjohnson to delay brexit again. mr blackford, hello, how was your meeting? i want to congratulate colleagues because there is a real spirit that we have to work together. we have to stop no—deal brexit. if boris johnson decides to pursue a no—deal brexit, there is pretty much nothing mps can do to stop it. oh yes there is. because in the uk, it is a parliamentary democracy, there is parliamentary sovereignty. parliamentarians have the power to stop this. there was a real consensus around the room of people recognising that the best way forward is a legislative route and i think that made for a very positive start to the meeting and very constructive discussions. you've got almost no time to pull this off, have you? time is very short and we need to get cracking with it, absolutely. but there is no clear decisive route for parliament to block or delay a no—deal brexit and the government does not need mps‘ approval to leave the eu without an agreement. as a democrat myself,

i will be fighting tooth and nail to not allow a group of opposition undemocratic members of parliament to try and prevent the government from fulfilling the democratic wishes of the people. but this afternoon, 160 opposition mps signed a pledge that they would do whatever they can to stop a no—deal brexit. extraordinary is the new normal in politics. opposition parties putting aside their differences to try and stop a no—deal brexit. here, mps vowing to thwart borisjohnson if he attempts to suspend the house of commons before brexit day while, just a few doors away, a meeting of the insurgent brexit party, planning for a general election and piling pressure on the government to make sure brexit happens. proving again just how polarised the argument now is, nigel farage said leaving the eu without a deal was the only acceptable brexit. if, mrjohnson, you insist on the withdrawal agreement,

we will fight you in every single seat up and down the length and breadth of the united kingdom! but he said if mrjohnson summoned the courage to pursue a no deal, the brexit party would work with him. with political divisions so deep, some mps have looked to the other side of the thames for help, inviting the archbishop of canterbury to chair public assemblies on what should happen next. it can't be any kind of trojan horse to delay or cancel brexit. it must be cross—party so this is about healing divisions so we continue to disagree but we disagree without this bitterness and without these constant attempts to shut down anybody who doesn't say what we like. but reconciliation here feels a long way off. the coming two—month struggle between government and parliament could be rougher than anything seen so far. ben is in westminster now.

so it has taken some time, but have opposition mps finally agreed on a tactic to try to stop a no—deal brexit? it seems they have. only last week jeremy corbyn‘s preference was to crack on with a confidence vote and try to bring down the government. but that idea is parked for the moment and the tactics have shifted. instead, opposition parties have decided their number one priority will be to try and seize control of the parliamentary timetable, pass a piece of legislation, a bill, that compelled boris johnson piece of legislation, a bill, that compelled borisjohnson to go to the eu and ask for more time, another delay to brexit. something like this was successful in the spring but i think there are a lot of reasons why it could struggle to work this time round. to start with, it is the government that controls the parliamentary timetable and not mps. secondly, there is very little parliamentary time left before brexit dates and the default is for brexit dates and the default is for brexit to happen deal or not. the third reason is that while a lot of tory mps don't like the idea of a

no—deal brexit, i think they will be relu cta nt to no—deal brexit, i think they will be reluctant tojoin no—deal brexit, i think they will be reluctant to join opposition effort at this stage while borisjohnson is still trying to negotiate with the eu but all this will kick off next week. thank you. thank you. more than a dozen women who claim they were sexually abused by the disgraced american financier jeffrey epstein have told a court in manhattan how angry they are that he died in prison and avoided justice. after the hearing, one of the women, who has alleged she was forced to have sex with prince andrew, called on him to "come clean" about what he has done. the prince has strenuously denied any form of sexual misconduct. chris buckler reports. jeffrey epstein‘s victims came to court to be seen and, most importantly, heard. they once expected to be able to face the man who abused them. his death robbed them of that opportunity, but they told in graphic and upsetting detail the truth and impact of epstein‘s crimes. before i knew what was happening, he grabbed onto my wrist and tugged me towards the bed. i tried to pull away but he was unbuttoning my shorts and pulling my body onto his already

naked body faster than i could think. i was searching for words but all i could say was a meek no, please, stop, but that just seemed to excite him more. he continued to rape me and when he was finished, hopped off and went to the shower. i pulled my shorts up and i ran as fast as i could back to my own villa, my feet bloody from the rocks. i cried myself to sleep that night. i want to thank the judge for letting us speak. having some closure. it's still going to be a rough road but i also wanted to thank all the survivors that had reached out to me as well and telling me their stories. inside court, many of the women asked for their real names not to be used but they became emotional and some broke down in tears as they talked about the crimes they suffered at the hands ofjeffrey epstein. they talked about being abused, exploited and manipulated by a man who they described as a complex villain. epstein was accused of being a coward for taking his own life

rather than face justice, but his lawyers said they had significant doubts about his death inside a jail in manhattan. they claimed his injuries were more consistent with an assault and they raised concerns about video footage from a corridor outside his cell in the prison. when they went to examine it, it was corrupted and couldn't be viewed. whether it was a suicide or murder, it does not end the case. it does not end their fight for justice. it does not end the case. it does not end their fight forjustice. it does not end there feeling that they we re does not end there feeling that they were manipulated and victimised. and that they were child victims of mr epstein. so today they spoke truth to power, they spoke truth to what happened to them. but questions remain for those who were once among epstein‘s famous friends, including donald trump and the duke of york. he has categorically denied allegations he had sex with a girl exploited by epstein. virginia

giuffre, who has made allegations against prince andrew, was among those in court. he knows exactly what he has done and i hope —— i hope he comes clean about it. many of the are pursuing a cases, even if this criminal case is at an end, he may be dead but today is unlikely to be the last date speak ofjeffrey epstein and his crimes. this chris buckler, bbc news, new york. the future of two of england's oldest football clubs still hangs in the balance tonight. hopes of saving bury football club look bleak after a proposed takeover fell through with less than two hours to go before the deadline this afternoon and there's still no news for bolton wanderers fans about a potential buyer. our sports editor, dan roan, has more. for 134 years, this club has been at the heart of the community in bury but today the news fans were dreading asa but today the news fans were dreading as a last—ditch takeover bid collapsed. we want dale out!

attention turned to anger as a threat of expulsion from the football league loomed. we are heartbroken, honestly. i've been mascot, travelled to 60 odd grounds watching them. just gutted a gutted. earlier, volunteers expected a deal to be done, helping get the stadium ready for what they hoped would be the first fixture of the season after a series of suspended matches. bury were given until 5pm to com plete bury were given until 5pm to complete a takeover or be thrown out of the league. amid the despair, they warned fans not to damage the stadium but having come through the youth ranks, defender ryan clooney helps the team get promoted last season helps the team get promoted last season and despite the premier league we disagree think much of its welcome he told me they could do more. if the big teams to help out, it will help the smaller teams. they're able to spend 80 million on players when teams like bury need how much? 3 million to save the

club. a few miles away, bolton wanderers also faced the same deadline to complete a takeover of their own. what might the legendary nat lofthouse have made of the financial peril hanging over his old club? i stood behind his statue and he got a tear in his eye because none of us have seen this. we just wa nt none of us have seen this. we just want a football club to support, that's all we ask just seven years ago bolton were in the premier league but after relegation came spiralling debts. in may, the club fell into administration, a food bank was even set up four staff amid the threat of liquidation, the club says takeover talks continue but the crisis has highlighted a financial chasm in the game but at last year, 12 premier league clubs made profits with a surplus of more than £300 million. three quarters of the efl‘s 72 clubs were in the red, a collective net deficit of almost £400 million. the premier league's latest domestic live tv deal is

worth £5 billion. the efl‘s less than 600 million but our club simply spending beyond their means? there is so much competitive football as in any sport and it is hard—wired into being a sports franchise. everybody wants to succeed every year and the temptation to spend beyond budget to reach your targets at the end of every season is huge. tonight, for the rest of the professional game, the season continued with around league cup fixtures involving some of the richest clubs in the world. nat lofthouse judge it in and there is the second goal for bolton. out in the second goal for bolton. out in the cold, two teams with hundreds of yea rs of history the cold, two teams with hundreds of years of history between them, still on the brink. according to the bury owner, even at this late stage three potential bids have emerged this evening which have been passed on to the efl for consideration. down the road at bolton there is some optimism that even at this late stage they could bea even at this late stage they could be a takeover celbridge but what we

don't yet know is whether or not the league are prepared to allow both of these clubs to go deep into injury time, as it were, to try and find some kind of solution. whatever their fate, these crises some kind of solution. whatever theirfate, these crises have highlighted a growing concern within the english game and whether or not it is the financial disparity between the haves and have—nots or the efl‘s scrutiny of prospective owners or perhaps wider societal trends that make it how do sustained 92 professional clubs throughout the country, there is no doubt the dismay at this story extends well beyond these two northwest towns. police investigating abuse allegations at a hospital in county antrim say they've uncovered hundreds of crimes in one ward. they're examining more than 300,000 hours of cctv footage recorded at muckamore abbey hospital, where 20 staff have been suspended since 2017. documents seen by the bbc show the government knew the hs2 rail project was over budget

three years ago. the documents were written in 2016 — before mps had signed off the first phase of the project, which raises questions over whether parliament was given the whole picture. the high—speed line will link london, birmingham, manchester and leeds. our transport correspondent tom burridge has this exclusive report. the true cost of building a high—speed railway from london to birmingham and then manchester and leeds is set to rise significantly, but until recently, ministers and bosses at hs2, the public company building it, insisted it was on budget. phase one of the project was meant to cost £24 billion. hs2 estimated that 2.8 billion of that was needed to buy land and properties along the route. andrew bruce says his job was to work out how realistic that figure was. i knew that the figure was wrong, i knew that it was manifestly wrong. the land was going to increase from the estimated 2.8 billion, up to 4.8 billion.

he knew it was wrong because thousands of properties and plots of land which had to be bought or compensated, had been given very low values. on top of that, hundreds of properties were given a value of zero, including some flats and a shop on this street in london euston, which have already been demolished. in reality, they cost hs2 millions of pounds. andrew bruce says he was due to present his revised higher estimate to senior managers at hs2 and the department for transport but he says half an hour before the board meeting, he was fired. i was told that my information, my data, the whole of that programme, the whole of that six months' worth of work, was never used again. it was as if i had never existed. hs2 said it doesn't recognise andrew bruce's version of events. it strongly rejects the idea that mr bruce was dismissed because of a desire to hide the true cost.

we've also obtained this letter, written in 2016 to the then chancellor george osborne. the transport secretary at the time, patrick mcloughlin, admits the project was £1 billion over budget. that figure, i'm told, didn't include andrew bruce's higher cost estimate for the land and property and it was all before phase one of hs2 was signed off by parliament. i think parliament was misled. i think we're now having to spend far more public taxpayers' money on hs2 than parliament thought was going to be required. hs2 knew that and they knew that months, if not years, before. last year, the national audit office found that hs2 wasn't required to submit an improved property cost estimate to parliament, so it cleared hs2 of any wrongdoing. hs2 said it had also faced extensive scrutiny from parliamentary committees. a review of the scheme commissioned by the government will begin its work tomorrow. the future of hs2 is uncertain.

tom burridge, bbc news. it's ten years since the bloodiest summer of britain's military campaign in afghanistan. 108 uk personnel lost their lives in 2009, many of them in the southern province of helmand. a decade later, the afghan war is still taking its toll on those who served there and the families who lost loved ones. hundreds of british troops are still being treated for post—traumatic stress. our defence correspondent jonathan beale has been talking to helmand's survivors. helmand 2009, and these british troops are getting ready to patrol. they're in sangin — the most dangerous town in the most dangerous province. among them, 18—year—old joe murphy. here, william aldridge, who'd also just turned 18. jonathan horne, a veteran at 28. and daniel simpson who'd recently become a dad. out of shot is james

backhouse, also 18. the five who in one day would never return. all killed on the day deadliest patrol of the deadliest year for the british army. ten years on, families, friends and comrades have come to the staffordshire memorial that now bears their names. but they're still struggling to comprehend their loss. i just think what a waste. of them all being... yeah, yeah, they did do some good things, but... i have a bit of an issue with the age of the younger ones getting killed out there. i think i believe we did bring something there, a level of security, even as we were suffering, we were bringing a level of security. it wasn't great by any stretch. explosion. the british military suffered its highest

casualty rate in 2009, with 108 soldiers killed. and helmand still haunts the memories of those who survived. gunfire. cold sweats, nightmares, regularly, yeah. insomnia. guy murray was part of another unit sent into sangin that year. hisjob, one of the most dangerous — clearing roadside bombs. early on, he watched as his best friend was killed. watching someone get shot through the head, you think that's going to happen to you every step. yeah, it's so nerve—racking, i can't even... i don't know how i did it. when he returned, guy took an overdose as he struggled to find help from an army that was ill—prepared to deal with post—traumatic stress. it's taken four or five years out of my life, in terms of being stagnant, drinking, doing things that

i wouldn't normally have been doing if i hadn't have been in the army and hadn't been let down at the end. on that one tour, ten soldiers in his unit were killed, dozens more seriously injured and since then, there's been at least one suicide. the entire company had more incidents than qualified them for a red flag on the amount of trauma faced, and that's me included. it's nearly five years since british forces left helmand for good — with twice as many killed there as iraq. but unlike iraq, there's never been a public inquiry to examine why they went there and what was achieved. i don't feel betrayed, yet, but there needs to be an inquiry and there needs to be the offer for mental health training for all of those who are exposed to the levels of trauma that we were. there are still stories of remarkable recoveries. michael swain is one of hundreds who lost limbs in helmand.

he's undergone 16 operations, but he has no regrets. along the way, i've had so many different stories and different journeys and it's made me the person who i am today and to change that, i wouldn't be who i am. i nearly died on the battlefield, what can i worry about compared to that, do you know what i mean? the names of those who died are remembered on this wall. but ten years on from the bloodiest year in helmand, and no one really knows how many more are still suffering or who may have taken their own life since. jonathan beale, bbc news. brazil's government says it will reject an offer of £18 million from the world's richest nations to help tackle the terrible fires raging in the amazon rainforest. the country's president, jair bolsonaro, said he won't accept the money unless he gets an apology from his french counterpart, emmanuel macron. mr macron had accused him of "lying" about fighting climate change. satellite data shows the fires —

mostly in the amazon region — are burning at record levels. sophie long sent this report from the city of altamira. the heart of the amazon, the world's lungs on fire. a chorus of condemnation echoed around the world and this ecological disaster became a global political issue. brazil's president didn't strike the match that lit these flames but many say given his policies and his response to the crisis, he might as well have. we're just passing over an area of rainforest that is still burning. my guide tells me it's farmland but it's very close to indigenous land — home to a huge amount of wildlife and also a tribe of people that has almost no contact with the outside world. it means they also have almost no means by which to put out the fires

that are raging towards them. the fate of many amazonian people now lies in the government's hands. so, what is the greatest threat to the land where your community live? in the forest on the banks of the xingu river, kumaripa xipaya tells me it's brazil's leaders. translation: one of the biggest threats my people face today is our government. they are trying to destroy the amazon, to exterminate our people. they are the people trying to destroy our country and the amazon. but president bolsonaro seems more concerned with brazil's sovereignty. he's accused the french president of treating brazil like a colony. today, as their diplomatic spat continued, jair bolsonaro said he might accept international assistance if president macron withdraws his insults. some blame for the blazes has been directed at farmers who want to raze the forest for their crops and cattle, but adelardo cover and his daughter, who've worked the land here for more than three decades, tell me farmers are not to blame and nor is their president. translation: it's people acting illegally who want to claim the forest. farmers who own registered land

don't burn and they don't deforest. we have to leave promptly; the community here are angry about the way their country and there president —— their president are being portrayed. a group of indigenous leaders say the fires are just one of many threats to the amazon. one spoke anonymously because he fears for his life. he says his community had been threatened. if they don't leave their land by wednesday, they'll be killed. while miners and loggers continue to encroach on the scorched earth of the amazon, president bolsonaro says he will re—evaluate the laws surrounding indigenous lands, in order to increase productivity. meanwhile, the largest rainforest on the planet continues to smoulder. sophie long, bbc news. altamira in the amazon. the emergency services have praised two teenage sisters who rescued a father and son from the sea off the coast of aberdeenshire. the girls swam out on a lilo to help them when they heard cries for help

as lorna gordon reports. they are the two teenage sisters whose quick reactions saved a man and his young son from drowning. we were just swimming and we were, like, at knee height, and we heard the little boy screaming. so we thought his dad was dunking him under the water and wetting him and stuff, but then the dad started shouting "help" and we realised he was in trouble. the beach here is known for its undercurrents and with the water cold, the man was tiring quickly. isla swam out and lifted the toddler onto an inflatable lilo, before getting the man to lie his head across it as best he could. to be honest, i wasn't thinking. i wasjust like, "i need to get on it", because i saw him going under the water and then trying to come up for breath, but because his son was on top of him, he was trying to keep him up, he wasn't getting any breath, so it was like, get out of there as quickly as you can. bystander keith gray, who spotted what was happening, joined in to help. when all were safely back on shore, the sisters phoned 999. before being airlifted out, the father was able

to thank his rescuers. the teenagers, though, don't think they are heroes, they said theyjust did what had to be done. but the local lifeboat team said their presence and actions made all the difference, and they all deserve medals. lorna gordon, bbc news. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello, and welcome to sportsday. i'm jane dougall. 125 years of history at stake as bury football club fail to secure a buyer and face expulsion from the league. with all the good publicity we've had from you and all the other radio stations and television stations —

for it to come to this is just heartbreaking. bolton are in the same predicament as the efl deadline passes. administrators warn the club is on the brink of liquidation. and kyle edmund is out of the us open in the first round — beaten by spaniard pablo andujar in five sets. hello, and welcome to sportsday. we start with the news that two of the oldest clubs in the football league are tonight facing expulsion after missing a deadline to find a buyer. bury and bolton wanderers were told by the english football league that they had to find a way out of their dire financial situations or the process of liquidation would begin. both clubs had potential buyers in place but both fell through before the deadline passed at 5pm today.

our sports editor dan roan has been at gigg lane this evening. here at gigg lane, there are still plenty of bury fans who are waiting late into the night for any news to emerge that will give them some cause for optimism. the mood here turn from anxiety to anger early on when around mid afternoon, it emerged that the prospective deal for this team to be bought by a data analytics company collapsed as they said there were too many complexities when they were doing their due diligence. that meant that their due diligence. that meant that the situation looked very desperate indeed for this 134—year—old club. in the intervening hours, we know that according to the club's owner, three new potential bids have emerged that could, even at this late stage, mean that bury managed to avoid being kicked out of the

football league. but as it stands, we have yet to hear the outcome of the efl‘s board meeting that was taking place this evening. we understand they are under mounting pressure to yet again extend the deadline that bury had been operating under. of course that's was set for 5pm this afternoon. earlier today, hundreds of fans arrived today to try to get the stadium ready to host what many hoped would be the first picture of the series of suspended matches because of the financial predicament that bury found them cells under. that deadline came and went, and still fans are hoping that this last gasp stage could result in some solution found. the local mps are involved, the government has been in involved, the government has been in involved to try to put pressure on the efl to extend that deadline again, but we're waiting. bolin has

also helped to underline the mounting