you're watching bbc news at nine with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines... a dramatic defeat for the prime minister last night, as mps try to block a no—deal brexit. borisjohnson lost his commons majority and his first vote. he says he could trigger a general election. if mps vote tomorrow to stop negotiations and to compel another pointless delay to brexit, potentially for years, then that would be the only way to resolve this. the liberal democrats and labour say they will block an election until the threat of a no—deal is removed. get the bill through first in order to prevent... in order to take no deal off the table.

21 conservative mps have been suspended from the party after helping to defeat the government in last night's vote on mps taking control of today's parliamentary agenda. in other news, hong kong leader carrie lam is expected to announce the formal withdrawal of the extradition bill, which sparked three months of anti—government demonstrations. and after battering the bahamas, killing at least seven people, hurricane dorian is heading for the florida coast. good morning and welcome to the bbc news at nine on the bbc news channel, bbc two and we're joined today by viewers on bbc world. what a difference a day makes.

after a hugely dramatic return to the commons after the summer break, borisjohnson lost his working majority, his first vote in the commons, and potentially control of the entire brexit process. mps voted by 328 votes to 301 to take control of the parliamentary agenda as they look to block a no—deal brexit. the commons will decide later whether to back the bill which would bring another brexit delay. 21 conservative mps voted against the government, which led to a late night round of phonecalls from downing street expelling them from the party. they include the former chancellor philip hammond, the father of the house, ken clarke, and the grandson of sir winston churchill, nicholas soames. borisjohnson has warned mps if they vote to delay the uk's departure date from the european union beyond the 31st october deadline, he will call a snap general election on tuesday 15th october, just days

before a crucial eu summit. but will parliament allow him to call an election? this picture shows the current make—up of the 650 mps in the house of commons. borisjohnson started yesterday with a working majority ofjust one, and this morning is now 22 mps short of a majority. we will be exploring all the issues through the programme. our political correspondent jonathan blake reports. it was boris johnson's first test of his authority as prime minister in parliament and it ended in a decisive defeat. some on his own sidejoined opposition parties in voting to take control of the house of commons to attempt to block a no—deal brexit. order. the ayes to the right, 328, the noes to the left, 301. labour and others want to force the prime minister to ask for an extension to brexit if he can't get a new deal. mrjohnson says he'd never do that,

so, if they succeed, his only option would be to hold a general election. i don't want an election, the public don't want an election. i don't believe the right honourable gentleman wants an election. but if the house votes for this bill tomorrow, the public we will have to choose who goes to brussels on october 17th to sort this out and take this country forward. two thirds of mps would need to back his call for an election, but labour say they'll only do that once the legislation blocking no—deal becomes law. he wants to table a motion for a general election. fine. get the bill through first! after three hours of debate in the commons, those conservatives who voted against the government knew they would be thrown out of their party. mps are in charge here, for now. the government must consider its next move as the battle for control of the brexit process grinds on. jonathan blake, bbc

news, westminster. let's go to westminster and speak to one of those 21 conservative mps who voted against the government last night, rory stewart. thank you for taking the time to talk to us today. can i begin by asking you how the news was delivered to you that you will being thrown out of the party?|j delivered to you that you will being thrown out of the party? i got a text on my phone but come to be fair, the whips were trying to call me but i found out through a text. you are otherwise engaged at an awards ceremony, i believe, being awarded a politician of the year. the irony is quite something. awarded a politician of the year. the irony is quite somethingm awarded a politician of the year. the irony is quite something. it is quite something. i was made go politician of the year, i was standing with my wife and all of these glamorous people like nicole kidman andi these glamorous people like nicole kidman and i got this text saying that i was in danger of not being a politician at all at that very moment. what do you think the

strategy is to remove the whip from so strategy is to remove the whip from so many colleagues who have in the past voted for a deal when boris johnson says he wants a deal? it's very strange. remember that the people who have had their whips removed are amongst the loyalist and quietest members of parliament. david gauke has been a loyal member of the party for 27 years, phillip hammond over a0 years, they have never voted against the government before in their lives, the first time they have done it. and they suddenly find they are in danger of being deselected. this is something mrs thatcher would never have considered doing, she would have thought it was undemocratic to try to deselect people, she would have felt it was something for local constituency associations. the centre, trying to decide who the mps are in this way is not good for our democracy. some of your colleagues had already stated their intention not to stand at the next general election, whenever that might be. what are your plans? my plan is to

stand again as a conservative. the problem with this is the whole strategy which is being pursued was unrealistic from the beginning. the negotiations with the eu were a sham and not going anywhere, no deal was a lwa ys and not going anywhere, no deal was always impossible, it would never get through parliament and this was obvious for months. as reality has begun to hit and it has become more obvious that the promised of the sist obvious that the promised of the 31st of october was always unrealistic, they are resorting to proroguing parliament, purging mps to try to drive it through. this is not the way to behave and this is not the way to behave and this is not going to solve the brexit situation. we will come back to the bigger picture in a second but on your personal situation, you are in the philip hammond camp, saying he will make this the fight of your life. do you have the backing of your constituency association to stay as their candidate? one of the very sad things is it is putting constituency associations like mine ina very constituency associations like mine in a very difficult situation, forcing them to choose between a

member of parliament and the party which is very tough for people i don't want to put associations through this which is why i'm confident that the majority of conservative mps will encourage the prime minister to be thoughtful about this. this is not the way to behave, we don't purge people in this country and it's not a good way to runa this country and it's not a good way to run a country. you think that borisjohnson to run a country. you think that boris johnson might be to run a country. you think that borisjohnson might be persuaded to return the whip to you and your collea g u es return the whip to you and your colleagues who have been suspended, thrown out of the party?|j colleagues who have been suspended, thrown out of the party? i certainly hope so. i think what is happening is that number 10 is panicking because they are trying to drive through a strategy that was always impossible. as they begin to realise that their whole strategy, which they won a leadership election on, was never going to work, they are panicking to things they will regret. but when they come to their senses they will realise that trying to do something in this way, trying to do something in this way, trying to ta ke to do something in this way, trying to take on our parliamentary democracy, is not the way to deliver brexit. it will just democracy, is not the way to deliver brexit. it willjust mean, even if they were to get it through, that they were to get it through, that they would produce something very

divisive, unsustainable and unstable and it would not carry support for the decade it would need to bed in. if they don't back down, would you stand as an independent? yes, i would consider that. do you take boris johnson's would consider that. do you take borisjohnson‘s point would consider that. do you take boris johnson's point in would consider that. do you take borisjohnson‘s point in any way that your actions and those of your collea g u es that your actions and those of your colleagues last night cut off his negotiating power with the eu? no, i don't have it at all. there was never going to be a new deal coming from brussels, there is absolutely no evidence from paris or berlin or brussels that any movement was taking place. when the british negotiator went last week he did not produce any proposals at all. it is just one deal which is the withdrawal agreement and if we are serious about a deal we need to take that through and one of the advantages of it is notjust that it was negotiated over two and a half yea rs, was negotiated over two and a half years, but that it is a compromise that might have some hope of bringing a terribly divided country together. in the past, people said the withdrawal agreement has been

rejected by parliament allsop the a nswer rejected by parliament allsop the answer is that no deal has been rejected by parliament as well. of those options, the withdrawal agreement is by far the better. what are your thoughts then on a general election as a way forward, a good idea or not? i don't think it solves anything. a general election is almost certainly going to get us back to where we are. there is only one door out of this room which is parliament. we are in a parliamentary democracy so we need to do what we should have done six 01’ to do what we should have done six or nine months ago which is to build a coalition around the withdrawal agreement, we would have left the european union on the 31st of march if people had voted for it. instead of which, people have been pursuing an impossible dream of no deal which would be deeply damaging and would resolve nothing and would lead to yea rs of resolve nothing and would lead to years of uncertainty as you try to negotiate a new deal with the us or india or europe. let's return to the deal would have been negotiated and ta ke deal would have been negotiated and take it through with a conservative and labour support and we ponder

things that people really care about. trying to work our way through this, what you want to do and what you think could happen? would you join some sort of coalition or temporary coalition with other mps who don't want there to bea with other mps who don't want there to be a no deal scenario, to try to find a way through this?” to be a no deal scenario, to try to find a way through this? i would like the withdrawal agreement to be brought back and i believe that if it was, people would vote for it this time. theresa may's deal will every dot, every crossed t, that is the negotiated deal put up don't open that can of worms again and pretend we will get a new deal, let's get it through parliament. now people have seen how impatient people have seen how impatient people are and the risk of no deal, they are now ready to compromise. let's get labour and tory mps to vote for the deal that is on the table. you think that mps are ready ina large table. you think that mps are ready in a large enough numbers to back that, given everything has happened

over the summer and everything that happened yesterday, alex ordinary day in the house of commons? yes, i think mps are beginning to realise that they have to compromise. there are some mps of course who want to just ignore the referendum and remain, some who have this idea of no deal put in the end we have to compromise around a brexit deal that respects the referendum, takes us out of political institutions in the opinion of the kids as economically close to europe. that is the best solution for the next 2030 years of this country, the own way of healing are very divided countryjust like a 20 or 30 years. for wasjust an assetin 20 or 30 years. for wasjust an asset in the uk is leaping on the sist asset in the uk is leaping on the 31st of october do or die —— boris johnson has said the uk is leaving. you said that no amount of bullying 01’ you said that no amount of bullying or threats would change the fact that in your opinion that it does not back a situation where there would be no deal. is this the

conservative party that you recognise and you joint, and what would you say to the prime minister this morning? would you urge him to change his strategy?” this morning? would you urge him to change his strategy? i would say that that statement which you quoted, that britain is leaving on the 31st of october is simply not true and it has never been true and never been possible. he can't make that promise because we live in a parliamentary democracy. the majority of parliament does not support no deal and the majority of the people in the country don't support no deal. to say that we will do it isjust support no deal. to say that we will do it is just not true. the 31st of october is only a legal default because parliament made that and parliament can unmake it. it brings us parliament can unmake it. it brings us back to the fact that if he wants to leave, the quickest way to lead and the surest way to leave is to go back to the withdrawal agreement and ta ke back to the withdrawal agreement and take it through on a cross—party basis through parliament. rory stewart m p, basis through parliament. rory stewart mp, thank you very much for your time today. let's go to downing street and speak to our assistant political editor, norman smith.

rory stewart saying there's only one door out of this room and that is through parliamentary consensus. take us through what might happen today first of all and then let's look ahead to the prospect of a general election, if it will happen 01’ general election, if it will happen or not. what is happening now is that boris johnson or not. what is happening now is that borisjohnson has summoned his ministers for what i would call the plan b cabinet. they will have to come up with a plan b because all the signs are that mrjohnson is heading. read into a parliamentary brick wall. first off, we expect mps to pass this legislation, in effect blocking no deal. i don't think there is any chance that any of the tory rebels will back off now, they have crossed the rubicon so that legislation will be passed. after that, borisjohnson has said, ok, i'm going to give the british people a chance to express their view in a

general election. there is no other choice. he has tabled a motion to trigger an election under what is called the fixed term parliament act. that also looks like it will have the parliamentary skids put under it because mps are saying, well, not so sure about that, at least opposition mps and his opponents are saying that, because they want to be absolutely sure that there is no option for borisjohnson to perhaps delay any general election until after we have left the eu. in other words, getting round the no deal block. they are saying, the legislation blocking no deal will have to be passed before we will consider voting for any sort of general election. that was the message pretty clear this morning from the shadow brexit secretary, sir keir starmer. we will listen to what he said, of course we want an election, we want

to get rid of this government but we will not walk into a trap and give up. it is crucial we complete on the task in hand this week. we're not going to dance to johnson's tune, neglect that and go for an election ona neglect that and go for an election on a promise from borisjohnson neglect that and go for an election on a promise from boris johnson that will be on the 15th of october that we don't believe. excuse the drilling in the background, it is not borisjohnson trying to escape or assemble a new brexit strategy! they are just repairing the road in downing street. one of the difficulties mr johnson faces is that his very strong arm tactics appear to have united the opposition, the cross— party united the opposition, the cross—party opposition, against him and had the reverse effect in his own ranks with the deselection is leaving a sour mood and disquiet among many tory mps copied the business minister kwasi kwarteng this morning defended the decision

to deselect those tory mps who rebelled last night. the government was very clear that people who voted against the government in that vote would have the whip withdrawn from them. i think that was the right policy. many of the people who rebelled against the government are good people, i served in government with them. but they were told very clearly that this was the consequence of their actions. and the government delivered on that. it is hard to avoid the view that boris johnson's it is hard to avoid the view that borisjohnson's position this morning is considerably weaker than it was just 2a hours ago and really he is now scrabbling to salvage his brexit strategy. because he no longer has a parliamentary majority, that has gone, the parliamentary arithmetic is now worse than it was for theresa may. mps do look set to pass legislation thwarting no deal.

and it is not absolutely clear whether he is in a position any longer to trigger a general election. some very tough and difficult decisions now for boris johnson about how he resurrects his brexit strategy. norman, thank you very much. we will see more of norman later. let's recap what is expected to happen today in the house of commons and how the process could play out. today, mps will take control of commons business to debate and vote on a bill which would delay brexit until the end of january. if it passes, a vote on whether to hold an election will follow. he needs two thirds of mps on board to trigger an early election. tomorrow, the anti—no deal bill will move to the house of lords, if it succeeds in the commons. parliament is not due to sit on friday, but mps could decide it should, to help rush the bill through. and if it passes, the bill could be given royal assent by the queen

and become law on monday the 9th of september. joining me now isjoe moor, former director of legislative affairs at number10. would you agree with the assessment from norman smith that the position of borisjohnson from norman smith that the position of boris johnson is from norman smith that the position of borisjohnson is considerably wea ker of borisjohnson is considerably weaker than it was? good morning. i think it is very difficult for him, to have lost by such a margin yesterday. i understood from speaking to people in the whips office and other former colleagues that they were expecting perhaps ten to 15 rebels. for 21 conservatives to 15 rebels. for 21 conservatives to defy the whip because of them are much bigger problem than i think they had. and conservatives of the ilk of philip hammond and nicholas soames and kenneth clarke. and these are moderate mps who have been in the party for a very long time and a lwa ys the party for a very long time and always shown extreme loyalty. to not only remove the whip from them but

for them to defy at the whip itself demonstrates the gravity of the situation. has boris johnson miscalculated his strategy here? he is saying he is going to take the uk out of the eu on the 31st of october come what may, he says he is listening to what people voted for in the referendum, and yet we know that there has been no backing in the commons for no deal, if it came to that. as heat miscalculated his strategy? i suspect this is one of several strategies and moving the ftp a two thirds majority for a boat for a general election is part one of that but they must know and they must see the way the wind has been blowing and have other long—term plans in place. presumably, if they lose their bill as it is at the moment, the benn bill, and the ftpa vote this evening then prorogation

will still happen at some stage next week and we will return for a queen's speech on the 1ath of october and they will then look at what they do in that speech and in a normal world you would set out a full legislative agenda and have one yea r‘s full legislative agenda and have one year's parliament or longer with a whole range of domestic measures included. you would have the two sites, a real sense of both sides having to be incredibly fleetfooted and having a range of possible scenarios in mind as to what they might do depending on how things evolve in the house of commons. incredible to predict. hugely difficult and yesterday demonstrates just how uncertain things are at the moment for the order paper to have been taken over for a second time which is highly unusual. for it to have been taken control of by backbench mps in the manner it did through emergency debates is extraordinary. we are really testing all the limits of what parliament can and cannot do. we are hearing

that the plan to suspend parliament, that the plan to suspend parliament, that was actually planned much earlier than we originally thought. do you think that borisjohnson and the team around him had any real sense of how that would play out and the reaction to it? they must have predicted there would be a huge response from the house of commons. do you think this was part of their strategy all along? quite possibly. any decision to prorogue parliament at this time would have been hugely controversial and they would have known that walking into making the decision. all this seems to be based on the fact of ensuring that a general election can take place at some point. much of it seems to me to be distraction techniques to deliberately provoke parliament into taking that as a course of action. very good to get your thoughts on this today, joe moor, former

director of legislative affairs at number 10 will stop let's head away from one semesterfor a moment. —— from one semesterfor a moment. —— from westminster. phil mackie is at the hereford livestock market for us this morning, talking no deal with farmers. what's the reaction been to what happened in the commons last night? i don't think it is just hereford livestock market that feel exasperated but most of the country, thatis exasperated but most of the country, that is the impression you get. there are 8000 sheep for sale here today, a lot of them will be exported, most of those to europe. if there is a no—deal brexit come on the 1st of november there will be a a8% tariff imposed on sheep exports. they could probably fetch around £75 each but that price could drop dramatically on november the 1st hot the auctioneer and a farm art with me. richard, what do you think will happen but firstly what you think

the situation in westminster? it's diabolical, i should think our mps are the most unpopular now than they have been at the whole of history and they need to get together to get behind the government. you cannot have a negotiation, you should have two doors, one chance and another chance and if you shut one thought you only have one avenue to take and then you're up against the wall. you think borisjohnson then you're up against the wall. you think boris johnson is then you're up against the wall. you think borisjohnson is doing the right thing? yes, he wants to get his mps and shake them up and tell them to get in line or get out. what about the prospect here in two months, if there is no deal which effectively you're advocating? i'm not advocating a no deal but if everything goes in the right direction from europe want a deal, we want a deal and we have got to aim towards one but if you take away your exit strategy, you're up against the wall and we don't want that. if we don't get a deal, yes, the sheep trade will be heavily impacted. john, you are a farmer,

you have already had to make plans for the next couple of years so you are buying sheep thinking there will bea are buying sheep thinking there will be a market for them but you don't know. it is the sheer uncertainty of everything, that is the problem. we we re everything, that is the problem. we were selling 3500 ewes here yesterday and i don't think one person knew exactly what we were doing. normally we can plan ahead. with long term strategy. but we haven't got a clue what... do you think the government is doing the right thing? yes, i do. we do live ina right thing? yes, i do. we do live in a democracy and we have got to go with the flow. thank you to both of you. you are about to start the sales. western england, a beautiful sunny day, everything is normal at the moment but if there is a no—deal brexit, as could be the case, things could change dramatically by november the 1st. thank you very much for that. a reminder that today

mps will take control of commons business to debate and vote on a bill which would delay brexit until the end of january. bill which would delay brexit until the end ofjanuary. we bill which would delay brexit until the end of january. we will take goodbye to viewers on bbc world. we can continue now with brexit matters. and the legal side of things. a judge will rule today on whether borisjohnson's plan to shut down parliament for five weeks ahead of brexit is lawful. the case was brought to the court of session in edinburgh by a cross—party group of 75 parliamentarians, who argued the prime minister had exceeded his powers. the government says the issue should be a political, rather than a legal, one. the chancellor, sajid javid, will announce an additional £2 billion of brexit funding for whitehall when he sets out next year's public spending plans later. mrjavid will also confirm plans to increase spending on schools, hospitals, and the police, public services which caused problems for the conservatives

at the last general election. the additional money for hospitals, schools and the police could clearly help address some of the big performance pressures, be it declining teacher recruitment rates, the growing backlog in hospitals orathe increasing amount of time it takes to charge or the increasing amount of time it takes to charge an offence in the police. but really, it's adult social care and prisons that have seen the largest decline in performance. as this government has already said it is committed to ending austerity, we think it is these services that should be first in line if the spending taps are turned back on. and we'll have more on the spending review in our morning briefing at 9.30, when we'll be hearing from the institute for fiscal studies. reports from hong kong say the leader of the terrority, carrie lam, will today announce the formal withdrawal of the extradition bill. let's go live to hong kong now where we can speak to our correspondent stephen mcdonell. this is what the demonstrators who have been protesting for the last three months wanted ?

have been protesting for the last three months wanted? yes, it is a key demand from the pro—democracy movement here and if, as is expected, carrie lam comes out and announces the formal withdrawal of this much hated bill allowing for extradition to mainland chinese courts, controlled by the communist party, it will be a significant backdown not only for her but also beijing. it is seen as something of an olive branch towards the protesters to try to take some of the heat out of this movement which, for three months now, has been going on in increasingly violent clashes between hardline radicalised protesters and the police. of course there is a much broader movement than that, many hundreds of thousands of people initially marched to try to stop this bill being pushed through. the government ignored this and tried to resist that people power movement, if you like, but there has been too much pressure from the ground. carrie lam, by her own reckoning, feels she

is responsible for unforgivable havoc, in her words. is responsible for unforgivable havoc, in herwords. for is responsible for unforgivable havoc, in her words. for not dealing with this more quickly. we will have to wait and see if that is the announcement and if it comes, as we expect from in the coming hours. she is having a meeting right now with the pro—beijing members of the legislative council and also hong kong's delegates to the national people's council the national parliament in beijing, and she is then expected to come out and announced that the bill is officially dead. thank you very much for that update on this developing story which we will keep a close eye on. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. some of us needed brollies this morning. and by the end of the date you will need a warm jacket, things feeling much more autumnal later but as you said, afew much more autumnal later but as you said, a few umbrellas this will become heavy rain in east anglia and

the south—east but clearing away in the south—east but clearing away in the next few hours. a few showers in yorkshire and lincolnshire and the persistent rain in scotland which is moving eastwards and it will be fairly wet at times for the showers in northern ireland come into northern england in the afternoon and that could cause some interruptions at old trafford. more persistent rain later in the far north of scotland but many areas will have sunshine, driest in the southern counties of england and wales but blustery across the board, 50-60 wales but blustery across the board, 50—60 mph gusts in the west of scotla nd 50—60 mph gusts in the west of scotland and that will make it chillier with temperatures dropping this afternoon to around 10—18dc for most. this evening, more rain in northern scotland, showers clearing in northern england but some on the east coast overnight but it will be a cooler start to tomorrow with temperatures in single figures quite widely but compared to today, most places will stay dry. hello, this is bbc news,

with annita mcveigh. the headlines: a dramatic defeat for the prime minister last night, as mps try to block a no—deal brexit. borisjohnson lost his commons majority and his first vote — he says he could trigger a general election. if mps vote tomorrow to stop negotiations and to compel another pointless delay to brexit, potentially for years, then that would be the only way to resolve this. the liberal democrats and labour say they will block an election until the threat of a no—deal is removed. get the bill through first, in order to prevent, in order, in order to ta ke to prevent, in order, in order to take no—deal off the table! 21 conservatives have been suspended from the party after helping to defeat the government in last night's vote on mps taking control of today's parliamentary agenda.

in other news, hong kong leader carrie lam is expected to announce the formal withdrawal of the extradition bill, which sparked three months of anti—government demonstrations. time now for the morning briefing, where we bring you up to speed on the stories people are watching, reading and sharing. heavily dominated today by politics. we'll start with our top story — and also, currently the most read on our website — the news that borisjohnson has said he will push for a snap general election, after last night's commons defeat on brexit. after taking control of the order paper, the next stage will be to present a bill requesting another brexit delay. the lib dem leaderjo swinson spoke to martha kearney on the bbc‘s radio a today programme. and martha asked her if, by working on this bill, she and others are just prolonging the uncertainty to the end of january. i've been a long—time advocate for a people's vote to stop brexit, which is actually the quickest way

for us to resolve this issue, to give the public the final choice about the future direction, with a very specific brexit path in front of them. and i think that that decision should rest with them. there is no quick way out of this. because if we leave the european union, that is only the beginning of years and years and years of negotiations. but you've been making the case, though, haven't you, for a referendum for some time? and there may be a majority in the house of commons against no—deal, but there isn't a majority either in favour of a referendum or, indeed, any other alternative. so, with this new bill, you'rejust kicking the can down the road. well, we're certainly looking to avoid the chaos of a no—deal exit. as liberal democrats, we want to stop brexit altogether. but obviously, part of that is stopping no—deal. and so, although this bill is not the perfect thing that we would have argued for, i've been saying that i wanted it

to be stronger in terms of having an insurance policy to revoke article 50, if we came within a few days of crashing out. but i also recognise the need that we need to work with other people, in other parties. whether that's the snp, labour, plaid cymru, or people within the conservative party who have felt very unhappy with the direction their party's been going in. we need to work together and find some common ground, in the national interest. jo swinson. downing street said the 21 tory mps who rebelled in tuesday's vote would have the whip removed, effectively expelling them from the parliamentary party. former party leader lord howard has been speaking to nick robinson on the today programme, and he defended the decision to expell the mps, saying that borisjohnson faces a particular issue with rebellious mps that even margaret thatcher didn't face. she wasn't faced with this situation. with this situation, which parliament has

consistently refused to implement a decision made by the british people in a referendum. but you know, you will have got votes from them yourself when you ran an election. won't people like ruth davidson, for example, who's tweeted this morning to say, "in the name of all that is good and holy, is there no longer room in the conservative party for nicholas soames? " won't people like her — people who look to her, people who look to soames or clarke, or any of the others — say, this is not a party for us? we can't vote for it, we can't be members of it, we're off. well, i hope they won't come to that conclusion. this is a very sad moment. but we have to resolve this issue. and i just want to say a word about the arrogance of the majority of this house of commons. not only do they think they know better than the british people on this issue, they are not prepared now, apparently, to let the british people have their say. in an election, you mean? in an election.

because the election would give the people the opportunity to decide whether they back the prime minister in this strategy, or whether they don't. but the house of commons, as we understand it, wants to deny the british people that opportunity. lord howard. well, as we heard there, among the conservative rebels facing expulsion are the grandson of winston churchill — sir nicholas soames — as well as the former chancellor, kenneth clarke — a commons veteran of nearly five decades. here's the moment where mr soames confirmed, live on bbc 2's newsnight programme, that he is to lose the whip. i have been told by the chief whip, who is my friend, who i like very much, but he has told me that it will be his sad duty to write to me tomorrow to tell me that i've had the whip removed, after 37 years as a conservative member of parliament. i've voted against the government three times in 37 years and i've had the whip removed. do you recognise your party tonight? no, it's been taken over by a rather knock—about sort of character, who's got this bizarre crash—it—through

philosophy, in charge. a lot of people... a cabinet which is the most right—wing cabinet any conservative party's ever produced. they're not in control of events. also among the jettisoned rebels are philip hammond, who — until the 2ath ofjuly — served as chancellor. our correspondent andy moore is in his runnymede constituency, in surrey. philip hammond has already said he will put up the fight of his life and he has the support of his constituency and the association there, rory stewart said something similarto me there, rory stewart said something similar to me this morning. so there isa similar to me this morning. so there is a real battle here within the conservative party now. yes, absolutely. i mean, nicolas soames saying he had been a member of the conservative party for 37 years and philip hammond can beat that, he has been a member for a5 years. since philip hammond can beat that, he has been a memberfor a5 years. since he was 18, he is now 63. he went to his

constituency association on monday perhaps fearing something like this was coming. and he got reselected. so we have the strange situation where a conservative association has selected somebody to be their candidate as a conservative mp who is no longer a member of the party. very strange times indeed. this morning, we spoke to some of the constituency at eggen station as they were rushing to work to hear what they had to say about that. i've no sympathy for him. why not? due to his poor voting record. whilst i applaud him for making a stance this time, i've no sympathy for him. i think it's the best thing that hammond has done for the constituency for years. he's actually shown a bit of backbone, which i didn't think he had, so i'm very impressed. and i hope that the conservative government gets royally trounced. oh, wow! so that sounds like the conservative party is, in fact, tearing themselves apart.

that would basically be my reaction, is that they've decided to become the brexit party. still quite shocked with it all, but nothing really surprises me. i mean, brexit is full of surprises. so, er, yeah, it's all interesting times. it'll be interesting to see what happens today. so, a fascinating constituency, this. in the referendum, they voted to remain byjust 0.15%. so if you wa nt to to remain byjust 0.15%. so if you want to find a constituency split right down the middle, this is probably it. philip hammond, as you say, says he will put up the fight of his life to remain a conservative mp. how will he do that? well, we hear there is an appeals process, it won't be the decision of the prime minister alone. there will be a panel, which will include rank and file members of the conservative party. so, maybe the expulsion effective rate will be overturned. failing that, there could even be legal action. thank you very much.

andy moore, reporting. we heard rory stewart saying this money he hopes borisjohnson could stewart saying this money he hopes boris johnson could be stewart saying this money he hopes borisjohnson could be persuaded to return the whip to those from whom it was written —— taken away yesterday. well, there's been plenty of social media reaction, after yet another momentous day in westminster. labourmp anna tu rley's photograph ofjacob rees—mogg, the leader of the house of commons,sprawled out on the benches with his eyes closed continues to be widely shared. her tweet has close to 100,000 interactions. and the image has been shared much more widely still, with many using the hashtag #moggspreading, as you can see from this tweet. otherwise, the phrases "21 mps" and "21 tories" are trending on twitter, as people discuss the 21 tories who have lost the party whip. the name of one of those rebels, ken clarke, has been particularly widely used on twitter. amid all the brexit debates, there is some ordinary government business going on. the chancellor, sajid javid, will announce a spending review later today. this will be government spending for the next financial

year, so 2020—to—‘21. pauljohnson is the director of the institute for fiscal studies. he's been speaking to dominic o'connell on the bbc‘s today programme this morning. dominic asked him how much more headroom the chancellor has to increase spending. well, it depends how he defines his headroom, but he's probably got a bit more space to increase money on local government and social care and one or two other things. if you look at the forecasts back in the spring, they suggest he could increase spending next year by about £15 billion relative to what his plans were and that does leave a reasonable amount of money around. he's put significant money into schools and further education, he's announced some money for prisons and defence. there is more money there. he could, ithink, say, look, i really have finally ended austerity today. i'm increasing spending

right across the board. the problem for him — in terms of, can he afford it? — is all of that will be based on forecasts made back in march. this is a big fiscal event with no report from his independent fiscal watchdog, and if there had been a report from that watchdog, i think they would have said, look, growth is less than we thought it was going to be back in march and so you've actually got less headroom than the amount of headroom you think you're playing with. pauljohnson, from the ifs. a quick look at what you are reading and watching. very —— heavily dominated by politics. new brexit battle after commons vote. a quick summary of what is going on in politics. number three away from politics as hurricane dorian and number one on the most watched is that image of jacob rees—mogg, the leader of the house of commons, looking rather relaxed on the benches of the house of commons and being told to sit up, man, by one of his fellow mps. that's it for today's

morning briefing. sport now, and going to old trafford and don watson is waiting for us in and don watson is waiting for us in a little bit of rain, i think. yes, it certainly was this morning, it was very wet first thing at old trafford, but the clouds have cleared and we do have sunshine so all being well, play should begin this morning at 11 o'clock is scheduled for the start of the fourth ashes test, which is perfectly poised now after that brilliant performance from ben stokes and adam ricci got england over the line in that impressive victory, that one wicket win at headingley,1—1 victory, that one wicket win at headingley, 1—1 in the series. but england cannot afford any more slip—ups because if australia win one more match in this series, it will be two matches remaining or they retain the ashes. momentum certainly with england. interesting hearing from australia captain tim paine that he is slightly concerned and has had sleepless nights after how he will get ben stokes out after

that performance, butjoe root will be desperate to build on that performance because everything has been said about the performances of jofra archer and ben stokes, but he knows the headingley test will count for very little if they can't get over the line and wrap up this series and i would love to get a win here at old trafford. let's get the thoughts now are both captains. you come off the back of a win like that, it's a big lift for the whole squad. for that game to unravel how it did, for us to turn up here full of confidence and very much alive in this series is... you know, ithought the way that we played the week before at lord's, it started to feel like we were wrestling our way back into the series. we know where we made some errors in the last test match. but on the whole, when you look at the way we played our cricket and the numbers and the things we look at and among ourselves on, we've been doing really well and that is why we have beenin

really well and that is why we have been in positions to win test matches. we just got to be better at finishing the job like we didn't do la st finishing the job like we didn't do last week. but again, we've learned from that and we will be better for it. justin langer, the australia head coach, saying they feel the ashes have been stolen from them. england bowler mark wood with me. england bowler mark wood with me. england were bowled out for 67 in the first innings, joe root will be desperate to see an improved team performance this time. that is right, the first hour will be key. we have the momentum from the last game and looking to use that at the start of this match. jo is a good leader. he is not a shelter, he will be wanting to lead the way with his actions with the bat to start with. —— he is not somebody who shouts. same to jofra archer, —— he is not somebody who shouts. same tojofra archer, make something happen. steve smith back in the side after losing out with concussion and jofra archer relishing the

opportunity to bowl at him again. steve smith is a world—class player and he has been in bubble where he is hard to get out of that mental space. the only time he has been ruffled was when jofra space. the only time he has been ruffled was whenjofra archer was bowling 96 mph rockets. i am sure the crowd will be up for it and joe root will throw the ball atjofra archer and say, make something happen for me. steve smith preparing with that extra protection on the back of his helmet which he didn't have when he was hit by thejofra archer bouncer. tim paine for australia saying he has had sleepless nights about how to get ben stokes out. it will require something from australia after the disappointment at headingley. stokes is flying now, he had the world cup final and the heroics of the last test so he is really on a massive high and that confidence, knowing he can take down the australian bowlers, that will serve him well in this test. he is in great form. use professional and trains well so he will be fixed on this and strained to give england another

match—winning performance. to give england another match-winning performance. you know ben stokes very well and you came through the durham academy together, he is quite extraordinary. he comes across as a normal bike but has been doing extraordinary things this summer. at the world cup with you where england won it for the first time. he is a normal bike, he comes off being a national hero and goes home and is on his instagram cutting the grass —— he is a normal day. he is very professional. he knows the job is not done, he will not rest on the last performance and he will wa nt to the last performance and he will want to put in another performance here. mark a great speak to you, enjoy it today, the band has sparked up enjoy it today, the band has sparked up behind us. the rain has cleared and we should see play get under way at 11 o'clock. england hoping to avoid a potential upset here today. we saw one unfold last night with roger federer knocked out of the us open. roger federer has been knocked out by grigor dimitrov in the quarterfinals. we got has lost roger federer in all

their previous meetings. he lost in five sets here. and from the pedigree roger federer shows, he was to meet rafael adele in the final and we will not see that matchup. just low, you know. disappointed it is over because i did feel i was playing really well after a couple of rocky start. you know, it is just a missed opportunity to some extent, you know, that you are in the lease, you know, that you are in the lease, you can get through. i had two days off after and it was looking good. but you've got to take the losses, you know. it's part of the game. johanna konta is out, after losing to elina svitolina. konta was the first british woman to reach the quarter—finals of the tournament sincejo durie back in 1983, but she

lost in straight sets to the ukrainian fifth seed. svitolina is the highest seed left in the draw and will now play serena williams in the last four. i actually felt like i was doing a lot of good things out there, a lot of the right things. but like you observed, i mean, shejust made me play that extra ball. and, i mean... yeah, i mean, it's frustrating. you know, i would have loved to have come through that and come through a challenge like her, but i guess it'lljust have to be next time. in football. there was late drama as northern ireland dented wales' hopes of qualifying for women's euro 2021 by snatching a 2—all draw in newport. it was a late goal that cost wales from northern ireland. wales were leading until the fourth minute of stoppage time when they conceded a free kick,

and northern ireland captain ashleigh hutton managed to equalise to mark her 100th cap. a crucial goal. after both winning their opening matches in qualifying. disappointment for wales. and what of england? some disappointment for them as well. mix performances since their world cup campaign. despite this wonder goal from georgia stanway against norway, england failed to win for a second successive game since the world cup. they ended up losing their friendly in bergen by two goals to one. it follows a draw with belgium last week. phil neville will not be pleased with that performance. a mixed performance from england following the world cup. all eyes will be on old trafford today as england resume hostilities with australia in this and rolling ashes series. play will get under way at 11 o'clock this morning and you can listen to it, the covering gets under way from

10:25am. and don't forget, you can follow it all on the bbc sport website. highlights of the opening date has not played throughout the day. for now, that is all from old trafford. have a good day, thank you very much. hurricane dorian, which has killed at least seven people in the bahamas, is now about a hundred miles east of cape canaveral in florida. the national hurricane centre has warned people living on america's south—east coast to beware of dangerous storm surges. aerial footage of the islands of andros and grand bahama shows severe flooding, with boats torn from their moorings, roofs ripped off buildings, overturned cars and other debris strewn across the engulfed landscape. our north america correspondent, peter bowes, reports. the wrath of dorian. the scale of the destruction in the bahamas is unprecedented. this is now a humanitarian crisis. vast areas are underwater, including grand bahama international airport and the town of marsh harbour

on abaco island. lingering over the bahamas, the stationary storm prolonged the nightmare for the island's residents. many took desperate measures to escape the rising waters. some were trapped on roofs for hours. the national hurricane center says the storm is creeping dangerously close to florida's east coast. the state, once predicted to take a direct hit, may escape the worst, but georgia and the carolinas are also in dorian's path. so, our message for today is this — this is a very serious storm and a western shift, that is towards land, ofjust a few miles could bring enormous damage to our state. so, we want everyone to heed the warnings, listen to the official instructions that are given. and we want to prepare for the worst but, of course, we want to pray for the best. water rescue teams are on standby

and the army has been drafted in to deal with the looming threat. dorian's destructive journey is far from over. peter bowes, bbc news. a new gene therapy which restores sight and is being hailed as ‘revolutionary‘ will soon be provided by the nhs. the treatment is the first ever available for babies born with what's known as inherited retinal dystrophies disorder, where they are born with poor sight. most lose their vision completely during childhood. for more, i'm joined by dr tom pey, chief executive of the royal society for blind children. it is really good to have you with us. this sounds like an incredible development, incredibly exciting news. this treatment is already being used in the us, how successful is it? my understanding is that it is it? my understanding is that it is revolutionary. that it is saving people, young people from losing their sight. and i think it is great

that nice and the nhs have agreed to offer it. it is my understanding that it offer it. it is my understanding thatitis offer it. it is my understanding that it is a cure. whether it reverses irreparable damage, i'm not sure. but definitely, if... this will work. that is interesting, as we mentioned, children born with retinal dystrophies disorder, they are born with poor eyesight and then that eyesight declines rapidly as they are young children. but you are waiting to find out whether this treatment will actually not only stop their vision deteriorating, but whether it could voice that poor eyesight. yes, retinal dystrophy is a kind of catchall for a number of conditions. the most common one is our peak at where your site deteriorates from the outside in the

inside out. -- rp. this is a gene therapy. yes, but it is for, whether isa therapy. yes, but it is for, whether is a single gene mutation that causes the retinal dystrophies disorder, this condition can be cured by the injection. it is delivered by an injection, there is a virus that carries the healthy gene which is injected into the eye and the healthy gene proliferates in the eye and repairs the site. this is incredible, it costjust over £6,000 -- £600,000 per child, is incredible, it costjust over £6,000 —— £600,000 per child, how many children are affected?m £6,000 —— £600,000 per child, how many children are affected? it is tens rather than hundreds. but let me say that to save the sight of one child for £600,000 is really good value for money. it is notjust getting your sight back which is an enormous gift, but if you lose your

sight in childhood, then you have a 90% chance of not holding down a steadyjob 90% chance of not holding down a steady job throughout your adult life. and a 70% chance of living with either anxiety or depression as an adult. and as we say at the rspca, a lot of children are forced to grow up poor and lonelyjust because they are buying. —— rsbc. to grow up poor and lonelyjust because they are buying. -- rsbc. so this is an enormous development. it is incredible, thank you very much for coming to tell is about it. thank you. now it's time for a look at the weather with simon king. good morning. good morning, everyone. a mixture of sunny spells and showers today, particularly towards the north and west of the uk. all because of low pressure which is towards the north of scotland. look at the white lines and the isoba rs, scotland. look at the white lines and the isobars, quite close together in the north west, bringing

a strong wind today. but it is also the low pressure bringing a north to north westerly wind. the weather fronts claiming to the south, feeling chilly air compared to the last few days. and we will have a bit of cloud around, a few showers further north and west. with showers merging together to give longer spells of rain. that will drift further south into north west england and north wales. —— that will drift further. this morning's rain clears away to give sunshine here. the wind gusts, up to 55 mph in the west of scotland. quite blustery conditions for many. and it will feel cooler compared to last few days, temperatures down a few degrees at about 15 or 18 degrees. ten or 11 celsius in the western isles. this evening, many showers are clear. isles. this evening, many showers a re clear. clear isles. this evening, many showers are clear. clear skies and that means it turns quite chilly into thursday morning. temperatures down to fairly low single figures, particularly across the northern

half of the uk. thursday, expecting to see more dry weather, more sunshine for most of us. some showers around scotland, north west england, drifting into the midlands. not as many as today, though. for many others, staying dry and temperatures again up into the mid—to—high teens. into friday, another weather system from the north west. singing to the south east. a wet spell of weather expected on friday. rain lingering for much of the afternoon across central and southern areas into the afternoon. showers behind that towards the north and west. but there will be sunny spells between those two fans of showers and maximum temperatures on friday about 15 to 18 degrees. into the weekend, we lose those weather systems. and we lose those weather systems. and we have a ridge of high pressure developing from the south—west. that settle things down on saturday and sunday. so largely dry weather. some

sunny spells on saturday and sunday. temperatures 17—19dc, the winds will be lighter and it might feel quite pleasa nt be lighter and it might feel quite pleasant for many others over the weekend. that is all from me, goodbye.

hello. it's wednesday. it's ten o'clock. i'm victoria derbyshire at westminster. who governs britain? last night mps seized control of parliament to try to stop a no—deal brexit, including... 21 tory mps who rebelled against their government and have now been chucked out of the party. winston churchill's grandson is one of them. he's lost his majority and he's now going to lose six more... he's going to lose the father of the house, two former chancellors, eight privy counsellors. you know, it's not a sensible way to run a government really. one mp who defied the government has told me he intends to tell his constituency association

today that he plans to stand