this is bbc news, i'm ben brown. the headlines at nine... amber rudd resigns from the cabinet and the conservative party in another major blow for boris johnson's government. it's the combination of the fact that there isn't enough work going into getting a deal, which i think is not what the prime minister signed up to try to do and secondly the expulsion of 21 of my colleagues who are good and moderate conservatives. business secretary, andrea leadsom, says the conservatives will break with precedent and field a candidate against the commons speaker, john bercow, at the next election. peace negotiations between the taliban and the united states have been called off. in a tweet president trump blames a deadly attack in the afghan capital, kabul.

british airways pilots go on strike — for the first time in the airline's history. the canadian teenager, bianca andrayscu, beats serena williams to win the us open women's singles title. and our sunday morning edition of the papers is at 9.35 — this mornings reviewers are journalist and author shyama perera and john crowley— the editorial director of first draft. good morning. in the last few minutes, amber rudd has been giving more details about why she's resigned from the government. she told the bbc‘s andrew marr she hasn't seen enough evidence that downing street is doing enough to get a brexit deal. and she's angry about the expulsion of what she called ‘good

moderate‘ conservative mps. she said she spoke to borisjohnson last night who she said was ‘sad' about her decision to quit. here she is on the andrew marr show this morning. i believe that he is trying to get a deal with the eu. i'm i believe that he is trying to get a dealwith the eu. i'mjust i believe that he is trying to get a deal with the eu. i'm just saying what i have seen in government is that there is this huge machine preparing for no deal, which is fine. you might expect in the balance between getting a deal and i'io balance between getting a deal and no deal 50—50 in terms of work but it isn't that, it is 80 or 90% of government time going into preparing i'io government time going into preparing no deal and the absence of trying to work to get a deal is driven by 21 of my colleagues to rebel and i need tojoin them. of my colleagues to rebel and i need to join them. so you think he is trying to get a deal? there that is the question. and you have no idea? i have no idea, what we know is that angela merkel and the eu have said,

give us your proposal and we have not given them a proposal. where is the work that has to be done to come up the work that has to be done to come up with alternative arrangements to show the landing place and all that work needs to go behind it and instead we are hearing, we are going to get a deal. but there's very little evidence of it. i live in politics? no, or the conservative party but i'm surrendering —— surrendering the web in order to stand with my colleagues. i know i could not carry on in the conservative party at such a high level and see 21 of my colleagues who are good, moderate people who also want a deal excluded from it andl also want a deal excluded from it and ijust also want a deal excluded from it and i just needed also want a deal excluded from it and ijust needed to move and stand by them. i hope that we will all be returned before the general election so we can returned before the general election so we can all stand as conservatives. i am a conservative. i believe the conservative party is a forceful good in our great country andl a forceful good in our great country and i would like to see us in government. we have been before and we've done great things was to pin your u said you no longer believe

leaving with a deal is the governments main objective, that's why close to accusing the government of lying to the british people? i'm not, i'm observing what i have seen. 80-90% of the not, i'm observing what i have seen. 80—90% of the work i've seen going oi'i 80—90% of the work i've seen going on on 80—90% of the work i've seen going on on the eu relationship is a preparation for a no deal. it's disproportion? exactly, but when it was first entered into after boris johnson became prime minister most people would have expected, i think everyone would have expected, there to bea everyone would have expected, there to be a lot of work on getting a no deal. a whole team of people trying to build relationships and work on alternative arrangements and i have not seen that. is the purpose to further undermine boris johnson or tilt the direction of policy? the purpose of the resignation is to make the point that the conservative party, at its best, should be a moderate party that embraces people with different views of the eu. in the last... under the last prime minister we had a lot of rebellions,

jacob rees—mogg rebelled 100 times, a lot of people rebelled on her withdrawal agreement, now some of those are in cabinet. it is disproportionately unfair to single out this group who have a different view on leaving the european union and remove the whip from them. that is the purpose. in your letter, you said there is no evidence of a deal? there is no evidence of a deal. there is no evidence of a deal. there is no formal negotiation taking place. there were just a lot of conversations and david frost has been doing his best and going out twice a week but i think we should be doing so much more to get the deal. i support getting a deal. almost every one of those 21 want to get a deal and have voted for a deal in the past, and are longing to have an opportunity to do so. so you made your decision? when you went to speak to the prime minister, what was his reaction? i spoke to the prime minister last night and he was sad, nobody wants to lose... you are quite close in some ways? we have

been close and i was frank about the reasons for it. i spoke to him several times this week about howl thought the expulsion of the 21... it is notjust 21 individuals, it is a big symbol. the conservative party does not embrace individual people. philip hammond, kenneth clarke, i ke pt philip hammond, kenneth clarke, i kept arguing against it. is this the end of the conservative party as we have known it? no, iwill fight end of the conservative party as we have known it? no, i will fight for the conservative party and the values that we have which i think are in the national interest. i could not stand by and watch these people on their own. that was amber rudd explaining the reasons for her resignation. with me is our political correspondent, helen catt. what did you make of what she had to say? what did you make of what she had to 7 i what did you make of what she had to say? i think what we saw from that is where this impact will be felt, within the conservative party. they are having a battle of the soul this week and that is where the intervention is going to be felt

ha rd est. intervention is going to be felt hardest. amber rudd is an influential figure among moderate one nation conservatives as they are known. having her on—site was a boost for boris johnson and known. having her on—site was a boost for borisjohnson and his brexit strategy. what she said there effectively attacking both parts of that, saying 90% of government effort is going into preparing for no deal and she cannot see evidence of preparation going in for a no deal and the language that she uses about the expulsion of 21 of her colleagues, that she needs to stand with them, that could resonate within the party. the key question for borisjohnson within the party. the key question for boris johnson is within the party. the key question for borisjohnson is going to be what that does for other unhappy tories. we know there are some, with how this has been this week, with the expulsion of the 21 m people—mac. will it to the balance for others to follow suit? she said she spoke to him last night and he was sad? in terms of popularity in

the party, it is a blow and they are known to be close. it comes hot on the heels of the resignation of his own brother, jojohnson, the heels of the resignation of his own brother, jo johnson, this the heels of the resignation of his own brother, jojohnson, this week. personal relationships that have fallen by the wayside because of this. it will be a blow to him there. popularity outside westminster, it may not be as much ofa westminster, it may not be as much of a blow there as you might think. a senior government force was quoted as saying resignations will not change the fact that people want brexit done and like amber rudd's hastings and rye constituency, will this be raising concerns or is this borisjohnson this be raising concerns or is this boris johnson taking action? this be raising concerns or is this borisjohnson taking action? weight and we have had the reaction to the redness —— to the resignation from the foreign secretary? dominic raab was on sky news this morning, and the question was raised. this was what he had to say.

i'm really sorry to see amber step down. i like her, i respect her. we became mps at the same time in 2010. but i think in fairness, when she took the cabinet role, everyone was asked — do you accept and can you sign up to and will you support the prime minister's plan to leave by the end of october, preferably with a deal but if not, come what may? and we all accepted that. and i think the prime minister was right to restore some discipline and i think he's right to expect it from his top team. of course, you heard amber rudd saying earlier that when she took the cabinet position, she maintains she did it in good faith but leaving no deal on the table was right for a negotiation position but it is what has emerged since, she has not seen the effort going into getting a deal which perhaps means her situation has become, as she put it,"untenable". helen catt, thank you. alistair burtjoins me now, he is now an independent mp after he had the conservative whip removed on tuesday.

firstly, what is your reaction to amber rudd's resignation from the government? and there i am extremely sorry, on behalf that the government, that we have lost such a talented colleague. i am very grateful that she has resigned for the reasons that she has stated and for her staunch support of her colleagues. and, it is sadly evidence of the position that we are m, evidence of the position that we are in, because the obsession about leaving the eu in a particular way, ata leaving the eu in a particular way, at a particular time, leaving the eu in a particular way, ata particulartime, is leaving the eu in a particular way, at a particular time, is producing a series of what i would consider as irrational moves and actions by the government that are very damaging and they need to rip up their strategy and do something new. because this will not work. we have seen jay because this will not work. we have seenjayjohnson because this will not work. we have seen jayjohnson and amber because this will not work. we have seenjayjohnson and amber rudd resign, would you urge others to resign? __j° resign? —— jo johnson. no, i resign? ——jojohnson. no, ido resign? ——jojohnson. no, i do not do that, u nless ——jojohnson. no, i do not do that, unless they think it is the right thing. it is important that

collea g u es thing. it is important that colleagues remain in the government in order to seek to influence it but if they cannot reconcile that, it makes a difference. for the conservative party to have a future, they need to maintain their broad mix of colleagues that we have had in the past. we are not a right—wing party, but we have got to demonstrate that by having collea g u es demonstrate that by having colleagues across the spectrum. i think people are missing the point. it is not about the individuals who may have lost their party position in the parliamentary party this week, but the kinds of voters that week, but the kinds of voters that we represent and if they are not voting for the conservative party, there is long—term damage. voting for the conservative party, there is long-term damage. we know there is long-term damage. we know the prime minister has been under pressure to reverse this decision, removing the whip from you and other m people—mac. will he change his mind? —— mps. m people—mac. will he change his mind? -- mps. ithink m people—mac. will he change his mind? -- mps. i think what he is wrestling with is his own feelings in losing colleagues. i suspect, i

am pretty sure, he will be unhappy about it. none of this is good, in anyway. he is trying to contrast that in demonstrating that he is in control of the party and some are urging him that the only way he can demonstrate control is by taking action like this. there are other ways of demonstrating control through persuasion working with a government which is a minority in parliament means you cannot bludgeon your way through. you have to look for compromise, in parliament and in terms of negotiations with the eu. this resolute determination for everything, seemingly to be done on our terms, otherwise we will walk away, people are being told they are not negotiating if they are not bowing to our demands. i do not think this is the right strategy. bowing to our demands. i do not think this is the right strategym he invited you and others into the fold, would you say yes? i'm a

conservative and i would like to leave as a conservative member of parliament and i would not refuse a conservative whip. it would not mean that i would be voting with the government in future uncertain issues. the party must consider that. returning the whip does not mean that i'm going to accept the conservative party whipping on particular issues, particularly leaving the eu. i want to leave the eu,i leaving the eu. i want to leave the eu, iwant leaving the eu. i want to leave the eu, i want to leave with a deal. i will resolutely continue to vote that way and if it conflicts with party discipline, there is little point. where does the government go from here in this crisis? suggestions that downing street may not obey this new law on no—deal brexit? that goes to what i said at the beginning. irrationality. the prime minister is notjust a campaigner for the cause, and prime minister is notjust a campaignerfor the cause, and he is right to be a campaigner that he has

constitutional duties. the attorney general tells him that he has to obey the law and it is a symbol of the rationality of the position on the rationality of the position on the eu. that seems to be requiring collea g u es the eu. that seems to be requiring colleagues to take decisions and say things that, in the cold light of day, i'm sure they would regret. i'm certain that the way forward is to go to the eu council and seek a deal based on the withdrawal agreement. the only thing agreed between the 28 states of the eu, there may be revision on the political declaration of the eu and they have said they are open to that. to come back and speak to those who stopped the withdrawal agreement going through, those who voted against it, that does not include me. i voted to leave three times. now it is so obvious we are in a dangerous situation to say that look, vote for this and get it through. then there isa this and get it through. then there is a transition period that i come borisjohnson, a is a transition period that i come boris johnson, a brexiteer is a transition period that i come

borisjohnson, a brexiteer and in charge of. with the eu and parliament, i am sure there will be a different response, then we can leave on about october the 31st and we can reconcile the country and move forward in the domestic agenda as the prime minister once. unless there is further compromised, ifear it will not happen. thank you for being with us. thank you for your time. meanwhile, the business secretary, andrea leadsom, has said the conservatives will break convention by fielding a candidate against the commons speaker, john bercow, at the next general election. traditionally, the major parties do not contest the speaker's seat — but mr bercow‘s handling of recent brexit debates has angered ministers. simonjones reports.

andrea leadsom says that by allowing mps to use a procedure to trigger emergency debate as a means of taking over the timetable, he has permitted a flagrant abuse of parliamentary process. in the mail on sunday, the business secretary writes... the speaker is an mp who stands in general elections but is usually unopposed by the major political parties. mrs leadsom is warning that the conservatives will defy convention and field a candidate in his constituency of buckingham in the next vote. there is no love lost between mrs leadsom and mr bercow. last year, he was alleged to have labelled her "stupid", although he said he muttered the word to describe how he felt about the way the government had scheduled commons business. he is yet to comment on the latest criticisms. simon jones, bbc news.

the liberal democrats have picked up their third mp in a week. angela smith, who defected from the labour party earlier this year, has left the independent group for change to join up withjo swinson's party. she described the lib dems as the ‘strongest party to stop brexit.‘ the labour mp, john mann says he's stepping down after 18 years in parliament, and has launched a strong attack onjeremy corbyn. in an interview with the sunday times, he accused the labour leader of giving the "green light" to anti—semites in the party. he'll take up the full—time post as the government's anti—semitism tsar. the tuc‘s annual congress begins today in brighton with government funding, wages and job security high on the agenda. last week the chancellor announced an end to austerity with an additional £13.8 billion

of investment in areas including health, education and the police. however a tuc report out today claims that local government will faces a £25 billion funding gap by 2025. joining me now from brighton is the tuc deputy general secretary, paul nowak. what more will you be discussing? there will be a whole range of issues on the agenda in the next few days, focusing on the issues that matter to working people and their families. at the top of the agenda isa families. at the top of the agenda is a new working deal for people families. at the top of the agenda is a new working dealfor people in this country. we are seeing wages rising again. banning zero—hour contracts and giving people security in employment. we will be talking about other issues including how we get investment in public services after a decade of austerity and how

we tackle climate change and how we play our part to prevent a disastrous no—deal brexit. that would be catastrophic for our members, whether they are working in car plants or public services. we wa nt car plants or public services. we want no deal off the table. the government are saying that they have abandoned austerity, effectively. the whole policy has changed? what we have seen in the latest spending statement is exposing the fact that austerity was a political choice. you can tell that there is potentially a general election coming. we need to see a sustained investment across public services. you mentioned the £25 billion spending gap in local government but the reality is you can put more money into the nhs and education, but if you have to cut drug and alcohol services and local councils, that impacts the nhs. if you cut services supporting laypeople ——

make young people in our services, it impacts on schools. services rely on each other and we need long—term and sustained investment in public services. in the poorer part of the country, this has been decimated by a decade of needless austerity. the government promising £13.8 billion of investment in schools and so on. do you welcome that?|j of investment in schools and so on. do you welcome that? i would welcome any investment in schools, hospitals and public services but we know that this is a pre—election spending promise and we do not know, firstly, whether the government will deliver it and we do not know the impact of a disastrous no—deal brexit. it is becoming clear that the prime minister is not only being reckless but dishonest. we are really worried that he no—deal brexit would have a devastating effect on our manufacturing industry, and other

public services as well. i do not think plausibly the prime minister can talk about investing in public services while leaving no deal on the table at the same time. mentioning brexit and the possibility of a no deal, where are we going with that? who knows? i am a trader you not a politician and i don't know the intricacies of the constitutional ins and outs but i know that it is really important for the millions of people that we represent, that no deal is taken off the table. we have been clear from the table. we have been clear from the outside that we want a brexit outcome protecting jobs, protecting employment and peace in northern ireland. a no deal would not protect those. we know that an election is coming. if we change government, we would hope the government delivers a deal that meets our tests and puts the deal back to the british people with the option of remaining on the table as well. one thing that people

can be united on is that our prime minister is playing fast and loose with the constitution and the livelihoods of members. that is not good enough for the people we represent all people up and down the country. paul novak, deputy secretary of the tuc, thank you for joining us. we arejust we are just hearing that boris johnson has appointed a new work and pensions secretary, after the dramatic resignation last night of amber rudd. in protest at his brexit policy and expulsion of those rebel tory mps. the new secretary is therese coffey, that has been announced, succeeding amber rudd. she explained to andrew marr this morning a little more about why she has resigned from the cabinet, talking about the lack of preparation for a deal. a brexit

deal, as opposed to a no deal and expulsion of what she called good and moderate conservative mps, who rebelled against the government. nearly 60,000 runners are gathering in newcastle this morning for the 38th great north run. sirmo farah will be among them — he's hoping to become the first athlete to win the half—marathon six times in a row. the bbc‘s alison freeman is at the start line for us this morning. what is the atmosphere like this morning? a beautiful and clear day. it is absolutely beautiful, the sun is shining. it was pretty chilly first thing. the ladies here. dishing out suncream to anyone who needs it, keeping them safe on the 13.1 mile route. this is the biggest half marathon in the country and in just one hour, injust half marathon in the country and in just one hour, in just over one hour, the streets of newcastle will be filled with runners.

the biggest and brightest sporting event in the north—east. 57,000 runners are registered for this year's great north run, taking in the landmarks of newcastle, gateshead and beyond. the legendary sir mo farah leading out the elite men, hoping to win this half marathon for a record sixth time. i'm confident, training has been going pretty well, and i'm just here to test myself and obviously enjoy the quayside. go over that bridge, and i know better than anyone else the course, i think that's what helps even more. behind the wheelchair racers and the elite runners will come the hordes of ordinary people. many running for extraordinary reasons. some will be raising money for charity, others, like darren mcclintock from middlesbrough, taking on a very personal challenge — this his first great north run after losing 20 stone. i'm going to get the run done,

i know for a fact i will do it. my heart and determination will hold up, and i know my body will. it is about raising money for local charities. just one of thousands of stories of determination that will be played out over the run's13.1 miles this morning. as you heard in that piece, this is about the personal stories. all of these people decided to turn up and go above and beyond, going mad for the fancy dress and making this run even harder than it already is! i am joined by the simpsons. even harder than it already is! i am joined by the simpsonslj even harder than it already is! i am joined by the simpsons. i am a we work for nestle in york. why have you decided to dress up? you look terrifying, to be honest? this has beena terrifying, to be honest? this has been a vision, to get more characters, these guys have been crazy enough to join me this year?

what is your comment, krusty? the atmosphere is fantastic. homer, you must have something to say? d'oh! is this the best costume that you d rafts have this the best costume that you drafts have done? the unicorns were a lot of fun but i loved the giraffes! it is nice to raise this much money for charity and give back. squeezing around the neck, let me go around here! how difficult is it running in a costume like this? it is, because i taller, the crotch of the draft is around my knees! but we have a fantastic time. let me ask

you another question, how long will it take you ? you another question, how long will it take you? do you worry about time? no, but it would take us about three and a half hours, we speak to people on the way around. we don't just run past, a lot of kids out there. it's a great laugh. if we get around in under12 there. it's a great laugh. if we get around in under 12 hours, there. it's a great laugh. if we get around in under12 hours, i there. it's a great laugh. if we get around in under 12 hours, i will be happy! some sparkly ladies, the poppies. why are you doing this? we are running for the royal british legion, we are from manchester. these costumes, they are outrageous, have you trained in these? no, we only got the costumes yesterday! we haven't trained on them. we've done a lot of training. but not with these on! we are a bit worried. we will try and enjoy the day. one thing that you must say, you have made a record. yes, the fastest item of stationery in the world, i made it into the guinness book of world

records, that came out the other day. i was doing the london marathon. i was dressed as a red crayon! of course you were! but this is more challenging. i must say. and you can't hear anything, apart from yourself. i would be you can't hear anything, apart from yourself. iwould be more you can't hear anything, apart from yourself. i would be more worried about the running ladies! she will be all right! and one last look at these guys. give us a cheer, ladies and gentlemen! cheering we will see them start running at about10:40am, we will see them start running at about 10:40am, they will be following mo farah, and the wheelchair race begins just after ten o'clock. plenty more people like this! good luck to everyone taking pa rt this! good luck to everyone taking part today. as we said, beautiful weather. let's get the forecast for the whole country. it isa forecast for the whole country. it is a fine and settled sunday ahead with plenty of spells of sunshine for most parts of the country. a

couple of isolated showers but for most places, it's largely dry. more cloud moving in across northern ireland and the western half of scotland. some spots of rain here. in eastern scotland and england and wales, largely dry and sunny. showers in the far east and in parts of wales too. it will feel pleasant with light winds. dry in the evening, and overnight rain moves in from the west. soggy on monday, and in the east, under clear skies, temperatures full lowest. but it will not be as cold as the night we had last night. we have this band of rain on monday. a soggy start to the working week. heavy in england and wales. rather chilly, with temperatures of 14—16d.