hello, you're watching afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. today at 2pm... parliament will shut down after the close of business today — as the government suspends proceedings till mid october. it comes as borisjohnson tells irish prime minister leo varadkar he would "overwhelmingly prefer" to find an agreement with the eu than leave without a deal. yes, of course we could do it. the uk could certainly get through it. but be in no doubt that outcome would be a failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible. there is no such thing as a clean break orjust getting it done. rather, we willjust move on to a new phase. if there is no deal, it'll cause severe disruption for british and irish people alike.

just hours to go until parliament is suspended — but not before one more attempt from the government to trigger a snap election. travel disruption for hundreds of thousands of british airways passengers, as pilots go on strike — it's the biggest walkout in ba's history. coming up on afternoon live all the sport with holly hamilton. england name their squad for the fifth and final ashes test... it's an unchanged team from what you saw at old trafford. and i'll bring you more reaction to nadal‘s victory at the us open. all coming up at half two. and sarah keith—lucas has the weather. some rain quite heavy across the south—west of england. tomorrow promises something brighter. i will have more details on half an hour. thank you.

also coming up on afternoon live. 15 years after being shot by al-qaeda gunmen, the bbc‘s security correspondent, frank gardner heads back out on to the water to try his hand at adaptive water skiing. at the end of business today, parliament will be suspended until the 14th of october. parliament will be suspended these parliament will be suspended protesters have until have these protesters have until then to have a break or keep their protesting going. with the prorogation of parliament this afternoon, it won't happen before the mp asks parties again to vote on a general election. borisjohnson started his day with a trip to dublin to talk

to his irish counterpart leo varadkar. the prime minister said he would "overwhelmingly prefer" to find an agreement with the eu — and believed it could be reached by the middle of october. but mrvaradkarsaid he was still waiting for alternative proposals to the backstop — the mechanism to avoid a hard border in ireland. here's our political correspondent chris mason. monday morning in dublin. this is what autumn looks like in ireland and this is what diplomacy between the uk and its nearest neighbour looks and sounds like. watch boris johnson's facial expression as you listen to leo varadkar talking. avoiding a hard border on this island and protecting our place in the single market are our priorities in all circumstances. we must protect piece and also the all ireland economy. that is why the backstop continues to be a component of the withdrawal agreement unless and until alternatives are found. we are open to alternatives but they

must be realistic ones, legally binding and workable. we have not received such proposals to date. leo varadkar was not done there. there is no such thing as a clean break brexit, he said. negotiating free trade agreements would be a herculean task, he added. mrjohnson said. iwant herculean task, he added. mrjohnson said. i want to find a deal. i want to get a deal. like you, i look carefully at no deal and have assessed its consequences both for out assessed its consequences both for our country and years. yes, of course we could do it. the uk could certainly get through it. but be in i'io certainly get through it. but be in no doubt that outcome would be a failure of statecraft which we would all be responsible. meanwhile, back here at westminster, the prime minister's official spokesman told us minister's official spokesman told us that parliament will be shut down

tonight. opposition party leaders confirmed they will not vote for a general election later, meaning boris johnson's planned general election later, meaning borisjohnson‘s planned one for the middle of next month will be scuppered. opposition leaders are livid that parliament is being suspended. they are continuing to work together. the liberal democrats, former conservatives, the green party, and the snp. this is as serious as it gets. we have to have a situation that parliament is sitting. it is a democratic outrage that a prime minister that has no mandate that on a whim has been able to close down parliament. he is behaving like a dictator because he knows he does not have the support of parliament. it is an utter disgrace. they got together this morning injeremy corbyn‘s office. it is disgraceful. parliament should be sitting and holding the government to account. the prime minister appears to want to be able to run away from questions. he was appointed prime minister at the end

ofjuly, he has faced one prime minister's? time and now is prorogating parliament. ithink minister's? time and now is prorogating parliament. i think it is disgraceful. we are outraged at the prospect of a prime minister who is prepared to say and act he is above the law, both in terms of the legislation that is receiving royal assent today, to extend article 50 from the end of next month in order to stop a no—deal brexit at the end of january, and his to stop a no—deal brexit at the end ofjanuary, and his preparedness to prorogue parliament. parliament has winded the prime minister over the next week and beyond today, huge uncertainty remains. our chief political correspondent vicki young is here with me now. borisjohnson in boris johnson in dublin borisjohnson in dublin saying, reiterating that he still wants a

deal. and saying that not getting a deal. and saying that not getting a deal would be a failure of statecraft. i think it was a different tone than what we have heard from him. although he has over said he does want a deal, the emphasis has been on no deal preparation and how he is willing to die ina preparation and how he is willing to die in a ditch. today i did feel different in that sense. i think the fa ct different in that sense. i think the fact he has had that resignation to deal with from amber rudd, his brother also resigning, he is now emphasising his desire to get a deal ina emphasising his desire to get a deal in a little bit more than he was previously. of course, that does not make it any easier. you can see how actually getting a deal could be a very tempting prospect for him, given the alternatives he is faced with. i think it is worth talking about what we actually know. that would make a change. it makes a much shorter conversation. what we do know is parliament will be prorogued tonight. the opposition parties will not vote for that general election. the parliament is not back until the 14th of october it means there is no

prospect of a general election in october. that will be gone as an option as of tonight. parliament comes back on the 14th, then we have the eu summit on the 17th and 18th and then on the 19th, that is when, in law, boris johnson and then on the 19th, that is when, in law, borisjohnson as prime minister will have to go and ask for a delay to brexit, an extension of article 50. i think the big question is now, what does he do at that point? he said he will not do that. and will resign. he won't do it. well, he might resign or will he end up well, he might resign or will he end up in the courts? that is the other option. we do not know what he is going to do. we can't imagine doing this now because what he is trying to do for the general election, whenever it comes, he wants to make sure he has as many brexit supporters backing him in that general election. if he does break his promise, it is hard to see how he could do well at the ballot box. what are we going to see after

prorogation, the suspension of parliament, a presidential type campaign? you might go around the country as if there is a general election. he might carry on with the campaigning mode he was in over the summer, talking about spending commitments, and trying to reframe the whole arguments as him trying to deliver brexit, trying to deliver that referendum result up against parliament that is trying to stop him, he would say, and potentially the courts as well. parliament this afternoon is not going out without trying something. a call to get the documents for yellowhammer, the government's information about what a no—deal brexit would mean. the talk of an emergency debate. talk us through what might happen. i have passed three, dominic grieve and jeremy corbyn have picked down applications for an emergency debate. the use to be incredibly rare, but not anymore. they have been used and the speaker has

allowed them and made them much more meaningful in the past by allowing them to have a meaningful vote attached to them. we will have to see. there is speculation that what dominic grieve is trying to do get published the prorogation, the suspension of parliament details and as you say, so so called yellowhammer, the preparations for a no—deal brexit. you want to get that somehow published. jeremy corbyn wa nts to somehow published. jeremy corbyn wants to talk about the prime minister of being are disobeying the law. because prorogation is coming tonight, this could be tricky for mps. even if they debate it, the government could ignore it because they are now going off until the 14th of october. it could be a whole month until we are back here. it is devastating, on many levels. thank you. our correspondent emma vardy is in dublin where the talks between boris johnson and leo varadkar took place. i think borisjohnson‘s main aim in coming to dublin today was to ram

home the message that he does want a deal. it seemed very much like a response to accusations he's faced in recent days that he wasn't doing enough to secure an agreement. he very much seemed to want to put the suggestions to bed here in front of the irish prime minister today. of course, getting any deal depends on resolving that most contentious issue of how to avoid checks on the irish border. and that involves getting agreement on the so—called irish backstop. now, that irish backstop was to be an insurance policy that the eu wanted the uk to sign up to. it would have involved the uk remaining in a uk wide customs territory with the eu. but it faced huge opposition from the dup, under theresa may. it was one of the biggest reasons she couldn't get her withdrawal agreement through, because it could have meant northern ireland being tied more tightly to eu rules and theresa may, of course, needed the dup's votes for a majority in parliament.

after a dramatic week we've just had, well, of course the parliamentary arithmetic is changing and what we are seeing coming back into discussions now is talk of a northern ireland only backstop. and that may point to a way forward in future. if the dup's votes were no longer needed. but of course there is still a big roll of the dice to come with any general election. and as things currently stand, the irish government still says no viable alternative to the backstop have been put forward. the eu has to agree and say yes to one. it does not happen if the eu leaders do not approve. we have had over the weekend some noises coming from the french. some months ago, the french were again sounding a bit

tough about things. when push came tough about things. when push came to shove and they have been saying they would only accept it with conditions, they swallowed the billet and accepted it anyway. i think the feeling is the eu would be unlikely to do that because it would not want to be in the position that it would be pushing the uk out. but also listen to the irish prime minister today standing next to mr johnson and he said, a request for an extension, particularly with a recent like an election, of course we would look at that. the key thing in the meantime is whether there is going to be any progress towards any sort of a negotiated outcome, a deal of some sort. emma talking about a northern irish only backstop. that idea is sort of reviving. boris johnson mentioned today, the landing zone is clear, we need to find a way the uk is not locked any backstop arrangement. the problem is, either irish said, what is in the table at

the minute does not address at all and there needs to be proposals pretty soon. we are nearly 20 days into the 30 day window. the general secretary of the tuc says she doesn't want a no—deal brexit because workers' jobs are threatened by it. frances o'grady was addressing delegates at the annual conference in brighton. long before brexit, for many working people, the world was already harsh and we were already in the grip of a vicious austerity, a political choice that caused untold hardship and heartbreak. that's why it's so important to rule out a no—deal brexit. as we saw after the financial crash, economic shocks always hit our people first and hardest. we know what the recessions mean for ourjobs and our industries. we know what happens to mental health, to crime and to communities, and we know that those scars last generations.

you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines... downing street confirms that parliament will be shut down after the close of business today —— as the government suspends proceedings till mid october. borisjohnson says a no—deal brexit would be a "failure", as he meets with the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, in dublin. travel disruption for hundreds of thousands of british airways passengers, as pilots go on strike — it's the biggest walkout, in ba's history. closing in on federer pass my all—time record. he claims his 19th grand slam title of the us open. ben stokes will face a fitness test, as england name a unchanged squad. and a top of the table clash in belfast, northern ireland. many in their 2020 qualifier. scotland have a mountain to climb against belgium in glasgow.

i will be back with all those stories at 2:30pm. around 200 thousand passengers have had their travel plans disrupted by the biggest strike in british airways' history, with almost all their flights cancelled. the two—day stoppage is over pay — pilots have walked out after rejecting an 11.5% pay deal over three years, saying they want a share of the airline's profits . dan johnson is at heathrow for us. yes, this disruption is particularly serious today. it has pretty much grounded british airways. normally they would fly 850 flights per day. today, we understand there have been four flights from heathrow and one from gatwick and that is it. no more british airways flights for the rest of today. we understand that situation will be the same tomorrow on the second day of disruption because of this strike. planes don't make money on the ground. parking

spaces at this bake is expensive. this strike is costing british airways around £40 million per day. the main british airways terminal was quiet this morning because travellers had mostly been rebooked on another airline or on a different day. some were stuck abroad, feeling frustrated. they are not interested in anything about my refund whatsoever. it is just your claims will be escalated to our refund team. disgusted and no one has any contact back to me, not an e—mail, nothing. i have to phone them continually to try and get my money back. the pilots have stayed at home because they are not happy with their pay deal. he british airways boss has already said he is offering 11.596 boss has already said he is offering 11.5% increase over the next four yea rs. 11.5% increase over the next four years. it is the average of our pilot, as you mention, and by the end of this deal in just over two yea rs, end of this deal in just over two

years, it will be £202,000. the ba pilots are the best pilots in the world. the need to have renumeration. we believe this deal will take them in that position. the pilots wa nt will take them in that position. the pilots want a better bonus scheme so staff ca n pilots want a better bonus scheme so staff can share in the airline's success. staff can share in the airline's success. its appearance group made nearly £3 billion last year and the pilot union claims management is not negotiating seriously. if it is so good as they say, why are they out on strike? the fact is the pilots do not recognise what he is saying. the pilots are saying british airways are going through some good times, we wa nt are going through some good times, we want to share those profits, just as we shared any pain in the bad times. the good times feel far away with a fleet that will be grounded again tomorrow. getting back in the airon again tomorrow. getting back in the air on wednesday will not be simple. if there's still no agreement, another strike day is planned for the end of the month. this is not a

great time for british airways. they have had serious disruption this week. that could happen again at the end of the month. there was a problem because of a computer glitch that caused disruption, they have had communication issues and this has all comejust a had communication issues and this has all come just a fortnight after british airways was supposed to be celebrating its centenary. they are not really having a fantastic time at the moment. the management and the pilots say they want to talk, but british airways chief this morning said this was cynical action by the pilot union and the head of the pilot union says ba has lost the trust and confidence of his members because of cost cutting and the dumbing down of the brand. it does not sound like they are very close to any sort of agreement. the only person dealing with a noisier backdrop than me, thank you very much. the little mix star jesy nelson has revealed that

being the victim of constant online bullying drove her to try to take her own life. the singer says she was deluged with cruel comments about her weight and apearance after winning the reality show x factor eight years ago. she's been speaking to our entertainment correspondent chi chi izundu. the winner of the x factor 2011 is... it should have been a moment ofjoy. little mix. but, after the cameras had stopped rolling and the celebrations should have started, jesy nelson was reading messages online. there were so many messages, nasty ones, but the one that was at the top was from, like, a random man. he was saying how disgusting i am and that i don't deserve to be in the girl band and i deserve to die. how do you feel when you post an instagram? jesy says she still gets abuse on social media but four years

ago, the comments affected her so much she started missing work, fell into a depression, and then attempted suicide. now when i look back on that, i can't believe i ever did that. but, when you're in that state of mind, you don't think about, like, what you're going to leave behind, or, like, the people you are going to affect. you just want to take the pain away. that's all you care about. the documentary also highlights how her attempt also affected the other band members. every single person that said something should have been held accountable for making her feel like that. but cyberbullying doesn'tjust happen to those in the public eye. a report from media watchdog ofcom in 2018 found one in five 12 to 15—year—olds had experienced some sort of online bullying and, according to one charity, ajoint, multi—agency response is what's needed to combat it. this is not only about celebrities, it's about everyone, which is why we need a collective

response because we have young people who are unable to go to school, young people who are changing school, young people who are missing out on education, who have long—term mental health impacts because of bullying. if you could give young people a message about social media... yeah. the positives and negatives, what would it be? yeah. ithink... i mean, i know it's hard but try to stay off your phone as much as you can. i think we're all obsessed with looking at images, reading comments, and trying to live up to what society wants us to be. like, just be with your friends and family more, engage with people more, and just try not to become so obsessed with your phone and social media. that was chi chi izundu reporting. and the documentary is called "odd one out". it's on bbc one at 9 o'clock on thursday, and you can watch it on the bbc iplayer.

let's pick up with events here. the prorogation is happening tonight. i'm joined by angela smith, whojoins me now. ijust want i just want to talk about the procedure. you are not taking part in this? i am not taking part in the ceremony, which is quite sad because these ceremonies are important parts of parliament but we cannot be part of parliament but we cannot be part of what is a political shutdown of parliament to avoid parliament discussing the most crucial issue of the day. it is an important procedure, is it not churlish? the procedure, is it not churlish? the procedure will go ahead, but not with my approval. a five weeks of the shutdown. borisjohnson said it is about a new queen's speech. it would normally be five days. it is excessive, unnecessary. mps are dealing with crucial issues, they

are being sent away and parliament is being shut down. boris johnson says i want a general election, let me have one. boris johnson took over took over because he said it was easy, let me sorted out. he realise it is more complex. there has to be, to get past these crucial dates, mps will decide the dates for a general election. i do not vote for elections, but the important issue of shutting down parliament unnecessarily and politically for five weeks, we think it is unacceptable. you see very political that people out in the country say, if he wants a general election, it is our chance to have our say, let's do it. he should not have supported the fixed—term parliaments act and it says... you are being disingenuous. i am it says... you are being disingenuous. iam not it says... you are being disingenuous. i am not at all. it is not just labour, it is disingenuous. i am not at all. it is notjust labour, it is everybody else except for boris johnson notjust labour, it is everybody else except for borisjohnson and if you people who support him. there are many in other parties, almost

eve ryo ne are many in other parties, almost everyone else sees this as a tactic from borisjohnson. everyone else sees this as a tactic from boris johnson. we everyone else sees this as a tactic from borisjohnson. we are used to seeing tricks and tactics from boris johnson that parliament should be sitting, be engaged in what is the most important issue in this generation. if it is that important, why not put it to the people? is it because labour party are afraid they would lose? i would be happy to see this election about a no—deal brexit, putting that to the people on that issue, a general election has to be more than that. it would be about brexit, realistically, winter? yes, it would be about brexit. we have to look at brexit and deal with the new deal issue and then have a general election. that is for mps. then have a general election. that is formps. in then have a general election. that is for mps. in the house of lords, my main concern is parliament should not be shut down unnecessarily when it could have a five days break. not be shut down unnecessarily when it could have a five days breakm has been through the courts in scotla nd has been through the courts in scotland and here and it is illegal.

you have run out of avenues to stop it. i am not going to stop it. i am not going to be part of it. but the farmer ceremony, not a legal requirement. —— the formal ceremony. i could not be party to that. i would be approvingly shutdown of parliament and i cannot do that. some people might say it is a bit rich, un—unelected house having a say on something happening next door. the unelected part of the houseis door. the unelected part of the house is a formal process part of the end. it is not my choice. the end of the day, do i want to be part of the ceremony that approves the shutting down of parliament? the a nswer shutting down of parliament? the answer is, no, i don't. shutting down of parliament? the answer is, no, idon't. it shutting down of parliament? the answer is, no, i don't. it does not stop it going ahead. that is a matter for the stop it going ahead. that is a matterfor the prime stop it going ahead. that is a matter for the prime minister and the queen. normally this ceremony is quite uncontroversial, it is something we all accept that these

are hugely exceptional circumstances. do you think the parliament should be setting for the next few weeks, cancel the conferences and get it done? talking to the mps over the summer, most mps we re to the mps over the summer, most mps were looking forward to coming back. a number of mps i spoke to said they would not like to have a conference recess, in order we could debate theseissues recess, in order we could debate these issues and try and have a way through and try and get to an agreement. my impression talking to most mps that i have spoken to is the were not happy about a lengthy conference the were not happy about a lengthy c0 nfe re nce recess the were not happy about a lengthy conference recess either. they know their work now should be in parliament. i expect the public expects aim to be in parliament as well. the difference is, if something happens, mps can get and happen when it is a recess. when parliament shuts down in this way, there is nothing that can get them back because the parliament has been shut down by the prime minister for five weeks. thank you very much for

joining us. thank you. the uk's economy grew by more than expected injuly — up by 0.3% compared tojune, due to a strong performance from the services sector. the news allays fears of a potential recession — as the economy contracted in the three previous months. an investigation has begun into the cause of a major fire that's destroyed an entire block of flats in south—west london. more than twenty families have lost their homes, after the fire broke out in worcester park at around 1.30 this morning. it took 125 firefighters more than five hours to bring it under control. nobody was injured. the home secretary priti patel has said the physical protection of police officers is her top priority. in herfirst major speech since being appointed injuly, ms patel addressed the annual conference of the police superintendents‘ association. the association's president called on the government to heal its relationship with the police service. our home affairs correspondent danny shaw sent this update from the conference in stratford—upon—avon...

the home secretary came here because she wanted to really set out her approach to policing. this was her first attempt to do it. she was clear she wanted to draw a line under the bad blood of the previous regime when theresa may was home secretary between 2010 and 2016, when the government imposed 20% budget cuts and the police service. she said she wanted to reset the relationship. what she said was blunt and to the point. you want to be able to do more. on every control, and every control room, i have heard how frustrated you feel, how overstretched you are and are unable to use the right tools to keep our streets safe. this is a new government and i am prepared to be frank. iam government and i am prepared to be frank. i am ashamed to say i always haven't had enough support. you have been overworked and undervalued, unable to do the job you love as

well as you would like. that now. there wasn't much detail in what she said, apart from the announcement of 20,000 extra police officers over the next three years. she was clear she wanted to put the physical protection of police as a main priority, her top priority. protection of police as a main priority, hertop priority. she protection of police as a main priority, her top priority. she is also going to work towards tougher sentences for the perpetrators, the people who carry out assaults on police officers. asked to clarify her remarks in the past about capital punishment and the death penalty, she said she had not been a supporter of the death penalty in the past. it is clouding over and a bit wet here. what is happening for everybody else? it is a pretty similar picture for parts of the country today. we have a lot of the cloud around. many of us are sunny skies and drier weather at the weekend. a different feel to things across the uk. a lot of cloud as we head through the weekend and

outbreaks of rain. this is the picture from our weather watcher. pretty heavy showers here. the rain will be easing later on but it stays quite cloudy and quite damp as well. some of those showers are on the heavy side. into wales as well as we will see the odd thunderstorm as well. the rain is heavier. writing up well. the rain is heavier. writing up across well. the rain is heavier. writing up across northern ireland. temperatures today only about 14 to i6 temperatures today only about 14 to 16 celsius. it is feeling quite autumnal out there. as we had through this evening hours, some light rain. fairly cloudy for most of us tonight. temperatures dipping down into single figures, particularly where we have the clear skies in the west. we will also see some mist and fog patches around. a murky start to your tuesday morning. the mist and cloud will break up during the day. sunshine developing.

scotla nd during the day. sunshine developing. scotland and northern ireland clouding over from the west, head scotland and northern ireland clouding overfrom the west, head of the next area of rain that will head in. captures tomorrow, warmer than today. up to 19 celsius with more sunshine. latertomorrow, today. up to 19 celsius with more sunshine. later tomorrow, this area of low pressure approaching towards the north of the uk. that is the re m na nts of the north of the uk. that is the remnants of the hurricane dorian. no unseasonable weather for us. windy weather through tuesday night and on into wednesday. patchy rain working southwards, followed by a scattering of showers. temperature wise, up to 21 celsius. gradually warming up as we head into the middle part of the week. wednesday night into thursday, the next tropical storm, gabrielle, ms towards parts of the uk. it will bring rain to parts of northern ireland and scotland as well but it will also introduce warm and humid airfrom the will also introduce warm and humid air from the south—west. a different feel to the weather by thursday. warm and humid, particularly for

england and wales. different for scotla nd england and wales. different for scotland and northern ireland. temperatures up to 22 celsius. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: parliament will be suspended tonight, but not before one more attempt from the government to trigger a snap election. it comes as borisjohnson tells irish prime minister leo varadkar he would "overwhelmingly prefer" to find an agreement with the eu than leave without a deal.

yes, of course we could do it, the uk could certainly get through it but to be in no doubt that outcome would be a failure of state which we would be a failure of state which we would all be responsible for. there is no such thing as a clean break orjust getting it done. rather, we'lljust move on to a new phase. if there is no deal, it will cause a severe disruption for british and irish people alike. travel disruption for hundreds of thousands of british airways passengers, as pilots go on strike — it's the biggest walk—out in ba's history. and 15 years after being shot by al-qaeda gunmen, the bbc‘s security correspondent, frank gardner heads back out on to the water to try his hand at "adaptive water skiing". sport now on afternoon live with holly hamilton. good afternoon.

another remarable win for rafa nadal. there was a time when roger federer seemed untouchable, nadal always hot on his heels. well, now there's just one grand slam between them. nadal claimed his 19th grand slam yesterday — the us open — beating daniil medvedev at flushing meadows, but he did it the hard way, which might explain some of the emotion on display afterwards. as rafa nadal took it all in, on the big screen they showed what he had done. a tribute to what now is 19 grand slam titles. even he can lose track. nadal said this win might have been his most emotional. he was pushed all the way by daniil medvedev. the russian was playing in his first grand slam final, he looked a bit overwhelmed for the first two sets.

nadal raced into a two—love lead. but as the light fell on new york, the crowd asked for more and medvedev roused a come back. play like this could make him the next star. he won the next two sets to force a decider, but with nearly five hours on the clock, nadal found the will to respond. the way that the match went on, a very good match at the end, this makes this day unforgettable part of my history in the sport. rafa nadal! this is the last major of the year, but injanuary, nadal could go level with roger federer on 20 major titles. as this sport goes into a new decade, it still looks to the same icons. johanna konta is up to eleventh in the world rankings following her run to the quarterfinals at flushing meadows. the british number one stands on the brink of a place in the top

ten for the first time in 18 months. england have named an unchanged squad for the final ashes test that starts on thursday. ben stokes however faces a bowling fitness test after coming off the field with right shoulder soreness during the fourth test. yesterday's defeat at old trafford means australia will retain the ashes but england could level the series with a win at the oval. there are two more euro qualifers tonight involving home nations. tough trip for scotland to unbeaten belgium and northern ireland will be looking to stay top of group c. they have to avoid defeat to germany at windsor park, the germans lost to the netherlands last friday, who are also vying for one of the two qualification spots. there are teams around europe, there isa there are teams around europe, there is a middle tier of teams which i think we are in, we are a small nation in the middle tier of teams but these are the top teams, these are the top teams in the top eight, ten teams in europe, so that's the

challenge. if we can come out of this group at the expense of either germany or holland, i think it will be an amazing achievement for this group of players. also tonight, scotland's slim hopes of automatic qualification now rest on taking points from the world's top—ranked team — belgium. you can listen to that match on bbc radio scotland. northern ireland against germany will be on 5 live and bbc radio ulster. wales friendly against belarus is on bbc radio wales. all those games kick off at quarter to eight. diego maradona is back in argentinian football. he's been appointed coach of gimnasia until the end of the season. they‘ re currently bottom of the primera division. more than 25,000 fans turned up to greet him, some rather too enthusiastically. it's his first role in football in his home country since he left the national team job in 2010.

great britain's women will have to overcome chile in a two—legged tie for the right to defend their olympic title next year. they won gold in rio three years ago, but the play—offs will be the final chance for gb to qualify for tokyo. meanwhile, great britain's men have been drawn against malaysia. ireland's men and women have both been drawn against canada. five—time paralympic champion ellie simmonds has made a good start to para swimming world championships in london. she finished third in her heat of the 400 metres freestyle. that sees her qualify for tonight's final. ukraine's yelyzaveta mereshko won the heat. that's all the sport for now. back to simon now. later this afternoon, this place effectively shuts down. prorogation of parliament happens after the close of business. let's talk now to the deputy leader of the liberal democrats, sir ed davey.

how are you feeling about that? we think it's outrageous parliament is being shut down. borisjohnson trying to silence mps is absolutely wrong, it's a travesty of democracy, s0 wrong, it's a travesty of democracy, so parliament should be there, particularly at this moment of national crisis. the liberal democrats have been working cross party to try to stop this and will continue to do that, to stop a no—deal brexit, and we'll continue to lead the argument that has liberal democrats we want to stop brexit altogether. so do what boris johnson asks and have a general election, then. we have still argued that we need a peoples vote. a general election has many other issues, not just brexit, general election has many other issues, notjust brexit, and we had an election in 2017 and it didn't solve it, there was still an impasse in parliament, the only way we're going to solve this is to take it back to the british people, mps and the political parties. if a general election is going to solve anything, what makes you think a referendum

would? because it is one question. ina would? because it is one question. in a general election you're voting ona in a general election you're voting on a whole set of promises. the reality is that in a general election, you can get a government elected on a minority of the votes. ina elected on a minority of the votes. in a people's vote, they will be the question and you'll get a majority or not of the british people and we know things have changed dramatically since 2016, many people have changed their minds. is there any evidence for that? professor john curtis says people are as entrenched now as they wear then.|j don't disagree with that, there are a lot of entrenched people, there has been a shift in the polls to remain andi has been a shift in the polls to remain and i generally think that the parliament and particularly the conservatives have failed to deliver and the only way of taking it back to get a real result focused on the actual question is to have a people's vote, as the liberal democrats have argued. a possible

emergency debate this afternoon. looking at the documents for yellowhammer, the preparations for a no—deal brexit, what is it that those of you calling for this information think that you've got? there is a real concern that this government hasn't told us all the truth, both about the yellowhammer, the damage that would occur to our country and health service and jobs if we do do a no—deal brexit and the other motion that's going to be debated tonight, whether the prorogation process to suspend parliament and shutdown parliament, whether that was carried out in the proper way. well, it's been through two courts in scotland than here and was found to be right so what are you saying wrong? dominic grieve is calling for the publication of all the papers, papers that have not yet been seen. the document is fairly specific, a lot of information including mobile phone information between dominic cummings, nick to koster who advises borisjohnson. it gives the impression that you think

there is a smoking gun, something in there. there are certainly rumours around parliament that the process was not inappropriate. it was inappropriate. we'll see when the papers are published. there is a danger, let's be clear, that the prime minister may have misled her majesty the queen. i'm not saying it's true but i'd like to see the evidence. that would be another outrageous act by this outrageous prime minister. you shutting down parliament, he is trying to silence democracy. if he has misled her majesty the queen that would be an outrageous thing to have done. let's see the evidence. the point was there was a process by which number ten in the prime minister should have followed with buckingham palace with her majesty the queen and the question is we need all the evidence to check they followed it in the appropriate way. let's acknowledge that this prime minister and his adviser dominic cummings have been breaking all the rules, breaking the

conventions, trying to silence parliament, they are behaving in a disgraceful way. the fact they have said that they may not even abide by the law shows that they are trying to be above the law and berate the rules and we have to hold them to account. if i'm watching you outside the westminster bubble away from london and this political hotbed, i'm looking at you and you are saying we need democracy, it's outrageous. have an election. liberal democrats are very happy to have an election. we did incredibly well and had a best ever local election results in may and best of the european results in may. we won a by—election in wales off the tories, we have had conservative mps defect to us. we are not afraid of election and we think it would be a good thing for the liberal democrats but the issue is the national interest and one has to decide these things about what is in the national interest and that has to be to bring this brexit question to an end. people are fed up of it and want a

clear decision to move on and the only way we could believe you can move on is putting it back to a people's vote, that's the liberal democrats' position. the other parties keep flip—flopping, we are clear this should go back to the british people. thank you for joining us, very good to talk to you. now let's speak to the group political editor for the irish independent, kevin doyle. hejoins us from dublin. it's the same result. we agree on some things, but disagree on quite a lot. i think there is a fair level of relief within the irish government that boris johnson of relief within the irish government that borisjohnson toned down a lot of his language at that press co nfe re nce down a lot of his language at that press conference in dublin today. he clearly didn't come looking for a row but the question i suppose dublin has is, what was the motive behind it then? was it a reaction to amber rudd's suggestion that not enough is being done to get a deal? borisjohnson was enough is being done to get a deal? boris johnson was making enough is being done to get a deal? borisjohnson was making the point

that he came in the spirit of compromise, the problem being he didn't bring a lot with him or any huge details about the proposals he says there is as alternatives to the backstop. boris faces this question, what are your preparations for a no—deal brexit? i know leo varadkar faces similar questions within the republic and no one seems to have a nswe rs. republic and no one seems to have answers. i think i've lost kevin. that's a shame. we'll try and re—establish communication with kevin from dublin. sorry about that. let's go back to the studio and get some business news. here's your business headlines on afternoon live: the uk economy appears to have avoided recession over the summer, with gdp growing 0.3% in july versus june. that's according to the office for national statistics. however, it also revealed that output was flat in the three months tojuly,

confirming that the economy has lost momentum compared with last year. lloyds banking group is counting the cost of a last minute surgee in claims for the mis—selling of payment protection insurance. the bank says the extra bill could reach £1.8 billion after it saw more than four times the number of cases it had expected ahead of the 29th august deadline. others, including rbs and cybg, have also set aside more money for compensation. graduates from wealthier families are more than twice as likely to start work on a higher salary than their working—class peers. that's according to trade union body the tuc. it's called for legal action to tackle discrimination based on class at work. tech firms are facing a fresh round of scrutiny in the us. we're expecting to hear details of an investigation into whether they've behaving in an anti—competitive way.

alphabet — the owner of google, which last year earned over £100 billion — is likely to be in the spotlight. this follows a probe launched last week into facebook, in which the new york's attorney general is examining if the social media giant endangered consumer data, reduced people's choice and raised the cost of advertising. vivienne nunis is in new york. quite a lot to look at but let's start with what this probe is likely to look at. hi. we haven't had it confirmed which company this probe will focus on but it is widely suspected to be looking into google and particularly into how google has operated and impacted the digital advertising market. you might not know this but google actually has a dominant share in that market, it sells more advertising online than any other company and ashley has about a 40% share and there are those who say google has been able

to rig the system to its advantage and influence pricing because of that dominant share. this comes hot on the heels of an investigation announced into facebook on friday so we are starting to see more investigations and a higher level of scrutiny of these big tech firms in the united states. it's fascinating because the heat is being turned up. the facebook probe, we have seen them coming in and almost a daily basis. how does this reflect the mood over there? absolutely, we saw not just the mood over there? absolutely, we saw notjust the potential google announcement today and facebook on friday but also at a federal level we are seeing investigations by top regulators including the department ofjustice in the us, looking into companies like facebook, apple and google. at facebook they are looking at things like should facebook have been allowed to become so big in the social media space? it has already bought instagram and whatsapp. has it been allowed to become too big

and too powerful? that's on a really concentrated space. plenty to keep investors‘ mind is occupied but there is a lot in the calendar, economic as well as corporate news. and also financial news. on wall street we are expecting ipos listings so a a couple of companies going public including one called smile direct which does dentistry and another one called cloud fair. investors will be watching how they do when they are listed publicly. add investors keen to invest in these kinds of companies? if they are, it will be a sure sign that the us economy is doing ok. are, it will be a sure sign that the us economy is doing oke are, it will be a sure sign that the us economy is doing ok. a lot of big question marks over its fate at the moment. thank you, vivienne. wall street has opened in the last few minutes. this is what has been going on. the ftse 100 started

positively but then turned the corner. we had gdp data out, not too bad but the economy is still looking a bit lacklustre and at the bottom, the pound is having a better day against the euro than it did at some points of last week but traders there are still feeling fairly nervy and are watching to see what happens in westminster. that‘s all the business news. 15 years ago, the bbc‘s security correspondent, frank gardner, was shot by al-qaeda gunmen while on assignment in saudi arabia. he has used a wheelchair ever since. a competent water skier before his injury, the idea of ever doing it again seemed a challenge too far for frank until he heard of "adaptive water skiing". let‘s take a look at how he got on. how do you water—ski when you can‘t use your legs? i‘m frank gardner, and i use a wheelchair because i got shot while on a bbc assignment in saudi arabia 15 years ago.

i‘ve done a lot of skiing, snow skiing. it‘s called adaptive skiing. i used to water—ski before my injuries, but water—skiing has always just been that one challenge too far. i‘ve avoided it, i‘ve dodged it, i‘ve ducked it all these years. there is a charity called access adventures that gets disabled people like myself into the water to give it a try. the first challenge is going to be struggling into the wet suit, and that is a challenge in itself. i have just put my leg through the arm of the wet suit. i feel like a kind of beached seal. ok, second challenge is getting into the actual kit that i‘m going to ski in. so this is called an adaptive water—ski, which, as you can see, it‘s got a kind of fixed seat attached to it, which i‘m now going to get myself into. how does it feel being back in the water? well, cold and wet. hit it!

it‘s a big moment where you feel that tug on the rope and the boat accelerates in front of you. and suddenly you‘re up, surging out of the water, you‘ve got spray all round you. you‘re skiing on the water, it‘s unnatural. it is exhilarating, it‘s totally exhilarating. there is a definite "eureka" moment in this, where the instructors just peel away and suddenly you‘re on your own. when theyjudged i was ready for it, they allowed me to go over the wake, to ski over the wake, which is this — it‘s kind of a bump in the water. and it‘s a little scary at first. it‘s kind of like you‘re side—slipping over a little hillock made out of water, is the best way i can describe it. and of course, you‘re thinking, "i‘m going to fall on the other side." but you don‘t quite, you adjust.

one, two, three! excellent, well done. that was so much fun. really enjoyed that. i hadn‘t done this for so many years, so to get out on the water and finding out what the limits of your body and your skills are, it‘s brilliant. if you spend pretty much all your waking day based in a wheelchair, which is endlessly tedious, i‘ll never sugar—coat it, that‘s a lovely independent feeling. and sarah keith—lucas has the weather. autumn is here. yes, we had in the second week of

autumn now. we are in for some slightly warmer weather though through the second half of this week but before we get there, a lot of cloud across the country. many of us have grey skies. this picture comes from llandudno. there are heavy showers coming out of some of that cloud. through the rest of the afternoon, it should start to ease away so it becomes drier towards the evening but it will stay damp for many of us. the heaviest of the showers will be across the southwest of england into wales so the odd thunderstorm possible here. across england and towards scotland, the rain is fairly patchy and nature but it‘s not particularly warm under the cloud with the rain only about 14 to 16 celsius. some sunshine returning to northern ireland, clear skies working in from the west. overnight, temperatures will fall lowest under clear skies but for most places, still a fair amount of cloud. where

the cloud does break, they will be mist in fog patches so where you have mist in fog, a murky start to tuesday for many of us. full stop into the afternoon, it will be england and wales that see more of the sunshine developing. more cloud developing and the wind is picking up, too, but ahead developing and the wind is picking up, too, butahead of developing and the wind is picking up, too, but ahead of that developing and the wind is picking up, too, butahead of that in developing and the wind is picking up, too, but ahead of that in the sunnier skies it will be warmer than today so highs of about 15 to 19 celsius on tuesday. the rain working into the northwest is going to be down to this system, the remnants of hurricane dorian, moving up towards iceland but it will bring is breezy weather into wednesday so a band of showery rain moving eastwards through the day, followed by sunshine and blustery showers. temperatures will be on the rise so up temperatures will be on the rise so up to about 21 celsius in the warmest spots and then we‘ve got another x tropical storm, gabrielle this time, moving up towards the uk

on thursday which will bring wet weather for a on thursday which will bring wet weatherfor a time on thursday which will bring wet weather for a time but it will also introduce this mild, quite humid feeling air coming introduce this mild, quite humid feeling aircoming in introduce this mild, quite humid feeling air coming in from the southwest so bringing a different feel to the weather. it will be more warm and humid on thursday. some rain initially for northern ireland in the west of scotland, pushing south—eastwards through the day but one or two spots getting up to about 23 celsius. cooler towards the northwest but things are looking slightly warmer and drier by the end of the week.

hello, you‘re watching afternoon live. i‘m simon mccoy. today at 3pm... parliament will be suspended tonight — but not before one more attempt from the government to trigger a snap election. it comes as borisjohnson tells irish prime minister leo varadkar he would "overwhelmingly prefer" to find an agreement with the eu yes, of course we could do it. the uk could certainly get through it. but be in no doubt that outcome would be a failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible. there is no such thing as a clean break orjust getting it done. rather, we willjust move on to a new phase. if there is no deal, it'll cause severe disruption for british and irish people alike.

travel disruption for hundreds of thousands of british airways passengers, as pilots go on strike — it‘s the biggest walkout in ba‘s history. coming up on afternoon live all the sport with.... holly hamilton any hopes of winning the ashes may be gone but england have named their squad for the final test at the oval. some concerns for ben stokes, though. details at 3:30pm. and sarah keith—lucas has the weather... an uncool and unsettled start to this week. i will bring you some more details on that this afternoon. thank you very much, sarah. also coming up on afternoon live. 15 years after being shot by al-qaeda gunmen, the bbc‘s security correspondent, frank gardner heads back out on to the water to try his hand at "adaptive water skiing".

welcome to westminster. at the end of business today, parliament will be suspended until the 14th of october — but not before the government asks mps to vote again on an early general election. opposition parties have confirmed they will not vote in favour of that. borisjohnson started his day with a trip to dublin to talk to his irish counterpart leo varadkar. the prime minister said he would overwhelmingly prefer to find an agreement with the eu — and believed it could be reached by the middle of october. but mrvaradkarsaid he was still waiting for alternative proposals to the backstop — the mechanism to avoid a hard border in ireland. after the talks, the two leaders said they had established some commong ground — although significants gaps remain. here‘s our political correspondent chris mason. monday morning in dublin. this is what autumn looks like in ireland and this

is what diplomacy between the uk and its nearest neighbour looks and sounds like. watch boris johnson‘s facial expression as you listen to leo varadkar talking. avoiding a return to a hard border on this island and protecting our place in the single market are our priorities in all circumstances. we must protect the peace and also the all ireland economy. that is why the backstop continues to be a component of the withdrawal agreement unless and until alternatives are found. we are open to alternatives but they must be realistic ones, legally binding and workable. we have not received such proposals to date. mr varadkar was not done there. there is no such thing as a clean break brexit, he said. negotiating free trade agreements with the eu and america quickly

would be a herculean task, he added. mrjohnson said... i want to find a deal. i want to get a deal. like you, i have looked carefully at no deal and have assessed its consequences both for our country and yours. yes, of course we could do it. the uk could certainly get through it. but be in no doubt that outcome would be a failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible. meanwhile, back here at westminster, the prime minister‘s official spokesman told us that parliament will be shut down tonight. opposition party leaders confirmed they will not vote for a general election later, meaning borisjohnson‘s plan for one in the middle of next month will be scuppered. opposition leaders are livid that parliament is being suspended. look at this — they are

continuing to work together. the liberal democrats, former conservatives, the green party, and the snp. this is as serious as it gets. we have to have a situation that parliament is sitting. it is a democratic outrage that a prime minister that has no mandate that on a whim has been able to close down parliament. he is behaving like a dictator because he knows he does not have the support of parliament. it is an utter disgrace. they all got together this morning injeremy corbyn‘s office. i think it is disgraceful. parliament should be sitting and holding the government to account. the prime minister appears to want to be able to run away from questions. he was appointed prime minister at the end ofjuly, he has faced one prime minister's question time. and now is prorogating parliament. i think it is disgraceful. we are outraged at the prospect of a prime minister who is prepared to say and act as though he is above the law, both in terms of the legislation

that is receiving royal assent today, to extend article 50 from the end of next month in order to avoid a no—deal brexit to the end ofjanuary, and his preparedness to prorogue parliament. parliament has wounded and winded the prime minister over the next week and beyond today, huge uncertainty remains. our chief political correspondent vicki young is in the houses of parliament. and it could be a very long day here in parliament today. their last before prorogation, our suspension. parliament will not come back until the 14th of october. before that, mps are trying to get more information out of the government about various things, including the decision to suspend parliament. let‘s discuss this in a little bit more. just explain this emergency

debate, at least one of those they are going to ask for, mps are going to ask for this afternoon. you want the correspondence and messages between government officials to be published, all the correspondence that was around this controversial decision to suspend parliament. that is just decision to suspend parliament. that isjust one of decision to suspend parliament. that is just one of the applications today. yes, borisjohnson is shutting down parliament in the middle of a constitutional crisis that he is largely responsible for. it is not acceptable to have that are done behind closed doors. we understand there has been much material that has been passed on social media and unusual communications, rather than using official documents to do that. people need to know what is behind all of this and what has been done to create this outrageous situation where we are going in to come from recess, spent a week here and then going away again as he takes hold of executive power. you may not like it, but just to executive power. you may not like it, butjust to be clear, he has not done anything illegal or beyond the

reel. not yet. we have heard him say he may not obey the law once the bill has passed today, the bill to ensure we cannot leave on the 31st of october with no deal. you just cannot trust this prime minister as far as you can through him. let's talk about the foot tonight. he will try again to persuade the mps to put foran try again to persuade the mps to put for an early election. he wants an election on the 15th of october. given the mps have taken the power away from the prime minister, surely he is within his rights to say, if you will not let me govern, let me go to the country with my plan. this isa go to the country with my plan. this is a prime minister with no mandate, was not elected by parliament of the public. have an election then. he does not have a majority. we are not going to give him any excuse to use trickery to make sure he can bypass in the middle of a parliament that is shut down, bypass the process and make sure we come out of the eu

without a deal on the 31st of october by default. that is why it is very important we have an opposition across the benches, we worked with our partners to make sure they can‘t do that, and we are going to protect people from the kind of chaos, both economic and social chaos that would come from a no—deal brexit. social chaos that would come from a no-deal brexit. given that, you're not going to vote for an election tonight. they will not be an election in october. he had managed to change the law so they will be in no deal exit at the end of october. what will you do next? and what will you do if borisjohnson ignores that lot? as soon as possible, we want to get to an election, as soon as it is safe to do so. getting past the october deadline and making sure he can‘t feel any different strokes on that to get that to happen without the permission of parliament, then we wa nt the permission of parliament, then we want to go to a general election as quickly as possible, so we can remove borisjohnson. as quickly as possible, so we can remove boris johnson. what as quickly as possible, so we can remove borisjohnson. what has become a conservative party that is now filled with right—wing

extremists. all of the moderates have been purged or have left. there is no such thing as a good tory government for scotland. this boris johnson one is the worst incarnation of all of them. we want him out of power as soon as we can arrange that. thank you very much indeed. those debates are likely to take place in the next few hours. that prorogation ceremony will happen at some point in eight are in the early hours of tomorrow morning and then this place packs up until the 14th of october. thank you very much from inside the houses of parliament. as we‘ve been hearing the prime minister has been in dublin today, hoping to secure changes to the irish backstop component of the withdrawal agreement. his irish counterpart leo varadkar said that while ireland was open to alternative solutions to avoid a hard irish border, they had yet to see any "legally workable" proposals from the uk. our correspondent emma vardy was there as the talks were held

i think borisjohnson‘s main aim in coming to dublin today was to ram home the message that he does want a deal. it seemed very much like a response to accusations he‘s faced in recent days that he wasn‘t doing enough to secure an agreement. he very much seemed to want to put the suggestions to bed here in front of the irish prime minister today. of course, getting any deal depends on resolving that most contentious issue of how to avoid checks on the irish border. and that involves getting agreement on the so—called irish backstop. now, that irish backstop was to be an insurance policy that the eu wanted the uk to sign up to. it would have involved the uk remaining in a uk wide customs territory with the eu. but it faced huge opposition from the dup, under theresa may. it was one of the biggest reasons she couldn‘t get her withdrawal agreement through, because it could have meant northern ireland being tied more tightly to eu rules and theresa may, of course, needed the dup‘s votes for a majority in parliament.

after a dramatic week we‘ve just had, well, of course the parliamentary arithmetic is changing and what we are seeing coming back into discussions now is talk of a northern ireland only backstop. and that might point to a way forward in future. if the dup‘s votes were no longer needed. but of course there is still a big roll of the dice to come with any general election. and as things currently stand, the irish government still says no viable alternative to the backstop have been put forward. we are nowjoined by mep and leader of the alliance party, naomi long. ijust want i just want to pick up ijust want to pick up on what emma was just saying about northern ireland only backstop, in effect, bordeaux. is that something you would support? we know the dup wouldn. the backstop is where trees may started this journey. because the dup weren‘t happy with it,

because the business, farmers, and eve ryo ne because the business, farmers, and everyone else in northern ireland believed it was the least worst outcome. it is slightly different. it has some additional challenges in terms of goods coming from great britain to northern ireland, but it does not impede goods going from northern ireland to the uk. the dp argued they did not want it. theresa may sought a uk backstop. if we can‘t get that, and if parliament continue to reject that, we can‘t in northern ireland tolerate the notion ofa northern ireland tolerate the notion of a no—deal brexit. it would be catastrophic for northern irish businesses, our political process and prosperity, but also, ia businesses, our political process and prosperity, but also, i a threat to the peace in northern ireland. without the good friday agreement and without the working assembly, cannot see how we sustain a stable northern ireland going forward. all this with stormont not having spent

a day working for an awfully long time. for three years. essentially, stormont collapsed only months after brexit happen. it was not the cause but the pressure applied by brexit to the stormont executive undoubtably helped make it less likely that that executive would be sustained, but has also made it incredibly difficult for us to find any space to get that assembly restored. just looking at what happens here tonight or perhaps tomorrow morning, prorogation of parliament, where does that leave northern ireland ? parliament, where does that leave northern ireland? it is an incredibly difficult decision. we do not have our own functioning assembly, and we now do not have a parliament. even minimal skirt and it will be robbed from us this week. we will not have the chance to act this secretary of state was questions of how the northern irish formation is active is progressing. it isa formation is active is progressing. it is a real challenge for the whole of the united kingdom. what people are missing is in an emergency,

parliament cannot be recalled during prorogation. during a recess a can, and it was in syria. i return to vote on a war in syria. that cannot happen any case of prorogation and thatis happen any case of prorogation and that is a very serious constitutional challenge. it is a fear and it must be a realfear, you talk about the good friday agreement and those are wanting to return us to this bad old days. there will a lwa ys to this bad old days. there will always be those who will exploit those situations in order to create violence. i believe many of them are using it to create mayhem around the border, so they can have smuggling and other things. that should not influence government policy or be something that is used as a leveraged of a government. government should be mindful of the fa ct government should be mindful of the fact that the good friday agreement involved a very delicate balance of relationships between the political parties and between london and dublin. everything since brexit has damaged that difficult balance. it is up now to the prime minister not

simply to dublin, but to travel to dublin with a good heart and a serious intent to deliver an alternative. paradox of brexit is, those who tell us the border? can easily be sold by many different means have yet to present a single concrete measure that would negate the backstop. the backstop is only ever meant to operate in circumstances where all other means have failed. if, as the prime minister claims, there are lots of ways of solving this, i put the challenge to him directly, tell us one right now and the backstop disappears. you cannot, because there is no alternative. he knows that, i know that, and the irish government knows that. no one in their right mind is going to allow northern ireland and our economy to be damaged in the way in no—deal brexit wood. thank you very much for joining us. now let‘s speak to the group political editor for the irish independent, kevin doyle. hejoins us from dublin.

i want to get a sense whether that visit this morning from boris johnson has changed the mood music. nothing concrete, but is there is sense something is giving somewhere? the mood music is certainly better because there was this idea hanging over that leo varadkar had invited borisjohnson over that leo varadkar had invited boris johnson immediately after he became prime minister but he had put off coming to dublin for this meeting. the fact it has taken place and there was no big row and big fallout i think will be looked upon from a dublin perspective as progress. i suppose, from a dublin perspective as progress. isuppose, at from a dublin perspective as progress. i suppose, at the end of the day when we sit down later and the day when we sit down later and the politicians in dublin will be sitting down to watch the bbc to see what is happening in the parliament over there tonight, not a whole lot of substantive progress has been made. when boris johnson said he is still wanting a deal, do you think they believe him in ireland? they don‘t disbelieve him. they are

sceptical would be the short answer. there is concerns about why he chose this moment to come to dublin. is it all about the theatrics and the drama that has taken place in the house of commons last week and is it all about that statement amber rudd gave over the weekend, when she resigned saying there is no effort going into securing a deal. it is an awareness they could be used as a pawn in the games that are taking place at westminster at the minute. that leo varadkar‘s meeting could be used to present progress and attem pts used to present progress and atte m pts of used to present progress and attempts of getting a deal when actually not a lot of deal—making is happening in the background. that is why you saw leo varadkar make a very direct diplomatic speech this morning. there are a lot of questions here in westminster about preparations for a no—deal brexit. those are the same questions that are being asked in the republic as well, aren‘t they? people want to know what preparations are under way should we get to the 31st and there

isa should we get to the 31st and there is a departure without a deal. the taoiseach spent his weekend touring the ports, 80% of the goods from the uk come through the dublin port. we have new inspection bays, new parking bays for trunks, fit and refrigeration. he spent the weekend at that. there are a lot of questions. all of the particle parties here are united on the backstop. the belief that is necessary. if this goes to the end game and there is no deal, in that sense there is parallel with the uk in terms of the political rows and fallout from this. kevin, very good to talk to you. thank you very much for coming back to us. thank you. the general secretary of the tuc says she doesn‘t want a no—deal brexit because workers‘ jobs are threatened by it. frances o‘grady was addressing delegates at the annual conference in brighton. long before brexit, for many working people, the world was already harsh

and we were already in the grip of a vicious austerity, a political choice that caused untold hardship and heartbreak. that‘s why it‘s so important to rule out a no—deal brexit. as we saw after the financial crash, economic shocks always hit our people first and hardest. we know what the recessions mean for ourjobs and our industries. we know what happens to mental health, to crime and to communities, and we know that those scars last generations. let‘s move on to other news. around 200,000 passengers have had their travel plans disrupted by the biggest strike in british airways‘ history, with almost all their flights cancelled. the two—day stoppage is over pay — pilots have walked out after rejecting an 11.5% pay deal over three years, saying they want a share of the airline‘s profits . dan johnson reports.

planes don‘t make money on the ground. in fact, parking spaces this big are expensive. so this strike is costing british airways around £40 million per day, as well as disrupting hundreds of thousands of passengers. the main ba terminal was quiet this morning because travellers had mostly been rebooked on another airline or a different day. but some passengers who were stuck abroad are feeling frustrated. they are not interested in anything about my refund whatsoever. it is just, your claim will be escalated to our refund team. totally disgusted. and no one has had any contact back to me. not an e—mail, nothing. i have to phone them continually to try and seek my money back. the pilots have stayed at home because they are not happy with their pay deal. the british airways boss says he is already offering a big increase, 11.5% over the next three years. 167 is the average of our pilots, as you mentioned.

by the end of this deal injust over two years, when you include the allowances, it will be £202,000. the ba pilots are the best pilots in the world, there is no doubt about it, and they need to have a renumeration. we believe this deal will actually take them in that position. but the pilots want a better bonus scheme so staff can share in the airline‘s success. its parent group made nearly £3 billion last year and the pilots union claims managers aren‘t negotiating seriously. if it is so good, as mr cruz says, then why are they out on strike? the fact is, the pilots do not recognise what he is saying, the pilots have said british airways is going through some good times, we want to share in those profits, just as we shared the pain in the bad times. the good times feel far away, with a fleet that will be grounded again tomorrow. getting back in the air on wednesday won‘t be simple.

and if there is still no agreement, another strike day is planned for the end of the month. dan johnson, bbc news, at heathrow airport. the little mix star jesy nelson has revealed that being the victim of constant online bullying drove her to try to take her own life. the singer says she was deluged with cruel comments about her weight and apearance after winning the reality show x factor eight years ago. she‘s been speaking to our entertainment correspondent chi chi izundu. the winner of the x factor 2011 is... it should have been a moment ofjoy. little mix. but, after the cameras had stopped rolling and the celebrations should have started, jesy nelson was reading messages online. there were so many messages, nasty ones, but the one that was at the top was from, like, a random man. he was saying how disgusting i am and that i don‘t deserve to be in the girl band

and i deserve to die. how do you feel when you post an instagram? jesy says she still gets abuse on social media but four years ago, the comments affected her so much she started missing work, fell into a depression, and then attempted suicide. now when i look back on that, i can‘t believe i ever did that. but, when you‘re in that state of mind, you don‘t think about, like, what you‘re going to leave behind, or, like, the people you are going to affect. you just want to take the pain away. that‘s all you care about. the documentary also highlights how her attempt also affected the other band members. every single person that said something should have been held accountable for making her feel like that. but cyberbullying doesn‘tjust happen to those in the public eye. a report from media watchdog ofcom in 2018 found one in five 12 to 15—year—olds had experienced some sort of online bullying and, according to one charity, ajoint, multi—agency response is what‘s

needed to combat it. this is not only about celebrities, it‘s about everyone, which is why we need a collective response because we have young people who are unable to go to school, young people who are changing school, young people who are missing out on education, who have long—term mental health impacts because of bullying. if you could give young people a message about social media... yeah. the positives and negatives, what would it be? yeah. ithink... i mean, i know it‘s hard but try to stay off your phone as much as you can. i think we‘re all obsessed with looking at images, reading comments, and trying to live up to what society wants us to be. like, just be with your friends and family more, engage with people more, and just try not to become so obsessed with your phone and social media. that was chi chi izundu reporting. and jesy‘s

documentary is called "odd one out". it‘s on bbc one at 9 o‘clock on thursday, and you can watch it on the bbc iplayer. and sarah keith—lucas has the weather... it isa it is a bit ofa it is a bit of a grey picture out there this afternoon. many of us have seen outbreaks of rain around. we have had outbreaks of dryer weather later in the week. for now, this is the picture of hastings and sussex. showers coming out from some of those clouds. that rain this afternoon will slowly start to ease away. it will remain cloudy and damp as well. the heaviest of showers are across wales, central england as well could hear the thunder as well. sunshine out to the west and northern ireland. cloud and underneath the cloud and rain, only up underneath the cloud and rain, only up to 16 celsius. it is feeling very

autumnal out there today. things will improve over the next couple of days for many of us. this evening and overnight, cloud and clear spells developing. the mist and fog patches. the lowest of the temperatures will be across western scotla nd temperatures will be across western scotland and northern ireland where we do see the clear skies. for most of us, a cool and murky start. the mist and low cloud should break up quite nicely through the day. northern ireland and scotland seeing sunshine throughout the morning. by the afternoon, and should move to england, wales and the eastern part of scotland. the breeze is picking up of scotland. the breeze is picking up here, too. it will be warmer than it has been in the sunshine. that rain in the north—west is all courtesy of the slow way the system. it is the remnants of x hurricane dorian. winning breezy weather and showery rain. it will be followed by sunshine and some blustery showers. temperatures will be on the rise. up

to about 21 celsius by the time we get to wednesday. another ex tropical storm, gabrielle, moving get to wednesday. another ex tropicalstorm, gabrielle, moving up to the north—west of the uk. that will bring breezy and wet weather by thursday. it will also introduce some warm and humid air piling in from the south—west. that would bring a different feel to the weather by thursday. he warm and humid day. some rain for northern ireland and scotland. slowly pushing south—eastwards. for much of england and wales, it will feel quite warm. up and wales, it will feel quite warm. up to 23 celsius in london. cooler across scotland and northern ireland in the mid teens. he drier and warmer into the week. —— a warmer end to the week.

this is bbc news. our latest headlines. parliament will be suspended tonight — but not before one more attempt from the government to trigger a snap election. it comes as borisjohnson tells irish prime minister leo varadkar

he would "overwhelmingly prefer" to find an agreement with the eu than leave without a deal. yes, of course we could do it, the uk could certainly get through it, but to be in no doubt that outcome would be a failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible for. there is no such thing as a clean break orjust getting it done. rather, we'lljust move on to a new phase. if there is no deal, it will cause a severe disruption for british and irish people alike. travel disruption for hundreds of thousands of british airways passengers, as pilots go on strike — it‘s the biggest walkout in ba‘s history. sport now on afternoon live with holly hamilton. we might return to the house of

commons rather quickly. today england have named their squad for the final test. ben stokes will have to be assessed over his fitness to bowl after struggling with a shoulder problem which he picked up during the fourth test. jason roy has also been named in the squad despite struggling for runs during the series so far. yesterday‘s defeat at old trafford means australia will retain the ashes but england could level the series with a win at the oval. if stokes isn‘t able to bowl, he‘ll play as a specialist batsman with england able to call on chris woakes or sam curran

to come in to bowl. england have not lost a home ashes series since 2001 and have not lost a series to any touring side since 2014. there are two euro qualifers tonight involving home nations. scotland have a tough task as they host belgium while northern ireland will be looking to stay top of group c. they have to avoid defeat to germany at windsor park, the germans lost to the netherlands last friday, who are also vying for one of the two qualification spots and are three points beheind michael o‘neill‘s men. there are teams around europe, there isa there are teams around europe, there is a middle tier of teams which i think we are in. but these are the top teams, the top eight, ten teams in europe so that‘s the challenge, so in europe so that‘s the challenge, so if we can come out of this group at the expense of either germany or holland, i think that will be an amazing achievement. also tonight, scotland‘s slim hopes of automatic qualification now rest on taking points from the world‘s top—ranked team — belgium. you can listen to that match on bbc radio scotland. northern ireland against germany will be on five live and bbc radio ulster. wales‘ friendly against belarus

is on bbc radio wales. all those games kick off at quarter to eight. rafael nadal says beating roger federer‘s total of 20 grand slam singles titles doesn‘t drive him on to play tennis. he was speaking after claiming his fourth us open title by beating daniil medvedev in five sets at flushing meadows. the russian didn‘t make life easy for him though — nadal seemed to be cruising to a dominant three set victory as he went two sets and a break up, only for medvedev to force a decider as he threatened to produce one of the most memorable comebacks ever seen. but nadal stopped his momentum to clinch a thrilling win as the clock twicked towards nearly five hours for the spaniard‘s19th grand slam title — noszut one away from roger federer‘s all time record. of all the things that i‘ve achieved in my career, much more than i

thought i‘d ever do, so i‘d love to be the one to have more, but i will not, i really believe that i will not, i really believe that i will not be happy or less happy if that happens or doesn‘t happen. what fuels happiness is the personal satisfaction rest on. in that way, i am very pleased with myself. in hockey, great britain‘s women will have to overcome chile in a two—legged tie for the right to defend their olympic title next year. they won gold in rio three years ago but the play—offs will be the final chance for gb to qualify for tokyo. meanwhile great britain‘s men have been drawn against malaysia. ireland‘s men and women have both been drawn against canada. five—time paralympic champion ellie simmonds has made a good start to para swimming world championships in london. she finished third in her heat of the 400 metres freestyle — that sees her qualify for tonight‘s final. ukraine‘s yelyzaveta mereshko won the heat. that‘s all the sport for now.

back now to simon with the latest at westminster. more now on brexit. the five—week suspension of parliament will begin later, after mps are expected to again reject government calls for a snap election. opposition mps have confirmed they would not back the push for a october 15th poll, insisting a law blocking a no—deal brexit must be come into force before that. the no—deal brexit bill has been given royal assent. we can cross live to the house of commons. our chief political correspondent vicki young is in the houses of parliament. we are waiting for things to get going within the chamber and john bercow may have something to say. that‘s right, mps are currently on education questions but we are told that the speaker is going to make a statement any minute now. we don‘t know what it‘s about, whether it‘s just about today‘s proceedings because there are pushes for a couple of emergency debates which

used to be quite rare but they have been used recently by mps to try to get the answers out of government which they want so it could be that it‘s about that. who knows, it may be about his own future. there‘s been lots of speculation about whether he would stand down as a speaker. even speculation about whether he will refuse to leave the speaker‘s chair today because if he sits in the chair, then parliament cannot be suspended. there was a little snippet on the sunday times this weekend saying a labour mp had suggested she might just this weekend saying a labour mp had suggested she mightjust go and sit on top ofjohn bercow so he couldn‘t get out the chair and parliament can be suspended so all sorts of rumours sweeping around here about what he might do but it could be that he is going to talk about these two emergency debates now. they revolve around dominic grieve, the former attorney chief general. he wants to bring what‘s called a humble address, a device that has been used before to make the government publish things that they have been relu cta nt to publish things that they have been reluctant to do and what dominic grieve is for the government to

publish all the communications between ministers and advisers to do with the suspension of parliament, which is backed by other parties as well. that‘s what they want to see happen. they also want to see publish the government‘s details about yellowhammer, that‘s the details about our no—deal brexit —— about a no—deal brexit. worst case scenarios, whether they are things that are likely to happen. right now in the last day of parliament until they go off until october the 14th, mps are still pushing to get answers out of the government and jeremy corbyn, leader of the opposition, let‘s listen to the speaker. colleagues, i would like to make a personal statement to the house. at the 2017 election, i promised my

wife and children that it would be my last. this is a pledge that i intend to keep. if the house votes tonight for an early general election, my tenure as speaker and mp willend when election, my tenure as speaker and mp will end when this parliament ends. if the house does not so vote, i have concluded that the least disruptive and most democratic course of action would be for me to stand down at the close of business on thursday, october the 31st.

applause least disruptive because that date will fall shortly after the vote on the queen's speech expected on the zist the queen's speech expected on the 21st and 22nd of october. the week also after that may be quite lively and it would be best to have an experienced figure in the chair for that short period. most democratic because it will mean that a ballot

is held when all members have some knowledge of the candidates. this is far preferable to a contest at the beginning of a parliament when new mps will not be similarly informed and may find themselves vulnerable to undue institutional influence. cheering we would not want anyone to be equipped senseless, which we? —— to be whipped. throughout my time

asa —— to be whipped. throughout my time as a speaker, i have sought to increase the relative authority of this legislature for which i will make absolutely no apology to anyone anywhere at any time to deploy a perhaps dangerous phrase, i have also sought to be that backbenchers' backstop. —— the backbenchers' backstop. —— the backbenchers' backstop. i could not do so without the support of a small but superb team in speakers house, the wider

house staff, my buckingham constituents and above all my wife sally and our three children oliver, freddie andjemima. applause from the bottom of my heart, i thank them all profusely. i could also not have served without

the repeated support of this house and its members past and present. this is a wonderful place filled overwhelmingly by people who are motivated by their notion of the national interest, by their perception of the public good and by their duty not as delegates but as representatives to do what they believe is right for our country. we degrade this parliament at our

peril. i have served as a member of parliament for 22 years and for the la st parliament for 22 years and for the last ten as speaker. this has been, let me put it explicitly, the greatest privilege and honour of my professional life for which i will be eternally grateful. i wish my successor in the chair the very best fortune in standing up for the rights of honourable and right honourable members individually and for parliament institutionally as the speaker of the house of commons.

thank you. applause colleagues, you really add a very, very generous bunch of people indeed and thank you on both sides of the house for the expressions of support

which i appreciate. i love this place, you'll love this place, and we look forward to the future with interest, anticipation and enthusiasm. the point of order, the leader of the opposition, jeremy corbyn. thank you, mr speaker. i wa nt corbyn. thank you, mr speaker. i want to put on record my thanks to you as being a superb speaker of this house, my thanks to you as a colleague in parliament and my thanks to your family for the way in which they have supported you through often very difficult times when many of the media have been very unfairon you, when many of the media have been very unfair on you, and your two sons are getting good at football. i did some kicks with them in speakers caught the other day, i was very impressed, they are coming along well and i know you support the same clu b well and i know you support the same club as me. in your role as a speaker, you have totally changed the way the job has been done, you've reached out to people across the whole country, you've visited schools, you've visited factories and offices, you've talked to people

about the role of parliament and democracy and i've never forgotten you coming to the college in my constituency and spending the morning with me talking to a group of students, all of whom had learning difficulties and we discussed with them the roles of democracy and parliament and you've taken democracy and parliament and you've ta ken absolutely on— board democracy and parliament and you've taken absolutely on—board the words of the previous speaker that you are there to be guided and act on behalf of our parliament. this parliament is stronger for you being speaker, our democracy is stronger for your being speakerand our democracy is stronger for your being speaker and whatever you do when you finally step down from parliament, you do so with the thanks of a very large number of people and as one that has made the role of speaker of the house of commons more powerful, not less powerful, i welcome that, and as somebody who aspires to hold executive office, i like the idea of a powerful parliament holding the executive to account. it's something

i've spent the last 35 years doing myself. so, mr speaker, enjoyed the la st myself. so, mr speaker, enjoyed the last short period in your office, but it's going to be one of the most dramatic there has been and i think your choice of timing and date is incomparable and will be recorded in the history books of parliamentary democracy. mr speaker, on behalf of the labour party, i thank you for your work in promoting democracy and this house. thank you. thank you, i would say to leader of the opposition he is very much more experienced and senior than i, but i think as backbenchers in our respective parties, we did have quite a lot in common, certainly speaking for myself as a backbencher and frequently as an opposition frontbencher i found that i had a relationship with my whips characterised by trust and understanding. ididn't characterised by trust and understanding. i didn't trust them and they didn't understand me! point

of order, the minister for the cabinet office, michael gove.|j would like to perhaps for the first time associate myself wholeheartedly with the comments of the leader of the opposition. since you enter the house of commons in 1987 it has been clear to everyone who has seen you work as a diligent constituency mp and effective backbencher and tenacious frontbencher in your time that you love the house of commons and our democracy and your commitment to your principles and to your constituents is unwavering and an example to others. it is the case that this evening i shall vote with many of my colleagues for a general election. i hope you will not take that personally, mr speaker, because i have no wish to prematurely truncate your time in the chair because it is the case, however controversial the role of the backstop may be in other areas, your role as the backbenchers' backstop has been one that has certainly been appreciated by individuals across this house. i spent much, though not

all, of the last ten years as a memberof the all, of the last ten years as a member of the executive but i have also been a backbencher in this house and i have personally appreciated the way in which you have always sought to ensure that the executive answers for its actions and i think history will re cord actions and i think history will record the way in which you have used the urgent question procedure and other procedures to hold the executive to account have restored life and vigour to parliament and in so life and vigour to parliament and in so doing you have been in the very best tradition of speakers. it is the case is a member of the executive that from time to time those of us on this side of the house might have bridled at some of the judgments you have made but i have never been in any doubt, mr speaker, that you have operated on the basis that the executive must be answerable to this house in the same way as this house is answerable to the people. you have done everything in your power in order to ensure not just the continued but the underlined relevance of this place. your love of democracy is transparent and everything that you say and do and in such, i want to on behalf of myself and on behalf of

the conservative party, say thank you and as a fellow parent of pupils ata you and as a fellow parent of pupils at a distinguished west london comprehensive, can i also say how important it is that discipline is maintained in this house and your energetic efforts to do so i'd appreciated even by those of us who may not always be the best behaved in class. i thank the right honourable gentleman, that was characteristically generous and gracious of him. at the risk of inflicting some damage upon his otherwise flourishing political career, i have a more than one occasion paid public tribute to the quality of the right honourable gentleman, one of the reasons why he doesn't complain about urgent questions being granted to which he has short notice to answer is the fa ct has short notice to answer is the fact is that the right honourable gentleman is bright enough, sharp enough, fair—minded enough, articulate enough and dexterous enough to be able to cope with whatever is thrown at him. i don't wa nt whatever is thrown at him. i don't want this to become a mutual

admiration society because i'm not sure whether it would be more damaging to him to me, but i thank him for what he has said in the way in which he has said it and for the spirit that his remarks and body. point of order, sir. thank you, mr speaker. i wouldn't for a minute seek to challenge your decision, not least because you would rule me out of order, but i have to say that i regret it and respect it and i say that for this reason, that when the history books come to be written, you will be described as one of the great reforming speake rs you will be described as one of the great reforming speakers of the house of commons and the reason is because you have indeed been the backbenchers' friend and supporter but in every decision you have made,

you have put one consideration above everything else, you wish to enable the house of commons to discuss matters and to express a view and there have been occasions when some of the house have taken umbrage at the decisions that you have reached, but you have stood by your principles and there are many, many members of this house who are eternally grateful to you for having stood up for our rights to enable us to debate and then to vote on something, the fact that the speaker decides that something should be debated is not that the speaker is saying the house should agree it, it is the speaker is saying that we should be able to cast our votes and thatis should be able to cast our votes and that is why we will regard you in that is why we will regard you in that light for many, many years to come. thank you very much indeed. thank you. point of order, my next door neighbour and very loyal next door neighbour and very loyal next door neighbour and very loyal next door neighbour and very brilliant next door neighbour in the constituency terms, mr david

lidington. mr speaker could die as an electric in the buckingham constituency — — an electric in the buckingham constituency —— could i offer an expression of thanks to you for your work as a constituency member of parliament over the last 22 years talking to neighbours and acquaintances in all parts of the buckingham constituency over the years which you have represented it. i've been struck by the fact that men and women are very different political persuasions and indeed those of no particular party affiliation are united in their appreciation of the fact that you have never allowed your considerable duties as speaker of the house detract from your responsibility to represent their interests in

buckingham and to respond to the concerns which they raise with you. and while colleagues in all parts of the house will speak about your re cord the house will speak about your record as a speaker, those of us in buckinghamshire will continue to note how you have continued to speak on local interests and local issues. i know too that you will be missed amongst the eclectic team of honourable members representing the cou nty of honourable members representing the county of buckinghamshire. it is perhaps a good measure of the fact that in this place despite frequent clashes in disagreements we can still manage to get on, that those buckinghamshire parliamentary meetings bring together notjust buckinghamshire parliamentary meetings bring together not just you andl meetings bring together not just you and i bite my friend the —— you and i but my honourable friends in the

spirit of county matters. so i thank you for what you have done for us locally and also, if i may, mr speaker, as a former leader of the house, for what you have done to communicate more to people, particularly to schoolchildren and students around the country, about how this place works and the constitutional significance of parliament in defending the liberties and debating the interests of the next generation. liberties and debating the interests of the next generationlj liberties and debating the interests of the next generation. i thank the gent—mac for what he said —— i thank the honourable gentleman. he was frankly an outstanding leader of the house of commons. he is one of the most cooperative and collaborative colleagues whom one could hope to

meet. he gets things done, he's extremely personable and i think it's fair to say that he works on the basis of periodic political difference, but continuing personal amiability. if others of us were able to model ourselves on the way in which he has gone about his work over the last 27 years as a member of parliament, we would probably be doing better. ithank of parliament, we would probably be doing better. i thank him for what he said. we must proceed before too long but i do apologise sincerely to the honourable gentleman, the leader of the third party in this house, for failing to see him at an earlier point which i should have done. mr ian blackford. thank you, mr speaker. i say behalf of as on those benches that we will be sad to see you leaving. you have shown considerable grace and courtesy not just to us but to members across this house and we are eternally grateful for the way you have conducted yourself, particularly over the last few months at a time

of, let's be honest, constitutional crisis for all of us and a way that you have facilitated backbenchers in particular and hold them to account and been able to make sure that those of us who are sent to this place are able to do ourjob to best represent interests. like the leader of the opposition, i think we can say that we are grateful that you will be with us until the end of october and we look forward to the guidance and supervision that you give to our affairs over the course of the coming weeks. you have been a great friend to many of us in this house. we wish you every good wish to you and your family for the coming period. you will always get a friendly welcome in scotland and we would love to see you up there. thank you very much on behalf of all of us. mr speaker, as you know, at the beginning of this parliamentary term, you asked me if if i would propose you for the chair and i was

very pleased to do so. i think i made the immortal statement that i think you annoying members on all frontbenchers from time to time, which is probably a testament to your evenhandedness and i think there was not a dry eye in the house because that was true. however, i have to add my voice to that of my colleague in buckinghamshire for the simple reason that as a colleague in buckinghamshire you have been absolutely superb and speaking as the only female representative in buckinghamshire, i find it the only female representative in buckinghamshire, ifind it necessary sometimes to keep some of you boys under control because you don‘t a lwa ys under control because you don‘t always quite ci to i with me —— see eye to eye. in your time as a speaker, you have hosted events for more than 1000 charities in speaker‘s house and you have been a

true champion of people with autism and today is the —— today as the all party parliamentary group publishes the autism report, i want to thank you for your charitable work but also your work for people and families with autism. i have one great regret that you will be standing down, that i will lose a great champion in my fight against hs2 andi great champion in my fight against hs2 and i very much hope that when you go into retirement from this house, whatever you do, you will continue tojoin me in house, whatever you do, you will continue to join me in the fight against hs2 and continue, most importantly, to champion those people with autism and their families. thank you very much. i thank the honourable lady for what she has said. but also everything that we have enjoyed together over the last years in this house. a matter of seniority. i remember when

i first matter of seniority. i remember when ifirst met you. matter of seniority. i remember when i first met you. i went home to my wife and i said i meant this really bumptious, self opinionated, objectionable character. i could say that you haven‘t changed. the fact of the matter is, mr speaker, you have been an exemplary speaker. you have been an exemplary speaker. you have been an exemplary speaker. you have been parliament‘s speaker. i have been parliament‘s speaker. i have been parliament‘s speaker. i have been here a long time. i have seen have been here a long time. i have seen people organising the speaker‘s election, usually the whips. you broke that tradition, we broke the tradition, cross party, we wanted you. we denied the whips and we got you. we denied the whips and we got you. i certainly, and there was around this place, do not regret for around this place, do not regret for a minute we got parliament‘s speaker and you really proved we were right in our choice. you have been magnificent in the way you have got

around. you said you planned it well in advance, we chose a day that you would come to huddersfield. u nfortu nately, would come to huddersfield. unfortunately, it was the day after the referendum. it was quite interesting atmosphere. i do remember you coming, getting to huddersfield and saying, this is an awfully long way, isn‘t it, barry? he did get around, he did see how constituents worked. he did come to the university in huddersfield, you did the job the university in huddersfield, you did thejob well. the university in huddersfield, you did the job well. i also have to say you as a speaker have been the champion of the backbencher. these people here on the whips come on the front benches, love it to have their own way. you were determined to let people like myself, a backbencher, and other backbenchers to have their say. you have renewed, there has been a renaissance of parliament under your speakership. i only hope we get some half as good as you went

we get some half as good as you went we actually single—mindedly, happily, diversely, democratically choose your successor. thank you for everything you have done for parliamentary democracy. bless you, barry, for what you have said. of course i will come to you. mr dominic grieve. mr speaker, as another bucks mp, i couldn‘t fail to rise to say words to you and thanks for what you have done. you may recall, when you are first elected speaker, i think i was the only person in the chamber who did not stand to applaud you. i have to say that was for two reasons. one, i disapprove of these displays. secondly, because i have to say my preferences lay elsewhere. but i think i also indicated to you subsequently that i would do my very most to support you. i have to say that as the years have gone by, i have come to appreciate that in the

extraordinary times in which we live, your leadership of this house has been, in myjudgment, exemplary in terms of the way in which you have stood up for the rights of backbenchers. you will undoubtedly go down as such. i think it will set a benchmark which in future, built on by future speakers, will enable this house to operate very much better. and as for bucks, you will better. and as for bucks, you will be undoubtably mixed. i think in the troubled times that we live, it is better to go back to the associations and leave the rest of the world out, because we would find that we would agree with each other 100%. i thank the honourable gentleman for what he said. i regard him as an exemplary parliamentarian so him as an exemplary parliamentarian so to receive a tribute from him it's a great deal to me. thank you,

mr speaker. i it's a great deal to me. thank you, mrspeaker. iam it's a great deal to me. thank you, mr speaker. i am one of those... it's a great deal to me. thank you, mr speaker. i am one of those. .. so the speaker is saying that if there isa the speaker is saying that if there is a vote for a general election tonight, he will quit tonight, otherwise he will depart on october 31. let‘s go to inside the house of commons. we have a brexit and a speaker exit. after ten years in the role, announcing he will be standing down. i think we have to reflect on how divisive he has been. there are many who look at what he has done in the house of commons, certainly in the house of commons, certainly in the time i have worked here, it has com pletely the time i have worked here, it has completely changed in the way the government is held to account. he has been there to make sure mps have a voice, they are able to question ministers on the story of the day. it is to be the case that the government would announce something, it would be in the newspapers, it would not be mentioned in this place four days. he change that by allowing urgent questions so mps

could summon ministers to come to this place to answer for what they we re this place to answer for what they were announcing. so, he has revolutionised the select committees as well. they are electing the chair. all about holding the government to account and giving parliament and mps, backbench mps, their voice. however, he parliament and mps, backbench mps, theirvoice. however, he is parliament and mps, backbench mps, their voice. however, he is very controversial. as you can see there at the end with the applause, labour, opposition mps all on their feet. hardly any conservatives got to their feet. he started out as a right—wing conservative mps, he moved to the liberal wing, he was elected with the votes of labour mps and hardly any tories. many tories hated him in that year and were recently, that has gone up a notch because of brexit. they feel he has pushed the reels, bentley reels because of his personal views on brexit. we do not think he has been impartial. —— bent the rules.

remember his spat with andrea leadsom, the row over whether he said she was a stupid woman. also the accusations of bullying in the house of commons. he saw what was going on in far of staff was concerned, and he did not do enough to stop what was happening, many said. a controversialfigure. lots of people think of him as punctures, rebels, he likes the sound of his own voice too much, the mp said. they will be many who look back on this period and say he did allow backbench mps to have their say. incredibly too much time in british politics. many people might be watching it and think it might be self—indulgent the speaker to be in tea rs. self—indulgent the speaker to be in tears. there is an awful lot still happening this afternoon and some rather important stuff. yes, i think a making a statement, obviously

there was no other time to do it, it was the last day of parliament until the 14th of october. i think people will be saying, he does not have to allow this to go on so long. they have been generous tribute, maybe wrap it up and move along. that is the point, that is why he is so controversial. people have often said hejust talks controversial. people have often said he just talks too much, interru pts said he just talks too much, interrupts too much, look at the questions for the prime minister, thatis questions for the prime minister, that is to be half an hour. he allows it to go on for 45 minutes. let‘s listen in right now. allows it to go on for 45 minutes. let's listen in right now. an opportunity to fulfil a career as a backbencher, are not necessarily wa nt to backbencher, are not necessarily want to be a minister. the honourable gentleman speaks from personal experience as a parliamentarian who is always ready to speak truth to power. i identify with him and what he said, not least in light of some disagreements with me, as big of him. point of order.

thank you very much. i want to associate myself with everything that has been said so far, but perhaps the hs two remarks. could i just add a couple of other points i have not been mentioned. the first is, without your family friendly reforms to this place, particularly with the nursery opening, your willingness to introduce...” with the nursery opening, your willingness to introduce... i want to come back to you because we are going to hear a lot of this tribute to the speaker. there are a couple of things we are still waiting for, some humble addresses, they could be hugely symbolic this afternoon, if we get a chance to hear them. the speaker will have to rule on these emergency debates. that, in itself, will be controversial. they used to be very unusual. they are a way of mps managing to get emergency debates. the government does not wa nt debates. the government does not want something discussed. there are two that we are waiting for. one is from dominic grieve, and he wants the government to publish all the

communications between various advisors in downing street about the controversial decision to prorogue or suspend parliament. they want all of that published. he also wants publish the details of a no—deal brexit scenario, preparations and what might happen if there is a no—deal brexit. he wants are published as well. jeremy corbyn once an emergency debate about the prime minister and whether he will uphold the law when it comes to that bill, which we know and the last hour has become law, it has royal assent. that bill that makes the prime minister asked the eu for a delay for a brexit on the 19th of october he has to do it. there is an awful lot to come. of course, this is going on. defenders of the speaker will say he has been in the job for ten years, one of the longer serving speakers for a long time. it is quite a moment. he is an incredibly divisive figure. you can hear that. the tories have left the chamber, looking at the pictures

they are. opposition mps are still sitting there. backbench mps, be like peter bone, it has given them a voice. that is the speaker‘s point. he was brought there and he is there for backbenchers, he is not there to make the government purse make life co mforta ble. make the government purse make life comfortable. interesting listening to lucy powell, the changers coming to lucy powell, the changers coming to family friendly settings. —— make changes. things like having a nursery, allowing mps to come in and vote with their babies, their children. it would have been unthinkable under previous speakers. he has modernised the house of commons that many feel grateful for. on the other side of it, there are others who say, actually, he has gone too far with bending the rules, he has let his own personal opinions get in the way of being impartial. the speaker should always be impartial. not least, the accusation over this whole issue of brexit where people felt he was on the

remain side of the argument and he has pushed the reels, bentley reels, to make sure the government gets a harder time than it should have done. —— bentley reels. harder time than it should have done. -- bentley reels. he is his replacement should be chosen under this parliament. that's right. by going either tonight if mps do vote for a general election on the 15th of october, which we don‘t think they will, he will go on the 31st of october, the day we are due to leave the eu. that means he will be going, most likely, before a general election which could well change the shape of the house of commons, given the number of mps who are standing down on the conservative side or who have been pushed out of the party, you could end up, depending on the election result, with a very different place. some will see him at the last moment and still, once again, trying to thwart the conservative government. don't go away, because people are switching

on all of the time. if you are watching, in the past half hour, john the speaker, is standing down. it was an emotional farewell. he said he had tried to be the backstop for backbenchers and it had been a privilege of his parliamentary life. let's hear from him. throughout my time as speaker i have sought to increase the relevant authority of this legislature for which i will make absolutely no apology to anyone anywhere, at any time. to deploy a perhaps dangerous phrase, i have

also sought to be the backbenchers backstop. i could not do so without the support of a small, but superb, team in speaker's house. the wider house staff, my constituents, and above all, my wife, sally, and our three children, oliver, freddie, and jemima. applause

from the bottom of my heart, i thank them all profusely step i could also not have served without the repeated support of this house and the members, past and present. this is a wonderful place, filled overwhelmingly by people who are motivated by their notion of the national interest, by their perception of the public good, and by their duty, not as delegates, but

as representatives to do what they believe is right for our country. we degrade this parliament at our peril. i have served as a member of parliament for 22 years and for the la st parliament for 22 years and for the last ten as speaker. this has been, let me put it explicitly, the greatest privilege and honour of my professional life, for which i will be eternally grateful. i wish my successor in the chair, the very

best for action in standing up for the rights for members individually and for parliament institutionally as the speaker of the house of commons. thank you. applause well, what seems to be a long leaving speech is still going on in the commons. we will return there when it gets back to proper business. in the meantime, let‘s get some reaction. let‘s go back to our chief political correspondent. some people would say that sums up the whole thing, the speaker, who many see as a reformer speaker. some would criticise him of lacking the sound of his own voice too much and with a day when we are packed with

stuff, this is going on a bit. let‘s discuss it. tell me what you think of the last few years of the speaker? i think he has been an amazing speaker. he has ensured backbenchers have had their say and the government are held to account. he has been a textbook version of what a speaker should do in moments like this and i think he will go down in history as a reforming speaker and down in history as a reforming speakerand a down in history as a reforming speaker and a speaker. i was one of the few people who sponsored john andl the few people who sponsored john and i think i have made a good choice in that selection. what do you think is the main change he has made? for people who do not follow this kind of thing. it has changed a lot, the house of commons in the last ten years, what has been the most important reform that he has made? the most important thing john has done as a speaker is ensure parliament comes first. there was a lwa ys parliament comes first. there was always the idea that government should get their way and have the

agenda. john has turned that concept on its head and said that parliament should have their say, have their voice heard at all times. i came here in 2001, john‘s stewardship of this house has dramatically changed. there are is controversy as well. some people saying the accusations of bullying and the treatment of staff here, john was in a place, a position when he could have done something about there and did not. john is going to go down as a controversial speaker. there are all of these allegations. none of them have been substantially proven but is right they are investigated. john is right they are investigated. john isa is right they are investigated. john is a sort of guy who respond to issues very quickly and very focused. all of the things that have followed him throughout the speakership, these will be assessed and looked at. one thing he has done

is change the nature of the speaker of the house of commons for ever. what about the people who say he has bentley reels? because of your views on brexit, you agree with him on it. many on the tory side did not get up to applaud. they think he went way too far and went beyond his powers, not to hold the government to account, but to skew things against the government and changing decades, centuries of convention. parliament does its business in a peculiar and odd way where it is all about precedent, making things available. i think whatjohn has done, he is prepared to look at the rules and possibly alter them so parliament has his say. you wouldn't like it if it was going against your thaw.|j think it is right for a speaker to look at the circumstances, the political environment and look at the debate and make a assessment. that is what we charge them to do.

we elected john as speaker, three times, we charge him with that responsibility to ensure they were looking at things i‘ve done and managed, it will be his interpretation will be followed. that is why we have speakers in the house and that is why we have such power and such authority, because we invested in them as members of parliament. i looked at the brexit accou nts parliament. i looked at the brexit accounts for the government today, the reason they are so unhappy is the reason they are so unhappy is the way thatjohn has announced his departure means it is this parliament that will decide his successor. it will not be a new parliament, and it might be a brexit parliament, and it might be a brexit parliament, it will beat this parliament. —— basket year. ithink the last. i think we are talking about the stewardship of the house and parliament and it will go down asa and parliament and it will go down as a successful period in the history. thank you very much indeed.

that is one view on the speaker. there are alternative views available. there are indeed. thank you very much. we will come back to you very much. we will come back to you later on. i am joined by the labourmp, andy you later on. i am joined by the labour mp, andy mcdonald, shadow transport mp as well. pretty dramatic events. he has chosen his moment perfectly. for the speaker? you might say that. these attributes are going on longer than they ought to. —— tributes. it is an important moment because he has been the champion of parliament and holding the executive to scrutiny. that is fine, should be acknowledged. of course, he has chosen the 31st of october quite smartly because the tories will not have the pleasure of fielding a candidate against him when the general election comes and it will be this parliament to elect a successor, not the new parliament.

you see a general election whenever it comes. it is not going to come when borisjohnson it comes. it is not going to come when boris johnson wants it comes. it is not going to come when borisjohnson wants it because he is not going to get his motion through later on. and yet, once this building is prorogued, you are all sent away, the election campaign is off, isn‘t it? sent away, the election campaign is off, isn't it? that is right, the campaign will start immediately. the important thing is stopping it no—deal brexit on the 31st. we have a prime minister who is toying with the idea of failing to abide by the law of the country. that has been denied at a fairly high level. cabinet ministers are saying that is not the case. dominic raab talked about more communication. perhaps a second letter saying, ignore it the first letter. this is really serious stuff. the rule of law is the cornerstone of our democracy. we are getting to a very, very dark place ifa getting to a very, very dark place if a prime minister and government

are saying they are not going to be bound by law. you and i are bound by the law of the land. we expect even old tony and is to be bound by the law of our country. everybody is above bound by the law. —— old etonian. you had amber rudd coming out yesterday and sing all of the preparation is about no—deal brexit. 21 people had been sacked by him because he would not agree with him, he own brother does not trust him, why should we trust him? we have no evidence that he has made any progress towards a deal, as he alleges. is there anything that could be said in the house of commons this afternoon before the vote that would make you feel, actually, we can have an election? perhaps there would be. where is the prime minister? he is not here. if he comes back and comes out with some wonderful offer, i am all ears.

iam not some wonderful offer, i am all ears. i am not holding my breath. in terms of the prorogation, the suspension of the prorogation, the suspension of this parliament, it is what it is. the attempts at court have failed, borisjohnson is. the attempts at court have failed, boris johnson has is. the attempts at court have failed, borisjohnson has at least gotten that through. where does that leave the country? if i am watching what is going on now and seek the speaker‘s leaving party on the telly, conference season about to get under way, nobody seeming to address what everyone wants to address. that is exactly what boris johnson has engineered. he has engineered this at length the prorogation period to shut out parliament, close down democracy and keep the clock ticking to the 31st of october. people tie anything to achieve that objective. he has got nothing to show our country as a future relationship with the european union and the way forward. he would say, and i will repeat it because i should, he has offered a general election. we are at an

impasse and it is labour and other parties who are stopping it. we have had that argument to unfurl for some time and it is getting a wee bit redundant, especially because royal assent has been given it demands of him to seek and extension to article 50 to negotiate an call that general election as and when it comes. when you want out of here tonight, how will you be feeling? —— walk out of here. a sense of bewilderment. it is ha rd to here. a sense of bewilderment. it is hard to take on these incredible events. he would have thought some yea rs events. he would have thought some years ago, before the referendum, we would have our country in such turmoil. —— who would have thought? we have got to try and bring some sense and some statesmanship to this so sense and some statesmanship to this so that we can plot a future for our country. that is what we have to concentrate on and due to the best of our ability, and with opposition parties, putting the country before

party interest to make sure we do not wreak havoc with our economy and jobs. you are going to be knocking on doors by the end of the week. that is right, that is what everybody will be doing. the general election has in effect started, in my view. we are certainly there are now. thank you very much forjoining us. plenty more from westminster. we are to keeping an eye on what is going on. we are still waiting for the brexit issue to return, rather than tributes to the speaker. now time for a look at the weather. good afternoon. a great story outside today. cloud, and outbreaks of rain. this afternoon, the cloud should ease. this is the picture earlier on taken by one of our weather watchers. patchy rain across much of the uk. temperatures about 16 south seas for most of us. late sunshine

for northern ireland —— 16 celsius. things are looking cloudy. most of the showery rain eases away. most of us looking frost free. cooler across northern ireland. some sunshine here from tuesday. the brighter skies in the morning for northern ireland and the morning for northern ireland and the western part of scotland, tuesday afternoon, should brighten up. it thins and breaks. some rain and wind picking up. further south and wind picking up. further south and east, top temperatures in the sunshine at about 15 to 19 celsius. goodbye for now.

our latest headlines... john bacco says he will stand down as speaker. to deploy a perhaps dangerous phrase

i have also thaw to be the backbencher backstop. it comes as the deal to block a no—deal brexit gets royal assent. boris johnson tells leo varadkar he would prefer to find a deal with the eu then leave without a deal. yes, of course we could do it. the uk could certainly get through it. be in no doubt that outcome would be a failure of statecraft of which we would all be responsible. there is no such thing as a clean break orjust getting it done. rather, we'lljust move on to a new phase. if there is no deal, it will cause a severe disruption for british and irish people alike. travel disruption for hundreds of thousands of british airways passengers, as pilots go on strike — it‘s the biggest walkout in ba‘s history.

we will be back with the latest from here as to emergency motions are put before parliament shortly. let‘s get all of the sport. that‘s the stuff i do. suddenly your brain goes and i have got it. i think it is contagious over there in westminster. we are going to be talking about good afternoon. can northern ireland pull off the biggest shock of them all at windsor park tonight? michael o‘neill‘s side are bidding to reach the euro‘s next year. they currently sit at the top of group c and they‘ll be hoping to stay that way. they have to avoid defeat to germany tonight but they could expect a backlash from the visitors who were beaten by netherlands last friday. northern ireland must either take four points off one of their two rivals or beat germany and the netherlands once each to seal automatic qualification.

there are teams around europe, there‘s a middle tier of teams which i think we‘re in. but these are the top teams, the top eight, ten teams in europe so that‘s the challenge, so if we can come out of this group at the expense of either germany or holland, i think that will be an amazing achievement. meanwhile, scotland‘s slim hopes of automatic qualification now rest on taking points from the world‘s top—ranked team — belgium. their match at hampden comes just three days after their 2—1 defeat to russia on friday — their third defeat in five euro 2020 qualifying matches. scotland captain andy robertson says tongiht‘s match will be a challenge. rankings don‘t lie, they are the best tea m rankings don‘t lie, they are the best team in the world and to get that big result would be massive for us but unfortunately in this campaign it would only be three points and it would open it up again, but we would still need a couple of big results left so we‘ve

got five games left and we need to try and get a result because if we don‘t, i think it will leave us too much to do. huddersfield town have appointed lincoln city‘s danny cowley as their new manager. cowley has overseen lincoln‘s remarkable rise from non—league to league one is his three full seasons in charge. he replaces jan siewert who was sacked last month from side second bottom in the championship. all hopes of winning the ashes may have gone, but today england named an unchanged 13—man squad for their final test at the oval with just one bit of concerning news for the hosts. ben stokes will have to be assessed over his fitness to bowl after struggling with a shoulder problem which he picked up during the fourth test. jason roy has also been named in the squad, despite struggling for runs during the series so far. yesterday‘s defeat at old trafford means australia will retain the ashes but england could level the series with a win at the oval. rafael nadal says beating roger federer‘s total of 20 grand slam singles titles doesn‘t

drive him on to play tennis. he was speaking after claiming his fourth us open title by beating daniil medvedev in five sets at flushing meadows. the russian didn‘t make life easy for him though. nadal seemed to be cruising to a dominant three—set victory as he went two sets and a break up, only for medvedev to force a decider as he threatened to produce one of the most memorable comebacks ever seen. but nadal stopped his momentum to clinch a thrilling win as the clock twicked towards nearly five hours for the spaniard‘s19th 19th grand slam title, now just one away from roger federer‘s all time record. in hockey, great britain‘s women will have to overcome chile in a two—legged tie for the right to defend their olympic title next year. they won gold in rio three years ago — but the play—offs will be the final chance for gb to qualify for tokyo. meanwhile, great britain‘s men have been drawn against malaysia. ireland‘s men and women have both

been drawn against canada. five—time paralympic champion ellie simmonds has made a good start to para swimming world championships in london. she finished third in her heat of the 400 metres freestyle — that sees her qualify for tonight‘s final. ukraine‘s yelyzaveta mereshko won the heat. that‘s all the sport for now. olly foster is here with more in the next hour. the house of commons are still talking about the speaker‘s announcement he will be stepping down. we are waiting for two applications to hold emergency debates. that concern is the rule of law and the second is by dominic grieve who lost the conservative whip last week. he wants all internal communications about

parliament‘s suspension to be made available to mps so we are awaiting that but what we do know is at the end of business today, parliament will be suspended until the 14th of october but not before the government asks mps to vote again on an early general election. this report now from our political correspondent chris mason. monday morning in dublin. this is what autumn looks like in ireland and this is what diplomacy between the uk and its nearest neighbour looks and sounds like. watch boris johnson‘s facial expression as you listen to leo varadkar talking. avoiding a return to a hard border on this island and protecting our place in the single market are our priorities in all circumstances. we must protect the peace and also the all ireland economy. that is why the backstop continues to be a component of the withdrawal agreement unless and until alternatives are found.

we are open to alternatives but they must be realistic ones, legally binding and workable. we have not received such proposals to date. mr varadkar was not done there. there is no such thing as a clean break brexit, he said. negotiating free trade agreements with the eu and america quickly would be a herculean task, he added. mrjohnson said... i want to find a deal. i want to get a deal. like you, i have looked carefully at no deal and have assessed its consequences both for our country and yours. yes, of course we could do it. the uk could certainly get through it. but be in no doubt that outcome would be a failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible. meanwhile, back here at westminster, the prime minister‘s official

spokesman told us that parliament will be shut down tonight. opposition party leaders confirmed they will not vote for a general election later, meaning borisjohnson‘s plan for one in the middle of next month will be scuppered. opposition leaders are livid that parliament is being suspended. look at this — they are continuing to work together. plaid cymrum, the liberal democrats, former conservatives, the green party, and the snp. this is as serious as it gets. we have to have a situation that parliament is sitting. it is a democratic outrage that a prime minister that has no mandate that on a whim has been able to close down parliament. he is behaving like a dictator because he knows he does not have the support of parliament. it is an utter disgrace. they all got together this morning injeremy corbyn‘s office. i think it is disgraceful. parliament should be sitting and holding

the government to account. the prime minister appears to want to be able to run away from questions. he was appointed prime minister at the end ofjuly, he has faced one prime minister's question time, and now is prorogating parliament. i think it is disgraceful. we are outraged at the prospect of a prime minister who is prepared to say and act as though he were above the law, both in terms of the legislation that is receiving royal assent today, to extend article 50 from the end of next month in order to avoid a no—deal brexit until the end of january, and also his preparedness to prorogue parliament. parliament has wounded and winded the prime minister over the next parliament has wounded and winded the prime minister over the last week and the shape of the rest

of today looks relatively clear, but beyond today, huge uncertainty remains. inside the house of commons, jen —— john bercow is still on his feet. our chief political correspondent vicki young is in the houses of parliament. mps are waiting to move onto the main debate of today, the emergency motions. tonight, ivote main debate of today, the emergency motions. tonight, i vote on whether there should be a general election —— a vote. john bercow is standing down after ten years. lets get reaction from the liberal democrats. what do you make of the changes. from what you have seen of how he has acted, what do you think are the main positives from the speech? am a relatively new mp he was always very kind and the first thing i ever did with him was to put in for an urgent question. these are relative

— — relevant urgent question. these are relative —— relevant things being spoken about across the country that allowed you to bring it to the floor of the house and told the ministers to account. this was really new under bercow, i hadn't realised it was, and as parliamentarians it meant we were being seen to be reacting quickly to major defence out there and i think that was really important but i think the other thing worth mentioning as he has been a real reformer when it came to proxy voting, he opened the nursery, he was in charge of expanding the education centre here and there has been tens if not hundreds of thousands of young people who have been through the doors of parliament and understood a bit better what we are all about so i think he has been a remarkable speaker. i'm really, really sad to see him go, especially at a time like this. we'lljust have to see what comes next but he's got some very big shoes to fill. of course, others don‘t agree with your assessment of him. they feel he went too far in his role and bent the rules, particularly around brexit

and brexit legislation, not just making it difficult for the government but actually going back and years and years of things that had never happened before, changing all of that in order to skew things one way. what's interesting about the accolades in the chamber was that a lot of those people then stood up and gave him the respect andl stood up and gave him the respect and i genuinely believe that had the tables been turned and it was the other side that was trying, essentially, to shut parliament up which is what at various stages the executive has tried to do, you could trust that speaker bercow would be there, bending the rules as necessary, the roles that were always changing and always evolving and he just helps to evolve them a bit more to uphold the principle that parliament should always remain sovereign. i genuinely believe that had others been doing it, it would have been different and he would have been different and he would have always stood up for parliament, no matter who was making a fuss.

looking ahead to tonight and the substantial stuff of the day, the vote on an early election, there will be lots of people watching, saying backbench mps have taken control of the house of commons away from borisjohnson control of the house of commons away from boris johnson and control of the house of commons away from borisjohnson and the government. surely you should allow an election to take place. i'm sure there are equally a lot of people going, thank god parliament has taken going, thank god parliament has ta ken control from going, thank god parliament has taken control from boris johnson. the issue we have is that we just don't trust his word so whilst we are told that they would want a general election before the 31st, are a worry, especially with talk that they won't enact the bill that is receiving royal ascent this afternoon to force the government to ask for an extension if we get to the point of no deal, when you've got a prime minister who is flag ra ntly got a prime minister who is flagrantly trying to not obey the

law... it has got royal assent now, it‘s on the statute book, boris johnson has said he will not break the law. it would be unthinkable for a prime minister to break the law and you‘ve heard from some of his cabinet colleagues that have assurances that won‘t happen so actually you are just trying to stop brexit happening at all, aren‘t you? think back over the last few weeks and months that every time boris johnson has said he wouldn't suspend parliament and that he wouldn't countenance no deal, that he would absolutely look to seek a deal, every time borisjohnson has said something, almost inevitably the opposite has happened. frankly, until that extension has been asked for and received by the european union, i don't think we can risk going to the country and accidentally exit with no deal. but all it does, if that does come to pass, is it prolongs the agony, many would say, three months later, three months from now, the end ofjanuary, we are going to be in exactly the same position. it‘s a pointless

delay to brexit, isn‘t it? same position. it‘s a pointless delay to brexit, isn't it? the liberal democrats all along have been calling for a people's vote as a way of getting out of this. i'm not entirely convinced that with a general election we will end up with a majority of any one side or another and we may well end up in the same delay but that's what the government once and that is what we are facing in front of us. i still believe that even at the end of that three months, we may well find ourselves in the position that the only way to settle this matter once and for all is to take whatever deal it is that borisjohnson is claiming he has negotiated —— he is negotiating and put it to the people with the option to remain. will get onto that vote on a general election inafew onto that vote on a general election in a few hours‘ time. onto that vote on a general election in a few hours' time. thank you, vicki. john bercow is still on his feetin vicki. john bercow is still on his feet in various points of order. we have heard from jeremy corbyn and dominic grieve who is pushing for the publication of all documents relating to operation yellowhammer, the government‘s no deal contingency

plan, since the 23rd ofjuly she with assistance. —— assistants. the celebrations are still going on regarding john bercow‘s departure. the prorogation, suspension of parliament, until the 14th of october means that mps won‘t get another chance to vote for an early election, a vote that is likely to get stood down this afternoon until after then. that means the earliest poll could possibly be late november at the earliest. still here a sense of little being achieved, really. we are still looking at what‘s happening inside the house of commons, still waiting for the emergency debate and we still have to wait for the vote on a proposal for a snap election. that‘s likely to be put away and then parliament is prorogued so a frustrating day for many here in parliament, but

lets in the meantime hand you back to the studio from westminster to rachel schofield. in a moment, the latest business news. first, a look at the headlines on afternoon live. john bercow says he will stand down as commons speaker by the 31st of october — with an impassioned defence of the role of parliament. it comes as the bill to block a no—deal brexit gets royal assent and downing street confirms parliament will be suspended from tonight. boris johnson tells irish prime minister leo varadkar he would "overwhelmingly prefer" to find an agreement with the eu than leave without a deal. here‘s your business headlines on afternoon live. the uk economy appears to have avoided recession over the summer — with gdp growing 0.3% in july versus june. that‘s according to the office for national statistics. however, it also revealed that output was flat

in the three months tojuly, confirming that the economy has lost momentum compared with last year. lloyds banking group is counting the cost of a last minute surgee in claims for the mis—selling of payment protection insurance. the bank says the extra bill could reach £1.8 billion, after it saw more than four times the number of cases it had expected ahead of the 29th august deadline. others — including rbs and cybg — have also set aside more money for compensation. graduates from wealthier families are more than twice as likely to start work on a higher salary than their working—class peers. that‘s according to trade union body the tuc. it‘s called for legal action to tackle discrimination based on class at work.

what should we be looking out for on the markets? according to analysts, a choice between the number crunching with the economy but alternatively what‘s going on in westminster. lets start with the economy. let‘s focus on those figures because they revealed an unexpected bounce in productivity, 0.3% gdp between june unexpected bounce in productivity, 0.3% gdp betweenjune and july with better performance in most sectors but with more recent surveys remaining pretty weak. economists are predicting the weakest growth across 2019 since the financial crisis. tom stevenson is investment director at fidelity international. good afternoon. these gdp figures on one hand look back at the past but they are still important, aren‘t they? yeah, they are particularly

important at the moment because the economy contracted in the second quarter, 0.2% contraction, so people are concerned about what is happening in the current quarter, thejuly to happening in the current quarter, the july to september quarter, because if we get two quarters in a row of falling activity, that‘s a technical definition of a recession. today‘s figures were better—than—expected and they were also better than they were last month so i think that has lifted spirits about but as you pointed out in your opening remarks, if you look at the three month figures, they are flat and actually the whole set of numbers this year is quite difficult to draw firm conclusions from. because of the whole brexit situation, we had a lot of stockpiling in the first quarter and a lot of running down of stocks in the second quarter so it‘s quite difficult to really see what the overall picture is. those are the big question marks, there are lots of other questions about how businesses are preparing for brexit or not but the big question ahead is

whether it is deal or no deal, departure and the 31st or not, and that really comes down to westminster. what are the markets making of what is going on there today? markets are actually being pretty relaxed about what is going on in brexit and i think there are a couple of reasons for that. one is, i think, that the extreme outcomes that the market is being worried about, no deal on one hand, and a sort of hard left labour government on the other hand, seem to have been slightly put on hold for the moment. the longer this goes on in an uncertain way, almost the better for markets, and the second reason i think markets are fairly relaxed as britain is only a small part of the overall global economy and what is happening in the rest of the world actually looks a little bit better so actually looks a little bit better so the trade tensions have dissipated a little bit, that has helped the us and chinese stock markets improve. so if you look at the broader picture it doesn‘t look too bad. soap markets, uncertainty

should be the new cliche —— so, markets. trade might be relaxed about westminster but when it comes to going to the airport and catching a flight, many travellers would be relaxed. we had the strike by pilots at ba. investors feeling about that airline? not very good as the short answer. iag, was one of the biggest fathers in the ftse 100 today and investors already knew that it was going ahead to —— one of the biggest father —— fallers. it‘s an £80 million hit, about 4% of iag‘s profits. it‘s a very profitable business at the moment which means the pilots are pushing for a profit share at the moment but the longer this strike action goes on and if there is another one later in

september, then clearly that‘s going to be bad news for shareholders. we‘ve seen british airways or iag‘s share price fall from about 700 last year to over 400 this year. would you be happy with a smaller portion in a restaurant if you knew that less food would be thrown away as a result? the equivalent of one in every six meals is thrown away in the catering trade. so the environmental campaign group wrap are trying to help cafes and restaurants get a grip on their food waste. our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith has been finding out how the new ideas are going down. there have been some big changes in adam‘s kitchen recently. smaller portions are going out, and cleaner plates are coming back. it‘s just finding a compromise between not looking as if you are being stingy with portions and not sending out so much that itjust comes back.

they have spent weeks putting the kitchen prep and the plate waste into clear plastic bins, to see exactly what was being thrown away. a lot of licensees seem to think, the bigger the portion, the happier the customer, but it is not always the case. nick is in charge of the food in all of robinson‘s pubs. chips is a really good example. we did it at a pub in cumbria, where the plate waste tub was generally full of chips and salad garnish, so the licensee took the decision to reduce the amount of chips he was serving and remove the salad garnish from a lot of the meals he was serving. we actually saved about £6,000 a year. 1 million tonnes of food is thrown away in the hospitality sector, and most of it could have been eaten. a third of that waste comes from plate leftovers, food that people can‘t quite manage, or didn‘t ask for in the first place. that is something the campaign group wrap want to tackle. we all are surrounded by food waste, it is everybody's issue.

whether we are at home, whether we are eating out. there are small changes we can make personally but also when we are eating out. in scotland, they have taken a different approach. angela owns a bistro in glasgow and for the last three years she has been part of a national campaign offering doggy bags to customers, who can‘t quite manage everything. if a plate comes back to the kitchen and the staff are saying it‘s being boxed up, i feel happy about that, because i know the person enjoyed it enough to say, "i would eat that again." if it‘s tomorrow? that‘s fine. tempting customers with the perfect portion at the perfect price is a tough challenge, but more restaurants are beginning to make changes. officials in the bahamas have defended their response to hurricane dorian, saying they are dealing with the disaster. at least 43 people were killed last week. the country‘s health minister has denied there‘s been any cover—up of the number of deaths. aid agencies say tens of thousands

of residents in the worst—hit areas still have no access to food or clean water. let‘s look at the markets. we were talking about british airways falling about worry over where the strikes could lead to, but look at stirling, because that is a better day than we have seen lately. 1.23. on the other hand, remember that last week we dipped below that 1.2 level. not quite sure what you make of events in westminster. this is what has been happening. the ftse 100 closing down byjust over 0.7%. despite better gdp figures, relatively good compared to the rest

of europe than expected. nevertheless, it hasn‘t really given as much of a bounce. we‘ll keep an eye on those for you. we‘ll be back at westminster in a moment. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. good afternoon. whilst many of us enjoyed sunshine over the weekend it isa enjoyed sunshine over the weekend it is a different picture out there today. a does the satellite image and radar image from the past few hours. you can see a lot of cloud across the uk and blue showers showing the outbreak of patchy rain moving eastwards. some brightest returning to northern ireland through the afternoon but this is a picture from one of our weather watchers in hampshire. grey skies and the cloud is producing patchy outbreaks of rain. through the afternoon, the rain will slowly ease away and it will stay fairly cloudy with brighter skies working in from the west. temperatures underneath the west. temperatures underneath the cloud and rain not grey for the

time of year, about 13 to 16 celsius this afternoon. the patchy rain will ease away into the evening hours. clear skies moving on from the west so clear skies moving on from the west so for northern ireland, a chilly night under those clear skies. elsewhere, frost—free, most places in double figures with mist and fog forming here and there with the early hours of tuesday morning. tuesdayis early hours of tuesday morning. tuesday is starting on a grey note but there will be sunshine from the word go for northern ireland and the west of scotland. later in the day, england and wales should also brighten up, the cloud clearing away, so sunny skies from many areas introduce the afternoon. a bit warmer than today, 15 to 19 celsius, but there is some rain arriving in the northwest later in the day and winds here picking up, too. that‘s down to the of what was hurricane dorian. it‘s to the north of the uk but these trailing weather fronts will bring some wet and windy weather on tuesday night and into wednesday. nothing unusual for the time of year. the band of cloud and

showery rain clears towards the southeast on wednesday leaving clear skies and it will be warmer, temperatures of 16 to 21 celsius. then it looks like we have another ex tropical storm on thursday, gabrielle. it will bring some damp weather for a gabrielle. it will bring some damp weatherfor a time gabrielle. it will bring some damp weather for a time but also introduce mild air so i warm and humid feel to the weather on thursday, especially across england and wales. rain for northern ireland into scotland which will slowly drift further south—eastwards through the day but towards the southeast we could see temperatures of 23, typically 15 to 17 further north. bye—bye.

today at five, we‘re live at westminster, where the commons speakerjohn bercow, has announced he is to stand down within weeks. he received a standing ovation from many in the commons, particularly the opposition, as he described how much it meant to serve the house. the greatest privilege and honour of my professional life, for which i will be eternally grateful. later tonight, mps will vote again on the prime minister‘s call for an election, but he‘s unlikely to get his way. earlier, borisjohnson met the irish premier, where he said he‘d prefer to reach a brexit agreement, rather than a no—deal departure.