shut down temporarily — parliament will be suspended for five weeks from tonight. first, mps will be asked to vote for a second time on government calls for a snap general election but that's expected to be rejected again. in dublin today, the prime minister held talks with his irish counterpart and insisted he wanted to avoid a no deal brexit. be in no doubt, that outcome would be a failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible. if there is no deal, it will cause severe disruption for british and irish people alike. and an emotional farewell from the speaker of the house of commons, john bercow, as he announces he'll step down by the 31st october.

this has been — let me put it explicitly — the greatest privilege and honour of my professional life, for which i will be eternally grateful. we'll have all the latest from westminster, as mps prepare to shut up shop as the brexit chaos continues. also tonight... almost all of british airways flights are grounded as pilots walk out over pay at the start of a two—day strike. bullied online — the little mix star jesy nelson reveals how years of nasty comments almost drove her to take her own life. and the extraordinary surgery that means this man — blinded in one eye by acid 20 years ago — can finally see again. coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news, a big night for northern ireland in euro qualifying, as they look to stay top of their group. they face germany in belfast.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. from tonight, parliament will be shut down for five weeks. first though, mps will be asked to vote for a second time on the government's call for a snap general election, but that looks set to be rejected again. this afternoon a law designed to prevent the uk leaving the european union without a deal came into effect as it was given royal assent. the prime minister spent this morning in dublin, where he said that leaving the eu without a deal would be a "failure of statecraft". he was speaking alongside the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, who said that the uk had yet to offer practical solutions to the backstop, the insurance policy to avoid a hard border in ireland. meanwhile, there were emotional

scenes in the house of commons this afternoon as the speakerjohn bercow announced he was standing down from the role on the 31st october. our political editor laura kuenssberg is in westminster this evening. sophie if you don't want drama look away now. it has been another day of twists an turns in westminster. the controversial speaker of the commons john bercow announced he is quitting but not before the next episode of the whole brexit saga is complete. the prime minister right now is having to listen to mps, hold an emergency debate. trying to force the government to publish sensitive documents and tonight he is likely to fail in his bid to crash the commons into an early general election. it has been quite a day and our report tonight begins with flash photography. that is some guest book. michel barnier has been here. boris johnson turn to hizb ut—tahrir name to put his name on the taoiseach‘s list. he might be more at ease with the small

talk than his pre—december best december or but the problem is much the same. what to do about the irish border if there is no brexit deal. although this week the prime minister sounded more committed to trying than in recent days. minister sounded more committed to trying than in recent daysli minister sounded more committed to trying than in recent days. i want to find a deal. i want to get a deal. like you, i have looked carefully at no—deal, i have assessed its consequences, both for oui’ assessed its consequences, both for our country and yours and 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 over statecraft for which we would all be responsible. awkwardly the irish leader made it plain he has seen no new solution from the uk to the backstop, the controversial insurance guarantee against bringing

back a hard border, that theresa may agreed parliament hated. back a hard border, that theresa may agreed parliament hatedli back a hard border, that theresa may agreed parliament hated. i am ready to listen to ways we can achieve our agreed goals and resolve the current impasse. what we can not do and will not do, is agree to the replacement ofa not do, is agree to the replacement of a legal guarantee with a promise. we are open tole a earn thetives but they must be realistic one, legally binding and workable and we haven't received such proposals to date. no sudden breakthrough in dublin today, oi’ sudden breakthrough in dublin today, or at home where parliament's passed a law to try to make it impossible for the prime minister to take us out the eu without a deal which borisjohnson out the eu without a deal which boris johnson wants as out the eu without a deal which borisjohnson wants as an option. there is no more of a symbol of parliament's there is no more of a symbol of pa rliament‘s right to there is no more of a symbol of parliament's right to resist downing street than the speakerjohn bercow. i would like to make a personal statement to the house. who in this long running drama had a scene of his own. my ten your as speaker and

mp will end when this parliament ends. —— tenure. mp will end when this parliament ends. -- tenure. in class sic sick john bercow who has infuriated the government and was at the the centre of serious bullying allegations he denies will go, but only after this latest round of brexit controversy is done. we degrade this parliament at our peril. applause that blast aimed at borisjohnson. and he was applauded but look where the clapping comes from. all too obvious, this is a house profoundly divided. and later tonight, the commons will pack up for a few weeks, the government calling an early halt. we will do everything we can to prevent the crashing out on 31st october and will, support an election when that is clear that we are not doing that crashing out. the opposition might block them but

now it's the tories who are in a hurry to get to the ballot box, for a government with no majority, a parliament where there is no agreement. sooner or later we are all heading there. at the centre of those talks in dublin today was the so—called irish backstop. at the moment there are no routine checks on goods like food crossing the border — they're not needed because the uk and ireland are both currently in the eu. but after brexit the 310 mile long border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland will become the land border between the uk and the eu. if the uk leaves the eu customs union and single market and no trade agreement is reached — northern ireland could end up with different rules and standards to the republic of ireland that's where the backstop comes in — to avoid any checks, the insurance plan, agreed between theresa may and eu leaders, would keep the uk in a close relationship with the eu until a trade deal is agreed. but some conservative mps fear the uk would be trapped in it indefinitely. some have suggested recently that the deal could be amended so that the backstop only applies to northern ireland. that could prove controversial too — with a border effectively created in the irish sea.

our europe editor katya adler is in brussels. and katya, is there a chance this suggestion of a northern ireland only backstop could unlock brexit negotiations? well, the eu definitely thinks so, it was its original preferred backstop planks it was theresa may that asked for the backstop to apply to the whole of the united kingdom, the eu thinks the northern ireland only backstop ticks a lot of boxes for both sides, from the eu perspective it allows it to protect its single market and a member state ireland and the northern ireland peace process, and the eu thinks from the uk perspective, it would allow great britain to make whatever trade deals it want, while northern

ireland economically could benefit from the advantages of both sides and politically, could keep its relationship unchanged with the rest of the united kingdom. now polls indicate in northern ireland that the majority there are in favour of the majority there are in favour of the backstop, and recently the prime minister said he was open when it comes to trade in agricultural products for northern ireland to be aligned with ireland. so why not for the rest of trade asked the eu but it knows that the prime minister if he is open to the idea of the northern ireland only backstop needs the numbers in parliament and there will be some unionist opposition for sure. could he pull it off before a general election or after a general election? that is one of the reasons that eu leaders are very likely indeed to grant another brexit extension, if the prime minister asks for it, yes, france at the weekend said don't take that extension for granted, but all the rest of my contacts across the eu say forget france, we know they like playing brexit bad cop. if the rest are in favour of a an extension

france is unlikely to veto it. so the speaker of the house of commons, john bercow, has confirmed that he will stand down by the end of october and won't stand as an mp at the next election. in an emotional speech, he said it had been "the greatest privilege and honour of his professional life to serve as speaker. but his role in the chair hasn't always been smooth, as john pienaar reports. the referee who became a player. loving every minute, as much as many conservatives hated him. trying to challenge him at election time for siding with the commons against a no—deal brexit. march, on our way. speaker. today he told them come brexit day he would be off i have sought to increase the relative authority of this legislature for which i will

make absolutely no apology to anyone... heed stay in the chair and in charge till then. not much joy on the tory benches at that, but this was the speaker's moment, an emotional one as he thanked colleague, friends... and above all, my wife sally, and our three children, oliver, freddie and jemima. john bercow seemed to revel in the dignity of his office, sometimes enjoyed putting mps in their place. i don't require any comment from the honourable gentleman. i am giving a rule. he will listen to it and he can like it or lump it. be quiet, if you can't, get out. you are adding nothing, it is rude, stupid, it is pompous and it needs to stop. hosting world leaders goes with the job, the chinese leader was welcome, but not donald trump. job, the chinese leader was welcome, but not donald trumplj job, the chinese leader was welcome, but not donald trump. i would not

wish to issue an invitation to president trump. quite a career from fiery young conservative.” president trump. quite a career from fiery young conservative. i maybe an old fashioned 21—year—old conference but i make no apology... to grand office... lots of people are annoyed at this decision, to man in the news for defying a tory government. at this decision, to man in the news for defying a tory governmentlj for defying a tory government.” wish you a good day. he will likely make another headline before he he is done. let's speak to our political editor laura kuenssberg. what happens now? that is right. it has been a whirlwind helter—skelter in the last week or so, but if we pause and strip out all the noise for a second, and think about what is really going on, there is likely to be another couple of stormy hours debate here in the commons and then that vote, where mps are expected to deny the prime minister his general election. but we have a prime minister who is adamant he will take

us minister who is adamant he will take us out of the european union at hallowe'en, whatever happen, even though mps have voted to try to outlaw that happening if he hasn't got a deal in place, fundamentally on the other side of number ten, you have a parliament that is resolute they will not allow him to open what many mps see as a pandora's box of leaving the european at the end of october, or whenever it would be, without a formal set of arrangements in place. so despite all the tantrum, despite the tempers we are looking at two immovable objects if you like, parliament this version intent on blocking us leaving without a deal, and a prime minister who won his place in number ten by promising the tory membership that is what he would do, and he would stick to a very tight deadline to boot. so sooner or later, even though parliament is packing up tonight forfive though parliament is packing up tonight for five weeks or so, that clash is going to have to be resolve one way or the other. laura. thank

you. thank you. around 200,000 passengers have had their travel plans disrupted by the biggest strike in the history of british airways. almost all of their flights have been cancelled. the two—day stoppage is over conditions and pay. pilots have walked out after rejecting an 11.5% pay deal over three years. our transport correspondent tom burridge has the story. planes, but no pilots. so a fleet of aircraft grounded. normally 800 british airways flights in a single day. today, just five ba planes flew out of uk airports. expect something similar tomorrow. should be travelling tomorrow but now we're travelling on the wednesday, the following day. a week—long holiday in malta for adrian knott and his partner, cut short. we are going to lose money unless we get it back from ba. we're going to lose time, holiday wise, which we can't get back even now from ba.

it's going to be a shortened holiday, we'll try to get as much out of it as possible but it will end. would i fly with ba again? wouldn't be first choice. the dispute between ba and its pilots is principally about pay. the average salary for a ba pilot is around £100,000 a year. ba has offered an 11.5% pay rise over three years. pilots are pushing for a deal, which would give them a greater share of the airline's profits. last year ba made a very healthy pre—tax profit of nearly £2 billion. pilots are also unhappy that british airways has become more of a no—frills airline. the fact is that british airways has lost the trust and confidence of its pilots, through its cost—cutting, through its bad management, through the way it's dumbing down the brand because pilots don't want see that, they want british airways to be the best airline in the world. ba's terminal 5 at heathrow, today very quiet. there are plenty of ba staff here but virtually no customers.

these two strike days are going to cost the airline around £80 million. normally, at heathrow, a bustling operation. the airline says its pay offer is generous and fair. it is by all accounts, an own goal. it is going to punish customers, it is going to punish our brand, it is going to punish the rest of the colleagues. one former british airways pilot will travel air france tomorrow for triple the price of his cancelled ba flight. but he doesn't back the airline's pilots of today. most of the general public think that the pilots are being greedy, and i think i have to agree with them, this time. but ba has faced criticism, including from the civil aviation authority, for not re—routing passengers on some rival airlines. and its expensive aircraft will be going nowhere again tomorrow. and they will be parked up

potentially in another full day if a strike scheduled later this month also goes ahead. if i were a betting man, i would say it will because what we have learned today is how soui’ what we have learned today is how sour the relationship is between british airways bosses and pilots has become. really, if you look at it, it is a difficult situation for the airline to resolve. the dispute is not about pay, the 11.5% pay offer is spread over three years but also the dispute over the commercial model of british airways today. our top story this evening. parliament will be suspended for five weeks from tonight. aid agencies warn there is still no access to food and water, for parts of the bahamas, days after hurricane dorian hit. coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news: the ashes are lost but can england level the series? they've named an unchanged squad for the final test against australia.

she's a member of one of the uk's most successful girl bands but little mix starjesy 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 inundated with cruel comments about her weight and apearance after winning the reality show x factor eight years ago. she's been speaking to chi chi izundu. the winner of the x factor, 2011 is... the other three girls were literally living their dream, and i was living my worst nightmare. little mix! from the minute i won x factor, i was different girl. i wasn'tjesy, the barmaid, like, the happy, confident girl that i used to be, i was this vulnerable, nervous wreck the whole time. and it was because of the abuse she was receiving on social media. there were so many messages, nasty ones.

people saying, like, my face was deformed. but the one that was at the top was from, like, a random man. yeah, hejust was, like, saying how disgusting i am and that i don't deserve to be in the girl band and i deserve to die. jesy fell into depression and started skipping public appearances. i just became obsessed with reading stuff about myself. it was just like i wanted to hurt myself. i'd just go to work, i'd come home, i'd lock myself away in my bedroom and i'd just, like, cry myself to sleep. four years ago, the online abuse affected her so badly, she 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're going to affect. you just want to take that pain away. that's all you care about. i mean, don't get me wrong, i still get it now, but now, mentally, i still know how to deal with it but back then i didn't. but cyberbullying doesn'tjust happen to those in the public eye. a report from the media watchdog

ofcom in 2018 found one in five 12 to 15—year—olds had experienced some sort of online bullying. 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. as a child, growing up, i never had social media. i got it when i was 20 and that affected my confidence, just me as a person, so much. so for a 12—year—old, a 13—year—old, who does have social media, god knows what that's doing to them and their confidence? are you scared about the reaction of what you've revealed in this documentary coming out? no, i'm just being honest. you're never going to stop people from having an opinion, you're not. but, if i can't turn this negative experience

into something positive then, what did i go through it all for? that was jesy nelson speaking to chi chi izundu. and if you've been affected by any of the issues discussed in that report, you can find support, advice and links on the bbc‘s action line website... bbc.co.uk/actionline. discrimination based on class in the work—place should be outlawed. that's according to the tuc. it wants firms to be forced to report any gaps in pay between staff from different social backgrounds. the organisation's general secretary, frances o'grady, told delegates at its congress in brighton, that "many working class people feel shut—out from opportunities". it is hard to rise by graft and talent alone. the system is rigged from the start. where you come from, what your parents do, your accent, which school you went to. if you're from a working class family, the odds are stacked against you.

officials in the bahamas have defended their response to hurricane dorian, saying they are dealing with the disaster. at least 45 people were killed last week. aid agencies say tens of thousands of residents still have no access to food or clean water. aleem maqbool reports now from the abaco islands, one of the worst hit areas. with little left to stay for after the hurricane, there's a clamour now to get off this devastated island. the airstrip's opened on abaco, and though the planes keep coming, theyjust can't match demand. there's not enough. there's nothing to do, so... all you can do is try. marsh harbour, close by though, is nowjust an obliterated and empty town. people, who were here during the hurricane say, those shipping containers

were lifted up by the winds and the powerful tidal surges, and smashed into people's homes, and pushed further and further back. and the stories of loss, and of those who are missing, are everywhere. around here was the home of ebma francois, we were going to accompany him back to the spot for the first time, but when we got to the edge of the town, he froze. you don't want to go there? no. why don't you want to go there? because you see how i smell? you see how it is. you could smell, you don't know what you smell there. it looks like something, people are still in there, i know, so there are plenty of people dead. plenty people dead. among the ghosts here for ebma is that of his girlfriend, lisa. her body was found, but the stench ebma talks of, suggests many still haven't been.

this woman survived with her children, but three of her cousins are still missing. she's reluctant to fly out to the bahamian capital, nassau. they tell people to go nassau, i don't know nothing about nassau. because i ain't got no family in nassau there, because my kids need to go to school. i ain't got nothing, i lost all my things. i ain't got nothing in my life. it is the poorest who have been affected most by the hurricane, mainly from abaco's haitian community. many of them feel the prospects are bleak, whether they stay or go. aleem maqbool, bbc news, on the abaco islands of the bahamas. a man, who lost his sight in one eye after an acid attack more than 20 years ago, has undergone pioneering treatment to try to restore his lost vision. james o'brien has become the first nhs patient to have stem cell surgery to replace the scar tissue over his eye. a success would mean the breakthrough surgery

is offered to others. oscar duke reports. james has been blind in his right eye since he was 18. i was walking home from the cinema one night when i was approached by a couple of teenagers, and one of them tapped me on the shoulder, and as i turned round he sprayed a liquid in my face. i thought i was going to die. i woke up the next morning to find i no longer had proper vision in the right eye any more. james never imagined that he would ever get his sight back until last year, when he was offered a new stem cell treatment to repair the scar tissue in his eye. what we do is we can take a small biopsy of about one to two millimetres from the healthy eye, and we remove the scar tissue from the blind eye and repopulate it with this stem cell transplant. this pioneering procedure has taken 20 years to develop and james was the first nhs patient to receive it. how did it all go, as far as you're concerned?

really well. quite happy with that. pleased? yeah. he's got at least a 75% chance, if not higher, more likely that it's going to work than not. 1a months afterjames' operation and the stem cell transplant has been successful. james can now have the final part of his treatment. what we are doing today, because it's worked so well, is doing his corneal transplant. the scar issue injames' eye which obscures his vision is removed. james is given a new healthy cornea from an eye donor. it's all gone really well. he's about to discover if his sight‘s been restored. that's it there. i'm just taking the amniotic membrane dressing away. how is it? oh, wow. can you see this? yeah. yeah, i mean i can see, i can see everyone in the room. i can see you! not only has james' sight been restored, but he's also got the colour of his eye back.

what are you most looking forward to being able to see now? we found a chinese lantern that my daughter edie had made earlier this year, and she'd written a little wish on it and it said "i wish my daddy's eye will get better soon", and it has, so i'll be able to tell her that her wish came true, yeah. an amazing story. james o'brian ending that report by oscar duke. and viewers in london can see more on this story on inside out tonight on bbc one at 7:30pm. the programme will be available across the uk on the iplayer shortly afterwards. time for a look at the weather. here's sarah keith lucas. a cool and a cooland damp a cool and damp start to the working week. this was the story earlier on, taken by a weather watcher in rutland. there has been a lot of cloud, which has been producing outbreaks of rain. that is the story, similarfor much of

outbreaks of rain. that is the story, similar for much of the country but not everywhere. the cloud has been gradually pushing towards the east. you can see on the radar image, outbreaks of rain, heaviest for the south—west of england and wales, where there had also been rumbles of thunder recently. not great everywhere. contrast that to this picture in core mobile there are blue skies and some showery clouds around. there could be heavy showers around for the next couple of hours. for most of us, the rain is clearing away, easing. quite a damp start to tuesday morning with mist and fog. the bulk of the ramo had cleared away and temperatures will be lowest in the west where we have the clearer skies. —— had the bulk of the rain will have cleared away. the cloud will thin and break during the day. there will be more cloud, rain

and wind coming into the far north—west stop temperature is about 17,19 degrees. north—west stop temperature is about 17, 19 degrees. the area of low pressure m oves 17, 19 degrees. the area of low pressure moves in tuesday night and onto wednesday. that is the remnants of by hurricane dorian. showery rain moving south eastwards. that will be followed by sunshine and showers and it will feel warmer. we could see a warm and humid 23 celsius by the time we get to thursday. that's all from the bbc news at six. so it's goodbye from me, and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines. earlier, boris johnson met the irish prime minister, and said he'd rather reach a brexit agreement, than have