the highest scottish court rules borisjohnson has suspended parliament illegally to avoid scrutiny of his brexit plans. mps demand the recall of parliament opposition mps demand the recall of parliament as the judgment sends after senior temperatures rule the shockwaves through westminster. suspension of five weeks was unlawful. boris johnson suspension of five weeks was unlawful. borisjohnson has defended the decision, denying any brokers on social media that his government is the advice given by the government authoritarian. to her majesty the queen to prorogue labour's deputy leader tom watson parliament from 9th september calls for his party to pry chairs to 14th october was unlawful and that therefore, another eu referendum over general the prorogation itself is unlawful. shame on you, shame on you! the case was brought by a group of opposition mps in protest election, contradicting jeremy against monday's five week corbyn. as more migrants attempt to suspension of parliament. now, for every moment ci’oss parliament remains prorogued, corbyn. as more migrants attempt to cross the english channel, it's claimed people smugglers use threats the british government are breaking the law, so we as politicians are calling for parliament to be about brexit to force them to make the journey. recalled so we can get on with scrutinising what this government is up to in relation to brexit. ina the journey.

in a moment, it will be time for sports day. let's take a look at what is coming up on bbc news. at confusingly, an english court ruled last week that the suspension of parliament is legal. 7pm, beyond 100 they will be it will all be decided speaking to one of the solicitors at the supreme court next week. also tonight... representing mps at the scottish more migrants are picked up crossing court today. at 8:30pm, we will be the channel after what's believed to be the highest number discussing labour‘s brexit in a single day yesterday. and is there life on this planet? divisions. at half past ten and half why scientists think there could be past 11, we will take a look at all on exo—planet k218b. the headlines into money's front pages, in our paper review. —— in and coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news... there are changes for england as they look to level the series 2—macro's front against australia at the oval, jason roy is dropped. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six.

dozens of mps have been protesting outside parliament this afternoon, demanding its immediate recall, after scottish judges dramatically ruled that the current suspension of parliament is illegal. the verdict of scotland's highest civil court is that the prime minister is attempting to prevent mps‘ scrutiny of the government's brexit plans. borisjohnson has repeatedly denied that, claiming the five—week suspension is just normal practice. downing street is to appeal against the ruling at the uk supreme court. the case is expected to be heard early next week. our political editor laura kuenssberg is at westminster for us. laura, just when it looked like things might calm down for a day or two, the scottish courts have said they don't believe the prime minister and he's breaking the law. that is right. there is no calm here. the controversial decision has provoked scuffles in parliament, fury outside, with protesters gathering outside westminster and now borisjohnson

gathering outside westminster and now boris johnson and gathering outside westminster and now borisjohnson and downing street have beenjudged by seniorjudges in scotla nd have beenjudged by seniorjudges in scotland to have fallen foul of the law. this is an argument which is getting more and more intense. the prime minister tonight caught in a tangle between parliament, the palace and number ten. judgment day. in scotland's court of session, a clear verdict on borisjohnson. each opinion expresses the view that the advice given by the government to her majesty the queen to prorogue parliament from 9th september to 14th october was unlawful and that therefore, the prorogation itself is unlawful. in plain language, thejudges concluded number ten broke the law by telling the queen they wanted to suspend parliament for a break before unveiling their plans for government. cheering. when opposition mps, jubilant at the ruling, suspected, in fact, they wanted to close down parliament to avoid difficult questions on brexit. for every moment parliament remains

prorogued, the british government are breaking the law. so we, as politicians, are calling for a parliament to be recalled, so that we can get on with scrutinising what this government is up to in relation to brexit. the court did not specifically order the government to open up the commons. but some mps who had packed upjust yesterday rushed back to demand it gets going again, taking their places in protest on the green benches in the empty chamber. with an impromptu rally at the doors. we have shown in the last ten days that we are prepared to work together across parties in the national interest, and our resolve remains absolutely firm that we will do that. what do you actually propose to do now? are you all going to stay here in the palace of westminster? are you going to go and sit in the chamber? we're going to go back into the building, we all have jobs to be doing, meetings to be taking place, constituents to be representing, and ultimately we will find other ways of holding this government to account.

labour, too, is pressing the prime ministerfor a return. whatever happens next week, we will continue to press for parliament to be recalled, so that we can question the prime minister. hang on, though. scottish law is different to english law and the high court in london reached the opposite conclusion in a similar case brought by the businesswoman gina millerjust days ago, deciding the prime minister's decision to close the commons was actually none of the court's business. number ten will appeal, a final verdict will be given by the uk supreme court next tuesday, but this is as extraordinary as it is serious. the prime minister's actions are found to have been against the law, downing street ruled to have misled the queen. less than two months into office, borisjohnson has hurtled into a genuine constitutional clash. number ten denied they'd suggested the scottishjudges had been somehow biased and, for now, cabinet ministers are reluctant to be drawn into the tangle.

i'm not going to comment on an ongoing legislative process, a judicial issue and no doubt it will be appealed. government insiders are curiously relaxed about the ruling and some mps and ministers reckon they'll still have many of the public on their side. the government have acted legally, constitutionally and in normality. farcical. absolutely and completely, not for the government, for the whole place, you know. the fact of the matter is the people said we want to leave the european union and this says we don't. that frustration is what downing street's banking on. a serious and important defeat in court for them today, but it seems lining up to take on parliament is almost part of their ruthless approach. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. our scotland editor sarah smith is in edinburgh for us this evening. this ruling by scottishjudges says, pretty plainly, that borisjohnson has misled the queen, mps and the public.

the ruling from the court of session does not explicitly say that boris johnson lied to the queen or tried to mislead voters but if you dig into their complex legaljargon you will see that is essentially what they are saying. boris johnson will see that is essentially what they are saying. borisjohnson has repeatedly said that his lawyers argued it was normalfor a new government to prorogue parliament. the three seniorjudges have essentially said today that they do not believe him and they think it is his intention to try to undermine parliamentary scrutiny in the run—up to the uk's exit from the eu. they unanimously ruled that mrjohnson was motivated by the improper purpose of study being —— stymieing

parliament. one even said that the prorogation was a grievous case of failure to comply with generally accepted standards of behaviour of public authorities. what they are essentially saying is that they do not believe the reason is that the prime minister and his lawyers gave of why they decided to suspend parliament and they are essentially saying that he misled the queen when he advised her to prorogue parliament. clive coleman is at the supreme court. dramatic though the scottish courtjudgement is, it's all very confusing as it's the exact opposite of a judgement by the english courts. it is incredible. you could scarcely have two more contradictory judgments. the scottish one found the prime minister acted unlawfully because his improper purpose was to stymie parliament. the high court in london said advice given by the prime minister to the queen isn't a

legal matter at all and you can't judge it in a court of law. those contraryjudgments are hurtling towards this place, the uk supreme court, the highest court in the land, and any hearing beginning next tuesday, the contradiction between the two of them will be resolved and we will have a definitive ruling as to whether the prime minister acted unlawfully or not and that will determine whether mps and parliament sit in the lead up to the uk leaving the eu. this really is the uk constitution in action. independent judges acting through judicial review can halt the might of a government in its tracks if what ministers have done is unlawful because, as the lawyers like to say, you ever so because, as the lawyers like to say, you ever so mighty, the law is above you. the labour party brexit strategy has come under pressure today. deputy leader tom watson made a speech this morning in which he said the party needs to have a referendum before a general election and campaign

"unambiguously" to remain in the eu. that contradicts jeremy corbyn who has promised a referendum after an election with leave and remain on the ballot paper. mr corbyn says mr watson's remarks are not official labour policy. our deputy political editor john pienaar reports. they are leader and deputy of the same party, though today you would hardly know it. jeremy corbyn keeping open the question, "does labour back leave or remain?" and tom watson facing the other way. today, unlike his leader, he wanted another referendum before the election, and a campaign to stay in. his way to win back lost supporters at election time. they just want us to take an unequivocal position that whatever happens we will fight to remain, and to sound like we mean it. and if we did, we could win. whereas if we don't, i fear we won't. mr corbyn doesn't want to upset

leave or remain voters, even if that upsets his deputy. it is tom's view. i don't accept it and i don't agree with it. our priority is to get a general election in order to give the people a chance to elect a government that cares for them, not themselves. at the tuc in brighton, mr corbyn‘s gathered support among union leaders. his biggest supporter‘s counter strike at tom watson wasn't just political, it was personal. now and again, tom pops up from wherever he's been hiding and comes up with something, instead of supporting his leader, it is normally to try and undermine him, and i don't know why he does it. less and less people listen to him. if he wants to continue to languish on the fringes of the labour party, that's up to him, but his views don't really matter any more. for months, mr corbyn has been under pressure from mps and within his own shadow cabinet to come down more clearly on the remain side of the debate. his inner circle see tom watson as a political enemy posing

as a loyal colleague. but this rift mirrors a broader split betweenjeremy corbyn and many pro—eu party members in the country. leeds north west is a battle ground between labour and the anti—brexit lib dems. a harder pro—remain policy here might please some voters, but not all. hopefully, yeah. i'd like to think it would. i think there are a lot of people that were misinformed and i think now with everything that's happened with brexit, i think it's time that, yeah, i think we should remain. i think it would be welcomed. why? i think there's a feeling that we are proud to be european. i normally vote labour but this time i will vote for either nigel farage or boris johnson or whoever wants to get us out of europe, because watson and jeremy corbyn are just useless. they do not believe in democracy or the will of the people. jeremy corbyn may well get his way

in this struggle but labour's annual conference is just over a week away and the strains will be on show. we can join john at downing street now. let's ta ke let's take stock. an almighty constitutional clash for the government and labour's most senior leaders at odds over brexit policy. yes, at this defining stage in the battle of brexit we are seeing not just argument but real deep hostility between the government and its political opponents, tension within the main opposition, the labour party, and we are seeing the government at odds with the court. whatever view you may hold, for or against brexit or the government or your view on the historic role of parliament, it has been drawn into a i’ow parliament, it has been drawn into a row steadily pushed closer to boiling point and things are about to get hotter. as i speak we are

waiting for the government to publish against its will the assessment on the possible impact of an ordeal brexit. we can expect them to set out the stability of medicine shortages, shortages on shelves in the high street, possible chaos on transport routes to the continent of europe. ministers will say they don't expect things to work out that badly even if we end up with no deal but as things stand mps are unable to thrash the cells because —— thrash this out because parliament is closed. the split which has written this country from —— riven this country from end to end is getting wider and deeper. whatever happens with brexit, an election, a conceivable referendum, the wounds

look so deep under all that it is impossible to imagine this country stealing any time soon. —— healing any time soon. and you can find out all the latest on brexit as it develops throughout the evening on bbc.co.uk/news. university leaders have welcomed government plans to allow international students to stay in britain for up to two years after graduating, to find work. a four—month limit was introduced in 2012, amid concerns that the system was being abused. the government says today's decision will help talented students build successful careers here and demonstrates the uk's global outlook. two small boats thought to be carrying around 20 migrants have been picked up by coastguards today in the channel. it comes after 86 people were intercepted crossing the channel yesterday, believed to be the highest number in a single day. our correspondent colin campbell has been following the story. rescued in rough seas from the sinking inflatable dinghies, the migrants wrapped in blankets were pulled to safety ten miles off dover. they'd attempted to cross

the english channel in two small boats, starting the perilousjourney in the dark. this was a tragedy that was very narrowly avoided. they were in an unorthodox craft, a very small craft, they were taking on water, they were wet, they were cold, they were frightened, one of them was unconscious, there was a young child on board with his mother. in need of urgent medical attention, six were taken by the rnli to ramsgate harbour. lucky to be alive, it seems one of the migrants was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition. yesterday, the channel was much calmer and a record number of migrants arrived in small boats. abandoned on a sussex beach, this is one of the six boats that was used. 86 migrants in total made it across, claiming to be from iran, afghanistan, pakistan and the philippines. what i saw was them immediately get out of the boat and run up the beach, and they ran across into the fields and then just tried to get across over the marsh. all were later detained

by border officials. where are you from? you are iranian? more than 1200 migrants have reached the uk by crossing the channel this year. although it's a relatively small proportion of the number arriving illegally, many are concerned at the dangers and risks posed by this route. last week in dunkirk, i found migrants waiting for smugglers to get them to the uk. this 19—year—old from iraq was refused asylum in holland. there is a boat, there is a truck, and we'll see which one is available, i'll enter with it. but maybe a boat. you'd be willing to get on board a boat? yeah. it's dangerous, but i don't have a choice. some say smugglers are seeking to drum up business in the migrant camps by falsely claiming brexit will tighten up security. smugglers, you know, because of the uncertainty of the situation, say to migrants, you know, if there is a brexit, if the uk leaves the eu,

you will not ever be able to cross the channel. i mean, it's a lie. using drones and night—vision equipment, french police are patrolling beaches where the migrant boats are being launched. they say they are doing all they can. it is a battle to stop desperate people who are, it seems, willing to risk it all. colin campbell, bbc news, ramsgate. the time is 6:18. our top story this evening... the highest scottish court rules borisjohnson has suspended parliament illegally to avoid scrutiny of his brexit plans. and coming up — batsman jason roy is dropped, as england ring the changes for tomorrow's fifth ashes test at the oval. coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news: we'll be live at gleneagles ahead of the solheim cup. the usa are heavy favourites to make it three wins in a row against europe. is there life somewhere out there in the universe?

the eternal question, but now could we now be closer to finding the answer? this planet is 650 million, million miles away and scientists believe it's a good candidate to support life because it's just been confirmed that it has water plus the right temperature. our science correspondent, pallab ghosh, explores the possibilities of a planet so far away. the night sky is littered with stars, around them are planets. could some of them be like the earth? scientists think that this one, which is 650 million million miles away, has the potential to support life. astronomers have discovered more than 4000 planets orbiting distant stars. the new one is about the right distance from its sun to be able to support life. its temperature is between 0—40 degrees celsius. it's around twice the size of our own earth and it has an atmosphere that we now

know contains water. so, the big question is whether there really are living organisms on this world. light from the planet's sun filters through its atmosphere, before it reaches the earth. that light contains a faint imprint of the chemicals in it. in this case, up to half of it is made up of water. detailed analysis of the starlight, published in the journal nature astronomy, shows this peak, where the light has been absorbed by water vapour. all of a sudden, we have the possibility in the next decade to understand what is the nature of this world, how they formed, how they evolved and, in some cases, whether they can support life. i think it's just mind—blowing. telescopes are getting increasingly powerful. soon, they'll be able to detect gases in the atmospheres of distant planets that could only be produced by living organisms. within the next ten years or so, we will know whether there are biomarkers or chemicals that are due to life

in these atmospheres. scientists hope to discover, possibly quite soon, whether life is unique to earth or teaming on worlds across oui’ galaxy. pallab ghosh, bbc news. the body of robert mugabe has arrived back in zimbabwe from singapore, where he died last week aged 95. mr mugabe was zimbabwe's first leader after the country became independent in 1980. he held on to powerfor almost four decades before being ousted in a coup in 2017 amid allegations of corruption and brutality. there will be a state funeral on saturday. events have been taking place in the united states to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the september 11th attacks. in new york, at the sight of the destroyed world trade centre towers, the names of the city's victims have been read out. president trump, alongside the first lady, laid a wreath at the pentagon where another of the hijacked planes

was deliberately crashed. shareholders in sports direct have registered their unhappiness with founder mike ashley, voting in large numbers against him being relected as director. mr ashley owns over 60% of the company, so was ultimately backed to continue in the role, but almost a quarter of independent shareholders voted against him. more from our business correspondent, emma simpson. we wa nt we want ashley out! sports direct agm, it's never dull. mike ashley is used to shareholder rebellion is. this year, they had a long list of complaints, including a huge and unexpected tax bill from the belgian authorities. the boss told me, he's not happy either. if i were a shareholder, i would not happy either. if i were a shareholder, iwould be not happy either. if i were a shareholder, i would be very frustrated by those events. so let's be crystal clear, it's not acceptable. when i heard the night before the results about a belgian tax investigation, it was over 600 million. i think i had to ask three

times and then i had to question the currency, what are you talking about? he is on a spending spree, a dizzying array of acquisitions from evans cycles and jack wells to house of fraser, so why is mike ashley expanding on the high street whilst others are pulling out?|j expanding on the high street whilst others are pulling out? i don't think you see prime at piling out or tk makes piling out, i think you see it's a lot smaller pond that the fish are going to be enormous. i wa nt to fish are going to be enormous. i want to be one of those enormous fish. but is it going to work? the jury fish. but is it going to work? the jury is definitely out but i'm a definite believer, and before anyone thinks of me, my wealth is in that strategy. not a fraction of it, 60% of that share price is one individual, who by the way doesn't get a dividend and doesn't get paid and he has bet the farm on this and he won't back down until he wins.

mike ashley may have been re—elected today but he is under pressure. tonight, sports direct doesn't have an auditorfor tonight, sports direct doesn't have an auditor for its accounts and a president for a major company. he may have to ask the government to intervene. emma simpson, bbc news. cricket now. jason roy and craig overton have been dropped from the england team for the fifth ashes test at the oval, with sam curran and chris woakes coming in. ben stokes, unfit to bowl because of a shoulder injury, will still go into bat. australia have retained the ashes after victory at old trafford gave them an unassailable 2—1 lead in the series. joe wilson reports. sky high injuly, sunk in september — that's the ashes. jason roy was dropped from england's test team today, while he was a world cup winning hero on the same spot eight weeks ago. the oval was where england celebrated their world cup success, white ball, one—day cricket — the fulfilment of a long—term dream. now, is that really what mattered? whatever happens this week, do you think this deserves to be seen as a successful year for english cricket?

absolutely. to win the first 50—over world cup is a huge achievement for english cricket. so, absolutely it should be seen as a successful year. but we have a chance to level the series and make it slightly better than it looks right now. well, in truth, there are a number of england players who now have a last opportunity to show their best form, and if england win this test match, they will level the series 2—2, but even if that happens, it will be these australians who retain the ashes urn and all that traditional glory. so, they might relax in this match...? not likely! we've spoken about it a lot as a group, that last week's result was brilliant and we played very well, but all the guys are fully aware that this test match is bigger than that one. this is our grand final. well, all australia's captain really needs to do is remind steve smith to come back tomorrow. yeah, well, england do

have a foolproof way of stopping smith — end the summer and lock the doors. joe wilson, bbc news, at the oval. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett. hello. we have a tropical influence at the moment, fiona. this area of low pressure here, former hurricane dorian and this next area of low pressure coming in tomorrow, former tropical storm gabrielle. whilst it will bring some cloud and rain, it is also going to bring some very humid air across england and wales tomorrow. ahead of that, we have seen the cloud breaking up at many places. for most of us, ending the afternoon with some spells of sunshine but there are still more clouds across southern parts of england, a little misty and murky in places and damp. that will move away and we will have clear skies over night. at the end of the night, the clouds thickening and rain knocking on the door of northern ireland and western scotland, but ahead of that, looking at temperatures of 8—12.

let's look at the rain first of all for tomorrow, that will be affecting northern ireland and scotland in the morning and then clearing away to sunny spells during the afternoon. for england and wales, it will be northern and western areas that see a lot of low cloud and may be bits and pieces of light rain or drizzle. in the midlands, lincolnshire and the south—east, dry and some sunshine and here it will be particularly warm and humid. fresh air in the airfor scotland and northern ireland. all of us back to normal on friday, whatever normal is. plenty of sunshine around, blustery winds across scotland and that will blow in a few showers here. the temperatures back to where they should be, around 16 in the central belt and a high of 20 in southern parts of england. getting all the sunshine to end the week because of that area of high pressure. that will dominate through the weekend as well. during saturday, we will find this weather system bringing some wet and windy weather across northern parts of scotla nd weather across northern parts of scotland and the remaining cloud and rain will sink further south on

sunday. but to the south of that, we keep the high pressure and the sunshine and we have those temperatures back up to the mid 20s again in the south—east of the uk. back to you, fiona. very nice, thank you very much. 00:28:14,116 --> 2147483051:50:51,773 that's all from the bbc news at six, 2147483051:50:51,773 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 so it's goodbye from me