today at five — a damning report criticises the police for their investigation into claims of a vip paedophile ring that never existed. the homes of several prominent men were raided by police, including former conservative mp harvey proctor. scotland yard's accused of unlawfully obtaining search warrants. i have the utmost contempt for senior officers of the metropolitan police past and present. for the turmoil that they have put people's lives through. we'll have the latest from new scotland yard. the other main stories on bbc news at 5. uk government documents submitted to a court in scotland reveal the prime minister will send

a letter asking brussels for a delay to brexit if no agreement is reached with the eu by the 19th of october. downing street still insists the uk will leave at the end of the month. the biggest ever winter flu vaccination programme. 30 million people eligible for the jab this year. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe — the british—iranian womanjailed in iran — is sending her daughter gabriella home to london, so she can start school in the uk. the paralysed man who can move again with a mind—controlled suit — he says it's like walking on the moon. and coming up at 5:45 — renee zellweger steps intojudy garland's shoes injudy — a new film on the last years of the singer's life. find out what mark kermode makes of that and the rest of this week's releases in the film review.

it's five o'clock — our top story. a damning report has strongly criticised the metropolitan police for its investigation into claims of a vip paedophile ring — which never existed. carl beech falsely claimed he was the victim of abuse by high—profile politicians and senior military officers. the report says the police unlawfully obained warrants to search the homes of suspects. five years ago, the met described carl beech‘s claims as "credible and true". the following year, they raided the homes of vips wrongly accused by carl beech of abuse. but later, the operation midland inquiry was closed without a single arrest — having cost millions and ruined reputations. instead, police investigated the accuser himself — carl beech — and this year — he was jailed for 18 years

for perverting the course ofjustice and child abuse offences. our home affairs correspondent june kelly reports. after hearing hours of allegations, police described carl beech‘s story as "credible and true". i had poppies pinned to my chest, whilst they did whatever they wanted to do. he claimed in the ‘70s and ‘80s he'd suffered sexual abuse and physical torture at the hands of a vip paedophile ring. he even said he had witnessed three boys being murdered by the group, one hit by a car. but he wouldn't wake up. he didn't move. there was a lot of blood. in fact, the tale he told was both incredible and untrue. lord bramall, a former chief of the defence staff, was one of those beech falsely named.

he claimed the ex—tory mp harvey proctor had actually murdered two boys. others he wrongly accused included the former home secretary lord brittan, who died during the investigation, the late conservative prime minister sir edward heath, and the long—time labour politician lord janner. the police investigation into the so—called westminster paedophile ring went on for 18 months and ended without any arrests or charges. a senior retired judge, sir richard henriques, was brought in to review the police inquiry. finally, his full report has been published. it details one of the most damaging episodes in the modern history of the metropolitan police. but today, the force is refusing to do any interviews. instead, there was this statement. when we get it wrong, as we have in these circumstances, with such damaging consequences, we find it genuinely distressing. so, finally, let me be very clear.

i am deeply, deeply sorry for the mistakes that were made, and for the ongoing pain that these mistakes have caused. i promise we will do all we can to prevent them happening again in the future. deputy assistant commissioner steve rodhouse headed the investigation. the henriques review quotes a log that he made, acknowledging that beech, then known by the pseudonym "nick", may have fabricated some or all of his allegations. sir richard says, since he'd formed that view, i am unable to see how he could properly formulate a decision to inform the public that "we believe nick". also criticised is deputy labour leader tom watson. the review says there can be no doubt that tom watson believed nick, adding that his interest created further pressure on officers. harvey proctor believes tom watson should resign as labour's deputy leader and be expelled from the party. i have icy contempt for mr beech.

it is matched with my icy contempt for tom watson. and the labour party should immediately dissociate themselves from mr watson. dolphin square, an apartment block in westminster, was one of the locations where carl beech claimed to have been abused. the review says tom watson was in a group which passed information to beech about dolphin square which he then used in his police interviews. carl beech is now a convicted liar and paedophile. he has done long—term damage to those whose lives and reputations he tried to destroy. but he has also raised questions about the competence and independence of the country's leading police force in the face of political pressure. our correspondent, richard galpin,

is outside new scotland yard. you have been reading the report, a really damning report. what stands out for you. i think overall it is the scale of the failure by the metropolitan police, the incompetence. it has been described as disastrous. for example, the review came up with a list of failure is. on that list of failures there are 43 points. many of them very important, including of course this possession that the police took that they should simply believe every single word that carl beech told them, there was to be no further investigation or checks whatsoever. they just absolutely went with it. and for example, another massive mess, they didn't speak to his mother to try and find out what she would tell them or provide any inconsistencies in what carl beech had been saying. it took

six months before the actually spoke to her and of course there was this press c0 nfe re nce to her and of course there was this press conference quite early on when they went in front of the media and effectively to the public that what carl beech had told them was credible and true. the other absolutely key point, and this is a new one, which came out today was that the review decided that the action of the police and trying to get search warrants and actually getting search warrants from a judge was unlawful, saying they had misled thejudge and was unlawful, saying they had misled the judge and there had was unlawful, saying they had misled thejudge and there had been inaccuracies in what had been put into the warrant. this obviously is very significant because it could lead to possibly to a criminal investigation, certainly there are calls for that. thank you very much indeed. and just after 5:30, we'll be hearing more from the mp harvey proctor.

nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe — the british—iranian womanjailed in iran — is sending her daughter home to london to start school. five—year—old gabriella has been in iran — looked after by her grandparents — and visiting her mother in prison at least once a week for the past three years. in a letter, she's written this about her daughter. with me now is richard ratcliffe —

nazanin‘s husband. very moving words just underlining how heartbreaking this decision is going to be for her. it is very tough for her and we have been talking for a long time about gabrielle is future and no school has started and they finally ready to let her go but it will be tough. and tough as she says for your daughter as well, not to be able to see her mother, or her grandparents as well. but you feel it is the best for her? i think that is exactly right. it will be tough, the world she knows as being with granny and seeing mummy and two years ago she was living in the uk. do i think it is the best? i hope it is the best. i think is the best? i hope it is the best. ithink in is the best? i hope it is the best. i think in all of this experience to have been some tough decisions to make. i hope this one will be

possible and we only know if it is allowed if the authorities grant permission. we have been waiting for a long time for this to be solved as a long time for this to be solved as afamily to a long time for this to be solved as a family to come back together and after three and a half years it is time for her to come back and start school. do you think the iranian authorities will allow her to travel? doesn't require an exit visa, permission from then for her to leave the country? it requires permission, i would to leave the country? it requires permission, iwould be to leave the country? it requires permission, i would be very surprised if it doesn't happen but it is likely to be complicated to get approval. in bureaucracies things take time and they can be a bit byzantine. formally we need to get permission and we haven't got it yet but we will be looking to get her home. what is nazanin's condition at the moment? she is still serving her five year sentence. there was a period when there was no visits but that has been reinstated. she is as in that

letter very upset and distraught and there is a court case hanging over her. this has gone on a long time and we look to the british government to solve it and to the iranian government to solve it and we look to them to work together. we know you have spoken a lot to the british government. as the more they could be doing? behind closed doors i keep pushing them to be tougher. it is unacceptable that nazanin is held as leverage any dispute between the countries. that is not a cce pta ble the countries. that is not acceptable to have diplomacy that holds people hostage, so i have been asking the government to be tougher. the new foreign secretary was sympathetic and we will see where things go. our very best wishes to you and your family. government papers submitted to scotland's highest civil court say that boris johnson will send a letter to the eu asking for a brexit delay if no deal is agreed by the 19th of october. the documents form part of a case brought by campaigners seeking

a ruling to compel the prime minister to comply with the law passed by mps preventing a no—deal brexit. downing street insists the uk will be leaving the eu at the end of the month. let's speak to our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon, in edinburgh. good evening. just tell us a bit more about what is in this document? it all harks back to that puzzle. the prime minister has said he would rather die in a ditch than ask for an extension to brexit, yet at the same time he has said he will abide by the law. so today, and courts, government documents no in

that in place by october 19. that is significant because now we know the government will send that letter and it will be written by the prime minister, but of course what we cannot see is whether this will mean an extension to brexit if no deal... as there is a situation of no deal. we don't know whether the government has some other plan afoot. joanna cherry, the snp mp who is one of those leading the court case year at the court of session, said this shows that legal assurances are needed. he has said it in court pleadings but in the prorogation case, the possession on paper was that they had no intention of it and that they had no intention of it and that our concerns were hypothetical and academic, and they went ahead and academic, and they went ahead and prorogued, so basically this is not a prime minister whose work can be trusted in the usual way that you would expect to trust a prime minister's world, and that is why what our lawyers have requested as a

formal undertaking by the prime minister recorded in the court proceedings. acting for the government, andrew webster qc said that the prime minister's intention to comply with the law could not be clearer. thejudge asked him why to comply with the law could not be clearer. the judge asked him why the government would not make undertakings in writing under oath. mr webster replied that this would not be necessary. thejudgment mr webster replied that this would not be necessary. the judgment here is expected on monday. thank you very much indeed. and also i'm joined by our political correspondent helen catt. what has downing street been saying about this? downing street has consistently held the line that the government will be obeying the law but we will be leaving on 31st october and it doesn't seem that it has materially changed this afternoon. a senior downing street source afternoon. a senior downing street source has pointed to what it called a very narrow specific duty concerning the parliament letter requesting a delay which it talked

about and said that can be interpreted in different ways. they also said that the act does not prevent the government from doing other things that cause no delay. we talk about communications both public and private, so there is still speculation that downing street has something up its sleeve around this. the former lord chancellor lord falconer has suggested perhaps the submissions are a way to convince the court that it doesn't need to pass any kind of coercive order that would compel borisjohnson to coercive order that would compel boris johnson to sign it coercive order that would compel borisjohnson to sign it or coercive order that would compel boris johnson to sign it or perhaps someone boris johnson to sign it or perhaps someone else to sign it in his place. to say that if we are willing to do it it would convince the court that a coercive order wasn't needed. efforts are still ongoing to negotiate a brexit deal to enable uk to leave with radio 1 31st october. if that were to prove successful, all of this would not be needed. and i look at the latest headlines.

scotla nd i look at the latest headlines. scotland yard the strongly criticised over its handling of allegations from carl beech about a vip paedophile ring that turned out not to exist. government documents reveal the prime minister will send a letter asking brussels for a delay to brexit if no agreement is reached with the eu by 19th october. downing street insists the uk will leave at the end of the month. the biggest ever winter flu vaccination programme is being promised by the government. 30 million people will be eligible this year. the former conservative leadership candidate, rory stewart, has resigned from the party, and announced he will run as an independent candidate to become london's mayor. mr stewart will leave parliament at the next election and this afternoon he's been explaining his decision. the tory whip being withdrawn was a very important part of the decision.

as you know i voted against an audio brexit so i resigned from cabinet and had the tory whip withdrawn. i have seen the conservative party move have seen the conservative party move ina have seen the conservative party move in a direction that is to be honest more and more difficult for me. ifind borisjohnson's honest more and more difficult for me. i find borisjohnson's tone seems to be more populist than i am comfortable with and i realised that lam more comfortable with and i realised that i am more comfortable being an independent. the nhs has announced its biggest ever winter vaccination campaign. about 30 million people — nearly half the uk population — will be offered the flu vaccine this year. for the first time, all primary school pupils in england will be offered a free vaccination — bringing england into line with scotland, wales and northern ireland. children are what's known as ‘super spreaders‘ because they're the most likely to pass the virus on to each other and to vulnerable relatives. last year, there were nearly 1,700 flu—related deaths in england. a new—born baby has died at britain's largest women's prison. officials at hmp bronzefield in surrey have declined to comment on reports the death came after a prisoner gave

birth alone in her cell. police have launched an investigation into the death which is being treated as unexplained. with just two weeks before the eu summit and a looming deadline for the prime minister to seal a deal, we're taking a look at the attitudes to brexit on the island of ireland, the backstop and the political future for both sides of the border. we can cross to belfast harbour and speak to our northern ireland business correspondent john campbell. that is one of the places where there might be under the government proposals, customs checks? not customs checks but regulatory checks. this would be a new regulatory border in the uk, because what the prime minister has proposed

is that if this deal was to work, northern ireland would effectively stay in the eu single market for goods. that would mean products coming into northern ireland from other parts of the uk, things like food and agricultural products, all manufactured goods, they would have to be checked as they arrived here and that they are checked here they don't need to be checked going across the irish border. i think this is one of the bigger moves in the prime minister's planned this week. he has acknowledged, the dup has acknowledged, that if you're going to keep the border open it is going to keep the border open it is going to keep the border open it is going to mean new checks at the seaports like this, and this is something that had been resisted up until now. various suggestions about various technologies and techniques that could be used in terms of these things, but this is spinal acknowledgement that if you're going to keep the border open in ireland you will need northern ireland to continue to align with eu rules. this is one of the few things that i think the eu like about mrjohnson‘s

proposal, but the difficulty is this would only come into force at the northern ireland assembly approved it and then re—approved it every four years. the big difference is that the northern ireland assembly hasn't been functioning in 1000 days and because of the way the assembly works it would effectively amount to a veto by the dup. so the way the plan as currently constructed with the dup veto, it is unlikely to fly with the eu. and what is the reaction from members of the business community, what they think of the proposals? the business community were largely very supportive of the old backstop and theresa may's deal. they thought it would give them the best of both worlds but under mrjohnson‘s deal they feel it would give them the worst of both worlds. the big issue is around this four—year renewal needed for the single market arrangement. they say, how can we ever plan or market ourselves as an investment location? to tell

potential investors, we don't know what rules we will be following every four years. the second part of the plan is to do with customs. it would mean the whole of the uk would leave the eu customs union and that would mean a de facto new customs border on the island of ireland. especially for small businesses will trade across that border, that is very worrying, because even with a situation where all customs checks took place away from the border and it was just trusted traders and so forth, it would still add cost and complexity and that is something businesses say they were promised would not happen. thank you very much. the green party's co—leader has called for the home office to be scrapped in a radical shake—up of immigration policy. speaking at the green party conference in newport, jonathan bartley said the department was "pernicious" in its treatment of people and a new ministry for sanctuary should oversee a "fa i rer" system. he also called for action on what he called the ‘climate crisis‘ and criticised the government.

while the planet burns, and fans the flames of hatred, bio, better and division. i am ashamed of what our country has become. but this isn't just about brexit. this is the death rattle of an old order. we are seeing the break—up of the political system, the breaking apart of the economic system, the breakdown of our life support system. we have been saying it for years, we knew it was coming, and though it is here. and the question for us is how we will respond. and confidence, the answer to me seems clear. now is the time for a complete transformation of everything. meanwhile the leader of plaid cymru, adam price, has said that brexit isn‘t the answer for wales — but that an independent wales within the eu is. speaking at his party‘s conference in wales — mr price said that — in his view — westminster

owed wales £20 billion for wealth that it had stolen. and he said that if wales were independent, it could be transformed from the bottom of the pile to leader of the pack. our days of lying down or over. we are getting ready to stand another our own two feet. we demand the means to heal a broken country, a national reconstruction programme, a £20 billion fund for wales, 2 billion a year and a decade of transformation. we are done with cementing the privilege of others. we will build a road out of poverty and exclusion. we will build a road to prosperity for all. we will build a road to our own better future and this time it is westminster that will be paying the toll. a man has been able to move all four of his paralysed limbs, wearing a device which mimics the skeleton and is controlled by his mind. the team developing the technology

in france say it might one day dramatically improve people‘s quality of life. the patient said taking his first steps in the suit felt like being the "first man on the moon". james gallagher reports. it‘s a small step for thibaut, but could this be a giant leap in paralysis? his arms and legs were paralysed after a fall damaged his spinal cord four years ago. but when he‘s strapped into this robotic suit he can use his thoughts to move again. he told me learning to walk came quite quickly, but using the exoskeleton to precisely bend and stretch his arms or rotate his wrists took much longer. so how does the exoskeleton work? well, first, thibaut has implants resting on the surface of his brain, they are reading his thoughts, his brain activity, his brain waves, and they are being

beamed to a computer. now, the computer has to rapidly digest that information and transform that brain activity into instructions which are sent to the exoskeleton. from thought to movement, it takes less than a third of the second. thibaut first used his brain implants to control a computer game, before trying the exoskeleton. now the french researchers plan to test the technology on three more patients. we perform a proof of concept, like the man on the moon. but it is just a step towards neuroprosthesis at home. this experimental exoskeleton is not going to become widely available soon. if you look, thibaut is attached to the ceiling to stop him falling over. it means the exoskeleton can‘t be used outside the laboratory, and this kit is also too expensive for most of the world to benefit. but this is still a breakthrough and shows the potential of technology to transform lives. james gallagher, bbc news.

now it‘s time for a look at the weather with ben. there is more rain on the way, looking pretty unsettled. but equally, hopefully most of us see a little bit of sunshine. going through tonight, a lot of cloud throwing and across the western half of the uk producing the odd spot of drizzle, turning misty end market for coasts and hills. further east under clear skies, quite chilly, parts of scotland could get down to freezing and then the cold and clear air there could be some fog patches. they could be fairly slow sickly about across northern and eastern parts tomorrow morning will some brightness but out west we see clouds rolling in, outbreaks of rain in northern ireland in south—west scotla nd in northern ireland in south—west scotland and the south—west through

the afternoon. the one strengthening particularly in the far north and west of scotland and the temperature 13-17. that west of scotland and the temperature 13—17. that rain will move eastwards through saturday night lingering across eastern parts on sunday, could be some localised flooding. further west we see a little bit of sunshine as the rain edges away. a very unsettled weekend were some heavy rain at times.

henrique this is bbc news. the headlines: scotland yard is strongly criticised over its handling of allegations from carl beech about a vip paedophile ring, which turned out not to exist. uk government documents submitted to a court in scotland reveal the prime minister will send a letter asking brussels for a delay to brexit if no agreement is reached with the eu by the 19th of october. the biggest ever winter flu vaccination programme. 30 million people eligible

for the jab this year nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, the british—iranian womanjailed in iran, hopes to send her five—year—old daughter home to london so she can start school in the uk. the paralysed man who can move again with a mind—controlled suit — he says it‘s like walking on the moon. and coming up at quarter to six — renee zellweger steps into judy garland‘s shoes injudy a new film on the last years of the singer‘s life. find out what mark kermode makes of that and the rest of this week‘s releases in the film review. let‘s get the sports now. whisked up with the rugby world cup.

italy were reduced to 14 men for most of the second half after there was a sending off for a dangerous tackle. five more tries followed that incident and the win means south africa move above italy to the top of their pool and the italians hopes are dashed of progressing now rest on the all blacks for the first time. i thought the way the guys physically beat them to get out of the game, i think if we south africans want to go all the way, thatis africans want to go all the way, that is something that we need in our game that is something that we need in ourgame and we that is something that we need in our game and we felt in the previous five or six days that we have played this year, it wasn‘t really consistent and i thought about our physicality, one of our strengths, it needs to be stay consistent and i‘m really proud of that. it needs to be stay consistent and i'm really proud of that. there is a huge match in a tournament for england tomorrow morning, they have

never lost to argentina in the rugby world clap —— world cup but the coach says they have to be top of their game. jones, who has picked a full strength side says there are no last—minute messages for the players, they know what to do. you players, they know what to do. you play against argentina, they play a basic game on this gram so it is the manhood. you've got to take them up front. to beat argentina, you have to take them up front, which is a scram, the rat attack and ruck defence. that is what it is going to be one. kennedy bruno will be missing again for manchester city this weekend. the manager pep guardiola said his groin strain isn‘t too serious. he picked up the problem last week against everton and that ruled him out of the champions league on tuesday. he won‘t be risked on sunday. the

international break follows and pep guardiola expects him to be fit again after that. andy murray was encouraged by his performance despite being beaten in the quarterfinals at the china open. it was his first singles quarterfinal in more than a year following a career saving hip surgery following a career saving hip surgery injanuary. despite losing in straight sets, he looked strong in an evenly balanced match. there has been a magnificent win in the heptathlon. kay jt there has been a magnificent win in the heptathlon. kayjt broke there has been a magnificent win in the heptathlon. kay jt broke the british record in doha setting for personal bests in the two days of competition as she rounded it all off by winning the 800 metres to ta ke off by winning the 800 metres to take the gold medal. despite her success , take the gold medal. despite her success, she knows she will face a battle to repeat the feat at next year‘s olympics in tokyo. battle to repeat the feat at next year's olympics in tokyo. i'm not taking anything for granted. ijust know how sport can go and i feel like my competitors have been in a

situation of placing second, placing fifth, placing sick. and they are very hungry. so ijust want to continue to be the same, train the same, act like this didn‘t happen, almost, when i go back to france. but for now, i‘m going to enjoy the moment. britain‘s main medal hope this evening is tom bosworth, aiming to banish memories of two years ago whilst leading this event at the championship event in london. you can championship event in london. you ca n follow championship event in london. you can follow his bid for a medal from 930 via the red button and on the bbc sports site. that is all the sports an hour. let‘s get more on our top story. a damning report into the way that scotland yard investigated fake claims of vip child abuse says the force obtained search warrants unlawfully. the author — a former high court judge — blamed the police for poorjudgement and failing to accurately

evaluate known facts. sir richard henriques said the police were too quick to believe carl beech, who alleged there was a westminster paedophile ring. his review also said there can be no doubt that tom watson believed carl beech and created further pressure on officers. the former conservative mp harvey proctor was falsely accused. he says he never wants anyone to suffer the horrors he‘s experienced and told our home affairs correspondent june kelly his thoughts about sir richard henriques‘ conclusions. well, i thought he did a thorough forensic examination of what went wrong with operation midland. i have the utmost contempt for senior officers of the metropolitan police, past and present, for the turmoil that they have put peoples lives through. including my own. what do

you think of the way that they dealt with him when they were investigating his claims? well, they believed him, from the start, without one scintilla of proof. no collaboration. they thought he was credible and true. —— no corroboration. now, as you know, people have said that was a slip of the tongue, most recently cressida dick. it wasn‘t. she said it was a mistake. it was a deliberate policy. and what about tom watson? tom watson has applied the dimming ms defence. i did meet carl beech, or nick, as he was known at the time. i did suggest he went to the police. the new report makes clear he did

more than that. hundreds of pages of information were sent to the police by him under operation midland. and the pressure he applied in the metropolitan police under operation midland meant that the senior investigating officer, detective inspector tideway made as one of her priorities how do we deal with tom watson? he should come clean and apologise to field marshal tremmel and to lady britain and to others. do you think he should resign his current position? i used to be a member of parliament. he has not the

judgment to be, in my mind, a member of parliament. what about the police officers involved? of parliament. what about the police officers involved ? what of parliament. what about the police officers involved? what do you think should happen to them? they should bea should happen to them? they should be a full investigation into these police officers. i have called already and reiterated that an outside police force should be appointed to look at potential criminality involved in these matters. what has operation midland done to you? well, i have no money, i have no resources, i cannot plan my future. i‘m not sure that i have a future. one doesn‘t know what people are thinking when they meet you. this will never go away. that was harvey proctor speaking tojim

kelly, and scotland yard has said it is deeply sorry for the mistakes it made. well, just to say that tom watson has issued a statement in which he says the henriques‘s review contains multiple inaccuracies about him. he also says police asked him to encourage the hundreds of people that came to me with stories of child abuse to report their stories to the police. more now on the question of how to manage the border on the island of ireland, which has stalled the brexit process since the referendum. this afternnon, the irish foreign minister simon coveney said that he thought there was a deal to be done, but the curent uk proposals were a stepping stone, not a solution. we can cross to dublin and speak to bobby mcdonagh, who is a former irish ambassador to the eu, and to the uk. thank you very much indeed for being with us. what do you make of the government‘s new proposals? do you think they are a stepping stone?|j think they are a stepping stone?” think that is a pretty good way of

describing it. ithink think that is a pretty good way of describing it. i think they represent progress because there is quite a way to go. somebody here said they have landed on the dart board but they are a long way from the bull‘s—eye. the thing that needs to be understood is that the united kingdom had many red lines in the brexit process. and now boris johnson has come in with some changed and additional red lines. the european union has only ever had two red lines, the protection of the integrity of the single market and the protection of the balances of the protection of the balances of the good friday agreement. and those are principles, not poker chips. so, as we move forward and as the johnson proposals are tested, those are two principles, the only two principles that the european union will insist on. when you say this represents progress, does this mean you see borisjohnson‘s proposals as an improvement on the deal that sure may put to parliament and was rejected by parliament? no, i don't. i think the deal that theresa may

got would have protected the good friday agreement in full. so when i say progress, i mean progress from a couple of months ago when boris johnson said he wouldn‘t begin talking until he was promised everything he would look for. no, it is progress from a relatively low base but nevertheless real progress. i hope, as most people here do, that it will be possible to find a way through. but it will not be possible to bypass the integrity of the single market of the balance of the good friday agreement. u nfortu nately, good friday agreement. unfortunately, the proposal that they now stand call those into question. what you think of the chances of a deal? you say this is a stepping stone, probably. do you see a deal in your heart of hearts or do you think we are heading for a no—deal brexit? and what would be the impact of that on the republic of ireland ? the impact of that on the republic of ireland? i think it is very difficult to estimate the chances of a deal because it doesn‘t depend on my gambling instincts, it depends on what is going on inside boris johnson‘s mind. so i think there is

a positive deal but he has to move significantly beyond where he is now. the three main difficulties are first of all, the introduction of customs controls on the island of ireland which would undermine politically and in security terms and economically the good friday agreement. secondly, the inevitable introduction of tariffs, which would be bad for everybody, would do massive damage to business in northern ireland. the most negative reactions have come not from dublin or brussels or paris but from the business community in northern ireland. and the third problem is that one of consent. we all agree on the principle of consent in northern ireland and we hope we can find a way that northern ireland can feed on its use but if the idea is, as it might appear, that the consent of the majority in northern ireland to stay in europe what you have the backstop can be completely ignored, and that one party would be given the right to veto even the sort of limited proposals that are now on the table, that is a non—runner. having said that, i think we have a

collective interest in reaching an agreement and we should work towards it. you asked me what the effect of no deal would be. well, the effect of no deal would be very damaging for ireland. it would be even more damaging, byfar, for ireland. it would be even more damaging, by far, for the united kingdom, and exceptionally damaging for northern ireland. but we‘re not dealing with poker the good friday agreement which successive british governments contributed to so much, isa governments contributed to so much, is a very delicate instrument and nobody is putting pressure on the irish government to undermine that or to pull it into question. boddy mcdonough, thank you very much for being with us, former ambassador to the european union. a line of breaking news coming in from paris. we are hearing that after the attack on police officers yesterday in which four officers we re yesterday in which four officers were killed, the french prosecutors anti—terrorist unit is now heading the investigation into the knife attack at the paris police

headquarters. a source at the prosecutors office told the bbc that the unit is taking over the investigation and a light on information gathered by investigators. so, that is the latest on that, that the anti—terror unit is now leading that investigation into yesterday‘s knife attack at the paris police headquarters. the winner of the royal institute of british architect‘s most prestigious award, the riba stirling prize, will be announced on tuesday. there are six nominations for britain‘s best new building of 2019 which include a sculpture park, new council housing and a property made entirely of cork. all this week, we have been taking a closer look at each of the nominated buildings. today we are looking at london bridge station — the enormous project in the heart of the capital connecting travellers all over the country and beyond.

london bridge station was probably the most muddled and difficult station to get around in london. it was very overcrowded and wasn‘t a particularly nice environment. the brief from our client was to create a new station in the middle of the existing station by cutting through all the victorian arches to create this large concourse. the station has been completely reorganised and it is now, i hope, one of the best stations in london, going from one of the worst. how the station looked and needed to operate was an important, but not the most important part. it was how we built it and kept london running. there's over 120 million passenger journeys every year that we have to manage. all of those trains, all of those passengers, had to keep on going. we had to design the building in strips,