tonight at ten: a new twist in the election campaign, as nigel farage's brexit party decides not to fight in any seats won by the conservatives last time. mr farage, who once said he'd put up 600 candidates, claims that borisjohnson has changed his brexit stance, and says he'll now focus on labour—held seats. the prime minister has now moved to a position that looks a bit more like brexit. and for once, let's forget about left and right, let's think about putting country before party. nigel country before party. farage trims his ambition giving nigel farage trims his ambition giving borisjohnson a clearer path in some parts of the country. we'll be asking about the potential impact of the brexit party decision on the election outcome.

also tonight... there are 42 flood warnings still in place in the north of england, ministers will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow, as locals underline the scale of the crisis. we've never experienced this in our lifetime. we've lived here for nearly 55 years... i was born here. ..and we just think the system has completely let us down. one of the uk's biggest steel—makers has been rescued by a chinese company, potentially safeguarding thousands of jobs. in hong kong, two people are in a critical condition after another day of demonstrations by democracy campaigners in hong kong. and a two—minute silence across the uk, as people gather to pay tribute to those lost in two world wars. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news: a fourth consecutive gold in a championship record in the javelin. hollie arnold starts for great britain at the world para—athletics.

good evening. there's been a potentially significant shift in the dynamics of the upcoming election, caused by the brexit party's decision not to contest those seats won by the conservatives last time. th brexit party leader, nigel farage, who once promised to stand in the vast majority of seats across the uk, said he'd made the decision because of what he called boris johnson's "shift of position" on brexit. mr farage said his party would focus its efforts on trying to take seats held by labour, the party he accuses of "betraying" voters who backed leave. mrjohnson has welcomed the offer, but labour said it amounted to a kind of trump alliance, between mrjohnson and mr farage. our political editor laura kuenssberg has more details. there are flashing

images in her report. a moment in front of the cameras — not something nigel farage ever wants to miss. i think this has been quite a long—anticipated speech, from what i can gather. today, though, he publicly gave up some of his ambition rather than turning up the swagger. the brexit party will not contest the 317 seats the conservatives won at the last election. but, what we will do is concentrate our total effort into all of the seats that are held by the labour party. so, the brexit party will now only stand in about half the seats around the country. even though last week, this meeting was rammed with hundreds and hundreds of candidates. mr farage then swore he'd take on all comers. we will run 600 candidates who will offer the electorate the choice to vote for a clean break brexit.

that bravado though, rather disappeared. and nigel farage‘s troops, who had hopes of making it to westminster mainly had no idea. lam, of course, very disappointed to be stood down. i was literally having my nomination papers checked just five minutes before nigel farage held his press conference. so i had no idea, really, what was going on. borisjohnson repeatedly turned down nigel faraj‘s turned down nigel farage as as a companion on the trail. the brexit party ignoring tory seats makes it easier for the prime minister to keep the leave vote together. i'm glad there is a recognition that there is only one way to get brexit done and that is to vote for us and to vote for the conservatives. in theory, this makes it easier for the tories to send the same mps back here to westminster. one cabinet minister said nigel farage‘s decision is a step in the right direction. but for borisjohnson to win a victory, he has to take seats

currently held by labour, and the brexit party could well still gobble up those votes elsewhere. the brexit party will stand in seats thatjeremy corbyn's defending, and could stop the tories there in their tracks. the issue is, isn't it, if you vote farage, do you getjohnson, and if you votejohnson do you get farage? i don't think that the electorate like these backroom deals. we are absolutely clear we want to stop brexit, and it's absolutely clear from what even nigel farage is saying, that we are the ones who can take seats from the conservatives at this general election and stop brexit. and in an election, anything is ammunition. i think today's announcement proves beyond any doubt that boris johnson and nigel farage are joined at the hip. any form of brexit that is acceptable to nigel farage is going to be deeply damaging to scotland. tonight, the brexit party leader was still on the trail with less to look cheerful about now.

but over the years, nigel farage has packed halls and piled up problems for the conservatives. and he's not done yet. and laura is at westminster. just to pick you up and quite a few of the points you made about the potential impact of this decision by nigel farage, because it is not easy, is it, to see a clear pattern coming out of this? it is never easy in this election, and it won't be for the next six weeks or so. we are looking at a complicated picture, at a time when politics has been to psy—tu rvy a time when politics has been topsy—turvy with brexit dividing people come cross—party and old allegiances not reliable, in a way. this does clearly give borisjohnson an easier time in some of the seats the tories need to hold. there is no question about that. second, if you wa nt question about that. second, if you want the majority he craves, the tories have to be taking seats from

the other parties and particularly in this context, from brexit voters who normally vote labour. if in a really tightly thought seat where it is closed between the labour and conservative parties, if there is natural labour voters, who are brexiteers decide to go for the brexiteers decide to go for the brexit party, and we were to see that pattern happened on many occasions, the tory party would then be very likely to come up short in their competition to get the majority that they crave. but the third thing to say about all of this though, it's not so long ago that in a european election in the spring, but nigel farage's brexit party look like they had the chance of sweeping through the political establishment. that was his dream. today, he has been shown to have fallen well short of that. of course, his party is still likely to have an impact on the selection, but in the words of one inside it westminster tonight, it's like the finish line has been moved a little bit, but it is

basically still the same race. laura, thanks again. laura kuenssberg, with the latest analysis at westminster. the prime minister is to chair an emergency cabinet meeting, known as cobra, tomorrow, to discuss the response to widespread flooding in the north of england. labour has criticised the government for not declaring a national emergency. the environment agency says 42 flood warnings are still in place, including five severe warnings on the river don near doncaster. the local council says it's concerned that some residents in the village of fishlake are refusing to leave their properties, despite extensive flooding, with more rain expected over the coming days. our correspondent dan johnson is in fishlake tonight. yes, it is fairly quiet here. a little bit eerie because most people have left. over the weekend, boris johnson said the flooding across yorkshire and the midlands, wasn't a national emergency. but after the letter written byjeremy corbyn

today, he has decided there will be a cobra emergency meeting to discuss this meeting with officials, to high—level work out what they can do to help the people affected and protect those who could still be hit later this week, when more rain is expected. on the low, flat land east of doncaster, fishla ke is a village still under water. three days on now, and its residents are still coming to terms with what hit them when the river don overflowed. it was just coming up out of the floor, so only a little bit trickled at times... some have lost their homes, others, their business. but at the spa pam runs and lives above, it's both. and today she checked her insurance and the news only got worse. we've lived here since 2004, it was covered completely. but now there's a clause being put into it, as an exemption to flood and where do you find some solace? if i could go away to a workplace and just throw myself

into still being able to run the business, but i can't. some scenes defy explanation. a man was lucky to escape this car. the water poured through the village late on friday night, chasing people from their homes. we've never experienced this in our lifetime and we've lived here nearly 55 years... i was born here, so... ..we just think the system has completely let us down. there is a sense here, they may have felt the force of floodwater diverted by improved defences elsewhere. the construction of hard walls and flood defences often does push the problem downstream. so that's why we need to look at other types of flood mitigation, such as improved early warning and changing the way that water is detained upstream, so it doesn't get to our urban areas in the first place. alan's farmed here all his life. he's one of those who knows this land best and feels environmental priorities aren't always right.

the environment agency have spent £600,000 creating a wildlife and wetland area by building fences to stop cattle approaching on to it. as you can see, all it does is collect rubbish and debris to restrict the flow of water, just to create habitat for wildlife. which is absolutely ridiculous when the river is supposed to be there to transport water from a to b to get rid of it. getting rid of it now means pumping and they are working through the night here. with the extreme amounts of rainfall that we've seen and the very high river levels that you'll have seen as you've been around the area today, the capacity of some of those defences in some places has been exceeded and that has, as a result of that, caused flooding to people's homes and properties. my heart does go out to them, it is truly devastating and tragic. balancing the interests of town and country, those who work the land and those who live on it is always tricky. but where else to channel this water is a huge question and one we may face more often.

dan johnson, bbc news, fishla ke, near doncaster. one of the uk's biggest steel—makers has been rescued by a chinese company, potentially safeguarding thousands of jobs. british steel had been facing collapse after going into liquidation earlier this year, but the chinese producer jingye confirmed today it had agreed a buyout. it's promising to invest in british steel's main plant in scu nthorpe, as well as its other sites on teesside and in north yorkshire. our business editor simonjack reports. this plant has been on government life support since it collapsed in may. technically in liquidation, it was offered a chinese lifeline today, and workers on their way home welcomed it. well, it's been a big concern, hasn't it? nobody not knowing what is happening, whether they've got a job, can pay their mortgages, feed their families. yeah, it's great news. obviously, there's been uncertainty around it, but now we know, this close to christmas, that we've got a job. with 4,000 employees and 20,000 in the supply chain, the steelworks is the lifeblood of scunthorpe.

it's massive good news for lots of families, and obviously for all the housing, for jobs, for younger people and older people alike, it'sjust great news. the thought of scunthorpe not having steel—making here really doesn't bear thinking about. charlotte charles worked there for 12 years and is now a union organiser. we're cautiously optimistic. our members have been in a state of flux for a number of months now, and so to have some concrete commitment to steel—making in scunthorpe is always going to be welcome news, but the devil will be in the detail. the due diligence has been done extremely quickly, and so now what we want is a commitment to secure the jobs and terms and conditions for our members moving forward. if the deal goes ahead, current workers' jobs are secure, according to company assurances to the government. well, i have been given reassurances that next to all current staff will be kept, and that in the medium to longer term they are likely to want to expand the workforce, so i have been given quite strong reassurances on that front. this is not a totally done deal yet,

there's details to go through, investment plans to be pored over, and we've had false dawns in scu nthorpe before. but folks here are encouraged that the prospective buyer is a steel—maker, not a financial investor — and a company that doesn't make some of the products that are made here, so there's commercial logic to it. however, there are still some concerns about the economic and strategic rationale of putting one third of britain's steel production in chinese hands. from nothing, injust 20 odd years... despite revenues of £10 billion, jingye is a relative minnow in china's giant steel industry. in 2017, china produced over 800 million tonnes of steel, the uk less than 8 million. so how important will scu nthorpe really be? the main principle of the deal that i would urge the government to concentrate on is long—termism. is this a company that will invest for the long term, that will ensure that british steel remains one of the linchpins of our industrial strategy? steel has been made here for 150 years. the prospective chinese owners are promising many years more — a message that's getting a very

warm welcome tonight. simonjack, bbc news, scunthorpe. britain's economy has grown at the slowest annual rate in almost a decade, according to official figures, but has avoided going into recession. gdp, which measures all goods and services produced, increased by 0.3% between july and september, slightly below market expectations. our economics editor, faisal islam, has the details. at this warehouse for a top tyre fitter in peterborough, business remains resilient, even as the impact of a world of economic uncertainty can be felt. like the economy generally, the consumer is holding up, but fears around supply disruption and price rises linked to brexit have held back investment. a lot of the supply into our business comes from europe or further afield, so the strength of the pounds important to us in terms of how we can give a good—value price to the customers, and that's

certainly something that's putting pressure on us at the moment. the last quarter's figures showing the economy shrinking by 0.2% between april and june brought fears of recession — if the latest quarter had again been negative. so today's figure of plus 0.3 does bring some relief. but 0.3% is slow by historical standards, and when compared with the same period last year. take that number back a decade or so, and it represents the slowest economy over a year since the aftermath of the financial crisis at the beginning of 2010. today's growth numbers are a very welcome sign, i think, of the strong fundamentals of the uk economy. 0.3 is not strong, chancellor. well, it is, actually, in a global context it is a strong number. if you look at what's been happening with some of our biggest competitors around the world, germany, italy and france, we're growing faster than most of our g7 competitors, and, of course, we are exposed to what happens across the world. the big pitch here —

that the uncertainty will end with the prime minister's new brexit deal. but the chancellor partly acknowledged the bank of england's assessment that the deal will lead to new customs checks. it's a good deal. it gives us a new economic partnership with ourfriends in europe. customs checks, says the bank of england. with our european friends, the whole of the uk will leave as its own customs territory, and yes, there will be as the uk, when we trade with the eu, there will be some changes, but it also means there's opportunities. the man who wants mrjavid's job after the election took the opposite view and defended labour's plans to hold another referendum. no—one can be pleased with these figures. it's a worrying trend within our economy, and i worry about what labour will inherit when we go into government. but it does mean that when labour goes into government, we need the investment that we promised. surely businesses won't invest if that uncertainty is prolonged. i think what businesses want is an exact, clear plan about how we go forward, which is about renegotiation, a referendum

and then reunite the country. other opposition parties were similarly critical of the figures. this is a terrible picture of wilful mismanagement. it is affecting people in their homes, and it's affecting people's livelihoods. it's not just that the economy is growing slowly. international investors are losing confidence in the british economy based on borisjohnson's brexit plans. there is a slow puncture in the economy arising from poor investment, if not an actual flat tyre — the election offering rather different ways to patch that up. faisal islam, bbc news. two people are in critical condition after another day of violent demonstrations in hong kong. the first person, a protester, was injured when he was shot by a police officer. later, a pro—beijing supporter was soaked in flammable liquid and set alight, after arguing with protesters who are demanding greater democracy and police accountability. our correspondent stephen mcdonnell reports from hong kong.

this is how the day of extraordinary violence starts. a police officer, arresting the person in white, is approached by another protester, wearing black. he's shot at point—blank range. and it's all captured in a facebook live video. the 21—year—old is seriously injured, and at one point seems to lose consciousness. yet somehow, despite his injuries, and amidst the chaos, he attempts to flee, but is captured and taken away in an ambulance. elsewhere in the city, a police officer drives into a group of black—clad protesters, veering the motorbike towards them three times before taking off. he's since been suspended. hours later, a middle—aged man argues with hard—line protesters. in an act too graphic to show, he's doused in flammable liquid before being set on fire.

there's no question that escalating violence could get what the rioters want. not from the government, not from society at large. and yet this evening the clashes continued. there's been an outpouring of anger here today — and a very tough police response. it seems that this city is now locked in an ever deteriorating cycle of violence and retribution. and now it's no longer like just a protest or strike, it's war now, and it's a war that i think all hong kongers must win. i think i even can't imagine what is going to happen tomorrow, so...yeah. more than 250 people were arrested today. with both sides digging in,

there are fears this conflict could only escalate further. stephen mcdonnell, bbc news, hong kong. let's take a look at some of today's other news. two cannabis—based medicines have been approved for use on the nhs in england for the first time. the drugs advisory body nice says the medicines will help people suffering with epilepsy and multiple sclerosis. charities have welcomed the decision but say thousands of people who could benefit from cannabis—based medicines are still facing uncertainty. a coroner says she will write to all uk theme parks following the accidental death of an 11—year—old schoolgirl, urging them to conduct cctv training. an inquest heard that evha jannath drowned after falling from a water ride at drayton manor in staffordshire in may 2017. the emergency—stop button for the ride was not pressed for several minutes. a former british army officer

who helped set up the syrian rescue group, the white helmets, has been found dead in turkey. the body ofjames le mesurier, who received an obe in 2016 for his work in syria, was found this morning in istanbul. the turkish authorities have launched an investigation into his death, as our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley reports. it was on the street outside the building where he was staying thatjames le mesurier‘s body was found early this morning. there's been no official statement from police, but security officials have been quoted as saying they believe he fell from a balcony. james le mesurier, who was in his 40s, set up the mayday rescue charity, which helped train syria's volunteer rescuers, known as the white helmets. these are the white helmets in action. they operate in rebel—held areas of the country, saving survivors of the indiscriminate air strikes by the syrian military and its backer, russia. speaking to the bbc five years ago,

he paid tribute to their courage. there has been a source of immense pride for everybody who has been involved in the training for these heroes. they provide an incredible amount of inspiration in an environment that is otherwise so devoid of positives. seen here just yesterday, the white helmets rush into danger in idlib province, the last area of the country still held by the rebels. for the work they do, the white helmets and james le mesurier have earned the hatred of both the kremlin and the syrian regime. only last week, the russian foreign ministry accused him of being an m16 agent and of having links with terrorists. the russian charges against him, that came out of the foreign ministry, that he was a spy — categorically untrue. he was a british soldier, he'd been to sandhurst, but above all he wasn't a serving soldier when he founded mayday and the white helmets, he was a real humanitarian, and the world and syria in

particular is poorer for his loss. whatever the exact circumstances of his death in istanbul, friends and colleagues say he'll be remembered for helping save countless syrian lives. caroline hawley, bbc news. for the sixth year in succession, more than a thousand people have died attempting to cross the mediterranean sea, according to the un refugee agency. the crossing remains one of the the most dangerous migration routes anywhere in the world. people are four times more likely to die than last year, according to the international organisation for migration, because there are fewer humanitarian rescue vessels at sea. most leave from libya, where our international correspondent orla guerin met one family who are determined to keep trying the treacherous journey. here's how the european dream ends for some. the red crescent collects

them with care from the beaches of libya — the unknown dead of the mediterranean. but this extended family from cameroon are planning to risk the crossing. they've already tried it twice. little kadija and her brother renaud are now in the care of their aunt and their cousin. their mother gave her all trying to get them to europe. this is delphine, this is kadija, and this is renaud. and this is a picture one week before she died. this is the last picture we have to delphine, and this is the last memory for delphine. this picture we try to remember delphine, and we pray every day that may she rest in peace. this was delphine a year earlier — 3a and determined to

find a better life. her relatives tell me she gave them the strength to flee the poverty at home and travel to libya. his sister danielle tells me delphine gave birth locked in a detention centre without proper medical care. and, she says, their long journey with the people traffickers was a journey through hell. translation: the rapes would happen like this. they would demand that we take our clothes off in front of the men and the boys. they would take us and do what they wanted with us. the men were beaten, really beaten, if they did not do what they were told. there was one strong guy — we really thought he might be the one to break out of the prison.

they took a machete, and they cut his ligaments so he couldn't move. in the end, he died. for delphine, death came after two days at sea on a smuggler‘s boat. she and the children were caught and put back in detention, where she died in agony. translation: she was crying out. i woke and asked what was wrong. she said she had a headache. we were locked in. there was nobody there at night. i was praying that the sun would rise and people would come. she was dying in front of me, and i was powerless. delphine's dream was for 11—year—old renaud to be a footballer in europe. but i know if i go europe, i learn, i will be somebody tomorrow, you know?

how long is it since you have been to school? two... two years since i didn't go to school. and you miss it? i miss it. renaud admits he's scared to cross the mediterranean, but he's still clinging to his mother's dream. orla guerin, bbc news, tripoli. the story of just the story ofjust one family of refugees trying to cross the mediterranean. a two—minute silence was observed across the united kingdom at 11am to mark the time and the day when the first world war ended in 1918. the royal british legion called on people to put busy lives on pause, to set aside their differences, and to remember those who gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today, as our correspondent

daniela relph reports. music: last post the national memorial arboretum in staffordshire, where remembrance happens daily, all year round. but today is different. armistice day here was marked with a service of remembrance and a silence. on the 11th of november 1919, the first two—minute silence was observed. 100 years on, wherever you are, it remains a moment to stop, to reflect and to remember.

the first two—minute silence was introduced by king george v. thousands packed onto whitehall after he said the country should stop to honour those who never came home. the silence remains at the centre of remembrance a century later. but this year the royal british legion wanted more than just a pause. it asked that we all mute our phones, switch off tvs and close our laptops to honour those who defended our freedoms and our way of life. daniela relph, bbc news. that's it from us. newsnight‘s starting in a moment on bbc two with emily maitlis. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are.