tonight at ten, three and a half years after the eu referendum, mps finally back a deal, to leave the european union. the ayes to the right 358, the noes to the left 234. after four failed attempts and more than a year of parliamentary wrangling, the government's withdrawal bill passes with a significant majority. now is the time to act together as one reinvigorated nation, one united kingdom. so, what happens next over brexit, with the uk set to leave the european union, six weeks from today? also tonight... the duke of edinburgh is admitted to hospital in london, for what buckingham palace describes

as a "pre—existing condition." the teenage motorcylist, harry dunn, hit by a car in august. now the american woman involved, is charged with causing death by dangerous driving. unrest in india — six dead in further protests against a government law that it's claimed discriminates against muslims. and liverpool fans enjoy the heat of qatar, as the club vies to be best in the world. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news, arsenal get their man. mikel arteta becomes the gunners‘ head coach on a three and a half year deal. good evening.

three and a half years after the uk voted to leave the european union, mps have resoundingly voted in favour of the government's brexit bill. the legislation now paves the way for boris johnson to deliver his promise, that the country will no longer be a member state of the eu by the end of next month. the prime minister won the vote easily, 358 to 234, with six labour mps backing the government. the withdrawal agreement says the uk will leave the european union on the 31st of january, but allows for a transition period until the end of 2020. during this time, the uk will still have to abide by eu rules. there will be a so called ‘divorce bill‘ of around £33 billion paid to brussels, for commitments the uk has already signed up to, and the agreement sets out a plan for the border with northern ireland, effectively creating a customs barrier down the irish sea. with more, here‘s our deputy political editor, john pienaar. we‘re leaving.

we‘re through the looking glass. everything looks the same, but nothing will be the same again. the last lonely protester was there, fighting a cause that, today, became officially lost. the ayes to the right — 358. the noes to the left — 234. cheering a thumping victory for borisjohnson‘s eu divorce deal. but from the start today his big win was guaranteed. he came with an appeal for unity on his terms, to seek reconciliation in tones of triumph. this is the time when we move on and discard the old labels of leave and remain. in fact, the very words seem tired to me, and so now is the moment to come together and write a new and exciting chapter in our national story, to forge a new partnership with our european friends, to stand tall in the world, to begin the healing! this moment in history was his. three and half years

after the referendum, the new pm felt strong enough to declare britain after brexit would set its own rules and standards, not follow the eu‘s. the very essence of the opportunity of brexit is that we will no longer outsource these decisions. with renewed national self—confidence, we will take them ourselves. and that‘s what worried his beaten rival. we warned before the general election the prime minister's brexit deal was a terrible deal for our country, and we still believe it's a terrible deal today. this deal will be used as a battering ram to drive us down the path of yet more deregulation and towards a toxic deal with donald trump and... what‘s new in the withdrawal agreement bill? the pledge to match eu workers‘ rights, like other earlier compromises, has gone. ministers now say a new uk law will guarantee those rights.

on child migrants, no eu obligation now to take in unaccompanied minors with british relatives. but the pm says the uk will go on taking them in. and no extended brexit transition. the law will require the uk‘s clear of eu rules by december 2020, with or without a deal. so the pm winning the brexit war doesn‘t mean peace. the snp sees brexit as a spur to independence. the people of scotland must have their say over their future, rather than the broken brexit britain that he wishes to impose upon us. the election and brexit has left a bitter legacy, wounded brexiteers feeling vindicated, remainers defiant on their pro—european values. those values are now under threat from this trumpian, populist government, from right—wing populism and bigots everywhere. we were told we were fascists, we were nazis, we're extremists, and what did we want?

all we wanted was to honour the referendum. brexiteer ministerjacob rees—mogg kept a low profile during the election. not today... at last, we‘ve got the result we need. we will now get brexit with the majority of 124 and the sun is metaphorically shining. and look at this at the bottom of your screen. the uk‘s celebrity pm signing autographs for tory mps. so, reason for celebration in government tonight — we will leave the eu by january the 31st at the latest. but, defining and negotiating britain‘s future relationship with the eu, and the world, could be tougher and take longer than boris johnson predicts. no doubt who‘s in charge now or whose job it is to make brexit work. we have more from john in a moment. so, this is the brexit timetable for next year. both the commons and the lords will debate and vote on the government‘s brexit bill injanuary, before it becomes law.

then at the end of the month, the uk will leave the eu and the transition period begins, during which a new trade deal with brussels will be negotiated. but the end of the year, december 31st, is the cut off date for an agreement, and failure to reach a deal would mean tariffs on trade. let‘s talk to john pienaar at westminster. this was a significant moment today but huge brexit challenges lie ahead next year? absolutely, and the pledge and the slogan, get brexit done, it did itsjob, giving boris johnson control of his party and helped give his party the election, but nothing is truly simple in politics and certainly not brexit, and today in parliament thejohnson administration cruised past a historic milestone but it is fair to say we still have no clear idea of the destination or even with any certainty how long it will take to get there. ruling out any extension to the brexit transition, that may oi’ to the brexit transition, that may or may not britain leaves without a

deal, and some in government believe we could end up with a phased trade deal after long negotiations stretching over many months may be even stretching over many months may be eve n years , stretching over many months may be even years, and as for the home front, we know what thatcherism means and we have heard about blairism but you don‘t talk about johsonism, maybe there was no time to develop a guiding philosophy, let alone give it a name, but his mission now is to do away with austerity and unite the country north and south, rich and poor, that cou nts north and south, rich and poor, that counts as a big idea, but whether you call it that, johnsonism, it is still a long way from being able to say mission accomplished. john pienaar, thanks forjoining us. the duke of edinburgh has been admitted to hospital in london, for treatment for a pre—existing condition. buckingham palace says prince philip travelled from sandringham in norfolk this morning, on the advice of his doctor.

our royal correspondent nicholas witchell is outside the king edward vii hospital for us tonight. do we know how serious this could be? the palace says this is a precautionary measure and there is clearly concern. he is 98 years old, but i do not detect alarm. it is reported tonight that he was brought from norfolk by helicopter and the palace is not confirming or denying those reports, which would suggest a degree of urgency, but we are told he was able to walk into the hospital. the queen showed no outward signs of concern as the duke was brought from norfolk to london, she was setting off from london by train to travel to sandringham in norfolk at the start of the christmas break and when she arrived at king‘s lynn station there was no outward sign of any concern and other members of the royal family are continuing with their christmas holiday plans. what might this

pre—existing condition be? the palace have said nothing about that, and we recall that a little more than a year and we recall that a little more thana yearand and we recall that a little more than a year and a half ago he had a hip replacement operation mode six yea rs hip replacement operation mode six years ago he was treated for abdominal surgery and eight years ago the most serious health incident, he was admitted as an emergency to papworth hospitaljust before christmas having experienced chest pains, and eight stent was fitted into an artery. whether any of those pre—existing conditions are involved now we simply don‘t know, but i get the impression that the doctors are hoping that after a few days of observation and treatment it should be possible for him to rejoin the royal family at sandringham for christmas. nick, thanks. the wife of a us diplomat is to be charged with causing the death by dangerous driving of the teenage

motorcyclist harry dunn. the 19—year—old died in a road crash in northamptonshire in august, and shortly afterwards anne sacoolas left for the us. she‘s now however refusing to return to the uk, citing diplomatic immunity. harry dunn‘s mother, charlotte charles, says today‘s development is a "huge step" towards justice for her son. here‘s duncan kennedy. i‘m just hoping it‘s going to be the right choice today... harry‘s parents, charlotte and tim, travelled to london not knowing what today would bring. but, at the cps headquarters, they were told the main suspect was being charged with dangerous driving. harry‘s family have spent four months waiting to see if charges would be brought in his case. we really do feel it‘s one huge step towards that promise to harry, and that in itself is one hell of an achievement as a family to have, and as parents we can‘t be any more satisfied with ourselves.

harry‘s dad, tim, was also moved by today‘s events. bit speechless at the minute. i'm still in shock from the meeting, and... i'm sorry. anne sacoolas, here on her wedding day, has been interviewed by british police. she‘s been staying at a house outside washington. although there was no one in today, her lawyers said... today‘s decision to charge anne sacoolas comes nearly four months after harry died, here on this road in northamptonshire. in statements through her lawyers, she has already admitted driving

on the wrong side of the road. now, harry‘s family say it‘s time for her to return to britain. it was near this american air base the accident happened. harry was killed last august. two weeks later, anne sacoolas left the uk, claiming diplomatic immunity. last month, the family launched legal action against the foreign office for its handling of the case. they were so upset they went to washington to plead for anne sacoolas to return. but the americans seem reluctant, with the state department today expressing its disappointment over the dangerous driving charge. yet british lawyers say extradition is possible. i think they‘re extremely positive, because, as far as i can see, every request that has been sent by the united kingdom to the us has been successful. harry dunn‘s family and their supporters have fought this case together and have been told the home office will launch extradition proceedings in the next week. his parents say they will now put up a christmas tree for the son

they refuse to give up on. duncan kennedy, bbc news. the new governor of the bank of england has been named as andrew bailey. he‘ll replace the current head mark carney, who‘ll step down in march after seven years in thejob. the bank is responsible for setting interest rates every month, in an attempt to keep the cost of living stable. it also supervises the financial system, making sure it‘s well run, and that banks don‘t run out of cash. and it issues uk banknotes, as well as keeping safe the country‘s gold reserves. here‘s our economics editor, faisal islam. a changing of the guard at the institution responsible for our money and our banks. a new man taking over from mark carney as britain‘s most powerful unelected official — the i2ist governor of the bank of england. the chancellor announcing the news at the treasury. we said that we were looking for a leader of international standing, with expertise across monetary, economic and regulatory policy. and in andrew bailey,

we have found just that. mr bailey is a long—term veteran of the bank of england. at one point lending his signature to all banknotes as chief cashier. he was asked to head up the city watchdog, and there have been a series of questions about whether his organization should or could have intervened earlier in mismanaged funds, saving schemes, and misbehaving banks, including from mps. are you too nice to bankers? i don't get up in the morning hoping that people will love me. don't become chief executive of the sna if you want to be loved. the bank of england resembles a fort for a reason, and notjust the gold in its vaults. the decisions made here really do matter. for avoiding recessions, for the value of the pound in your pocket, for steering away from bank crisis. the decision to appoint andrew bailey as governor is meant to communicate stability, continuity and credibility. he‘ll be in charge here for eight years, and, yet,

significant change could be on the way for the british economy within months. just as the new governor steps into his role, he‘s going to be faced with the immediate prospect of brexit. and that will mean a radical change in the way that the uk economy trades with the rest of the world, not least with its biggest trade partner. big changes, such as brexit and trade wars, mean central bankers are under considerable political pressure. do you want this new governor to stand up to you and to the prime minister? i want him to uphold, vigorously, the independence of the institution. i think that it's critical. with the economy still sluggish, plenty of challenges ahead for the new man at the institution known as the old lady. faisal islam, bbc news. the former welsh secretary alun cairns has been cleared of breaking the ministerial code, over a former aide‘s involvement in the collapse of a rape trial. mr cairns, here on the left, had been accused of knowing about the role of ross england, who‘s on the right.

but a government inquiry found there was "no direct evidence" to suggest the cabinet minister, had been told of mr england‘s involvement. more than 90 flood warnings are in place in england and wales, with the environment agency warning of particular problems on the river mole in surrey and the river severn. earlier in the day there was flooding due to heavy rain in parts of the south. the m23 motorway linking london with brighton was partly submerged, forcing its closure and long delays, while a landslide resulted in the closure of the main rail line from guildford into london. low lying areas in surrey and east and west sussex, were also under water, for a time. a funeral and a memorial service have taken place for the two victims of last month‘s terror attack near london bridge. jack merritt and saskia jones were stabbed to death by the convicted terrorist usman khan, while attending a conference in a building next to the bridge. our home affairs correspondent

daniel sandford has more details. at the cambridge university church of st mary the great, jack merritt‘s mother and father and girlfriend, leanne o‘brien. his body in a wicker coffin, in keeping with the ethical life he‘d tried to lead. jack merritt was 25 years old and had a masters in criminology from cambridge. in the service, his friends and family recalled a compassionate young man who felt compelled to help people, and whose politics was love, not hate. it is a tragedy, jack‘s death, but his life, as his father said in the service, his life was a triumph, and we have to hold onto that and jack‘s legacy of commitment to those on whom society is all too happy to turn its back. jack passionately believed in others, and so should we. in stratford—upon—avon, at the holy trinity church,

where william shakespeare is buried, the family and friends of saskia jones were gathering to remember her. she died in the same attack as jack merritt, and also had a masters in criminology from cambridge. she‘d planned tojoin the police to work with victims of crime. she was with jack merritt at a prisoner education conference near london bridge three weeks ago when one of the participants, who had recently been released from a long sentence for terrorism offences, stabbed them both to death. the cambridge university vice—chancellor said that the way they died should not eclipse their lives and the way they had helped others. daniel sandford, bbc news. australia‘s prime minister, scott morrison, has apologised for going on holiday while intense bushfires wreak havoc across the country. he cut short a family trip to hawaii, after two volunteer firefighters died while tackling a huge blaze near sydney. there‘s a state of emergency

in new south wales amid a heatwave which has produced this week two of australia‘s hottest days on record. the us aircraft maker boeing has failed in its attempt to send an unmanned capsule to the international space station. lift—off was fine, but a technical problem meant too much fuel was being burnt, so the mission had to be aborted. since 2011, when nasa‘s space shuttle programme was abandoned, the us has had to use russian capsules to send astronauts into space. there have been more mass protests in india today, with at least six people killed in demonstrations over new citizenship laws. it‘s being claimed the legislation discriminates against the country‘s 200 million—strong muslim population, with many fearing they could become stateless. but the move by prime minister narendra modi is popular with his hindu supporters. from delhi, here‘s rajini vaidyanathan. is this a moment of reckoning

for the world‘s largest democracy? as anger over a controversial citizenship law intensifies. scenes of defiance, protesters ignoring curfews, police accused of heavy—handed tactics. hundreds of thousands across this vast and diverse nation have taken to the streets to oppose a law they say discriminates against muslims. it offers fast—track citizenship for illegal immigrants from three neighbouring countries, except muslims. the government says it‘s to protect religious minorities fleeing persecution. india prides itself on its secular principles, the right to equality for all faiths. many fear that by making religion a condition of citizenship, that core fundamental principle is now at stake. muslims say they are living in fear.

the government is planning to publish a nationwide register of citizens in which everyone would have to prove they‘re indian. those who can‘t will be considered illegal immigrants, with only non—muslims afforded protection under the new citizenship law. "i do not trust the government," she tells me. "if they do not accept my documents which prove i‘m indian, then what will i do?" pressure‘s mounting on indian‘s prime minister narendra modi, but he still has huge support for his hindu nationalist agenda. tonight in delhi, a group of his supporters came out to defend the citizenship act. a lot of people are saying that it is against the muslims, but it is not against muslims. it is only for... it is not against anyone, it is for minorities in three neighbouring countries, pakistan, afghanistan and bangladesh where islam is the main religion. this week‘s large—scale protests

represents the first real dissent against mr modi‘s government. some fear the country‘s inching closer to becoming a hindu state and worry that india‘s secular soul is at stake. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, delhi. arsenal have appointed their former player mikel arteta as their new manager. a former captain of the club, he described his appointment as a "a huge honour". the 37—year—old has signed a three and half year deal, and will take charge after tomorrow‘s match at everton. tomorrow sees the final of the football world club championship, with liverpool taking on the brazilian club flamengo. the match is being held in the gulf state of qatar, which is also hosting the 2022 world cup. but it‘s always been a controversial choice of venue, because of the country‘s human rights record and treatment of migrant workers. the intense heat is also a big problem. olly foster reports now from qatar.

come on you reds. following liverpool has its benefits. reds abroad and getting redder. this is football‘s new frontier and for the past week as different continents and cultures have come together, qatar has been put to the test. it‘s really much like dubai and abu dhabi, very similar place, but i‘ve found it great so far. you're worried about what you're going to wear, you know, and also the cost is unbelievably ridiculous. well, this is where liverpool and their fans will be heading for the final. in three years‘ time though, doha is going to be a destination for millions coming here for the world cup, but qatar wants to show now that they are ready to welcome the world. but not everybody feels welcome. some of liverpool‘s lgbt fans have been reluctant to travel to a country that criminalises homosexuality. some kops out members have said that they wouldn‘t want to go to a country which legalises the persecution of lgbt plus people,

that they would not feel safe, and that they would feel hypocritical. there are other concerns as the city‘s expansion matches the gulf state‘s ambitions, the deaths of migrant construction workers in the height of summer and their welfare has been repeatedly highlighted by human rights groups. the number of work—related deaths is disputed, but organisers say they are doing all they can. we take this matter very, very seriously, and our commitment towards their families is to make sure the families are taken care of and more important to try to ensure as much as possible that this never happens again. this is also a fifa tournament, and speaking to me today, the most powerful man in football says the game is driving change. i don‘t think that football can change the world, but football can certainly have a positive impact on the world, and if we compare the situation here in qatar five years ago or ten years ago, today, the situation has become already much, much better.

without the world cup, without football, this will not have happened. it‘s against that backdrop that liverpool are attempting to become officially the best team in the world. an injury time winner against the mexicans monterrey sees them face the south american champions flamengo. the club world cup returns to qatar next year, another dry run ahead of 2022. organisers say the tournament‘s success will be measured by the fans‘ positive experience. liverpool fans measure their trips by trophies. they are simply here to see if their team can become world champions. ollie foster, bbc news, doha. that‘s it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night.

hello and welcome to sportsday. i‘m austin halewood. coming up on the programme: arsenal have their man. mikel arteta becomes the gunners new manager on a three—and—a—half—year deal. celtic, watch out. rangers narrow the gap at the top of the scottish premiership after an emphatic 3—0 win at hibs. and gloucester are up to third in rugby‘s premiership, after a comfortable win over rivals worcester. welcome to sportsday. it‘s been the worst kept secret in football.

but finally, after almost a week of negotiations, mikel arteta is now oficially the new arsenal manager. he‘s been given a three—and—a—half—year contract, after working as an assistant coach at manchester city. arsenal are 10th in the league, 7 points off the top four. so there‘s lots of work to do. iam i am preparing for a few years for this challenge to come. i know the expectations. i know the level and i know the stature of this club and what it deserves, so for that challenge. i can‘t wait to start working with the players and everybody here at the club, but i‘m sensing a good energy today since i‘ve been a long, so it‘s giving me more energy. i feel so i‘ve been a long, so it‘s giving me more energy. ifeel so happy. it was a lwa ys more energy. ifeel so happy. it was always a dream for me the day i left and the day i made the decision to leave this football club. i said to the people, i‘m going to outside, i‘m going to learn, get prepared and

hopefully one day, i can come back here when i feel i am ready to make that step. if i would not file an ready and prepared for this, i would not be sitting in this chair. we need an immediate impact. we need to win games. we need to raise the level of confidence in the players. and finally, we need the fence. we need to engage them. what we want to bring to this football club. and i think that is the only way we give them, they will give us a little bit, and we will feel that connection because we need to plug these two things together. this is how i am feeling. there assumption. i‘m so excited. i dig we have the right team. i‘ve had many conversations with other senior people at the club. they feel in the same path, so i have a good feeling.

well, arsenal legend david seaman won three league titles and four fa cup during 13 trophy—laden years at highbury. so, what does he think is arteta‘s top priority as boss? just to get the team back to winning ways. the team at the moment look lost. the players need to have a good look at themselves as will because they have not performed for the last two managers. i know freddy was interim manager. itjust did not look like they were performing for him. they need to have a look at themselves and raise their games. and then forever and to get together, mikel was saying he wants the fence to get behind him, he wants everybody. i was impressed with his first press conference. for his first half a season and hopefully top five. i think that would be a great achievement. going forward , would be a great achievement. going forward, we need to be competing for trophies again. because he knows

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