200 britons, being flown back from the chinese city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, will be quarantined for 14 days. thousands have been infected, more than 130 have died. britons in wuhan say they‘re today at 5:00, brexit will be signed and sealed in a historic relieved to be returning to the uk. vote this afternoon — it‘s a good precautionary measure. before being delivered on friday night. it‘s in line with what other governments are doing as well. members of the european parliament look certain to approve and i think it gives the withdrawal agreement in the next half hour — a move reassurance to people. welcomed by nigel farage. no more being talked down to, it comes as british airways suspends its flights to and from mainland china. we‘ll have the very latest. no more being bullied, also on the programme tonight: northern rail will be taken over by the government, after years of passenger disruption. no more, i mean... i mean, what's not to like? i know you're going to miss us. seriously ill patients are waiting i know you want to ban our national more than an hour for an ambulance flags, but we are going to wave you goodbye. i'm adam fleming come alive at the european parliament building in brussels, we will bring you the result of the vote in the next half an hour, and all the reaction. we'll have the latest from brussels

as the result of that vote comes in. the other main stories on bbc news at 5. as the authorities in china fight to contain the spread of the coronavirus — britons being evacuated from wuhan are told they'll have to spend two weeks in quarantine. it's the end of the line for northern — the troubled rail operator is losing its franchise — and being taken back into public hands at the beginning of march. it was like yeah, you know, i don't get on because it's too busy and i've had to wait for the next train, and sometimes even the train after that. at one point, we had a game with the northern rail twitter account which was how many people can be fit into your toilet, which is eight, if you want to know. 999 under pressure. every week — thousands of seriously ill patients are waiting more than an hourfor an ambulance. restructuring for bbc news — a50 jobs are to go with cuts to newsnight and radio five live announced, to help save 80 million pounds. and coming up — as we learn

of scientists‘ fears of a glacier melting in the antarctic — we look at what it takes to do research in such a hostile and remote enviornment. it's 5:00 — our main story is that after almost 50 years of membership, the european parliament is set to approve the terms of the uk's departure from the european union in an historic vote. the 751 representatives have been debating the brexit withdrawal agreement in brussels — and look certain to approve the brexit withdrawal deal in the next half hour. these in the next half hour. are life pictures from european these are life pictures from european parliament. the vote is the final stage of the ratification process, ahead of the uk's exit at 11 o'clock

on friday evening. our europe correspondent adam flemming is in brussels. adam, just talk us through the atmosphere there and what we are expecting in the next hour or so. well, ben, the building has been absolutely packed. loads of journalists all across europe and elsewhere coming to observe this big moments, even some former mvps who have been here, and at one point miss belgium, the winner of the beauty pageant was here to observe the proceedings, not quite sure who invited her, but she wanted to see what was going on, certainly a lot busier than i've noted at some points when the brexit process was getting technical in the meetings we re getting technical in the meetings were going very late. but this is a very big moments, because the european parliament is going to approve the brexit deal probably in the next half hour, we know they're going to approve it because all the parliamentary committees who have been involved in the brexit process have given it their thumbs up. that you negotiating team led by michel

barnier have tried very hard all throughout to keep mvps on board so that there was no chance of the deal being derailed at this time of the very last minute. we've had about 45 minutes oran hourof very last minute. we've had about 45 minutes or an hour of speeches. they have split between those who are sad about the uk leaving, those who are sending warnings about how difficult the next phase of negotiations will become as the uk and that you try to negotiate their future permanent new relationship, and then we heard from people who are pleased that brexit is happening, not least the leader of the brexit party, nigel farage, who is only in politics to get to this moment. indeed, there's a historic battle going on now across the west in europe, america and elsewhere. it is globalism against populism, and you may loathe populism, but i will tell you a funny thing, it's becoming very popular. laughing. and it has great benefits, no more financial contributions, no more european court ofjustice.

no more common fisheries policy, no more being talked down to, no more being bullied, no more, i mean... i mean, what's not to like? i know you are going to miss us. i know you want to ban our national flags, but we are going to wave you goodbye, and we will look forward in the future to working with you as sovereign... silence. if you disobey the rules, you get cut off. could we please remove the flags? mr farage, could we remove the flags, please? that's it, it's all over, finished. that was the chair of the proceedings, the irish mep telling off the brexit party mvps for waving those flags. the brexit party leading this place, —— leaving this

place, winding up everybody else, we think the debate will wind up shortly, we will hear from half steps, the belgium mep who has been the european parliament point man on the european parliament point man on the brexit negotiations and i think we may hear a final word from michel barnier to me you chief brexit negotiator, then the vote will happen, after that, there will be what we call a ceremony in the space opposite the chamber, where we will hear a few words from the european parliament president, david, and any other senior mvps who want to speak. then i'm told the snp members will arrange to be piped out of the european parliament by a bagpiper, and loads of other mvps want there to bea and loads of other mvps want there to be a mass sing—along of auld lang syne, so it could be quite cringe you to some, very moving to others, pretty momentous for everyone. adam, we will be back with you as that vote happens, thank you very much for the moment. adam fleming there for the moment. adam fleming there for a parliament. the cabinet office secretary, michael gove has been speaking to bbc news ahead of the uk leaving the eu later this week —

he said that eu membership had at times made him feel that his hands were tied. one of the things that frustrated me when i was in government in the past was that documents would cross my desk. in the past was that documents would cross my desk, i would be asked whether or not i thought something was a good idea, i would occasionally say i'm not sure this is a good idea, and that i was told, well, there's nothing you can do about it. this is eu law. that's going to change. it's going to end. and as a result, actually, there won't be a hiding place for politicians like me. i can't blame europe for unemployment or any of the policies this government might be responsible for. in that respect, brexit means that politicians are no longer able to run away from the voters. michael go with his thoughts ahead of that brexit vote in the european parliament in the next few minutes we will be back there with adam fleming as soon as that vote happens. let's go on to other news now. the government says british citizens returning from wuhan —

the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in china — will be put in quarantine for 14 days. they're likely to be taken to a military base once they arrive home, and may be asked to sign a contract before boarding the plane from china, agreeing that they will go into quarantine. it's thought around 200 british nationals are in the city of wuhan. so far, the virus has kiled more than 100 people in china — and spread to at least 16 other countries. british airways has suspended all direct flights to and from mainland china because of the outbreak. here's richard galpin. the empty streets of wuhan, the city where this epidemic began. and where many people are holed up in their homes, including 200 british nationals who have finally been told planes are being chartered to get them back to the uk. but it's been chaotic. the british government initially saying when they arrived in the uk they would have to make their own way home and then go into isolation. but now the government is saying they will be quarantined

immediately on arrival, possibly in a military base. khan lambert who lives in wuhan has lost his place on tomorrow khan lambert who lives in wuhan has lost his place on tomorrow's flight out because of the mix—up but welcomed the change of policy. i am happy that they have been listening and put it in place. we don't want to put the uk public at any risk and if this makes it safer for those that that is what is necessary i think. other countries have been much quicker to get their citizens back home. this group of japanese arriving in tokyo earlier today. and the australian government has been quick to announce that this migrant detention centre on christmas island will now be used to keep people returning from china in quarantine. they will be transported to christmas island where we will also be putting in place a hazmat team that will be

travelling there to provide medical support and that will be supplemented as is necessary by other defence support. australian scientists have also taken the lead in tackling the new coronavirus, replicating it in the lab for the first time. this step makes it possible for a lot of things to move forward that have been delayed and we are just delighted to have been able to fill that gap in the space between 2am saturday morning when the first case was diagnosed in australia and monday when we believe we had the virus growing in culture. here in the uk, emergency procedures are now being put into place, staff in protective clothing treating patients in birmingham yesterday who had been in wuhan and had virus —like symptoms. but experts are calling for,. but experts are calling for calm. i suspect when the full analysis is done, those who probably would have died anyway, these tend to be people who are very seriously ill to start with or compromised.

but the virus is continuing to spread across china and other countries. so far there is no sign of it weakening. richard galpin, bbc news. let's talk more about the virus with connor bamford, a virologist and fellow in anti—viral immunity at queen's university belfast. thank you for being with us. first of all, this idea a 14 day quarantine for british citizens coming back here, is that a sensible precaution? i think that's a very sensible precaution, and this is based on the fact that we know the incubation period for this virus, so between being infected were first exposed and actually potentially showing symptoms could last up to 14 days and may be on average about seven days. just being very cautious in making sure people may or may not have the virus. how dangerous is this coronavirus do you think compared to other viruses that we've seen? i thank you have to take this very seriously, it is a dangerous virus that can infect people. it's a new virus. we don't know much about

it, it can infect people, it can cause serious disease, and importantly, it can transmit between them, again, and partly, can transmit between them when people aren't showing symptoms, which is quite a worry when you try to control it. the chinese authorities have been trying hard to control it, stopping travel out of wuhan and the surrounding province. do you think that they have done all they could to vent the spread of this?” that they have done all they could to vent the spread of this? i think it appears that they have done everything that any country could have done. only time will tell what impact that has, i think preliminary figures coming out show that actually there has been a slight drop in confirmed cases, and whether thatis drop in confirmed cases, and whether that is because of these quarantine measures are not, we don't really know, but its welcome new. what is the pattern with the virus like this? in terms of its spread, does it, is it possible to predict that the rate of spread will slow down? you would predict if you are doing things right you are separating

infected people from uninfected people, that the virus would spread —— that fire spread would slow down, we know that anybody is susceptible, but the people who are at most risk are those older patients and people who have other underlying conditions like heart disease. the initial advice from the government was self isolation, in other words people coming back from china, particularly from wuhan should stay home and i go out and about, that has now changed to this idea of a 14 day quarantine. do you think that we have been getting slightly mixed messages on this from the british government?” don't think there are mixed messages, because we are learning from this virus every single day, and what's emerged in the last couple of days is this role that asymptomatic spreaders have, so i thinkjust being over cautious and ensuring that people do not accidentally pass the virus on to their loved ones or onto the community. british airways stopping flights to and from china, the whole of china, again, is that a sensible

move do you think? so, from a virus perspective, this virus is spread outside of wuhan from its outside of the province, there's a number of cities across china, and we don't have a vaccine, we don't have any antiviral, so the best way we can do this is to just prevent it, to prevent it from spreading in china and prevented from spreading outside of china, so, again, only time will tell whether it has a real impact, but i think it's a good idea. connor, thank you very much, connor ba mford connor, thank you very much, connor bamford there, connor, thank you very much, connor ba mford there, fellow connor, thank you very much, connor bamford there, fellow antiviral immunity at queen's university, belfast. thank you. northern rail is to be nationalised. the transport secretary has announced the troubled rail company will come under government control from the first march after years of major disruption. grant shapps has ordered bosses of the public company to come—up with a 100 day plan to improve the service for passengers. live now to our correspondent danny savage who's at leeds station for us. danny —— danny? danny -- danny? ben, ithink many people will welcome the news, if

they are northern passengers, they feel that things can't get worse, so they hope that if the government is going to take over the franchise, it might actually improve the situation. time will only tell whether that's going to be the case, but just to give whether that's going to be the case, butjust to give you an idea of what it's like a pure, i can see the 1715 to willfully over my shoulder, that's about to go in a minute. the next train is in 17 minutes' time. that's a frequent service in northern england, it's not like the london in the southeast where there might be another train along in two, five, ten minutes, doesn't run like that appear command what northern passengers have complained about a lot is overcrowding and trains turning up and they are unable to get on them. i've spent a few mornings travelling with people on northern talking about their experiences. early morning at chapeltown station in sheffield. lots of commuters use this stop. the next service is half an hour behind this one, so everyone has to squeeze on. this is normal, and people are fed up with northern, who operate these services. today this is actually fairly roomy, but usually, you know, i either don't get on because it's

too busy, and i've had to wait for the next train. and sometimes even the train after that. at one point we had a game with the northern rail twitter account which was how many people can we fit into your toilet. which is eight, if you want to know! eight people can fit in the toilet. because that is the only space that was left on the train? yes. and we left people at the platform. overcrowding, cancellations, and delays are an everyday occurrence. but some passengers aren't sure what difference northern losing its franchise will make. well, it's hard to say because there's still a problem in terms of infrastructure. would the new franchise have enough trains, have enough capacity on there? or would itjust be like rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic? we've got conductors on the train who get verbal abuse from customers as well, which i've seen in the past, which is not fair on them. they're here to do theirjob, it's not their fault that the capacity is not enough. just over a year ago i travelled to work with vanessa bremner. she is another commuter on northern. her route is doncaster to leeds. at least, it was. because now, she's given

up and uses the car. i know numerous people who have had to stop taking the train and have started driving. you know, leeds city council is talking about congestion charges. we are all focused on climate change and the environment. they are all being forced into their vehicles. those that are still using the trains, even this morning at least five members of my team came in late because of delays on the trains. those campaigning for investment in the north say extra platforms are needed in leeds and manchester to increase capacity. stripping northern of its franchise is not a game changer. the challenges and issues on northern are not really related to the company who runs the franchise, they are to do with the failure to build infrastructure here in west yorkshire and across the pennines in manchester. few will mourn the end of northern's tenure. the passengers are not naive, they know a change in operator will not necessarily fix the problem. they are looking to the government

for a proper solution in northern england. the government says that passengers deserve better, but will they get better? the main argument for many people is that there needs to be changes within infrastructure, they are building a new platform here at leads station at the moment, it's called platform zero, that will help with trains heading over the pennines, but there is still the bottleneck in manchester, and all those delays cannot back on and cause delays as far back to scarborough as trains get delayed behind one another along the line, and that's not necessarily northern's fault, here is what the transport secretary had to say today. i've been very concerned about northern since i became transport secretary last summer and so i immediately put steps in place to look at the alternatives and issued the formal notices and today what has happened is essentially the northern franchise has hit the buffer. they are to be stripped of that franchise and instead it will go to what is called the office of last resort which means we will take over

running this franchise and start to bring in improvements. it is a massive network, 108 million passengers a year, over 500 stations so it is really large so improvements will take some time but there are things we will do straightaway for example just deep clean the trains to start with and make sure there is a proper cleaning schedule in place. improve for example those sunday services where the trains just haven't been running, immediately get things like that back into place as quickly as possible. i have actually asked what is called the office of last resort, those are the people who are now run that for me, to come up with a 100 day plan so that within at 100 days they are both making improvements and recommending the way forward to relieve some of this congestion. for example, 30 platforms with extensions to ensure that the overcrowding on these trains reduces and many other steps that we'll be taking including such getting more trains into the network, getting rid of those pacers and then more trains into next year.

so, cleaning trains and improving sunday services is one thing, but ultimately, what passengers want our trains to run on time monday to saturday, so they can get to work on time and get to home on time. they don't want to delay repay, they don't want to delay repay, they don't want to delay repay, they don't want rebates on their season tickets, they want a train that turns up on time and gets them to and from to where they need to go. i think northern passengers will give government a period of grace when they take over the franchise to try to get things right, but if it doesn't start improving within a few months, those complaints will start coming loud and frequent again, ben. danny, many thanks indeed for that, danny, many thanks indeed for that, danny savage for us at leads railway station. some news just some newsjust coming into us some news just coming into us from scottish parliaments, mps have voted to back a motion calling for the scottish parliament to have the power to hold another independence referendum. they voted in favour of the motion arguing that a referendum

should be held so the people of scotla nd should be held so the people of scotland can decide whether they wa nt to scotland can decide whether they want to become an independent country. earlier, nicola sturgeon, the first minister said it was the only way for scotland to become part of europe after the uk leaves the a you on friday. the scottish parliament is saying that bo should happen in 2020, that would need permission from westminster to hold another referendum, something the prime minister, boris johnson another referendum, something the prime minister, borisjohnson has already said he will not authorise. itv news presenter alastair stewart is stepping down from his role following "errors ofjudgment in alastair‘s use of social media". in a statement, the veteran broadcaster, 67, said: "it was a misjudgement which i regret." itn said he had breached editorial guidelines. stewartjoined itv in 1980 and began fronting news at ten nine years later. a bbc investigation has found that every week thousands of seriously

ill patients in england and wales are waiting more than an hour for an ambulance to reach them. people suffering medical emergencies such as heart attacks and strokes are not meant to wait more than 18 minutes, and experts warn the delays are a threat to patients' lives. nhs bosses have blamed rising demand, and ambulances being delayed at a&e. here's our health correspondent, nick triggle. derrin cozart was at his home in northumberland on his own when he collapsed. he came to and rang 999. over an hour later, an ambulance arrived. he was dead. he had suffered a gastric haemorrhage, causing massive internal bleeding. the case is now being investigated by the north east ambulance service. his partner, mark mitchell, has been wondering whether the delays cost him his life. nobody will ever know whether an ambulance arriving eight minutes or 18 or 38 minutes later, derrin would have still have been alive. but the fact we don't know the answer to that doesn't mean

there shouldn't be accountability somewhere to say, when we don't meet these targets, people die. the bbc has been investigating long waits for emergency ambulance responses like this and has found they have been quite common since the start of 2018. the highest priority calls are split into two categories by the nhs. ambulance emergency, is the patient breathing? immediately life—threatening cases are basically situations where a patient is not breathing, where their heart has stopped or where they are bleeding uncontrollably. long waits are very unusual for this small group of patients known as "category one" by the nhs. in england, only one in 270 take longer than 30 minutes to reach, but for patients in the next most serious category of calls, long waits are much more common. one in 16 take longer than an hour to reach, and this can include patients having strokes, heart attacks and fits.

that works out at over 4,000 waits of over more than one hour every week in england, far worse than the target response time of 18 minutes on average. significant problems are also being reported in wales, where each week, more than 1,000 calls take longer than an hour, although there are some differences in how they categorise patients there. nhs bosses blamed rising demand and delays handing over patients at a&e. it is certainly not easy to reach everyone as quickly as we would all like, but let's be very clear, all of our staff are working flat out to keep everybody, first and foremost, to keep all of our patients and everybody as safe as possible. many ambulance services said they had increased staffing, only to find the extra resource largely swallowed up by delays at a&e. nick triggle, bbc news. companies involved in the refurbishment of grenfell tower have asked for immunity from prosecution before

appearing at the new phase of the inquiry. they want a legal guarantee that they will be protected when they give evidence. 72 people died in the disaster in 2017. our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds, was at the inquiry in central london. anybody who gives evidence at a public inquiry has the right not to incriminate themselves, because a public inquiry is not a court of law. what they are asking for is the chairman of the inquiry, sir martin moravec, to request, if you like, a note from the attorney—general, the senior government lawyer, saying that if they were to say something or gives some evidence that gave them a problem criminally, that it couldn't be used in any prosecution. remember, the police are carrying out a major criminal investigation into grenville tower. now, the chairman will consider that in a hearing tomorrow, but it really was not popular with some of the people standing around me here are the victims of grenfell tower, there we re victims of grenfell tower, there were audible groans in the hearing room when this became known. and

there was another development today, there was another development today, the royal borough of kensington and chelsea has said it's not going to get involved in what's been described as the merry—go—round of blame between companies involved in g re nfell tower, blame between companies involved in grenfell tower, it has made an apology today for what it called a series of failings at its building control department. now, that's the department of inspectors who are seen as the last line of defence when a building's been built to make sure that it's going to be safe in a fire. and the council's barrister said the series of failings and he apologised unreservedly, one of those failings was that the council failed to look at any fire risk assessment about the cladding beyond the 3rd of november 2013. they hadn't even decided what the cladding would be by that point. that's tom symons, with a coming up injust a moment, let's just take you back quickly to the european parliament in brussels, because in the next few minutes, it's going to be ratifying the brexit deal that allows britain to leave the european union, there's

michel barnier, the brexit negotiator of course. that is an agreement that is going to be rubber—stamped really by the 751 representatives of the european parliament and they will, as adam fleming was telling us a little earlier, undoubtedly approve the brexit deal. let's listen into michel barnierfor a moment. brexit deal. let's listen into michel barnier for a moment. where majority of citizens expressed their democratic choice to leave the european union. many of us here regrets that decision, we continue to regret the vote, but we respected it. so, the task that we've been mandated within the commission by the government, by you was to work to organise the withdrawal, and if the withdrawal treaty that's been put through has one quality, ladies and gentlemen, i will pick up in a

moment, and that is to organise a withdrawal of the united kingdom from the eu in an orderly fashion. brexit, more than has been the case where many have discussed the consequences, but i would say they are innumerable consequences. in social terms, legal terms, financial economic terms, and there is more. what we have tried to do in this treaty in an objective fashion in a patient fashion, with all due respect, is to try to come up with responses or legal assurances for all of those in all sectors, where brexit, as with the divorce, will generate insecurity and uncertainty for many citizens. and their rates have always been at the centre of our deliberations, it has always been our priority. that was the spirit within which we did ourjobs. an orderly withdrawal, we had

hundreds of meetings, 17 settings, andi hundreds of meetings, 17 settings, and i had the honour of meeting many groups on many occasions. now i would like to just say a word for the intelligence with which he has beenin the intelligence with which he has been in this group. everyone in this group, and everybody who has worked for the group, most notably the general secretary of the european parliament and your staff. if i may, i would like to say that we are going to continue in the year that's comes, this current year, with the same spirits, the same objectivity, without any aggression, by firmly, however, defending the interests of the union and its member states, following the line and principles that were recalled to us by our president in terms of the future relations with the prospective in the back of our minds, but that's

something i've always done. going beyond brexit some of the uk will remaina beyond brexit some of the uk will remain a close partner when it comes to the economy, it will be an ally as it always has been, and it will bea as it always has been, and it will be a friend, and we are going to work to regenerate a new legal framework for that alliance between the european union and the united kingdom to consolidate that friendship and to make sure that this partnership works. there's a second test, ladies and gentlemen, mr president, who shouldn't be underestimated or forgotten about, and that's to implement this agreement and all of its aspects, and that is the work that we have this year, but the operation by the end of the year, i'm thinking of citizens‘ end of the year, i‘m thinking of citizens‘ rights, and thinking, particularly, about the republic of ireland and northern ireland, where peaceis ireland and northern ireland, where peace is always a fragile issue. as our president has already done, i would like to thank all of the british and who in some way shape or form have been working for 47 years

on the construct this european project. i have a personal memory of many of you and think of andrew duff, richard corbett, the work that was done on the convention, but also on the two locations where i have the european commission for the internal market previously for regional policy. vicky ford, malcolm harper, so many of you in the diversity of the groups that you represent with whom i‘ve always had useful and important and constructive discussions, i would like to thank you all on a personal note. maybe if i could just wind up with just three brief messages, the first, throughout the whole of this negotiation, and for the year to come, our task has been and will be to deal with the consequences of brexit, and i would say come as many of you would say very forcefully, in our political responsibilities, and

iama our political responsibilities, and i am a politician first and foremost, that we take the time to the people, listen to what they say on occasion with brexit, and listen to what they are saying in many regions to draw lessons from what has happened with brexit. the second point, refers to a conference that was organised by my colleague in the commission, someone i respect, chris pattern, who is a british conservative, chris had a conference that he held in dublin, and he concluded with this question, the defence of meant national interest could that solely be a national concern? the defence of the national interest, that, can that solely be of national interest? you can put that in other terms, is it not necessary to be european over and above being a patriot, i would say not instead of, over and above, in addition to, and i would say you need to be a patriot and be european

at the same time. that european dimension gives an additional boost of forest to our own national patriotism. mr president, let me finish with a short message i had passed in belfast on monday. at queens university. in this new beginning, i would really and sincerely like to wish the uk well. that was michelle barnier, the eu‘s chief brexit negotiator saying it is a new beginning. and we arejust waiting for the boat now, the ratification of the brexit deal. joining me now is maddy thimont—jack from the institute for government.

just describe what is happening in the european parliament is right for us. what the european parliament are doing, they are voting on the withdrawal agreement that has been negotiated between the uk and, on the uk site, our parliament has passed the legislation necessary to allow the uk to ratify, and now the european parliament also needs to vote to approve the details of the treaty, so that can be ratified formally on the eu site. at this stage, we know they are going to pass the deal, but this is the final step before we know that legally the uk will leave the eu on friday at 11 p uk will leave the eu on friday at 11 pm. it is uk will leave the eu on friday at 11 p m. it is pretty last-minute, a couple of days before we are formally leaving. it does feel quite odd that we have come close of the wire, but last week the boats on the committees of the european parliament where a majority of meps voted in favour of the deal, think the concern for the long time is about the uk parliament, and once that was resolved, there wasn‘t ever really that much of a doubt that the

european parliament would reject it. we saw nigel farage and is brexit meps sort of celebrating a bit earlier, waving the union flag and saying britain won‘t be bullied any more, that kind of rhetoric from nigel farage. we can see there are obviously different emotions depending on which party meps are from. obviously the brexit party are delighted that the uk is finally leaving, this has been nigel farage‘s project for a long time. i think we see from other parties are a lot more sadness about the fact they will no longer be sitting as meps and the european parliament. they will no longer be sitting as meps and the european parliamentm isa meps and the european parliamentm is a historic moment. happy century or so since britainjoined, this is. it isa or so since britainjoined, this is. it is a historic moment and once 11pm passes on friday, there is no sort of opportunity to revoke article 50 to take back that choice, so it is really final. and there is the vote happening right now...

adam fleming is there for us. talk us adam fleming is there for us. talk us through what is happening right now inside the european parliament. so, they are voting, and they do it electronically. each mep has a card and some buttons on their desk, they call out the vote and it is just happen. 621meps call out the vote and it is just happen. 621 meps in favour, 49 against, 13 abstentions. so as we expected, a huge number of meps voting through the brexit they will, that became inevitable when the committees involved in brexit here gaveit committees involved in brexit here gave it approval last week, and now, a real moment of theatre in the european parliament. this is what we thought was going to happen, a mass singalong to auld lang syne to say goodbye to the uk‘s 73 m aps. —— meps. singing.

song: auld lang syne applause

adam, some extraordinary scenes in the european parliament. earlier we saw nigel farage and the brexit party meps waving the union flag, and now this rendering of auld lang syne, hugging and kissing, scarves being waived and, really, remarkable scenes there. let‘s go back to maddy. what do you make of what we have been seeing? as you say, it is pretty remarkable, and clearly an outpouring of emotion. so, you know, i think this is a big moment. we know it is happening, the uk is leaving, we can go back on that.

lot of emotion there. definitely, the uk has been part of the eu for a long time. uk meps i think been valued in the parliament, the uk voice has been valued in eu institutions. that is a moment of change. it doesn‘t mean the uk and the eu can work together going forward , the eu can work together going forward, we have got to negotiate the entire future relationship and how that cooperation will work, but the uk will no longer be in those eu institutions and the uk boys will be different, the influence it has will change. is funny, we think of the european parliament is quite a dry institution, but actually a lot of emotion there. but people like nigel farage obviously full ofjoy emotion there. but people like nigel farage obviously full of joy this evening, but a lot of those european parliamentarians who full of sadness. definitely, the european parliament over time is about as well. it is sort of got more powers are treaty changes have gone on, so the european parliament as a body has become more important. mep‘s rosa become more important. i think meps feel like they have played an

important role in the institutions, so the fact there are no longer going to be there is emotional. as you say, because that is not the case for everyone, and brexit party meps are glad that finally the project has sort of to fruition. maddie, thank you. let mejust project has sort of to fruition. maddie, thank you. let me just tell you what borisjohnson is missing in the last few moments, that the uk will make a dignified exit from the european union, and embark on a new chapter. the prime minister said brexit at 11pm on friday would be a moment of hope for the country, but with the country still deeply split, he said he would be celebrating in a respectful manner. this was boris johnson answering questions on facebook he said what i will be doing is in common with everybody else, i will be making a dignified exit from the european union, i will be celebrating anyway that i hope is respectful of the scale of the event, that does justice to the astonishing feat that britain has accomplished, but also is mindful of everybody‘s feelings about what we

are doing. so those are the words from borisjohnson, are doing. so those are the words from boris johnson, we just are doing. so those are the words from borisjohnson, wejust had end. that was the boat in the european parliament, overwhelmingly to approve the brexit deal for the united kingdom to finally leave the european union on friday at 11pm uk time. controversial facebook and instagram adverts, urging young women to become surrogate mothers, could be allowed for the first time under plans seen by the victoria derbyshire programme. it‘s currently against the law to advertise for a surrogate, or to pay more than ‘reasonable expenses‘ for someone to carry a baby. jim reed has this report. caroline and ian had been trying for a baby for years, but there were health problems and a series of miscarriages. we had a black cloud over us, basically. but we were so determined that we wanted to have children, that you just keep going. ivf didn‘t work. so theyjoined surrogacy uk, a not—for—profit group, and met another couple who already

had their own children. i remember going home to my mum and dad... sorry. why am i crying at this bit? this is the good bit! and we got a call from surrogacy uk to say that shell and al wanted to help us to try and have a baby. shell was implanted with caroline‘s fertilised eggs. later that year she gave birth to twin girls. surrogacy like this is legal in the uk, only if it is not for profit, though expenses can be paid. the government has now asked an advisory body, the law commission, to update the law in england, wales and scotland. under its plans, the new or intended parents will take legal responsibility for a baby at birth. a blanket ban on advertising would be lifted. something the fertility regulator has warned could lead to significant cultural change and perhaps criticism. the most controversial question, payments, is left open, with the public asked for its views on whether surrogates should receive

more than just expenses. you only hear the rose tinted version of what happened, you never hear what happened when things go wrong. anna, not her real name, agreed to carry a baby for a friend. then something happened. i started to encounter hostility from the intended mother, the birth was traumatic. one of the twins was starved of oxygen. an investigation into medical failings took two years. pregnancy can go wrong, it has serious consequences which we cannot legislate for. the law commission is taking absolutely the wrong approach to this. we should just ban any form of surrogacy altogether. the law commission claims its plans will better protect all sides, including the surrogate. our intention is not to liberalise surrogacy, our intention is not to increase surrogacy. our intention is to provide a safe and effective legal framework.

the full consultation will last until 2021 when a new law will shape surrogacy in this country for the next generation. jim reed, bbc news. bbc news is to cut around a50 jobs as part of plans to meet a savings target of £80 million. jobs will go at the world service, 5live and bbc two‘s newsnight as well as the victoria derbyshire programme. the bbc‘s director of news fran unsworth explained how viewers would be affected. well, what we are trying to do is, in order to meet this hefty savings target, we are also trying to change the model of how we produce news. because at the moment we have lots and lots of different outlets and programmes, who all have the power to commission their own stories, to send their own teams to places. so what we want is to coordinate that much better. so that teams will actually cooperate and collaborate with each other, so that we don‘t get lots and lots of different teams

all going at different times to do stories. so if you‘re watching an individual outlet, on that basis, you may not see that much difference. lets get more on this, i‘m joined now by our arts correspondent david sillito. a changing media landscape, of course, is that part of the reason for this change of approach from bbc news and these job cuts? two things going on here, one is that this be a long time coming, a person to last licensee the settlement. the whole of the bbc has had to make changes, bbc news is part of it. they had £49 so far saved, and other to go. they had to cut some jobs, so 450. if you are —— 14 million so far. there are going to be changes, a review of news presenters, world service, victoria derbyshire show as we already know is going to go. that is how it‘s going to affect what is known as a linear output, if you happen to be a media executive. to

you and me, it is old school tv and radio channels. that is the big problem behind all this, there is a big reorganisation, because i think the one figure that always stands out to me, that probably explains what the issue as is the average age, the median age of the viewer of bbc one and bbc two is now over 60. older viewers have stayed with the bbc and they are still watching lots and lots of it‘s output, younger viewers, no. what they want to do is move more content from, well, channels like this and programmes to wear younger people are viewing, online content in one form or another. two things going on today, one, cuts, too, a big organisation try reflect a new landscape. a reaction from reaction from staff, from unions? they victoria -- victoria derbyshire decidedly

unhappy at what has happened on twitter, saying they weren‘t being asked for big audiences on their slot, they were asked to reach a different audience, which they were doing. break different types of stories, the originaljournalism, they said they were doing everything along those lines. the bbc say they are still committed to that form of journalism, just not the expense of doing it on a big channel programme. other than that, we will await, because the actual details ofjob cuts will probably come in may or june of this year, when the fine detail will appear. the headlines on bbc news... the european parliament has given its final approval to the brexit deal, sealing the uk‘s exit from the eu. as the authorities in china fight to contain the spread of the coronavirus — britons being evacuated from wuhan learn they‘ll be placed in quarantine for two weeks. end of the line — troubled rail operator northern is to lose its franchise — and be taken back into public

hands on the 1st of march. scottish mps have voted in favour of calling for a referendum so the people can decide "whether they wish to be an independent country". here‘s the moment the mps voted. on motion 2015 on the name of nicola sturgeon ses 64, no 54. there are no abstentions, the motion is therefore agreed. nicola sturgeon says the only way for scotland to be protected from the consequences of brexit and a conservative government is by voting for independence and rejoining the european union.

msps also voted to leave the eu flag flying outside holyrood after the uk formally leaves the eu on friday night. well, staying with brexit and in northern ireland there was much opposition to leaving the eu from all political sides. nationalists and cross—community parties disliked it altogether, while unionists opposed checks on goods coming into northern ireland from the rest of the uk. our ireland correspondent chris page has been hearing about the issues affecting people in the south of county down — as brexit day approaches this place is a picture of calmness and natural beauty, and yet it has been on the front line of a fierce debate and an often fraught process. soon, one side of this will be in the eu, the other won‘t be. the question of how to keep the border

open has been a huge diplomatic problem. in the next phase of brexit, other complex issues will come up brexit, other complex issues will come up more. brexit, other complex issues will come up more. like citizenship and national identity. previously a lot of discussion around brexit focus on trade, finance, business arrangements but now people are really certain to build the effects. it has opened a much greater conversation, particularly in northern ireland will be already know people have the option to identify as irish, british or both. it is easy to dry between the two states, but sometimes the shortest journey from north to south is across water. somewhere underneath here is the border between northern ireland and the irish republic, which has been the focus of so much negotiating about during the brexit process. over the next 12 months, we can expect the tension to turn more towards what unionist perceived to be potential economic frontier, out there in the irish sea. because northern ireland will continue to follow some eu rules, there is a

prospect of checks on goods coming from the rest of the uk. a few miles from the rest of the uk. a few miles from the rest of the uk. a few miles from the ferry terminal is the fishing port where people will be taking an interest in the brexit trade talks. this local union has voted to leave the eu, but doesn‘t like the terms as they stand.” voted to leave the eu, but doesn‘t like the terms as they stand. i am not happy with this withdrawal agreement in its current form. no i'm not. but i'm very optimistic that we can go get a free trade agreement that would eliminate these customs and tariffs, that means there will not be any word of this border in the irish sea, and we can get out as quick as we can, make the best of brexit and be the best united kingdom we can. one united kingdom weaving together. also along this borderline coastline, there is a reconciliation centre where international visitors share experiences of healing after conflict. they believed brexit may have deepened divisions.” conflict. they believed brexit may have deepened divisions. i hope we look back on this time in goal, we managed that crossroads in history

to build a betterfuture, regardless of the political conundrums that are going on. we have found a way to build bridges. ithink going on. we have found a way to build bridges. i think that is the pick?, are we gonna regret? are we going to go backwards back the journey to brexit might in one sense the over, but in this part of the uk, there will still be a particularly challenging path to navigate. let‘s go back to brussels to our europe correspondent adam flemming, who isjoined by mep mairead mcguinness let‘s go back to brussels to our europe correspondent adam flemming. meps trimming at the chamber, lots of british spies, some with champagne, if you are crying. we are joined by a couple people in the chamber. alex phelps, brexit party mep and mayor hed mcguinness, vice

president of the european parliament. you must be over the men, this is what your entire political legacy i‘ve been campaigning for this for 13 years, so it is the end of an era for me. it isa so it is the end of an era for me. it is a melancholic mates, because i‘ve enjoyed the last six months thoroughly. there are some incredible members, and thinking when a point at the opportunity to hang out with my brexit party family ain? hang out with my brexit party family again? iwant hang out with my brexit party family again? i want to see all credit to bear head, she has been an incredible chairwoman. i‘ve always enjoyed having the base and she is in the policy. this paisleys is teeming withjournals, in the policy. this paisleys is teeming with journals, and in the policy. this paisleys is teeming withjournals, and i wish had been at the last couple of years... —— make this place. what happens is when this place is not reported properly, you get brexit. this has been a very difficult three years since the book. perhaps more froze n years since the book. perhaps more frozen embryo. my worry from what i heard from some of your colleagues is that they intend to make the next 11 monthsjust as is that they intend to make the next 11 months just as difficult. is that they intend to make the next 11 monthsjust as difficult. so if we are tired now, we're going to ta ke we are tired now, we're going to take a good rest, we are going to try and get along as colleagues and friends, but we are on different sides of this debate now. it is a clear cut, it have, yes there were

many uk collies crying, on the summer carrying files. you got the numbers wrong there, but i don't think any of us can be happy. —— carrying flags. words have been used like cake, which i think is a dangerous word. i hope we all respect each other —— words like k. the uk as a colleague and neighbour can come take a deal. and one part of the debate, alex‘s colleagues we re of the debate, alex‘s colleagues were waving their flags, you made them stop. doesn‘t that play into them stop. doesn‘t that play into the hold the eu is a humourless bureaucracy thing? it does if you ta ke bureaucracy thing? it does if you take that point of view, but they are real breakers. if they're going to perceive when we come to negotiate, i would to perceive when we come to negotiate, iwould be to perceive when we come to negotiate, i would be a shame they we re negotiate, i would be a shame they were “— negotiate, i would be a shame they were —— rule breakers. the realness house no not wise, i'm irish, i know i'm irish, i don't need to my fly. i asked them to leave the chamber with his wives and they went outside. i wish they'd listen to the debate, the sadness of many,. nigel farage

has done nothing else in this house, he hasn't worked as a european mep, he hasn't worked as a european mep, he hasn't worked as a european mep, he has worked to destroy europe and has succeeded. we are not going to let him one, he may have won the war that we have a bigger battle to fight. i that we have a bigger battle to fight. i hope is respect for the fa ct fight. i hope is respect for the fact that many of us smaller member states value being with others. it is not easy, i think he used the phrase we are too big to be bullied. i hope he is not too big to be a bully, because sometimes that is what comes across. when they sang auld lang syne at the end of the bay, be ever seen anything like that in the chamber? know and i sang with them. is that not against a rose? no, because it was after. there are some rosy dependence on the brink. the point about flags is well made. there are some —— the point about flags is well made. there are some “ are some the point about flags is well made. there are some —— are some rules you bend and some you break. maybe there

isa bend and some you break. maybe there is a softening. alex, very quickly, you have no power over this process now. you are right, the brexit party, i hope it doesn‘t have to be resurrected. if it isn‘t resurrected then brexit is being done properly. by then brexit is being done properly. by 100% agree, i love europe, i‘m a fluent french speaker, i‘ve been living in belgium for three years andi living in belgium for three years and i have a huge fondness for all of the countries in this union. just because i don‘t think our own country should be in it... daddy got settled is that it is in belgium? because there is a big issue... —— have you got settled starters in belgium? the positivity, being a good neighbour. basically that is kinda better brexit in the eu side, because the actual moment on friday, they wanted to be marked in a low— key they wanted to be marked in a low—key way. this was the goodbye party today.

we have had the coldest weather of the week, some of us have had a bit of snow. here is a scene from earlier in highland scotland. there has been a bit more snow on the tops of the hells but lower down has been more like rain. some snow on as ganassi melting, and that process will accelerate as you bring in the warmer there —— snow on the ground. there will be cloud, rain and brisk winds at time too. already we have had a thoroughly wet day across western scotland today. that rain, for some of us, it‘s going to be easing overnight. easing away from parts of northern ireland where it has been wet, cumbria two, but feeding across scotland during the night. wet in northern scotland by the end of the night. low cloud,

helpful for south—west england and south wales. for many of us it is well above freezing as we start the day tomorrow. a bit of drizzly rain running across south wales in southern england, with low cloud, mist, hill fog, still rain affecting parts of scotland, especially in the north. quite strong winds, average wind speed showing appear, but the guts are going to be stronger, may be needed at 60 miles an hourfor some in the far north of scotland. a blustery thursday where ever you are, those temperatures are well above average now, and the highest is 14 celsius showing up here, but into scotland while the temperatures in double figures. that snow melt continuing. one area of low pressure pulls away on friday, and another coming in from the atlantic with these weather fronts on thursday into friday. another spell of rain in scotland. it will brighten up for some of those, but further showers. in western scotland, for the spells

of rain. a windy day on friday, either with the rain pushing further south across england or wales and with the showers following on behind the north—west. gus may be 40—50 melt forever. those temperatures, 14 celsius showing up for hull on friday. in scotland, you will notice it turning colder into the weekend. those temperatures are starting to come down, but still windy out there for many of us and it will still be wet at times over the weekend, 00:59:31,568 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 limited sunshine available.