joe biden has been handed a major boost in the democratic contest to take on donald trump in november's election. the former vice president has won the party's primary in south carolina's. it's be a welcome result after poor performances in the race so far. president trump says it's time for american soldiers to come home from afghanistan after the us signed an agreement with the militant group, the taliban. he said the us had committed to withdraw 5,000 troops by may and that he would meet taliban leaders in the nearfuture. the president's also urging calm after coronavirus claimed its first life on us soil. he said more cases were likely but that the country was well prepared. the victim, who was in his fifties, was being treated in hospital and is said to have had underlying health conditions. now on bbc news,

the week in parliament. hello and welcome to the week in parliament, as the prime minister is accused of going awol... after two weeks of flooding, mr speaker, there are now even memes being produced not asking where's wally, saying where's boris? since the flooding began there has been a constant stream of ministerial activity led by my right honourable friends. can a new drive for kinder, gentler politics succeed where others have failed? he went like this to me, shhh, sit down. which is incredibly patronising, so i turned around to them and i set "mate, you're not my dad!". and — 100 years on — the enduring legacy of the first

woman to speak in the house of commons. she introduces the intoxicating liquor bill and that of course is the reason why we all have to wait until we are 18 to drink today. all that to come and more. but first: it was a week when borisjohnson was accused of hiding rather than face up to the flooding crisis across england and wales. jeremy corbyn accused him of being a "part—time prime minister" who goes missing during emergencies. borisjohnson told him the government was working "flat out" to help people. the angry exchanges during prime minister's questions came after days of heavy rain. an emergency evacuation took place when rising waters on the river severn "overwhelmed" flood defences at ironbridge in shropshire. residents were also evacuated from their homes in bewdley, worcestershire. jeremy corbyn suggested the prime minister should visit flood—hit areas — as he himself had done.

when i visited pontypridd last week i saw at first hand the damage and destruction these floods had caused to people's lives, homes and businesses. but the prime minister was silent, sulking in his grace and favour mansion at chevening. after two weeks of flooding, mr speaker, memes are being produced, asking not "where?s wally? " but, "where?s boris? " when is the government going to stop hiding and show people that he actually cares? mr speaker, i am very proud of the response that the government has mounted over the past few days. we convened the national flood response centre on the 14th. since the flooding began, there has been a constant stream of ministerial activity led by my right honourable friends the secretary of state for environment, for communities and government. no—one should underestimate the anguish that flooding causes, and of course it is an absolute shock to the households that are affected, but it is thanks to the measures that this government have put in that 200,000 households have been protected from flooding.

and we don't hear that from the honourable member. the prime minister was keen to pose for cameras when there's a crisis on during the election, but he often goes awol. he was late to respond to the london riots because he was on holiday. he was on a private island when the iranian general was assassinated, and last week he had his head in the sands in a mansion in kent. the mp for calder valley, another of his colleagues, said it is not good enough. how can the country trust a prime minister, a part—time prime minister? last night schmoozing tory party donors at a very expensive black—tie

ball instead of getting out there and supporting the people who are suffering because of the floods? this government needs to step up to the plate, and invest in defences and ensure there is real insurance for people whose homes are being ruined by these floods as we speak. members cheer. mr speaker, the right honourable gentleman asks what this government have been doing in the past few days, so let me tell him, not only have we been investing massively in flood defences and compensating those who have suffered from flooding, but we have been stopping the early release of terrorists, we have restored the nurses' bursary, we're beginning work on 40 new hospitals, we are recruiting 20,000 more police officers. we can do that because we have a strong and dynamic economy. the labour leader said the labour—run welsh government had done its best to step up to the crisis despite under—funding from westminster. but in the senedd, in cardiff, the roles were reversed — with opposition conservatives attacking labour ministers over their response to the flooding.

we were flooded out come december 2015, march last year, storm ciara, more effects from storm dennis. your welsh government, you have said in your question and response to me, no further reviews. people in llanrwst feel you are not interested, minister. you have to have a mechanism to be able to deliver that funding. do you want to listen or not? so, every house that's had internal flooding... you can smirk, i'm not even going to look at you because actually, presiding officer, i don't think she's worthy of an answer. lively exchanges in the welsh assembly. although flooding dominated prime minister's questions at westminster, boris johnson also faced questions about his advisers, in particular andrew sabisky, who resigned after his past comments about eugenics and race came to light. an snp mp took personal offence.

graham was born with cerebral palsy, unable to talk, walk or feed himself. he broughtjoy and love to all who knew him. and last week one of the prime minister's advisers resigned when a basic check of their internet history revealed they had promoted eugenicist policies of the sort that would have ended my brother graham doherty‘s life before it began. so can i ask the prime minister of the united kingdom to advise the house and every disabled person on this island why andrew sabisky remained at the heart of his government and was not removed from the position immediately when their abhorrent views became apparent? mr speaker, let us be absolutely clear that i certainly do not share those views, and nor are they the views of anybody in this government. that individual no longer works for the government. borisjohnson. now for another potential crisis in the prime minister's in—tray.

the coronavirus outbreak has led to plunging stock markets, the closure of some schools and the cancellation of international sports fixtures. the health secretary has warned the public against over—reacting. matt hancock acknowledged that the government expects more cases in the uk but he said that schools should stay open unless there are specific reasons for them not to. about 700 people at a hotel on the island of tenerife were confined to their rooms and will remain in isolation for 14 days. the hotel was placed in lock down on tuesday after an italian doctor staying there tested positive for the virus. in his statement, matt hancock said the government had published guidance for schools, employers and the travel industry. we have a clear four—part plan to respond to the outbreak of this disease. contain, delay, research and mitigate. we are taking all necessary measures

to minimise the risk to the public. we have put in place enhanced monitoring measures at uk airports and health information is available at all international airports, ports and international train stations. i can tell the house that in the coming days, we will roll out a wider public information campaign. while the government and the nhs have plans in place for all eventualities, everyone can play their part. to reiterate, our advice is for everyone to take sensible precautions, like using tissues and washing hands more. the world health organization has warned that countries are "simply not ready" for a pandemic. there has now been significant spread of the virus across the european continent, italy in particular, but other cases have been identified in austria, croatia and switzerland. this is clearly now very serious. he moved on to the situation in schools.

we do have several schools in england and northern ireland shut completely at the moment for a deep clean after students and teachers returned from skiing trips. i understand his point that schools should check relevant websites and get local advice, but is he expecting any advice to be sent to schools from the department for education, and if schools have to start shutting, will the government consider arrangements for alternative schooling provision for those affected? we have issued, repeatedly issued advice to schools. i am glad to see the minister for schools in his place. and we issued revised advice to schools this morning. our goal here is to keep schools open wherever we can, as long as that protects the public. our wider goal is to have minimum social and economic disruption and, indeed, to the nhs, subject to keeping the public safe. matt hancock. now you may have noticed it's the awards season. the baftas, the oscars, the parliamentary book awards. this year, there's even a new set

of awards celebrating politicians who behave with courtesy and decency to one another. the civility in politics awards are designed to recognise politicians who engage in thoughtful, reflective public debate. those shortlisted include the former cabinet ministers andrea leadsom and kenneth clarke. those who didn't make the shortlist — spoiler alert — include these two mps known for their robust approach. he put his policy to the british people, inasmuch as anyone could discern it, in a general election. he was slaughtered. what bit of that message does he not understand? it's a delight to see your children here watching today, because i know that while you have a responsibility to parliament, that you take your responsibilities as a parent incredibly seriously also. and now to the prime minister.

jess phillips and mark francois overcame their disappointment at not being shortlisted to join me to discuss civility in politics. i think it's good that they have got these awards and i can imagine someone like jacob rees—mogg doing well in that context. we'll have to wait and see who the winners are, but i wasn't expecting to be up until the small hours worrying about it. and jess phillips, are you equally phlegmatic about this? yeah, i suppose it depends how one judges civility. is it people working together for the common good or is it those who understand that using a nice voice and saying please and thank you is the way to appear at least civil? so i suppose we'll have to wait and see, but again, i shan't be losing much sleep. do you think it is effective or important in politics,

does civility get things done? it does, it definitely does, and there has to be an amount of cross—party working. it was vastly more important in the time of a hung parliament and it had much more power in the time of a hung parliament in order to get things done — and i don't mean about the substantive, the brexit issue. i mean the other things parliamentarians are working on, whether they get talked about or not. but people will have seen you over the years being slightly less than civil, challenging theresa may and challenging john bercow? i suppose my style is combative, i hope not too uncivil, but i have never sworn at anyone in the chamber or anything like that. but they were great issues at stake and people felt passionately

about them because if you're not going to get passionate about the destiny of your country, what would you get passionate about? and jess phillips, you occasionally have put your case very robustly, sometimes personally, in the case of borisjohnson as prime minister? less than civil? perhaps it is less than civil, but for me, the personal is political. it feels personal to me and, as mark said, if you're not going to get passionate about children being able to go to school or poverty on our streets, what will you get passionate about? it's very personal to me that the decisions made by boris johnson don't affect him, but they do affect me and my family, it's very personal, and so i will absolutely bring my personal to work and i will expect him to have to answer to that. can't you make that

point in a civil way? of course, i'm very civil. i won't be civil when faced with incivility, and people can criticise me. when you're faced with a marauding crowd or people on social media having a pop at you, i don't feel the need to always be completely civil with people — i wouldn't ever be abusive — but i will fight for what i believe in and fight to be heard. i think people want their mps to have character about them. they don't want the idea of 650 sheep. the question is where you draw the line? in my case, i learnt a combative debating style when i served on basildon borough council in the ‘90s, once described as the only local authority in the uk where at council meetings the councillors heckled the public gallery, so it was a lively forum in which to learn. one important change you will see, now we have a change of speaker, i think that has materially affected

the atmosphere in the house. lindsay is very good at controlling the house with a bit of humour in a gentle way and i think now we have had that change, you will see a lot of the tension go out of it. you said you weren't civil when people were uncivil to you. what's the most uncivil thing someone has said to you in the commons? oh, gosh. erm, you get quite a lot of... it's not necessarily people walking up directly — that rarely happens, argy—bargy in the corridors — but when you stand and speak, one minister who is now a minister again, i was stood talking about something and he went like this to me, shush! "sit down!" like that, which is incredibly patronising, so i turned around and said, "mate, you're not my dad. i earned my seat here. i will carry on exactly as i like." modern technology allows people

to be rude to you anonymously, and some people take advantage of that. at least in the commons, if you disagree with someone in the other party, they can look you in the eye. online, you can be a coward and some people, unfortunately, are. jess phillips is nodding. that's a good note of agreement, a civil note of agreement to end. thank you very much. mark francois and jess phillips, trying their best to get themselves nominated for next year's civility in politics awards. this year's winners will be announced later in march. time for a look now at what else has been happening around westminster. the former chancellor sajid javid delivered a measured but pointed attack on borisjohnson and his style of government that surprised many tory mps. mrjavid resigned after mrjohnson told him to sack his advisers to make way for a joint team of advisers for the prime minister and the chancellor. advisers advise, ministers decide,

and ministers decide on their advisers. i couldn't see why the treasury, within the vital role that it plays, should be the exception to that. a chancellor, like all cabinet ministers, has to be able to give candid advice to a prime minister so he is speaking truth to power. i believe that the arrangement proposed would significantly inhibit that and it would not have been in the national interest. an emergency bill to block the automatic early release of people convicted of terrorist offences became law after being rushed through parliament. the terrorist offenders (restriction of early release) act was introduced after an attack in streatham, south london earlier this month. the attacker, sudesh amman, had recently been freed from prison. convicted terrorists will serve at least two thirds of their sentence before being considered for release. now, introducing emergency

legislation is not a step the government would take likely, but the law was not working and we had a responsibility to act. i am pleased that this house agreed to that assessment and we were able to get the new law on the statute book as a matter of urgency. there was widespread criticism of the government's policy towards war widows‘ pensions. last year, the ministry of defence ruled that from april 2015, those who "remarry, cohabit or form a civil partnership" would be entitled to keep the pension for life. but this rule doesn't apply retrospectively. we are talking about 200—300 war widows whose partners served in the falklands, northern ireland, the first gulf war, among other theatres. and whose only course of action, my lords, today if they want their pension reinstated is to divorce and remarry the present partners. how bonkers is that, my lords?

i want to make clear, my lords, that in no way does the government seek to diminish or disregard the support and contribution made by the ladies to whom the noble lady refers. my problem is that i have got a very hard nut and i don't have a hammer to crack it. now for brexit — remember that? —— the first woman mp to take her seat in parliament made her maiden speech a century ago this week. the conservative nancy astor had won the plymouth seat vacated by her husband, viscount astor, after he'd moved to the house of lords. her speech had a lasting impact, as gabrielle o'neill reports. presiding over member's dining room, the woman whose arrival had mps spluttering over their dover sole. nancy astor is back in westminster as part of a drive to display more artworks depicting female politicians. and if new mps are nervous about making their maiden speeches in 2020, what must it had been like for the first woman to do so?

this is the hansard parliamentary debates volume for february 1920, which includes the maiden speech of nancy astor, the first woman to take her seat in parliament. and so her first words are, "i shall not begin by craving the indulgence of the house..." "i am conscious of the indulgence and the courtesy of the house. i know that it is very difficult for some honourable members to receive the first lady mp into the house. it is almost as difficult for some of them as it was for the first lady mp herself to come in." i think it must've been incredibly daunting. she was the first woman to ever enter with 500—plus men in there, and i think it probably took a lot of courage to stand there herself. the commons was less welcoming than this portrait suggests. the original, larger version was gifted to parliament by her husband but was sent back, and astor was to prove a controversialfigure. she faced accusations of appeasement, anti—semitism and anti—catholicism

in her lifetime. she did make statements that are extremely unpalatable at any time. but she was a woman of her time. there were other people at that time who held similar views. that's not to condone them in any way, but it has been a challenge to present nancy astor as a real person or as a whole person. maiden speeches are often on fairly innocuous topics, but actually astor chose a really controversial one, but that's because the topic was so important to her. "it does take a bit of courage to address the house on the vexed question of drink." and that really is one of nancy's objectives. she really is motivated as much by the letters from women and children who complained to her about the impact of drink on their lives that come into her mailbox as she often is by her own party. so, when other mps, all different parties, trickle in to the house of commons throughout the 1920s, they worked together and there's a new agenda, and it's a new agenda about women and the protections

of women and children. but in particular, two years, three years later, she introduces the intoxicating liquor bill and that, of course, was the reason why we all have to wait until we're 18 to drink today. drjacqui turner there. time for a look at the wider world of politics now. george dabby has our countdown. the long—awaited blue passports have arrived. priti patel is the first to take a look at a new piece of brexit memorabilia. so much for mp power — that 296 majority in favour of a third runway counted for nothing when the court of appeal tore into heathrow expansion plans, ruling that they were unlawful. much snickering at the back as welsh secretary simon hart accidentally revealed the filming location for the hit comedy series sex education.

sex education filmed in my ministerial colleagues‘ constituency... laughter. president trump visits a famous indian palace. it's not the first time he has visited a taj mahal, but the last one had a slightly different feel. did you win the jackpot, donald? from trump to toasties. £840 of lords questions have revealed that lord naseby‘s world had fallen apart with the crunchy comestible taken off the bishops bar menu for health and safety reasons. not a problem here, i am glad to say. bon appetit, your lordship. george dabby — a man at peace with his toastie! george dabby giving lord naseby hunger pangs there. now to the political revelation of the week — a long—forgotten passageway used

by prime ministers and closed up by victorian labourers. historians working on the renovation of the house of commons found the lost 360—year—old passageway hidden in a secret chamber. the doorway was created for the coronation of charles ii in 1660 to allow guests access to a celebratory banquet in westminster hall. this is the way charles ii came on the way to his coronation, and alsojames ii, and it was the main way to the house of commons, which was where st stephen's hall is now, and the speakers of the house of commons would have come this way, many mps over the centuries, so it is a very historic route. it shows —— the chamber was a passageway to the house of commons. and the contents of the space are fascinating. for example there was graffiti on the wall which was put there by charles barry's masons in 1851, which showed they had at party with old ale and gives all their names and declares them to be true democrats. history was lost and now it's found, and in fact, we found — it is amazing — we talk

about graffiti but here it is going back to 1834. the builders come in with a jug of ale and had a bit of beer and a bit of history about themselves and they were the workmen that came in 1834 and the fact they left their mark is the mark of history. sir lindsay hoyle discovering that the palace of westminster still has a secret of two to give up. that was the week in parliament. thank you for watching. i'll be back on bbc parliament at 11pm on monday evening with the latest from the commons and the lords. until then, from me, david cornock, bye for now. hello there. we have seen the rainfall

from storm jorge compounding the flood issues. there are numerous flood warnings in force across the united kingdom and storm jorge is still producing some very large gusts of wind as well from these tightly packed isobars and several more hours of that to come, really, through sunday morning. those gusts of wind are quite likely to cause some travel disruption but could also bring down some power lines, or some trees as well. now they will still be with us through the early hours and sunday morning but, as well as that, we have got this curl of rain, just affecting the northern half of the uk. but it is notjust rain, it's snow to modestly low hills — about 200 metres. with those strong winds, it will be blowing around so blizzard conditions. fewer showers further south but they will still be around, blown in by that very strong and gusty wind. temperatures largelyjust above freezing but it is clearly going to be icy where we have got the snow, in particular. and still that rain keeps coming for the northern isles. tending to ease a little bit through orkney as we go through the day. but that rain, snow, slowly meanders northwards. more of it around, i think,

to scotland than we had on saturday but tending to become more showery for northern ireland, for england and wales. it won't be a totally dry day but hopefully there will be more sunshine around and the winds by the afternoon are starting to ebb away, just maintaining their strength a little bit for longer further north. but it will make it feel chilly, if you're out and about. for the start of march, barely double figures, even in the south. below par really you might say the temperatures for the start of the meteorological spring. and then this area of rain is a concern through the night as it comes across, we think, southern parts, it's falling into cold air. it could give a snatching of snow for the downs, for the cheltenhams potentially, towards rush hour and certainly making things slippery, with a colder night on the cards, fairly widespread frost, as you can see, going not monday morning. —— into monday morning. so we clear that away but it takes its time. as i say, it could be a smattering of snow on the hills and then the showers that follow because it is still cold air will be wintry as well, over the hills, so only 6—9 degrees celsius.

yes, the winds will not be as strong however. now, as we take that area of low pressure away later on monday, we've got another one rushing in towards southern areas. that could be our next dollop of rain. potentially need to keep an eye on it. all through the week it looks as the if the low pressure will dominate towards the north—west and we may eventually see high pressure building actually towards the south. but for most of the week, temperatures will be lower than they should be, both by day and night. some night frost. and t is a bit of a showery picture with an occasional risk of some lengthier spells of rain. as ever, there are warnings out — they are on the website.

good morning. welcome to breakfast with rogerjohnson and nina warhurst. our headlines today: retired doctors and nurses could be asked to return to the nhs under the government's new plan to tackle coronavirus. pressure on the home secretary. priti patel is accused of bullying staff by her departing departing civil service chief. engaged and expecting a baby — boris johnson and partner carrie symonds reveal a new arrival is due at number 10 in early summer. and liverpool are beaten for the first time this season in the premier league. they lost 3—0 at watford.

good morning to you. it is the first of march