result reverse culture. you. realize how strange artificial. to life. the prize winning documentary from the forest starts people first on w. . britain's foreign secretary has warned of brecht's it paralysis in the u.k. but there are frantic efforts underway to prevent that happening my guest this week here in london is nigel mills a member of the pro bracks it european research group which has consistently campaigned for a tough deal with brussels tougher than the one currently on the table or no deal at all last week though mr mills changed his mind and decided to support to resume a's agreement other diehards finally calling it a day. by

john mills welcome to conflict zone thank you have you finally accepted that the european union is not going to blink when it comes to the deal on the table they finally mean what they said this is the only deal available for the day has not changed substantially since november cyprus and some traffic ations i think we have to accept that that's the only really likely situation i think you could rule out them trying to help the prime minister at the summit by offering a few more clarification zork them or making interpretations i don't think the substance there is going to change in the state so your colleagues in the g.d. european research group fundamentally underestimated the didn't the. well they kept saying it was going to blink i mean we had this return to britain didn't we the e.u. will blink at the eleventh hour but we're not there yet we need to hold our nerve they were never going to blink ever estimated only

a shooting abilities in our situation were estimated them but r f i think we are i think any of us when we set out on this after the referendum for we end up in this situation of you know having no idea what the future partnership is being asked to sign or the terms ition which restricts our future partnerships and you not not really have anything in return for it but you know i have held firm to their positions about that may not have been a sensible tactic for them we haven't quite know how the next week or so will go you know we still haven't agreed a deal we still haven't agreed an extension you know there's still scurrying around if i do agree the government agree to do you agree a deal having gone through parliament to me that's the key thing but this this idea that the e.u. always blinks which we've heard from many of your colleagues this it was a fundamentally force assumption wasn't it that somehow britain had equal cards with the e.u. it didn't it never did in this negotiation i think once it became clear the

government weren't really serious about us leaving that a deal then we didn't have equal cardinality and that point you're asking for something in you can always take what you've given haven't you but they're the is the largest trading group in the world they hold all the cards it's their club that you're leaving they will decide what rules apply should you wish to take advantage of some of the. privileges on offer. with that club you are i think what i thought we had in our manifesto eighteen months or so ago was that we wanted to create a comprehensive training arrangement with them and they've agreed on those who've come under every one of those would be japan i'd be quite happy just to replicate the terms of that i'm not asking them for anything that's the largest trading agreement in the world currently which britain is walking away from but the us signed with japan the largest trading loss not the arrangement that we have with the currently walking away from a political union with the european union not walking away from trading relationships i say we because he won't be able to take advantage of that. will you

but we would can agree a similar one with japan i mean they've said they want to have both discussions it won't be the same for me it will be a summer one but i think if your contention is that there was nothing here you know what we have to agree to anything you are ever going to offer us that you know i think we would have been quite happy many of us to take your i mean agreement will you often other people who are further away who are less big market and we don't have a hundred billion pound a year surplus which we did have some cards to play think we've played them pretty badly the european research group seems to be now doing the blinking we're seeing former minister estimate they say that she's going to vote for two reasons deal even david davis the former minister and now jacob riis mug says he's undecided he's the chairman of the group so the die hards are finally calling it a day other well i voted for the deal last week so if i was a diehard i call it a day but i you know i think you have to look at the facts as they are on the day you make your voting decision and here i don't like if there is

a lot of great situation to put the country in mr constraining us i was in the way we we shouldn't be doing but some of the options have now left the table within. the government too until last week having set a bit of a would do you know deal or not if a deal failed now made it perfectly clear that they don't want to do you know the apartment may declare the parliament wouldn't. i know deal breakers it said the choice is now the prime minister's deal or what looks like a long extension and i think it's clear to me that the deal is the better better boast you talk about facts but it's been hard to sort of some of the fantasies that you broke city is sold to the public in twenty sixteen before the referendum hasn't really like the promise from david davis himself to have negotiated a free trade area ten times the size of you by the autumn of twenty eighteen where did fantasies like that come from lighter remember that fantasy but. we voted to leave. should have been able to have

a constructive dialogue with be able to leave by now in the future partially but not on the basis of that hunters i mean might go for instance that they asked that we vote to leave we hold all the cards and we can choose the path we want what was that when i was there were some people hopes wasn't it we could have chosen to say we'll leave without a deal here's a draft free trade deal take it or leave it we didn't used to play the cards in that way we've been trying to secure. the government been trying to secure what was like a hybrid half in half out relationship which the e.u. did think was cherrypicking but you're a city insult fairytales to the country you sold the public a pup didn't you i think we did i thought i think we should have an independent country that can make you sane decisions that wanted to have a cooperative trade relationship and it's and there is maybe i think people watching this i will be a little bit confused as to why the us stuck so long to the line that they can't negotiate the future arrangement until we left and what people wanted us to do was leave and move into the new relationship seamlessly in is just a crazy situation to say to your nearest market new approach sellers are going to

even talk to you about your future relationship until you've actually walked out the door you know where the logic you know about one of things is driven to this simply don't know whether it's logical to you it's logic seems logical to them and again. they held although even here we are leaving date without a deal in place with our law still being to leave that's not the. you a thousand days of disunity among the tory party factional disputes fantasy promises and almost criminal failure to consider the. good of the country and the national enquirer phenomenal i think everyone can look and see what a little i think everyone gerson's for the good of the country miniscule a single biggest and we've taken in more than my lifetime and probably from a decade of anybody in parliament voting for it in the don't think it in the national interest and i mean that's just a for me unfair thing to say yes well if they had been working in the national interest we would have seen people ready to compromise ken clarke the father of the house that the public holds the house of commons in near contempt for the fusion

they see not only is opinion polarized here lots of factions are pursuing their own preferred ways but the public are even more polarized than at the time of the referendum he's basically saying look what you've done to the people of this country what you've done you confuse them you've polarized them. if you want no result we had a referendum we three implement that decision i think what many of us have been doing is saying we had a manifesto we went to the country here for a referendum and said here is our break that plan we will not be in the customs union we will not be in the single market we will agree a trading nation we one of the new generations even that you are going to run you should talk to the well during this period you talk to you argue too much twelve city you wouldn't talk to us until we formally triggered article fifty eight it wasn't possible to greece and before we started that two year journey to q one but it was possible some years with them it was possible that some of you will you can it's not like conversation three years of factions inside the tory party arguing

amongst themselves that's what the british public was treated to and as a result only six percent of voters see parliament in a good light now did you hang your head in shame and that sort of figure i mean it's a terrible for you as a six for this sense approval rating this is a really hardest decision anybody's have to take the most difficult negotiation no one wanted to be this drawn out you know i think that it is a parliament reflects how divided the country is on the situation. given if you have only been home for miles you the people's representatives can't compromise and you haven't been able to compromise for most three years what are you doing in politics anyway i politics is supposed to be about compromise is not it is this what compromise was especially bass taking to principle the numbering decisions that the people take in a referendum so knowing when to leave them behind in the national interest absolutely but i asked why i think most pretty years have accepted we have to have a twenty one month transition which effectively results in staying in the you for

nearly an extra two years would take us to four and a half years after the referendum most of us accepted that we should pay some sort of divorce below even though. nothing in that situation i think most of us would accept that a trade deal would have in some restrictions on what changes we can make to our own regulations i think we've been all manner of compromises. made but what we couldn't compromise on was not taking back our independence and being free to control our own affairs the irony is that your group the g one of the most divisive in many people's views actually promised to look for consensus in britain and in twenty seventeen your former chair so elephant and as she was then described the group as supporting the government to deliver breck's it which works for everyone there are two broken promises in that statement on the first you were so intent on supporting the government that you tried to get rid of to reason you tried to force around and . since then you have fought tooth and nail to insist that only your breath was the

real brecht's it so that was hardly in the interests of our whole country i don't think that's was it offered him and if you look through the history certainly since the general election of what happened in parliament you'll see that in the e.r.d. most members there loyally supported the government all the regs approach why try to get rid of the right is a lie but they won't let me finish you the whole timeline right up and until the check is policy announced last summer which fundamentally change the ration ship the palmist was proposing for us to have with the new compared to what he promised in the manifesto a momentary one election which is the mandate on which were meant to be governing now that cause the first wave of resignations break cities from the cabin in that situation yet again there was no challenge to to the prime minister everyone was clear we wanted to see a change in the policy not a change in the person it was only after but why did you always take it was only a you were the only people who knew what really meant the question in the referendum was should the u.k. remain a member of the european union all leave the european union that was the only question

that the referendum but you since that have set yourselves up as arbiters of what the true backs it actually is full i think one has to take their own view on what it is but if you will but i think what we've been doing is trying to actually deliver the progress that we promised people in a manifesto we had a general election on and i don't think you can go to the country and say this is what briggs we want you to vote for here's the vision that we have vote for some of the liver that and then trying to give us something completely different that's not honorable politics that's not principle politics and that is effectively misleading the the the people so i mean it's regrettable with the prime minister chose to change the direction of the future ration ship last summer and that's what brought most of this problem around until then she had almost complete support from the g. and it was the people who wanted to remain here because in the big problems in the party why did you change your mind and vote for two reasons most of the well there are two reasons that i mean i always say if the facts change you have to change how you very base them so that i thought some of the issuance if she got last week which were legally binding. a clear commitment he wouldn't try and force us into

something you're going to start well that was important to me here many of your colleagues still cling to the view that this is a deal worst possible deal but i think it should be clear it's not ideal on the what is your group is very divided given i think you're going to fashion it this is not a great deal people are very worried about whether actually we get in here we can leave it at least when you in the you can trigger article fifteen leave it's not clear you can do that from the backstop neither but there were some reassurances last week that the backstop would not enjoy the you have no intention of meeting during the winter and forced into something that we didn't want to have if that's what parliament decides in future that and the fact that was very clear by the start of the palmer would never agree to a pregnancy and there was a clear majority for an extension meant that the choice is now or not between a promise to still improving the prime minister's deal having a no near benghazi or second referendum it's pretty clear now that the choice is leaving with a promise to deal in a few weeks time or having

a very long extension more resistance is crumbling now or are you just fighting like ferrets in a sack well it is reducing because you can see that you mean fifty others voted for the deal last we we didn't vote for it the first time it was very thought of it clearly is a change in nigel mills this whole process has done britain enormous damage doesn't it in the specially to the health service when the pound sank after the referendum result and it has finances were hit by a huge sums wiped off by the collapse of the. the additional cost so far from bracks according to the british medical association and extra one hundred fifty five million pounds never admitted or factored in your calculations was it why. country voted to leave him out of the e.u. the history of the pound you were exchanging is going up and down but why but we still have one hundred fifty five million euros or the current only national economic growth is still one of the strongest in europe i mean i don't think you

can say that it's pretty decision has destroyed our economies just from that i didn't say that historically economists are saying i think i was sitting down maybe to the one organization that you painted as one of the great beneficiaries from brics and we haven't left yet and you have the trees that are less so you have one hundred fifty five million let me leave you to their costs well we spend you know we spent two hundred sixty billion plus a year on the n.h.s. i mean you can oh so so that's all i was so that's all fun and the national health service was to become one of the major benefits the royal college of physicians doesn't see it that way government's lack of clarity over how the u.k. is immigration service will work they say off the bricks it could leave the n.h.s. spending up to half a billion pounds per year on international recruitment again never factored into those some the uplands that was offered the british numbers the increased government have been clear on the time gratian policy will be skills based people from all around the world have the right skills and cost half a billion pounds of audio and international recruitment asking us crazy this is

royal college of physicians we are i don't know just make it up in just my views on bridget i suspect i'm going for your job i mean there's just but these figures from say i do they want me to work i think coming to work in h.s. will be hugely attractive people from around the world behind me we already have a lot of employment in the n.h.s. from countries outside the first time i. m can i ask men and this is d w news let's take you live now to brussels where e.u. leaders are making a statement following a long night of negotiations over teresa mayes request for a brac said extension let's listen in for having the repeated requests to extend the article fifty period done through the. thirtieth of june and prove the so-called style book at the moment. during the discussion among you twenty seven thirty this approach these requests in the positive spirit there if you have

a council decided to proof the book agreement as regards the extension. decisions and the visits to the scenarios in the first scenario that this was all agreement if passed by the house of commons next week they would be on council agree still an extension until the second of may. the second so. that this if there was no agreement is not approved by the house of commons next week. there are pm council agrees to an extension until the. twentieth of april but of. while expecting the u.k. to indicate a way forward it's. what this means in practice is that down to that date

all options will remain open. and the cliff edge states will be delayed there you can a government will still have a choice of a deal how do you a long extension of revoking article fifty. twelve a prune is the key date in terms of the u.k. deciding whether to hold european parliament elections. if it tests no decided to do so by the option of a longer extension will automatically become impossible as you know in accordance with the treaties. and the extension must be decided unanimously by the e.u. twenty seven in agreement with their member states and. this is why i met the prime minister may several times tonight to make sure that they accept the extensions

and i oath and i am pleased to say that we have reached an agreement on this. thank you thank you and now the president of the given commission shanklin legend gentleman since that day of the were from the position of the twenty seven members there isn't a commission has been united and unequivocal we have worked tirelessly to negotiate we've gotten we. we have done everything we could to help get it over the finishing line we were asked for clarifications in december we gave them we were asked for short answers and generally we gave them i was asked for further reassurances last month the ins will know to be we've got to the back step i gave them and so i have to well come that today the twenty seven leaders indorsed the legally binding clarification and assurances the prime minister made and reads in

stuff this closes and completes the full package there is no more than we can leave. we are hopeful that the agreement will be adopted by the house of commons. the middle minister quickly leave new some put a put to live on through to you completely lack of a. suitable exit and no deal. new song. to produce the set. to put. on the do to look for to see the live music do drop some don't rush in. the news of a lot of these live hope will surely thieve. public mosher but actually do

not almost get consumers to quote you the commissioner of the unit which you're in the sector will approach this. won't do you don't totally cupie doll dispute deeply but assume most or another. group drops. my long term. resume and i no longer. abuse is simply can do to a group if you were to nobody but exit the pool to zero in on going home and you could know this too often but actually four bodies just who do think it's really fun division over pinterest. that only linus once uses for you couldn't . produce a concealed from politician parliament who inform about. this temple. are in need of watching live as european commission president jiang and you counsel

presidents donald tusk make their announcement at a press conference after a long night of negotiations there in brussels and joining us from brussels we have correspondent max hoffman max you've been there since these leaders went into that room and started negotiating based on one reason may was asking a brac that extension and we've heard now that it has been granted there's been sued dates mentioned there we heard may twenty second we heard april twelfth can you just walk us through what those two dates mean and where do we go from here based on what we just heard. they did grant an extension but not the extension. theresa may request she requested until the thirtieth of june that's not going to happen what they will do now is extend at least until april twelfth and it all depends what the house of commons does next week with say they do approve that withdrawal agreement that they already rejected twice and automatically the extension will go until the twenty second of may which point there will be an

orderly exit that's one day before the start of the european elections that's why they chose that date all right now let's say and that seems more likely at the moment that they do not approve the withdrawal agreement next week that's when the twelfth of april comes into play why the twelfth of april because the european institutions consider that's the last day where you can decide to participate in the european elections at the end of may so what happens then is that the u.k. as. the president of the european council put it is expected to show a way forward all the options are still on the table that also no bribes at all a long extension still approving the deal or also a no deal drugs and or as it's months sometimes called a hard bragg's it so basically what we're doing here is kicking the can down the road in a sense but also maxing out all the different deadlines there are before the european

elections max theresa may she came to brussels today she wanted an extension as you mentioned she was looking for a three month extension and in fact she gets either three weeks or a little bit longer into may do you think that the prime minister will be happy with this is this a win for theresa may. not in the head of to research it's certainly not a win because as you mentioned she didn't get what she wanted she just gets a little more time to try to sort things out if indeed she remains prime minister because there are of course many voices that say she might not remain prime minister beyond next week we're still waiting for her press conference here and i suggest we wait and see and will have a directly from the source. so we have some dates now and we've been waiting a couple of years since article fifty was triggered of course so does this now mean that we finally know when the united kingdom will leave the e.u.

depending on whether the british parliament course votes and favor of the withdrawal agreement or could there be another twist in this bret's a tale. well they said themselves the head of the u. commission and the head of the european council that until april twelfth all options are on the table even a longer extension let's say for example that the u.k. decides until april eleventh that they want to participate in the european elections that would mean that automatically they could have a longer extension if they decide not to participate in the european elections then this longer extension is automatically off the table so anything is still possible it really just means that what we were waiting for next week so the twenty ninth of march the original bragg's a date gets kicked three weeks from now further down the road nothing is simple of course max and this process thank you very much our brussels bureau chief not often

there live for us at the u. summit in brussels thank you for that insight. arbel another new is u.s. president donald trump has said that the golan heights should become a recognized part of israel after fifty two years it is time for the united states to fully recognize israel's sovereignty over the golan heights and that's what the president said in his tweet israel took control of the strategically located golan heights from syria in the six days war in one nine hundred sixty seven and the area has been occupied by israel ever since the annexation has not been recognized by the international community. but news is of course a major boost for israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu as the elections in that country approach that yahoo had this to say about trump statement president roh. has just made history i called him

i thanked him on behalf of the people of israel. he did again first to. recognize drusilla was israel's couple to move the u.s. embassy. then he. pulled out of the disastrously wrong. but now he did something of equal historic importance he recognizes rules so we do with the golan heights. that was the israeli prime minister speaking there now earlier today we spoke with our correspondent all over silence in washington d.c. and while this decision does fit in with trump's foreign policy towards israel we asked over about the timing of this announcement is what he said in this move by the united states by the u.s. president would help him enormously he can now say well look not only did i have did i make the u.s. accept jerusalem as our capital but now also the golan heights as israeli territory

and they simply knew the israeli government that this is a good moment to push for the united states have proven under president donald trump to be very supportive for israel during the last two years and now just today we had the foreign minister visiting the western wall in jerusalem for the first time also the first time an american high ranking official visiting the western wall a very symbolic move here and one that is very much celebrated by its own ya'll he called the white house today he spoke with president donald trump he will visit him next week at the white house and that is probably when we will hear the official declaration of the united states accepting the golan heights as israeli territory. that was our d. w. washington correspondent oliver solid almost one hundred people have drowned after a ferry capsized on the tigris river close to the iraqi city of mosul most of the

victims four women and children celebrating the kurdish new year and the arrival of spring the boat was crossing the tigris and heading towards an amusement park iraqi prime minister abdel hardy declared three days of national mourning. the lucky survivors coming on shore. his father had feared he would never see his children again. many didn't make it out of the water alive off of the boat fairing them across the tigris overturned. carried off by the current they drowned as horrified bystanders looked on. some risk their own life to help. mosul is no stranger to disaster iraq's second largest city was ravaged by the war against the so-called islamic state liberated from the terror group after months of bitter fighting in two thousand and seventeen its inhabitants desperately crave a return to normality the amusement parks restaurants and cafes on this stretch of

the river had offered an escape from the tough post-war reality. but it's here that the horror returned to mosul. let's rejoin now our d.w. brussels bureau chief max hoffman he's been standing by for us in brussels in what has been a long nights of an e.u. summit and it's just day one max we just heard the press conference with donald tusk and john claude junker and they announced that there will be a brac sit extension and really a two pronged extension we have one that could be may twenty second extension and that is if this deal maze deal with the e.u. is approved in the house of commons we also have a date of april twelfth and that's in case there is no deal now we're waiting on the prime minister herself to come to the stage and address the reporters there do we have any idea of what theresa may might say and in terms of.