seebviously do not want to -- go to ireland. ink at all the is done ireland and northern ireland. it is amazing to me that they the 27ood firm as nations in support of the open border. that is quite unusual. shame that ita will come down to this. >> we have certain attitudes towards britain, towards the english. given thathas to be on many occasions over the generations, they have proved to have able politicians. amazing, the ineptitude. but ony on the tory side the liberal side as well. total ineptitude. hope that the brexit will eventually leave. i think it could be inevitably, there will be a referendum. i hope it will be different from the last time. so many lies were told. no alternative has been given. concerned, thee people of ireland are proud to have our diplomats. presidentthe government. i know from experience over the years, be it united states, be it can bash the continental europe, london and all over the place. i met many irish diplomats. the consequence now, we managed to hold 27 countries together against the british. realize the pride that for the diplomats. bene

in ireland? never.most an admission of legal liability in ireland. the church has never apologised, nor the state has never apologised. but society has changed. the church is not as allied, as close to the state as it was. no, absolutely not, because the church dug in and resisted social change as much as possible. and it is still a powerful force in ireland, but in a way that power was only broken in the early ‘90s. and again, that's not ancient history by any stretch of the imagination. and do you think that this is one of the reasons that the church has lost its grip on the state? it's one of them. but the fact of the matter is that the church was drenched and drowned in scandal after scandal. first there was the child sex abuse scandals by the clergy, then there was the cover—up by the hierarchy in ireland, then the industrial schools and the reformatory schools. it's just been a shocking list of horror and abuse all the way through the ‘90s, and that's what broke the catholic church. again, that's

ireland's ambassador to the u.s. recently joined several civil rights activists to discuss brexit and how it will impact the current civil rights movement in northern ireland. this was at georgetown university. it is 20 minutes. amb. mulhall: thank you very much. i'm going to open up with a couple questions now, and we will move to the floor. but it would be remiss of me if i did not address the elephant in the room. one of the things that is absent from politics today is an absence of foresight or willingness to engage in foresight. when the former prime minister david cameron promised a referendum, largely because of an internal debate in his own party for 40 years, it did not occur to him that there is a land border with european union and the united kingdom. the island of ireland has been living with that since. so the issue of brexit -- what do you think of the implications of whether it is a soft brexit, a hard brexit, or no deal brexit for northern ireland in particular in terms of civil rights? you could say

and ireland.u are and ireland. both the uk and the eu a re fully and ireland. both the uk and the eu are fully committed to having our future relationship in place by the 1st ofjanuary, future relationship in place by the 1st of january, 2021. future relationship in place by the 1st ofjanuary, 2021. there is still the possibility that it is not ready before the end of the implementation period. the only way to guarantee no ha rd period. the only way to guarantee no hard border on the island of ireland and the implementation period is to have a backstop as the last resort insurance policy. let's be clear, this is true notjust insurance policy. let's be clear, this is true not just for the insurance policy. let's be clear, this is true notjust for the deal we have negotiated, whether you want a model like canada or whether you wa nt a model like canada or whether you want to see the uk as a member of european economic area, any future relationship will have to be negotiated and will need an insuranc

there was a very long time in relation to the problems in northern ireland and ireland, northern ireland in particular. in one word, it was reconciliation. that is the objective of all of us to bring about reconciliation between the two communities to the north and between the north and the south. also i was a very strong supporter early and up to this year the policy idea of partnership between the two traditions. my attitude then was, well, we've got very major problems in northern ireland that affects the two communities. there are major problems of the jobs, particularly about housing, we've got so many political, social, economic, uncultured problems. if we form a coalition of tackling those problems, they eventually will lead to the reconciliati reconciliation. summoning one of those involved, in 1974, i believe that we had met simondale. it was better than the agreement. for example, the country of ireland was pulled down. the country of ireland between north and south was far ahead of the committees that are sent under the good friday agreement. on simondale, the government only

and in northern ireland. we are especially blessed to have with us today some of the key people actively involved in the struggle from both sides of the pond. truly amazing and heroic souls who literally changed the world. they faced violence, imprisonment and coercion. and they refused to bend. because they knew the power of justice was stronger than the power of injustice. all of our speaks today from a rich variety of backgrounds, from activism to education, to political life and diplomacy will help us explore what progress has been on both sides mpld. and how an engagement can help draw together civil rights in the future. now to my colleague who also wants to say a few words of introduction. >> good afternoon and welcome to georgetown university. i'm just going to say a few words because we want to hear from all of you, and our speaker is so keenly interested in engaging with you in discourse. i just wanted to welcome you as a washingtonian to our city and warn you, if i may, that washingtonians have a k

dr vision between northern ireland. economic consequences it has a lot of consequences for people particularly those who live along the border there's a lot of free movement at the moment people move forward there's a lot of economic activity there's a lot of social social activity and nobody wants to see the. president promises to raise the minimum wage and cut taxes after four weeks of civil unrest across from the. british prime minister calls off a crucial vote in parliament after admitting that she would face a major defeat prompting calls for her to resign. this government and the prime minister who feels it's time to go outside of the week prime minister members across this house don't want your deal if you don't realize how. ridiculous this makes you know. and alleged russian agent requests to change her plea in the u.s. after initially insisting she was not guilty a hearing will be held on wednesday. on the stories you can head to our t dot com coming up though a former deputy prime minister of ireland is the gu

government and indeed all of the political parties in northern ireland and in the south of ireland all do not want to see a hard border we do not want to see a return to the days when there were customs posts when there were soldiers police when there was a real physical border there right now there is perfectly free movement between both parts of the island people travelling between dublin and belfast for example. most times don't even know where the border is until they realize that the petrol prices are marked in pounds or rather than in euros or the distances in miles rather than kilometers so the border really is it's not a physical border at the moment and nobody wants to see a return of that and of course if the united kingdom leaves the costumes union as part of its levy of the european union that would in effect mean that a border would return and that's something that we don't want to happen so the discussions that have been taking place over the past two years yet. so i talk we're simply to this british m.e.p. william that more and he actually told me that the irish border i

to talk about so the border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland has become a key issue that you know that convincingly has to choose between staying in the customs union with the e.u. or putting up a hard border isolating northern island are this really the only choice is is there a third option that could work. no i think that i think that summer summarizes that really the agreement that was made twenty years ago between our london the united kingdom the good friday agreement which provided for the settlement of the conflict in northern ireland regulates all the relations between the main relations between our land and the united kingdom and arising from that both the irish government and the u.k. government and indeed all of the political parties in northern ireland and in the south of ireland all do not want to see hard border we do not want to see a return to the days when there were customs posts when there were soldiers police when there was a real physical border there right now there is perfectly free movement between both parts of the island people travelling b

the fact is that northern ireland has a land border with ireland. will be an unrivaled position because it will be the only place that has both a land border with the european union and access to trade deals with independent trade policy of the united kingdom. labour said the belfast good friday agreement in northern ireland's politicians should be consulted about changes in eu rules. why should northern ireland members have confidence in this government? why should the people of northern ireland believe this government is committed to devolution, to the peace process and to the good friday agreement? mr speaker, it is this government that is inserted into withdrawal agreement and the future political... get the political declaration of the future relationship, our absolute commitment to the belfast good friday agreement. karen bradley. and staying on the other ireland, a minister has barred that the pressure of westminster to act on the province's abortion laws will increase unless devolution is restored. abortion is prohibited in most circumstance

do you think people outside northern ireland care about northern ireland as much as you do? gets it, they are not stupid. the union is for everyone, no matter your caste, creed, identity, gender, it's for all of us. they've had years and years of tough peace process negotiations, they've gone eyeball to process negotiations, they've gone eye ball to eye ball with process negotiations, they've gone eyeball to eyeball with sinn fein who are equally tough on the other side of northern ireland's divide, so side of northern ireland's divide, so the dup, they are hardline, they are beligerant, they know what they wa nt are beligerant, they know what they want and the dup doesn't love. today, belfast there is little sign of its history of violence and the backstop is to help ensure those days never return. but the publications of this place from the past continue to stand in the way —— but the complications of this place from the past continue to stand in the wake of a brexit deal for the future. let's speak to our political editor laura kuenssberg. does it look like the prime mini

northern ireland.order to get the deal... that northern ireland was majorly sacrificial lamb to placate the eu? what has happened throughout these negotiations is that this government has been very aware of their responsibilities we've to the people of northern ireland. it is that responsibility that we want to make sure that in the circumstances in the little agreement, we will ensure that they will be no hot water between northern ireland and the republic of ireland. —— no hot water. my looters are sick to the back teeth by being towed by people who was the referendum. we're told that the research, a bit stupid, now we're being told that we didn't know what we were looking for. what is going on in this place is a stitch up going on in this place is a stitch up by going on in this place is a stitch up by people have said they accept the results of the referendum who are using every single chick in a book to divide people what they voted for. —— every single trick in the book. our coverage of the house

ireland, you will remember, is its own country. part of the e.u., it's not leaving, and it's home to lots of silicon valley european headquarters. part of ireland's development agency, our go-to guy on european issues here to talk about brexit, what means for silicon valley. it's brexit for dummies. no dumb questions. okay. so we're at this vote point with the british parliament. they can vote yes to the deal. they can vote no to the deal. if they vote no, it's kind of a disaster. they are calling that a hard exit. what is a hard exit? >> the first thing is the u.k. has been a part of the european union for over 45 years. so you have a whole bunch of regulations, rights, you have directive, et cetera, that he had need to be together. we are in the last stages of the dash. in terms of a hard brexit and that would refer to what might happen should the u.k. leave without an agreement. >> if parliamentarians voted this down, they are still leaving? they are just leaving with no deal? >> yes. there is -- exactly. they will leave without

and the republic of ireland is not and republic of ireland will stay with the e.u. so that if you've got this big issue here that they don't want better be a hard border between the two particularly given the history of that particular piece of land that country where there have been a lot of problems with violence in the past and they do not want to return to that so that is what it's about this plan within the withdrawal agreement says that if off to the u.k. has left you after this transition period if they have not been able to work out where they're going to go next the e.u. in the new k over the trade in the future then possibly as an insurance this backstop would kick in and that would mean that the whole of the u.k. including northern ireland would stay in a customs union but that specifically northern ireland would also have to abide by some specific e.u. rules and that is what they don't like the unionists that the members of the d u p party these m.p.'s that. up to reason may's government they really don't like it and neither do those on the right of tori

all i different place from northern ireland. alll am different place from northern ireland.ere is no presumption in the backstop is there is no presumption in the ba cksto p of is there is no presumption in the backstop of fluid frayed between great britain and the european union what the text says is that the degree of regulatory cooperation between the united kingdom as a whole, and the european union, will of course be a factor, in the way both parties decide how to set their systems is of checks and controls, so, nothing is assumed in either direction. why doesn't the word frictionless, which used to the government‘s policy, frictionless trade appear in the political declaration, is is it because we didn‘t ask or the eu would agree to it? so, the government's put forward its proposals on how to achieve frictionless trade with the eu as you know, vociferously especially since the white paper injuly and as i think the prime minister briefed you last week, some november of those proposals have gained fraction, others are still difficult. what ministers were pleased about is

ireland have stolen the game! a late win over france.nd england started strongly, until the welsh challenge slipped away at twickenham. predictably, ireland saw off italy. less predictable in edinburgh. watson, but it'sjones! what a score! a first drink from the calcutta cup in a decade. once again, ireland and the free—scoring jacob stockdale left it to the dying moments to sink wales. and it will be a fanfare in dublin! # here we are, don't turn away now... two to go, scotland were seen off in style as well. and when england lost in paris, the title was secure. but a grand slam on st patrick's day, the pot of gold at the end of that rainbow. the riches in the women's six nations were france's to hold, sweeping all before them, matching ireland's feats in their own grand style. to australia's gold coast, where the commonwealth's best eyed precious metal. let the games begin. for england's netballers a first final was enough to get worked up about. but still not enough. facing australia, the best side in the world, scores level, clock ru

a united ireland has certainly come back on the agenda. as a result of. the break the decision much earlier than. expected. some people feel there is provision in the good friday agreement that there can be a border pole in other words a referendum the people of northern ireland as to whether they want to remain in the united kingdom or whether they want to be part of a united ireland i think it's more complex than that i don't think that this is going to ever come to a head count let's just have a referendum and let's just count how many want to be united ireland how many want to be in the united kingdom because the reality is is that there is a very large number of people in northern ireland who are british who value their connection with the the rest of the united kingdom and therefore i think that would need to happen is a lot of discussion in advance about an agreed arland about agreeing what type of future arrangements would apply on the island so i think that that is a discussion that requires a lot of consideration i think if he's to be a very rea

, and northern ireland?ish have said the same, so that is the position. the british government is party to an internationally binding treaty called the good friday agreement. at the core of that is the concept of consent. and what the agreement says is that the people of the north of ireland must consent to any change in the constitutional status of the north of ireland. and of course, when the agreement was signed, that meant the union between britain and the north. but i think that you can fairly and feasibly argue that the proposal to coerce the north of ireland out of the european union, despite the democratically expressed wishes and views of the people, actually flies in the face of the consent principle. we try to nail the big trends, as well as the big personalities. this took us to kazakhstan, a vast swathe of central asia poised to exploit the eastward tilt of the global economy. in the kazakh language, "asta na" means capital. in just 20 years, this city has risen from the empty steppes, these sho

notan northern ireland before the dawn.nt down to two or three but the weather fro nt ta kes down to two or three but the weather front takes the rain away from the northern half of the british isles on friday and further south, watch out for the fog which may linger on and some of the visibility quite poon and some of the visibility quite poor. 0nce and some of the visibility quite poor. once the weather front has gone, clearer skies or more parts of northern britain and as we go through the day on friday, top temperatures of 11 or 12. this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at 3.00 — three british tourists, including a child, have died after their vehicle crashed while crossing a bridge in southern iceland. four others are critically injured. an increase in hospital parking charges — new data suggests four in ten nhs hospitals in england put up their fees in the last year. my friend's mum is dying. i've been in to drop some stuff off. and it's just cost me three quid. britain's most senior police officer says a n

the border between ireland and northern ireland remains a pressing issue.ng us now is ireland's finance minister paschal donohoe. thanks for joining. votes theresa17 may has some factors. --of brexit deal get done can a brexit deal get done? >> obviously prime minister may and her government are grappling with the issues around this. i believe an agreement can be reached. the legal text that has been agreed in relation to with all treaty will not be changing. we are happy of course to engage with prime minister may and her government. clarifications and how issues can be teased out. we have an agreement that has involved compromises by the european union and its from the basis that that we need to move forward. vonnie: you just stated what ireland's preferred situation would the on the backstop. i want to read something that is in brackets. anis only intended as insurance policy to prevent a hard border on the island of ireland. it is the european union's firm determination to work speedily on a subsequent agreement. if that agreement needs to be triggered

to say ireland is not —— simplistic to say ireland is not... deal is back and there is a close enough trade relationship, that is going to be a huge political tool for ireland. if they leave without a deal, it will have backfired. but they did very well because certainly the only issueis well because certainly the only issue is the backstop in northern ireland. let's talk about how theresa may has played this year because huge criticism, she is still standing at the end of the year, she looks a little more confident in this last week of the year than she did even ten days ago. she was magnanimous in calling in some of her opponents like jacob rees—mogg. to be counterintuitive again, she has shown in recent weeks the power ofa has shown in recent weeks the power of a prime ministerial position because everyone says she is weak and hopeless and so on but actually she decided to withdraw the vote on her deal, she decided or will decide when that vote will take place, so she has many levers to pull. however, in the wider context, it is still incred

do you think people outside northern ireland care about northern ireland as much as you do?inary punter gets it, they are not stupid. the union is for everyone, no matter your caste, creed, identity, gender, it's for all of us. the dup are not fazed when the government tries to get them to act ina certain government tries to get them to act in a certain way. they've had years and years of tough peace process negotiations, they've gone eyeball to eyeball with sinn fein who are equally tough on the other side of northern ireland's divide, so the dup, they are hardline, they are beligerant, they know what they want and the dup doesn't love. today, belfast there is little sign of its history of violence and the backstop is to help ensure those days never return. but the complications from the past continue to stand in the way of a brexit deal for the future. with just a few days to the vote, does it look like the prime minister might come up with a compromise? 0ur political editor, laura kuenssberg is at westminster with this assessment. theresa may gives a big clue this morning

protocol the northern ireland protocol the northern ireland protocol the northern ireland customs arrangementsthern ireland will form part of the eu customs territory and not of the eu customs territory and not of the uk's customs territory and woods he confirm under article four of the protocol that is a new right under international law, one not in the 1998 agreement for the eu to oversee certain aspects of the implementation of the belfast agreement? i will follow those points further up with him in discussions but overall context is a deeply unattractive, and satisfactory presentation and he needs to therefore, rather than recommend this agreement, recommend it be rejected. nigel dodds of the dup. you are watching the bbc news at five. the attorney general geoffrey cox taking questions after making a statement to the house outlining a summary, i reiterate, is somebody, not full disclosure of his legal adviser to prime minister concerning her brexit deal. let's get the latest on all of this with our correspondent at westminster. the attorney general saying he does not particularly like the

john campbell is our northern ireland business editor. where are you in northern ireland, john?d moira, then a distribution house. this business turns over more than half £1 billion a yearand turns over more than half £1 billion a year and specialises in red meat and cereal products, and it sells those products into the uk, ireland and the wider european union. this is precisely the sort of business that could find itself exposed on a no—deal brexit, because we could end up no—deal brexit, because we could end up trading on wto tallis. they could be new text on food products as the cross the border. trevor, the prime minister's deal, with its backstop, does not appear to have many friends in parliament, so why businesses think it is a deal worth backing? business groups have followed the economic arguments from day one. politicians have political priorities, and our view, they are putting those priorities over economic priorities. the economic argument tells us that a no—deal brexit is bad forjobs, investment and all the citizens of northern ireland. the deal could involve the b

collea g u es of northern ireland want to see.olleagues of years and say the prime minister's authority today is shot to pieces, what would you say to them? i think it would have been more damaged if the prime minister had knowingly gone into a vote in the house of commons that the government was going to lose. i think what the prime minister has done is to accept the reality of the position in which we find ourselves. there is no majority in the house of commons for any of the other options, not for another referendum, not for the eea. we have to understand the reality of where we are andi understand the reality of where we are and i think politicians have to face up to the realities of the situation and understand we have to ta ke situation and understand we have to take decisions because if we don't getan take decisions because if we don't get an agreement with our withdrawal provision in it, then we are either going to be true the voters and not have brexit or are we going to have brexit was no deal. when you have a change of

and northern ireland. they have also been clear on the temporary nature of the backstop. i think he is right. we should go boldly back to the european union on these issues. we have been rigorously and robustly -- we have been rigorously and robustly debating with them on this and have achieved a number of agreements to ensure that there could be that assurance. thist is now for me and government to go back and make the point that those assurances are sufficient for members of the house. nothing should be off the table but everyone should be very clear that in the recording for every opening of the withdrawal agreement, there were the issues that would be back on the table, including the north ireland territory. go today, the government has really lost all of authority. and might i just say -- in the fiasco today, the government has really lost all of authority. -- theht i just say leader of the opposition could proceed to a no-confidence vote. thespecifically on statement, can i ask the prime minister how

and the republic of ireland. northern ireland is currently part of the u.k. following her statement, she answered questions from a number of members of parliament, including jeremy corbin, the labor party leader. p.m. may: ses of our departure from the eu, a declaration setting out our future relationship after we have left. i listened very carefully to what is said in this chamber and out of it. [indiscernible] p.m. may: what has been set in this chamber and out of it from members of all sides. ares clear that while there 's support on key aspect of the issue, the remains widespread concerns. other results, the deal would be rejected. we will therefore differ is andt scheduled for tomorrow not proceed to divide the house at this time. i sit in my speech opening debate last week the reasons why it is a necessary guarantee to the people of northern ireland and why with every future relationship you want there is no deal available that is not included the backstop. behind all those arguments are some inescapable facts. northern ireland shares a border with anot

some parties in northern ireland ta ke some parties in northern ireland take a different view to thatind of new trade barriers. our ireland correspondent chris page reports. it's difficult to tell where it is, but it's easy to see how it's affected the brexit process. the irish border has been the most difficult issue for negotiators to resolve. the sticking point is the backstop, an arrangement to ensure there will be no checks on the land frontier, even if trade talks aren't successful. under the backstop, there would be some checks on goods coming across the irish sea from great britain into northern ireland, because this part of the uk would continue to follow rules of the eu single market. a number of mps argue that would mean the united kingdom would not be so united, one of the main reasons why this deal has run into so much political trouble. whether they transport products by land, sea orair, businesses say they need the uncertainty to end. the boss of this haulage firm said the lack of clarity is crippling. the politicians have displayed themselves in a very poor light, at t

a bit like a backstop in ireland, are the dup being used?'s concerns if they weren't dependent on them for votes? if you are in a situation where there is a general election, that might change things slightly, but i think they have huge leveraged at the moment. and in terms of this yearfor the government, george osborne spoke this weekend, he said theresa may was a dead woman walking last year after that rather disastrous general election campaign, his argument is that the mistakes she made at the start was to embrace the 17 million who voted to leave and effectively say to the 16 million who voted to stay, we are not interested in you, the decision is made, and she has ended up in the position she should have started with. i think he is right and it is fascinating because when she first became prime minister, she was in a strong position. she behaved weakly, she felt she had to reassure the brexiteers, even though she could have told them some candid truths. now she is in a weak position, she has no choice but to be assertive and tell them

over the deal is the backstop is the border between northern ireland in the republic of ireland and of course engler merkel has said on a number of occasions that germany will do its utmost to ensure that there is not a hard border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland and again we just keep hearing the same things again and again from a very e.u. states and from germany as well and the point is this that this is an e.u. matter and that the decisions will be made in brussels by twenty seven e.u. member states and not by germany alone right kid pretty outside the chancellor's office where the two leaders to resign me and chancellor angela merkel holding talks as we speak thank you very much for that update meanwhile your leaders have also been commenting on tourism is the latest push for concessions max hoffman spoke to one trade verba the head of the conservative bloc in the european parliament let's have a listen. it appears that the u.k. government three some may is calling for a change in the withdrawal agreement with the european parliament except any changes to that

and northern ireland.ut the general consensus in berlin is -- >> there can be no allowance is, no other agreement than the one regarding have. >> there cannot be any cherry picking and there also cannot be frantic renegotiations because mrs. may seems not to be able to get the deal passed in the u.k. in the current form. reporter: but eu commission president jean-claude juncker did have one thing to offer. >> if used intelligently, there is room enough to give a clarification and further interpretation without opening the door. this will not have a. reporter: as may arrived in brussels, at least the car door was no longer proving so unyielding. but she knows that young claude juncker's offer may prove little back home. but you sounded nevertheless optimistic. >> but i am discussing with european leaders and will continue to discuss with them is how we can provide the insurance that the backstop for northern eland, were it to be used, and it does not need to be used, but were it to be used, we need certaint

member ireland is under scrutiny particularly by the d u p the democratic unionist party of belfast she needs them on board clearly but the arithmetic the numbers are stacking up against innes in such a degree i guess that it doesn't matter if the d.p. are their own not because if the numbers are so big that the u.p.a. representation in the house of commons in london wouldn't be enough to save her anyway but then there's the the knob issue of a hard border versus soft border. what i mean it's that's true in terms of next week's deal i mean there's a there's a another issue to do with the and that is that there are ten seats in parliament are the only thing that affords to reserve a a working majority in parliament. the d u p at the moment. appears to have suspended that arrangement regardless of next week's vote they voted against the government a number of times now the reality is as long as they continue to vote against the government to reason may is the leader of a minority government there is not a working majority in parliament. the do you piece is not going to change its mind bec

not having a hard border in ireland.because the eu has a say as to whether we leave it at the last time. we can leave the un, we can leave nato and even the eu as a sovereign rights, but we cannot leave this backstop on an international treaty, that would be an absolute first. if the prime minister can't get anything more than reassurances and cosmetic changes, as one politician suggested to me this morning, as a result of these meetings, and that does not satisfy the critics of her deal within the conservative party, what do you think will unfold over the next few weeks. i think the prime minister has to take the eu to the wire. we know from the past that the wire. we know from the past that the only time the eu actually stares and put something down is when they are staring in the face of the colla pse are staring in the face of the collapse of an agreement. the 20th of march, if necessary? all timescales are off. she has to insist on this and be prepared to walk away from the table. colleagues in parliament here are u

ireland and... ” there being a border between northern ireland and... i do have an issue, the whole point of a backstop issue, the whole point of a backstop is to prevent the border. we should never have suggested coming out of the single market and the customs union in the first place and the reckless way this issue has been used, we cannot put the safety between the island of ireland and i don't want to see a border between wales and border between scotland. what she put forward could not command support in the commons at all ends of the spectrum. we have to find a way through this and i believe putting it back to the people. isn't retaining the territorial integrity of the uk com pletely territorial integrity of the uk completely at odds with leaving the eu? it is one of the reasons i didn't vote to trigger article 50 in the first place. but the reality is we have put that option to the house number of times. it wasn't supported and therefore we will have to put this back to the people let them d

they made a solemn promise to protect the people of ireland and they can'tjust tear it up ireland anda that's being suggested tonight, whether it's got legs we will have to see, but the idea that rather than having an expiring date for the backstop, just and it when there's a commencement date for a future trade deal how with that appeal? the point is ifa deal how with that appeal? the point is if a future trade deal, if there is if a future trade deal, if there is any difference in product regulations and if there is any difference in trading tariffs, that creates friction and things can't move north and south, so if our the case, and the uk to sign up to not diverge from regulations and customs that would effectively be a norway plus model then yes, you'd be the backstop but even if the trade agreement comes into effect, and differentiate, then it creates that line and don't think about the border as being just, you know, getting from a to b, it's about the product standards and bear in mind the border straddles farms houses and schools and different product standards are on one sid

those of us who care about ireland will know if you have the republic of ireland and northern irelandwhy the prime minister negotiated the backstop and the reason why we support northern ireland and the republic of violent rape being in the same customs area. the only way to secure that is basically to stay in the european union. —— and their republic of ireland is being in the same customs area. i know parliament well. i have beenin area. i know parliament well. i have been in it for 15 years. parliament is not going to total chaos, illegality and potentially violence. that will not happen. the use of language is very important here. the chief constable of the police service of northern ireland said if there are different customs arrangements, paramilitary ‘s will be behind the smuggling and he cannot be accountable for what may happen afterwards. this is the guy responsible for policing in northern ireland and this is why the prime minister has agreed the backstop. —— this is the guy. we will have plenty more on brexit a little later. first, let's get some more on another news story

notjust because it protects ireland and ensures there is no hard border between northern ireland andcting the peace process and the good friday agreement, but also because it's a european issue, too, and an open border between northern ireland and ireland cannot become a back door to the single market. and that's why european countries also very strongly support the backstop. notjust an irish issue, very much a european issue, as well, and by resolving it in the withdrawal agreement, we can make sure that no side uses the threat of a border in ireland as part of leverage in the future relationship talks. so really, it's there for three reasons, notjust an irish issue, very much a european issue, as well. and also agreed to step up any preparations that we're making for the unlikely event of a no—deal scenario, so happy with conclusions and very much a case of, in the european union, it being one for all and all for one. it's the busiest week of the year for royal mail as it endeavours to deliver millions of cards and parcels in time for christmas. this morning our business correspond