john called juncker that jean-claude juncker has already jean-claude juncker has already indicated itnstarter. >> you know better than anybody else that in any negotiation people take positions until a deal is done, so i think that the best thing we can do is send to the prime minister back to the european union with a clear agenda of what she can get parliament to pass. i think the withdrawal agreement with that amendment would be the best outcome we could hope for. vonnie: what would replace the irish backstop? would it then be a border, and if so what border would you like to see? >> there will not be in border. that is very clear. the position of the british government is there will not be a border, the position of the irish border is there will not be a border, and the position of the european union negotiator is there will not be a border. the amendment says both sides will work together to make sure there is no border. i'm not looking to have a border at all. vonnie: what would you replace the backstop with, because clearly there would be a problem at that point if there is not

the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, said he would listen to what she had tot insisted the irish backstop was part and parcel of the brexit deal and would not be changed. in today's main developments, the eu's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, told meps in brussels that the backstop was completely non—negotiable and is part and parcel of the brexit deal. tonight the prime minister spoke on the phone to donald tusk, the president of the european council. the call was described by officials as open and frank. back at westminster, theresa may and jeremy corbyn met for the first time to discuss brexit. sources say there was a useful exchange of views and the pair agreed to meet again soon. let's get more on the day's events from our political editor laura kuenssberg. a different kind of meeting in his diary — the labour leader off to see his biggest rival. the prime minister leaving not to wrangle conservatives, but to talk to him. reporter: will the eu make any changes? tea and biscuits served behind closed doors in her private office in parliament. but, a

jean—claude juncker is addressing members of the parliament but brexit.both sides have said loud and clear that there can be no ha rd loud and clear that there can be no hard border on the island of ireland. no slipping back into darker times past. i believe the prime minister‘s personal commitment on this point, but i believe also that we need the safety net that secures us against this risk. we have no incentive nor desire to use the safety net, but at the same time, no safety net can never fully be safe if it can just be removed at any time. sometimes from time to timei any time. sometimes from time to time i have the impression that some hope that the 26 other countries will abandon brexit, and so ireland the last minute. but this not a game. it goes to the heart of what being a member of the european union is. ireland pots border is your‘s border and it is your‘s priority. ladies and gentlemen, we know from yesterday‘s debate, that the house of commons is against many things. it is against a no—deal brexit. it is against brexit. but we still do not k

guy: jump log juncker said the odds of a no deal brexit have gone up -- jean-claude juncker said thes of a no deal brexit have gone up. you pointed me in the direction of this chart, the implied probability of a no deal brexit, which currently sits at circa 28%. is that number two high or too low? too low: it was yesterday, and i think it is probably heading a little higher. it is probably about fair. i still think may's deal, some variant thereof, 95% of what it is is going to stay the same. think the chances that perhaps no deal, no brexit chances have dropped sharply lower, so the main uncertainty, deal,is ay's deal or no has risen. it is more of a binary choice. thank you very much indeed. vonnie: the odds of a second referendum going down as the odds of a no deal brexit go up. i guess that is to be expected, money comes out one ended out -- comes in one end and out the other. [laughter] guy: marcus ashworth joining us from bloomberg opinion. let's get an update. vonnie? vonnie: let's get to kailey leinz with our first word news. federal reserve chairman jerome powell expected to

but the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, said the agreement was "the best andal possible." and the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier said there was no time to find an alternative arrangement. during the day, the prime minister held talks with labour's jeremy corbyn in the search for a way ahead. our first report tonight is from our political editor, laura kuenssberg. a different kind of meeting in his diary. the labour leader off to see his biggest rival. the prime minister leaving not to wrangle conservatives but to talk to him. will the eu make any changes? tea and biscuits served behind closed doors in her private office in parliament. but, after an a0 minutes of talks, did the labour leader and the prime ministerfind any common ground? serious, exploratory on the issues, and i set out the labour case for a comprehensive customs union with the european union in order to protectjobs in this country and trade. can we find an alternative to the backstop? looking forward to the day today. thank you. the cabinet has already promised to redraft the arrangements

for this letter from reports, we are waiting for this letterfrom jean—claude reports, we are waiting for this letter from jean—claude junckeride theresa may with some reassurance. very little came out of that letter today. by some reports the eu are waiting to see how this vote goes tomorrow and if it seems like there is any movement that theresa may could push this bill through with a bit of give from them there are some people who believe the eu might be willing to make certain positive noises but thatis make certain positive noises but that is all speculation. the eu has been very clear that it will not be reopening what they think has actually been done. you can't offer legally watertight things on this backdrop, that some mps want, i don't think they will be able to do that, whatever the scale of the defeat. but they will be watching absolutely bewildered and entranced by what is going on, i suspect. and again the scale of the defeat will partly determine their response. the front page of the independent. this goes to what you were talking about earlier, steve. 31 months since the referendum she has had 13 defeats in t

but the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, said that the withdrawal agreementopen for renegotiation. and the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier said it was up to the uk to decide what it wanted. from brussels, our europe editor katya adler reports on the eu's position. quite a contrast to the hostility the prime minister can face when she talks to mps about brexit. this is how the eu's chief brexit negotiator was received today in the european parliament. despite his plan's heavy defeat last night. right now, it is too early to assess all the consequences of this vote. we have always respected and we continue to respect the democratic parliamentary debate in the uk and i will not speculate on the different scenarios. eu leaders are in a bullish mood. in a coordinated media blitz starting moments after last night's vote, they quickly doused any illusions that the eu would now rush forward with compromise solutions. the eu insists the ball is now in the uk's court. translation: it is now up to the uk to tell us what happens next. we still have time to negotiate

jean-claude juncker holding his cards closer to his chest, saying it raisises the prospectf a no d deal. eueupe is lookoking at this wita lot of sadness and frustration and trying to be realistic and hope that they will get more clarity. the u.k., she will prprobably havave to ge e into someone's demands. >> jeremy corbyn, that is where all of these nuances enter into this. her so-calledo redlines. jeremy corbyn was speaking in saying, and he was appealing to theresa may to scrap her redlines. the table.l off take it off the table, get it out of there, consider other alternrnatives. growing, despite everytything she hasaid, she h s not indicatated she iss ready to take no deal off thehe table. article 50 means extending the brexit deadline and going back to brussels and finding a way to tweak the deal. there is speculation she believes she c can tweak i it ia way that turns enough votes in her favor. >> thank you. the former president of ivory coast, laurent gbagbo, may have been acquitted, but he spent another night in prison. he and his codefendant have e bn cleared on crimes against

but the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, said that the withdrawal agreementtor, michel barnier, said it was up to the uk to decide what it wanted. from brussels, our europe editor katya adler reports on the eu's position. quite a contrast to the hostility the prime minister can face when she talks to mps about brexit, this is how the eu's chief brexit negotiator was received today in the european parliament, despite his plan's heavy defeat last night. right now, it's too early to assess all the consequences of this vote. we have always respected and we continue to respect the democratic parliamentary debate in the uk, and i will not speculate on the different scenarios. eu leaders are in a bullish mood. in a co—ordinated media blitz, starting moments after last night's vote, they quickly doused any illusions the eu would now rush forward with compromise solutions. the eu insists the ball is now in the uk's court. translation: it's now up to the uk to tell us what happens next. we still have time to negotiate, but we're first going to hear from the british pri

today jean—claude juncker and do not when that will enter. and do not task —— donald tusk signed a letter saying that the deal would only be triggered in an emergency. it is not legally binding but does have some legally binding but does have some legal force. legally binding but does have some legalforce. prime minister said whatever it be concluded about the deal it was time to give it a second look. because occurrences of voting against this deal tomorrow are becoming ever clearer. with no deal we would have no format mac —— temperament mac period. no certainty for businesses and workers like those i met in stoke this morning and we would see changes everyday life to northern ireland that would put the future of our union at risk. it rather than leaving at no deal this house blocked brexit that would bea this house blocked brexit that would be a subversion of our democracy, saying to the people we were elected to serve, but we were unable to budge are willing to do what the —— unwilling to do what they instructed. jeremy corbyn rejected th

brady proposal, but jean-claude juncker from the e.u.dy have a draft statement in hand to issue that they will reject the brady amendment. they won't reject tearing up this irish backstop, so when she returns to brussels this week, it will be interesting to see what kind of response she gets and if there are any cooler that and creative minds can come up with something that both the u.k. and the e.u. can agree . we shall see. second referendum mopping discussed too much today. for now, it is up to theresa may to see what she can get from the european union. haidi: after brussels she goes again. kathleen hays with the latest on brexit. he can also get a roundup of the stories you need to know to get your day going in today's edition of "daybreak." bloomberg subscribers can go to dayb on your terminal. mixed results. apple, nothing to write home about. mobileo get this on the in the bloomberg anywhere app. you can tweak the settings so you just get the news on industries and assets you care -- that are relevant here. this is bloomberg

all these stories are downplaying any intervention from jean—claude juncker.rs might come on sunday. that is right. in the mail on sunday hopes are failing for significant assurances from brussels over the hated northern ireland backstop. there you go. in the sunday telegraph, the tory backbencher is talking about trying to get an amendment on the withdrawal agreement to allow the backstop to finish. the details of the backstop we have tried to get our heads around... theresa may has been trying to do without all last year and make no progress on it. do you think the eu could say, are likely to say, it with massively swing things? no. they're not going to give any ground on the backstop. they have negotiated and they regard keeping an open border in ireland as absolutely essential and that has to bea absolutely essential and that has to be a long—term commitment. you cannotjust say be a long—term commitment. you cannot just say we will do it for a few years and then review the situation. in the observer, if the vote does go... let me just do the mail on sunday

jean—claude juncker and other european leaders, everybody is fed up with brexit and europe.t kind of deal and relationship can be carved out, it is up to the british government to come up with a solution, and the reality is theresa may has drafted a plan that does not seem to get the support of the majority of mps in the house of commons so she is in trouble and the problem is she doesn't seem to be having a way out of this. who knows what will happen. both sides within the eu they want to have a deal, when everyone says that are no more negotiations to be done, you are still negotiating. still bluster on both sides and thirdly and we have observed this, we tend to go to the last minute, sometimes last second. we still have a couple of months for compromise. we have the parliamentary deadline and the dup this week... mrs may has stopped the planned vote already, though a week when it is supposed to happen in ten days. on that basis do you see anything that has shifted domestically that might increase the odds of her being able to get this through? yes, two things, more immed

after having it out with jean—claude juncker, theresa may left the summit empty—handed.fore parliament until january. the prime minister ran away... forjeremy corbyn, this was not good enough, and after some toing and froing, he tabled a motion calling for a vote of no—confidence in the prime minister herself. i'm about to table a motion which says the following — that this house has no confidence in the prime minister. but not the big parliamentary bazooka — a binding vote of no confidence in the whole government, which other opposition parties were calling for. downing street dismissed the move as a silly political gimmick and refused to make time for such a vote. another memorable 12 months, with brexit as yet unresolved, continuing into 2019 and probably beyond. politics live will be here to guide you through. until then, i'm off for a rest. hello. a fine start to the new year germany. these fine condition is going to continue through the rest of the first few days of 2019. high pressure keeping things largely dry. afair bit pressure keeping things largely dry. a fai

eu leader jean-claude juncker warned that the vote in the british parliament to demand changes had increasedhe risk of a no-deal brexit. >> the withdrawal agreement remains the best and only deal possible. the european union said so in november. we said so in december. we said so after the first meaningful vote in the commons in january. the debate and votes in the house of commons yesterday do not change that. the withdrawal agreement will not be renegotiated. reporter: with the eu's brexit negotiator also defending the existing deal, theresa may is poised to travel to brussels in what could be mission impossible. she may come back with nothing new to offer parliament, which means brexit goes back to square one. again. brent: so, how to solve the problem of the irish backstop? we put that question to the irish lawmaker mairead mcguinness in brussels. she is the vice president of the european parliament. reporter: are there any alternatives to the backstop? is it right now just about who will blink first? >> i think the worry we have is that we went through a long negotiation and i'm sure al

there will be some big changes to the eu's top jobs because jean—claude juncker is retiring from thek. the eu leaders will meet for a massive summit in the romanian city of sibiu on the 9th of may, where they will sit down and plot a future for the eu that doesn't have the uk in it any more. business is going to start 2019 where it left off in 2018, under dark brexit clouds of uncertainty. you will see that those businesses who have not got ready for it are beginning to think what they thought was unthinkable, that we may leave with no deal. a crash course in customs, vat, cash flow, inventory, all that kind of stuff will keep businesses very busy in the first three months of the year. we may have to ask the eu for a bit more time, which would give some breathing space, but extend the period of uncertainty where businesses invest less. businesses also care about what their customers are doing. we are finishing 2018 with consumer confidence at a five—year low. now that in a way is a bit of a surprise because the good news is that unemployment is very low and wages are going up faster

that patently is not credible, because we have the president of the commission, jean—claude juncker,gle head of government of the eu 27 saying the deal that theresa may, after tortured negotiation, the deal she finally struck with the eu 27 was notjust the best deal available but the only deal available. i don't accept that. imean, the deal available. i don't accept that. i mean, the reality is that, had labour won the last election, then i believe we would now have an agreement, because there was a different approach from corbyn than theresa may. if you recall back then, theresa may took and a as very aggressive stand. you can't rewrite history, mr mccluskey, and as i say to you in the last weeks and months the message has been simple, this is the message has been simple, this is the best deal, this is the only deal. so that is where we are. so when labour says we will go back to brussels and negotiate a completely different deal... i think they can. pate ntly they different deal... i think they can. patently they can't, not only because the eu... you are making them mistake of assu

that is precisely what jean—claude juncker, angela merkel, emmanuel macron, had insisted from the verye it represents wanting all the benefits without any of the duties and obligations of membership. delly what would those tests for? they were to test the government —— what were those tests for? it was to test their roadworks. this is what you have promised us. david davis said it... and you ridiculed him. it was fantasy lad, it was absurd. lula if that is what you are telling us, we will test you against your own measures. ——if that is what you are telling us. we are saying we have an alternative deal and you can test this against our own deal. we want to get parliament into the debate to see whether or not, it are deal isn't satisfactory, what is? what compromise can be all make? this is all about making a copper mines and it may be that party lines break down and that individual mps have to decide. —— compromise. we have put an amendment up. if there's basically, first of all, let's rule out no deal. here are our ideas on what had deal could look like and we want that debate to stan

but anything new in that letter from jean—claude juncker and donald tusk?isting withdrawal agreement, no time limit on that backstop. but mrs may insist there are a couple of new things in here. she says there is a new determination from the eu to push quickly and immediately with talking about a trade deal. a new parity, she says, about the fact that northern ireland would not be trapped in new laws. northern ireland itself could have a veto as it were over any new laws coming from the eu if it was in the mac sub. some reassurance therefore northern ireland. the problem is that, fundamentally, she says although there is legal force to this letter, it doesn't give the legal reassurances that some in her party wa nt. legal reassurances that some in her party want. interestingly, though, what we are hearing here is, eve ryo ne what we are hearing here is, everyone watching and, as you've been hearing, the crucial thing now is the outcome of those votes tomorrow. what position does that leave m rs tomorrow. what position does that leave mrs may in? does it lea

jean—claude juncker, and the european leaders, everyone is fed up with brexit in europe.al and relationship can be carved out, it is up now to the british government to come up with a solution. the reality is theresa may has drafted a plan that does not seem to get the support of a majority of mps in the house of commons. so she is in trouble, and the problem is that she doesn't seem to have a way out of this. so who knows what is going to happen. three basics, both sides in the eu said they want to have a deal which is a starting point, secondly in these discussions when everyone says there is no more negotiating to be done, these parties are still positioning and blustering on both sides. and everyone in this table has observed these deals, they tend to go to the la st these deals, they tend to go to the last minute, sometimes the last second. we still have a couple of months in which comprise is possible. we have the parliamentary deadline, and the dup this week... this is may have done that once already, when she stopped the planned vote, suspended it. they have given

and this afternoon we will hear them european parliament, then michel barnier, jean claude juncker and to theresa may on the phone. if they do not see any new ideas and no stable majority in parliament for a way through this, i think there will be little for them to talk about. last night mps voted in favour of replacing the so—called irish backstop — the insurance policy designed to avoid a hard border in ireland in the event that no agreement is reached by the end of 2020. but how is brexit being seen in the republic of ireland? chris page sent this report. this is a theatrical protest, but border people hope it will break through and highlight real concerns. they're worried any checkpoints would delay journeys, disrupt trade and bring back dark memories. i don't think the mps in westminster get the reality of border life in the north of ireland at all. and i think it's probably an extremely sensitive border, which has been shown through history. and we all know border structures become targets and things escalate in this part of the world, unfortunately. that's what we want to avoid

joint letter from european council president donald tusk and european commission president jean—claude junckero agree to anything that changes or is inconsistent with the withdrawal agreement‘. but on the crucial question of the northern ireland border, they assured the prime minister that the eu ‘does not wish to see the backstop enter into force‘. our europe editor katya adler is in brussels. she explained that the text from the eu did not go as far as being legally binding. the eu says assurances in this letter carry legal weight but this is, in essence, the eu was attempting to highlight details of the brexit deal they believe theresa may has failed to sell. such as the irish border guarantee, it is not attracted so many of the uk think, is that letter, and it is not inevitable. and yes we have heard these reassurances before, that is nothing new. but on the eve of the vote, this is the eu attempting, in co—ordination with theresa may, to focus the minds of mps and keep up the pressure. the underlying message is that the deal is better than you think and if you sign of can move on to the r

probably be remembered for a row between theresa may and the european commission president, jean—claude junckerr summit communique, eu leaders also clarified their intentions for the backstop. it would only ever be temporary and they'd work speedily on an agreement to make sure it was never needed. that fell short of what the uk wanted... the wallonia solution. that's the region of belgium that objected to the eu's free trade agreement with canada in 2016. to reassure the walloons, the eu issued a legally binding interpretation of one of the most controversial parts of the deal. there are other options under international law. for example, a country can sign a treaty and then say there are parts of it it doesn't agree with. 0r tweaks can be made to the separate document that sits alongside the withdrawal agreement — that's the political declaration which sketches out the shape of the future relationship. but privately some eu diplomats say they might only be prepared to act after theresa may loses a vote in the house of commons. and later today, join us for a brexit bbc ask this where we'll att

the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, said he would listen to what she had tosisted the irish backstop was part and parcel of the brexit deal and would not be changed. meanwhile, in westminter, theresa may and jeremy corbyn met for the first time to discuss possible ways forward for brexit. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. a of meeting in his diary. the labour leader off to see his biggest rival. the prime minister leaving not to wrangle conservatives but to talk to him. will the eu make any changes? tea and biscuits served behind closed doors in her private office in parliament, but after an hour of talks, did the prime minister and the labour leaderfind talks, did the prime minister and the labour leader find any common ground? serious, exploratory on the issues and i set out the labour case for a comprehensive customs union with the european union in order to protectjobs in this with the european union in order to protect jobs in this country and trade. the cabinet's already promised to redraft the arrangements for northern ireland. ministers w

andad jean-claude juncker nigel faraj even speaking out saying it is closer.aying that it was a dreadful mistake to engage europe on the backstop. what you think is going to happen? >> that is the key question. if i had the answer, i might be a rich man. i think you are right. the prospects of a no deal brexit have gone up. ms. may getting a deal has gone up as well. indicated to the europeans what it is willing to accept. the agreement is not going to be open up -- opened up. the ert themselves have moved quite a bit in the past few weeks. the tone is starting to shift away. something will happen on march 29. that increases the chance of a of a deal.t as much guy: thank you. great to see you. joining us from capital economics, thank you. facebookoming up, reports results. we hear from the coo. that is a 6:00 p.m. eastern on daybreak asia. sheryl sandberg coming up as he :00 p.m. eastern -- coming up at six a copy of eastern this is bloomberg. ♪ guy: life from london, i'm guy johnson. vonnie: this is the european close on wilbur markets. -- on bloomberg market

the prime minister theresa may has spoken to the president of the european commission, jean—claude junckereal. she's seeking written assurances on the controversial "backstop" arrangement to avoid a hard irish border. the house of commons is due to vote in the next fortnight on mrs may's proposals. and as our political correspondent, chris mason explains, the mood amongst mps over the prime minister's deal hasn't changed. the democratic unionist party, the northern ireland party that props up theresa may in government did not like the withdrawal agreement before christmas and guess what, they still don't like it and neither do a shed load of conservative mps, they don't like the so—called backstop, the insurance policy to ensure that the border between northern ireland and the republic remains open under any circumstances, the prime minister has spent christmas making telephone calls, on the call tojunkojunker of the european commission this afternoon but does not seem to have secured enough from them to persuade enough people here to change their minds and so still it looks like she will

european union commission president jean-claude juncker will hold more talks with prime minister theresaay this week but has ruled out the brexit deal agreed on in november could be renegotiated to gain support in british parliament. a spokesman said the brexit deal on the table is the best and only deal possible. parliament is set to vote on the deal next week. global news 24 hours a day on air and on twitter, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in over 120 countries. i am mark crumpton. this is bloomberg. david: thanks so much. as mark just said, china through a curveball today when the vice from your showed up unexpectedly to talks with u.s. trade delegation. you might think the negotiations could use the help because there is a long list of issues to address. to take us through, we are from los donald angeles. thanks for joining us. list of things including intellectual property, auto tariffs, you could go on and on. in they make much progress this round of negotiations? >> i think they will. there is going to be a deal. while people are created equal, deals are not. t

. >> jean-n-claude juncker i is ug solidify its position as soon as possible. the pro-eu leader hit by two thehs of protests speaks at first town hall meeting to try to turn around mass public anger against him. in this context, they will have to, without any transition .eriod are we going to p put british policy before the interest of europeans? leastst 14 people were killed in a terror attack k at a complex i in nairobi. hundreds of guests were evacuated. at least two groups of people work trapped inside through the night. hotel of terror, these are two of the headlines. it describes the horror of the killings in the nation's capital. askingsidents have been how this could have happened again. >> security is up. thehese people get into our country?y? >> security should have been beefed up. the government should have been more vigilant. >> security forces have cordoned p place where the attacksks occurred. isthe security operationon over and all of thee terrorists eleliminated.. over 700 civilians were evacuated toto safety from the compound since the start of

the prime minister has been speaking to the president of the european commission jean—claude juncker" she tries to win support for her "brexit" deal, she is seeking written assurances on the controversial backstop arrangement, the insurance policy that would seek to avoid a hard border between northern ireland and the republic in the case of the eu leaving —— the uk leaving the eu without a deal. the house of commons is set to vote in a fortnight on proposals. leo varadkar, speaking in germany, said the republic of ireland is increasing preparations in case of a no deal scenario but does expect agreement in the coming weeks. i still expect we will have a deal in the next few weeks, but it is only prudent, of course, that as every day passes, we intensify preparation for a no deal, and that is very much what ireland is doing, i intend to continue those preparations. we should not forget that no one is threatening no deal, except the uk, it is always in the power of the united kingdom to ensure there is a deal, either by ratifying the agreements we have reached at government level or a

tomorrow commission president jean-claude juncker will respond in the european parliament.l be in the parliament, sitting next to him. i don't expect them to immediately give concessions but, remember this, the clock is also ticking for them. they sell so many cars, so much champagne, so much chocolate in this country, they actually call us treasure island. so they want to come to a deal of some kind if they possibly can. the weakness of our position is the prime minister needs to get tough. she needs to say, in two months time, unless you give me concessions we are leaving on world trade organization terms. we will put tariffs on those goods that you sell in a massive surplus to us. if she does that, she would get concessions. then i believe she would get the deal through parliament. the question is, is she tough enough to do it? charles: what unity on the uk side? this morning first headline i saw from the sun, caught my eye, don't let labour kill brexit. photograph of corbyn there. >> yeah. charles: what is going on? i thought he was out of the picture for now since the

we heard jean-claude juncker talking about that.g to see ministers openly talk about the possibility of delay thank you very much maria tadeo in brussels for us. it's get out of look at the top individual stocks stories we are watching. the aboutinues to earnings. royal dutch shell among them. we did here exclusively from the ceo in the last hour saying that dutch shell can be -- could do it all. that is a commitment to their buybacks. investors certainly liking the story. unilever was one of the ones we saw to the downside. a disappointed in their outlook. they say that sales in emerging markets look weak, especially in latin america. we continue to here, but now we are seeing it seep into the individual company earnings. give you some relief, i have rpc on the board. they are getting another bid, possibly, from global management. they have already received a bid from apollo for a takeover. they might be getting another bid. they put their support behind apollo. matt: facebook reported revenue that beat estimates as advertisers stu

jean—claude juncker, european commission president, again insisted that the deal on the table remainsal agreement signed by the prime minister in november will not be reopened. though withdrawal agreement remains the best and only deal possible. the european union said so in november, we said so in december, we said after the first meaningful vote in the house of commons injanuary. the debates and votes in the house of commons yesterday do not change that. commons yesterday do not change that. with me now is our uk political correspondent, rob watson. short con junkers said short conjunkers said today, so—called alternative arrangements we re so—called alternative arrangements were discussed during the negotiation, the concept is not a plan, notan negotiation, the concept is not a plan, not an operational solution. that is the issue, alternative arrangements aren't specific. no, they are not. i should say that they do have renewed admiration for what you do having had a go at it on thursday. it is not a question of putting on a bit of make—up and looking at the camera and try not to s

. —— jean—claude juncker. i do but have been text link each other. ——jean—claudejuncker. using emojis because he is famous for having an incredibly old mobile phone that doesn't use them! this is interesting because i now have a copy of the letter that theresa may has sent to jeremy corbyn, copy of the letter that theresa may has sent tojeremy corbyn, the labour leader, in response to the labour leader, in response to the labour leader's letter. the context once again thatjeremy corbyn is saying he will not take part in these stocks unless they know they all possibility is taken off the table. let's have a look at what the prime minister has to say. dear jeremy, thank you for your letter. i am disappointed that you have not taken up the offer of a meeting to see if we can find a way forward on brexit. i am see if we can find a way forward on brexit. iam pleased see if we can find a way forward on brexit. i am pleased that all the other parliamentary leaders of the other parliamentary leaders of the other parties agreed to meet without preconditions. parliament voted to ho

nin brussels today, europ commission president jean-claude juncker said the "withdrawal agreent will not be re- negotiated." >> the withdral agreement remains the best and only deal possible. the european union sain november. we said so in december we said so after the first meaningful vote in the commo in january. the debates and votes in the house of commons yesterday do not change that. >> woodruff: british prime minister theresa may will w try to negotiate better terms, as time grows short. britain is less than two months away from its deadline of aving the e.u. in brazil, the death toll to 99 in the collapse of a mine waste dam last friday. more than 250 people are still missing. the collapse also released a torrent of iron oxide sludge. it's heading downstream toward a river that provides drinking water to hundreds of towns and cities. dangerous levels of air llution in thailand shut down more than 400 schools in bangkok today. officials said heavy traffic and stagnant air are causing aof builduiny particles in the air. bae air may not clear until next week. in this country, is

this is the letter from theresa may to president task and jean—claude juncker. —— president donald tusk is widespread restored for a broad and deep russian ship between the eu and the uk and are responsible exit. the deals at risk... it is to do with the northern ireland border, we know how difficult this negotiation has been. she is going back to them to say, these are the difficulties, they are well aware of the difficulties, but they have not given much more reassurance. difficulties, but they have not given much more reassurancelj difficulties, but they have not given much more reassurance. i think the truth is, the ee are not —— the eu are not likely at the moment to give a big concession. if it is going to be voted down in parliament, what is the point of giving up the concession now. it is possible that if the deal does not com pletely possible that if the deal does not completely go down in flames, that if she goes back to brussels after the deal is voted down, maybe then you might get some more substantive movement on the backstop. at this stage, it was always a long shot to ex

until now, the president of the european council, along with jean—claude juncker, all of the leadersave been largely coordinated. within minutes, some of them were tweeting, they are pretty uniform. the only alternative is the language, whether it is no, non, or nien. what they will look at is the political declaration, what it could look like. or the point that donald tusk was trying to make is that they would look to consider an extension to the article 50 period, there has to the article 50 period, there has to be agreed by the leaders. so, something really key, the conservatives rallying around, stiffening sinews, they don't want to come across as those that are the enemy, a figure that we don't often hear about, the deputy chief spokesperson and negotiator on brexit, she said they are coming across like they are the punisher is. they have given foresight that any alternative has been looked at over 18 months. how do you come up with technology to stop there being a border crossing? they have not come up with it, that is why the has to bea come up with it, that is why the has to

the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, along with the eu chief negotiator, michelnier, said the brexit withdrawal agreement could not be renegotiated. in parliamentary votes last night, mps backed a plan to renegotiate the brexit withdrawal agreement, specifically the so—called backstop, which guarantees an open border between northern ireland and the republic. mrs may is to speak on the phone with donald tusk, phe president of the european council, within the hour. this was whatjean—claude juncker had to say a short while ago. withdrawal agreement remains the best and only deal possible. we said so best and only deal possible. we said so in november, in december, after the first meaningful vote in the commons in january. the the first meaningful vote in the commons injanuary. the debates and votes in the house of commons yesterday do not change that. the withdrawal agreement will not be re—negotiated. both sides have said loud and clear that there can be no return to the hard border on the island of ireland. snow slipping back into darker times past. i believe the

clarifications from the european union but is it not the case that the use of those words by jean—claude juncker donald tusk that we are not in a position to change anything with withdrawal agreement that simply underlying those concerns and make it all the more unlikely that they will reject the agreement tomorrow? the concerns that members that overwhelmingly raised was the issue of whether the backstop could continue indefinitely. european union within the withdrawal agreement in a number of ways makes clear that the backstop can only be a temporary arrangement. they have given that further assurance in relation to this in conclusions which have legal force in international law and that has been confirmed in the uk. they have gone further than they did within the withdrawal agreement but certainly house on many occasion there is no deal with european union that does not involve a withdrawal agreement. there is no deal that does not involve having a backstop as that commitment to the people of northern ireland, there will be no ha rd northern ireland, there will be no hard border between north

we got the same message from jean-claude juncker yesterday as well.al, what kind of brexit does the house of commons have a majority for. matt: all right, we are less than a minute away from the start of equities trading after this historic vote, this crushing defeat for theresa may. let's take a look at a couple of indicators of how we can expect the equity trade to start in europe. the pound right now really not moving much at all. , and it has28.50 been like that since yesterday before the vote. we saw gains, slight gains in asian stocks, and we see gains in oil, as well, while the euro falls against the u.s. dollar, this after mario draghi said the economy in the e.u. is still weak enough to require significant stimulus from the ecb. futures are pointing higher, even ftse futures are up slightly as we slide into the open of continental the u.k. stocks. you can see that futures -- let us see how the cash trade looks like. the ftse barely positive coming out of the gate, the imax in madrid -- the ibex in madrid also trading a quarter percentage poin

they have said consistently this is the only deal on the table, jean—claude juncker and donald tusk and government potentially there could be movement but it needs a definitive ask from the uk. it is mid-day wednesday afternoon, we have had the vote tomorrow night, theresa may has lost as is the suggestion for most people, what happens? all eyes will turn to the labour party and there has been talk about them and tabling a motion of no confidence and jeremy corbyn said it would be soon. not clear if they do it immediately on tuesday night after the defeat or within the next couple of days but given the amount of pressure building up on them you would expect it to be within 12 hours. the question is, does the government survive that vote? the dup have said they will vote with the government so the expectation is that although they might lose the meaningful vote, they might lose the meaningful vote, they will survive the vote of no confidence, and then labour, with a push for a second referendum? the government, we they wait until next week and then try to scrap or something together? ——

exchange of letters between the prime minister and the president of the european commission, jean claude junckert it. let's speak to our europe correspondent damian grammaticas who is in brussels... what do we expect in these letters? the letters have been a very closely guarded secret. we know there's been back and forth survived the last few days and weeks in order to draft them. the prime minister before christmas said she was looking for something. what we expect in the next hour or so we might get a first sight of them and the eu side, it appears at likely to issue these reassu ra nces appears at likely to issue these reassurances but only ones that will say that this backstop is not an optimal solution, it's not something the eu is seeking to trap the uk in or that it returns or expects will last indefinitely. but the eu will not, it seems, provide any sort of legal reassurance, that's the best understanding and the likelihood the eu has said this all along, they will not re—negotiate what has already agreed, it will not re—negotiate the withdrawal agreement or backstop, the letter is like

really have, mrs may before she put her deal to the boat got a letter from arnold tusk and jean—claude junckeruk to get out of that, in other words, to get out of that, in other words, to get out of the customs arrangements because there are theories basically, we will be stuck in it forever and a day. the eu, have been pretty consistent on this and there was a little bit of chitchat at the weekend, maybe we could get round the eu if we struck a deal with ireland. well, dublin have said no to that, london have kind of conceded that is not going to happen. it's incredibly hard to see how mrs may is going to make any progress, given that the eu don't seem progress, given that the eu don't seem in the market to move and we haven't got any fresh thinking at the moment from the government. thank you. joining me now is shadow foreign secretary labour's emily thornberry. do you accept we may not be in this position had journey corbin gone to meet theresa may to find a way through. no, i don't think so i'm afraid. those people who went to see herfind afraid. those people who went to see her find exact

what she will try to do today is speak to the eu commission president jean—claude juncker, and see ifarantee money for eu—funded projects if a deal isn‘t reached. but university vice—chancellors say leaving the eu without an agreement could disrupt world—leading research and put billions of pounds of funding at risk. police say there‘s evidence that gangs are infiltrating the prison service by taking jobs in jails so they can smuggle drugs to inmates. the government has pledged to reduce drug—fuelled assaults in prisons. in an effort to stop drugs getting in, the first x—ray scanner has now been installed in a prison in england. it can detect packages hidden inside a prisoner‘s body. our home affairs correspondent danny shaw explains. stand up onto the two black marks. that‘s it. spin around and face me. just place one hand on to that. using x—ray technology to make prisons safer. this is a demonstration of the first body scanner to be installed as part of a government programme to reduce drugs and violence in ten of the worst affected prisons in england. nearly finished. it is used o