adam fleming reports from strasbourg. what would you like british mps to do today? we'll see. in this parliament, they'd like the other parliament to make a decision... president juncker, what should british mps do today? hi! ..to end the guessing game about which direction they're going in. translation: if you compared great britain to a sphinx, the sphinx would be an open book by comparison. let's see how that book speaks over the next week or so. the man who chairs the summits of eu leaders pushed the idea of the uk staying in. he was speaking directly to meps, but indirectly to mp5. you cannot betray the 6

we will see how things pan out today and talk to adam fleming in strasbourg and a couple of minutes. but first let's catch up with a reality check correspondent, chris morris. good morning. what other technicalities of getting an extension if that is indeed what mps vote for tonight? article 50 is article 50 of the lisbon treaty which sets out how a country lisbon treaty which sets out how a cou ntry leaves lisbon treaty which sets out how a country leaves the eu and a lot of the language is quite vague. it is clear about one thing. the two yet initial negotiating period which i’u ns initial negotiating period which runs out on the 29th of march can be extended if all countries agree to

let's speak to adam fleming in brussels. i have just let's speak to adam fleming in brussels.et's speak to adam fleming in brussels. i have just seen on the wire is a quote from the german european affairs minister, saying oui’ european affairs minister, saying our patients as the eu is being sorely tried, is that a pretty unanimous feeling amongst the eu 27? that comment was made on the red carpet as ministers from across the eu responsible for european affairs are meeting in brussels, they are preparing the ground for the summit of eu leaders on thursday. the decision will be taken about whether to granta decision will be taken about whether to grant a uk request to extend the brexit process and delay brexit day. that decision will not be taken by europe ministers today, they will be talking about the political, legal and institutional implications of the decision. in terms of the sentiment from the german europe minister michael roth, it depends who you ask. some people think that what happened in parliament yesterday is a massive spanner in the works that makes theresa may

adam fleming in strasbourg, thank you. is very much on the commons today and these so—called indicative votes. the debate on them is about to begin. the voting will take place at about seven tonight. our correspondent chris morris is here. there are 16 options and they have to be narrowed down? yes, 16 options ranging from no deal to know brexit. the speaker will pick half a dozen oi’ the speaker will pick half a dozen orso, and we the speaker will pick half a dozen or so, and we have a graphic which shows some of the more likely options, the future relationship we might end up with. one of the things the conservative brexiteers would like to see is some sort of free—trade agreement. one of the options on the table at the moment says they want to stand by an arrangement to have no trade tariffs with the eu while they negotiate that future arrangements. the problem with that is that it doesn't solve the northern ireland border issue and it's a suggestion which has already been ruled out by the european union. what about lab

let's go to strasbourg and to adam fleming. adam, you said, is a thumbs up or thumbs down?sorts of different places depending on what mps and most are scratching their heads. what for you was key thing? well, i suppose the slight thing that made that press conference disappointing is that we both knew what was going to be on the table and what they were going to agree, quite heavily trailed through the day. that joint quite heavily trailed through the day. thatjoint interpretive instrument about not needing to abuse the backstop was certainly that being everyone's hopes on how ha rd that being everyone's hopes on how hard both sides will work in the transition period to make sure the backstop is never needed. that addendum to the political declaration about the future relationship which will have that bit in there, a separate track in the negotiations during the transition period to find alternative arrangements to the backstop and have those finalised by december 2020 cu could go into the alternative arrangements rather than the backstop. ——so you could. then the backstop.

adam fleming from the bbc.o the backstop or a unilateral exit mechanism from the backstop, and presidentjuncker, does any of this change the contents of the deal at all? what we have secured, as i said, is legally binding changes, which is exactly what parliament asked us to secure. and what we have secured very clearly that the backstop cannot be indefinite, cannot become permanent. it is only temporary. if it is the case that we were ever to get into the backstop. but what we have also secured, and what parliament was very clear that it wanted, was that alternative arrangements could replace the backstop. and as i have said here, there is a timetable for that, such that alternative arrangements would be in place at the end but —— end of december 2020, so the end but —— end of december 2020, so that if it was necessary to use the insurance policy, it would not be necessary to use the backstop. they would be alternative arrangements that could replace the backstop as parliament requested. families have been tal

adam fleming is with us.r, and as long as brexit has been, you have been there, doing it. i think there will be something offered. this is a plan a and it is the easiest option for both sides, a short extension on the assumption the deal will go through in parliament next week. then it will be approved in writing by the eu leaders on thursday and the brexit process will unfold a bit later than planned. that is plan a. there is plan b, which will involve it not going through next week and eu leaders convening here at the end of next week. are we talking about a short extension? along extension with conditions? by the uk leaving with conditions? by the uk leaving with no deal on brexit day. the point from here seems to be at his plan be about which we cannot speak and you cannot go there. this week there was a lot of discussion about what happened when theresa may asked for a short extension but with the option of a much longer one? that is why we had discussions about what can you do to make sure that the uk d

adam fleming has more on this. first discussion amongst the eu 27 at ambassador level the date they had in mind that they discussed around the table was the 24th of may because that is the day after the uk would have had to hold a vote for meps to come to the european parliament in strasbourg, where i am 110w. parliament in strasbourg, where i am now. so that is the initial thought, but then you speak to people and there's a whole range of views. some people say you can have an extension up people say you can have an extension up to the 1st ofjuly because that would be the day before the new meps come to strasbourg for the new european parliament. then you get other people saying an extension could go beyond that and you would either have to have the uk taking pa rt either have to have the uk taking part in the european elections, even though the uk is leaving, which would just appear bizarre and would bea would just appear bizarre and would be a quite bizarre political experience in the uk. and who knows what kind

adam fleming is in brussels. e of commons, andrea leadsom, said this morning that she was deeply disappointed with what the government is hearing from the eu. are there any signs of progress? well, the talks have been really quite tense at times this week of the fact that officials are still sat around the table today and will sit around the table tomorrow again, i suppose that is something. we‘ve seen i suppose that is something. we‘ve seen a memo i suppose that is something. we‘ve seen a memo that is circulating amongst the 27 other eu countries which says they are still open to further workable ideas from the uk. asa further workable ideas from the uk. as a final piece of the puzzle, we‘ve not heard anything about, that‘s the changes to the political declaration, the document that sketches out the shape of the future relationship, which will sit alongside the withdrawal agreement. that has yet to be unveiled any potential changes to that. but... but, we saw yesterday michel barnier, the eu chief negotiator maki

that was adam fleming in strasbourg.he attorney—general, geoffrey cox, will issue legal advice to the house of commons. mps will then have a chance for debate before voting on what the government says is an "improved deal". our political correspondent, chris mason has been following events from westminster. this is now, for all of the detail, all the verbiage, a numbers game. how many people can this persuade here in westminster? let's be absolutely brutal about it, it could be tremendously successful in persuading an awful lot of people and still fail, because this is a hung parliament, the prime minister does not have a majority to call her own on so many matters relating to brexit, she has to persuade northern ireland's democratic unionist party who prop her up in westminster, and lots of conservative mps as well. now, tonight, plenty of them, including the influential and noisy brexiteers, who we have heard rather a lot of in recent months, people like steve baker, jacob rees—mogg, and others, they are saying let's g

adam fleming there explaining what is happening in the next week.bition at turkey's capital ankara showcases regional figures, as well as worldwide figures made with pebbles. before creating a figure, artists research a region, before working on each piece piece over a week. quite special. that's it for me, you can reach me on twitter. goodbye for now. good evening. a blustery saturday but a saturday of sunny spells and scattered showers for most of us. you can see from the satellite picture where the best of the breaks for in eastern areas, showers further west by the end of the afternoon, the cloud and rain gathers and will bring rain tonight. behind it, this could cause some issues as it bumps into cold air, it could bring snow showers tomorrow. for the next few hours, it will turn increasingly wet and windy, the rain pressing steadily northwards, perhaps grinding to a halt across northern england and north wales. judith arsenal ‘s, and a clear skies, temperatures falling away, blue tones denoting temperatures below freezing, as low as —4 insulte

thank you, adam fleming and vicki young.was not my intention, it was deeply insensitive to many of those who lost loved ones, karen bradley said. the mayor of london sadiq khan, and eight police and crime commissioners from england and wales say the way pupils excluded from school are dealt with is contributing to knife crime. they've written a letter to theresa may calling for pupil exclusions to be more tightly regulated. the government said permanent exclusions should be a "last resort". frankie mccamley reports. dance class for pupils in this college. all have struggled with mainstream school, some were excluded. it's not getting in the way of their high aspirations but today the prime minister is being warned a broken system support for troubled youngsters is at the heart ofa troubled youngsters is at the heart of a rise in violent crime, something sandra disagrees with. there's people who do it for the sake of doing it, then there's people who do it for protection. everyone has their own motives and reasons so you can

adam fleming derron brussels.r back in 1959 and has taken a more than 200 careers, from astronaut to surgeon since her debut. after criticism that the doll provided an unrealistic hoddy image for girls, the manufacturers try to make a more educational and they have released a number of new dolls to mark this anniversary. among those who celebrated the doll in the past work the artist anti—war halt and the louvre museum in paris. she hasn't aged a bit —— andy warhol. before we go: collecting from seasides and forming art. this is an exhibition of pebble stones converted into decorations and dolls. the exhibition at turkey's capital ankara showcases regional figures, as well as worldwide figures made with pebbles. before creating a figure, artists research a region, before working on each piece piece over a week. they are certainly colourful. that is it from me for now. you can get in touch with me on twitter. do stay with us. we have all the latest headlines coming up injust a moment. good morning. it is a pretty m

we have also found out in the last few minutes from our correspondent in brussels, adam fleming, thatif we go to the most watched, number one, brexit, the choice facing british citizens living in germany. these are three british people living and working in germany who have applied for citizenship in germany because of the uncertainty over brexit. they feel it is the best way forward. you can see one of them quoted as saying, i think brits abroad feel a bit abundant in this process. interesting to hear their views. let's look at one other story in the most watched, not related to brexit, it is at number ten. it is off piste skiers in austria. they are getting caught up in an avalanche. let me press play. they speak in french at the beginning of this. they sound incredibly calm when this ridge of snow gives way underneath them. there it goes. tha nkfully underneath them. there it goes. thankfully no one was injured in this. mountain rescue teams were called and no one was buried under the snow. very watch indeed. very watch indeed. that's it for today's morning briefing. sport now and

you couldn't see it, but the other voice was adam fleming joining from brussels.ll having far too much fun. and brexitcast is available to download now on the free bbc sounds app. the details for this weekend are giving us some headaches. it will remain unsettled, as today, quite windy across many parts of the uk. one swell of cloud, one area of low pressure bringing low pressure today. there is more waiting in the atlantic, but there are clearer slots on the satellite image. that clear slot will come across the british isles tonight. the windmill is, so with the clear skies and light winds, temperatures are going to dip away. you can see the blue shades extending across our temperature chart. across some parts of scotland, it could be down to minus six degrees. quite widely, we will see a touch of frost into tomorrow morning. but, it will be a dry and bright start with some sunshine, may be some mist and fog patches. things are moving pretty quickly at the moment, the next weather system is coming through in friday afternoon. loud and bright outbreaks of rain, ea

adam fleming in strasbourg, thank you very much.k that deadlock, businesses from around the uk are in london today for the annual meeting of the british chambers of commerce. the head of the bcc has accused politicians of letting business down and risking mass disruption over brexit and he's not alone. on monday the confederation of british industry, the cbi, called brexit a national emergency. nicole sykes is the head of eu negotiations for that organisation. i think the majority of business leaders disagree with the position that they have nothing to fear and they have asked for certainty throughout the process and they still haven't got it, have they? that is right. businesses are shaking their heads this morning saying when we going to make some progress? you have got to remember that what is happening in westminster is having an effect on businesses right now. we have heard from financial services this week saying that confidence is at its lowest level since the financial crisis. figures from the automotive industry show that p

lets get the latest reaction from brussels from adam fleming.l is not passed today, then the president of the european commission will be calling an emergency summit in the days before april 12? yes, there was a meeting yesterday in brussels with the ambassadors from the other 27 eu countries, senior officials from the european council where they as was michelle barney, and the secretary general of the european commission. they discussed lots of issues. they talked about what happens if the withdrawal agreement was not approved by the deadline of midnight tonight, which was agreed by mrs may last week. basically how it looks like the next few weeks will pan out is that donald tusk the president of the european council will call an emergency summit of eu leaders in the days before the 12th of april, which was the next deadline agreed by theresa may and eu leaders. and they are the leaders will make a choice. is it now deal on the 12th of april and the uk leaves with no withdrawal agreement or political declaration in place? 0r withdrawal agreemen

adam fleming in brussels for now.ain before the evening is out. thank you very much. let's have another look at what is supposed to happen in the coming days. i hope that was a thumbs up! tomorrow mps will get another chance to vote on the prime minister's withdrawal agreement. in the previous vote in january, the government was defeated by 230 votes. but if this time it passes — the major barrier to the uk leaving the eu on 29th march will have been cleared, although further legislation will be required to ensure a smooth exit. if mps vote against the deal again, the government is due to table further votes for this week. starting with a vote on wednesday, in which mps will be asked if they support "leaving the eu without a withdrawal agreement and a framework for a future relationship on 29 march". this is essentially giving mps the opportunity to decide whether to back — or rule out — the uk leaving the eu with no deal in place. if mps vote to rule out a no—deal brexit... the following day, on thursday, mps are exp

adam fleming from the bbc.r, have you secure at a time limit to the backstop, or a unilateral exit mechanism from the backstop? and presidentjunker, mechanism from the backstop? and president junker, there is mechanism from the backstop? and presidentjunker, there is any of this change the contents of the deal at all? what we have secured as i said is legally binding changes, which is exactly what permit us to secure. what we have secured is very clearly that the backstop cannot be indefinite. i cannot become permanent but it is only temporary. if it is the case that we were ever to get into the backstop, but what we have also secured, and what parliament was very clear that it wanted, was at alternative arrangements could you post a backstop, and as i have said here, there is timetable for that, so such alternative arrangements would be in place at the end of december 20 20s, so that if there was... it was necessary to use the insurance policy, it would not be necessary to use a backstop, because i would be al

our correspondent adam fleming is in brussels. the prime minister is heading later. extraordinary, itjust seems extraordinary, just over a week to go in here we are, so many questions still unanswered. yeah, ithink many questions still unanswered. yeah, i think there might still be some questions unanswered by the end of tonight and the first day of the summit because if you listen to donald tusk, the president of the european council, who will share that meeting, when he did a statement about brexit yesterday, he said they can be a short extension and a short delay to brexit if, if the deal goes through next week, leaving the massive question of what will the eu and the uk do if, yes, if the deal does not go through next week? and there was still the prospect of an emergency summit of eu leaders the day before the brexit date to sort this out if it all goes wrong. what will happen today that theresa may will get here about two o'clock uk time, she will talk to eu leaders for a little bit, then she will go out of the room on the 27 prime ministers of the other countr

adam fleming tells us...s reporting is backed up by tony connko this reporting is backed up by tony connolly from our te, saying... lots of dates are moving around, but we know theresa may has been in lengthy discussions with her eu counterparts. here she is mingling with the 27 other national leaders in the european union. all smiles and pleasantries here, but after the cameras left, some report it was a different story. here's buzzfeed's europe editor alberto nardelli... and this came in from adam fleming quoting a member state diplomat. this is theresa may before that meeting. what is important is that parliament delivers on the result of the referendum, and that we deliver brexit for the british people. i sincerely hope that we can do that with the deal. i'm still working on ensuring that parliament can agree a deal so that we can leave in an orderly way. what matters is that we deliver on the vote of the british people. thank you. prime minister, if it fails? what matters — what matters is that we recogn

adam fleming in strasbourg, thank you very much.m westminster throughout the day. you can also follow the latest developments online at bbc.co.uk/news. we'll have full coverage of today's votes on the bbc news channel from 8pm this evening. the headlines on bbc news... mps are taking control of the commons today to vote on alternatives to the prime minister's deal. the prime minister will meet conservative backbenchers in an effort to win their support for her deal as she faces growing pressure to name a date to resign. strong words at the european parliament brexit debate this morning, as the president of the european commission suggested the uk's position still remained unclear. and in sport, how to deal with racist football fans. montenegro have been charged with racist behaviour by uefa after some england players were abused on monday night. lots of discussion about what punishment would stop the abuse, with suggestions of stadium bans, tournament bands or players walking off the pitch. strange scenes in dublin last night as fan

we will get an update from adam fleming and strasbourg in a moment.r best endeavours to find a subsequent agreement that replaces backstop. we are ready to launch a dedicated work stream on alternative arrangements during the transition period. and we here at the commission remain open and willing to meet with uk negotiators at any time. we are committed to ratifying this deal before the 29th of march. it is now for the house of commons to take an important set of decisions. and because this was a last—minute trip to strasbourg, there has been a lot of analysis about whether there was a deal in place. all the advice from lots of sources are saying that a deal wasn't totally done ahead of the prime minister taking this trip, so we the prime minister taking this trip, so we await eagerly what is going to be announced, but at the moment, we are still watching that live feed, and it still shows a dog with no one coming through it. there is so short iam coming through it. there is so short i am talking about. so, we will await when they all emerge. and whe

in a moment we'll get the view from our brussels correspondent adam fleming, first to westminster andolitical correspondent vicki young. that was quite, let's say, quite an intervention. it was. ithink that was quite, let's say, quite an intervention. it was. i think the moment the speaker said he was going to make a statement some thought it was going to be about this because there had been warning signs. people knew the rules, you cannot keep bringing back the same thing over and over again bringing back the same thing over and overagain and bringing back the same thing over and over again and getting parliament to rule on it. it doesn't stop theresa may going to the eu council on thursday and asking for an extension, a delay to brexit, that can still happen, and as we heard, the government was considering another vote but it was looking less likely. they would certainly have wanted to bring it back at some point next week so it does seem as though that is now in jeopardy. let's discuss this more, i am joined by dominic grieve. do you think the speaker is right to rule in this way?

you couldn't see it, but the other voice was adam fleming joining from brussels.de heading through the night into the first part of tomorrow, not my name there. my name is ben rich. i will try to type it in properly next time. this is how we are looking right now. we have this area of cloud data from patient the atlantic on the satellite picture, our next weather system but here is our clever slot in our drier site, this is what is with us for the start of tomorrow. through this evening, we see a lot of dry weather, clear spells overhead and the winds today will fall increasingly light and underneath those clear starry skies, those temperatures will drop away. we will see a touch of frost, some places will get down to minus six degrees. it does mean for tomorrow monday, a fine start in a sunny start for many, wanted to fog practise. but those should clear up. however, any sense how you do see will not last long. cloud will be thickening gum from the west, outbreaks of rain, much of a quite like patchy, maybe the odd heavy burst into what this goblin with some snow

our reporter adam fleming is in brussels for us this morning.oblem, i suppose you can put it? it depends who you ask. some people think this is a huge spanner in the works, making theresa may's life much more difficult, with other people saying it is a minor speed bump on the road and doesn't really change anything, and she will still come to the summit of eu leaders on thursday and ask for some sort of extension to the process, which the eu will either had to agree to, reject or accept, with some conditions attached. there is a meeting of eu affairs ministers from the other 27 eu countries, which will then prepare the ground work for that decision. they willjust be talking about the political and legal implications for the eu of what the various options are. we have seen a note prepared for someone going to that meeting by an eu member state, it is interesting to see what the eu is worried about. if it is a long extension, they are concerned the uk will use that as an opportunity to start negotiating a permanent future relationship, which is no

there's lots to decipher — our correspondent adam fleming was at thst news conference in strasbourg.e a little while ago to explain what it all means. in terms of what's been agreed, there is a word soup of documents, 23 pages in total, talking about the irish backstop, so protracted negotiations that will take place in the transition period to look at alternatives for the backstop so it will never come into force, aspirations about getting a trade deal so you don't need the irish backstop and clarification if there is a dispute between the two sides about the irish backstop, how that will be handled. the uk government's objective was to reassure mps that if that backstop ever comes into force, that's set of arrangements for awarding a high border in northern ireland, which includes a customs union between the uk and the eu, will not be permanent against the uk's wheel. the objective for the eu was to provide reassurance to british parliamentarians to allow more of them to vote for the deal while not contradicting the contents of the deal themselves. on first glance, it looks like th

let's go to strasbourg now and our brussels correspondent adam fleming is there.or lack of progress of those talks earlier. what is your sense of the view there today and the kind of interest there is now on this outcome in 90 minutes' time?l huge amount of interest, obviously. people will be glued to their screens to see the results tonight, but if it is a defeat, it will not come as a surprise. a lot of people said yesterday on the eu side, we just do not think theresa may has got the numbers to get this deal through. they were happy to help her as far as they could without contradicting their own position and own red lines, their own parameters, the deal they had done with the uk last night. but it will not come as a surprise if the deal goes down tonight. i think we will get some bland tweets from people on the eu side tonight, but the real information will come out tomorrow morning. michel barnier, the chief negotiator, has a meeting pencilled in with senior meps here in strasbourg. at the same time in brussels, the ambassadors from the eu 27 countries, the e

as promised, let's talk to our correspondent adam fleming in strasbourg.today and voting on indeed, that latest tweet from donald tusk, the president of the european council, about being open potentially to a longer extension, is very interesting, isn't it? donald tusk in that tweet has taken an idea that was in the ether until now other potentially very long extension to article 50, may be of a year or of 21 months as chris was saying, he has taken it from the ether and he has put it firmly on the table. that will be music to the ears of people in the uk who want everything on the brexit approach, and perhaps a much close future relationship with the eu than the one the government has been pursuing until now. for people who wa nt pursuing until now. for people who want a referendum on the uk's membership of the eu or en mrs may's deal, it gives them space on the eu side for that to happen. for theresa may, she is probably welcoming that tweet as well because one of her tactics is to say to people to vote for her deal or there could be a very long delay to

our correspondent adam fleming is in brussels. talks continue, but any sign of progress? not yet. incredibly tense and fraught at some point this week, so some of the diplomats you speak to are just relieved that the civil servants from both sides are still sat round the table today, and they will take round the table again tomorrow. we have seen a memo that is circulating around the 27 other member states in the eu saying that they are open to a workable new solutions from the uk, so that is something. and we still haven't seen the last piece of this puzzle, which is changes to the political declaration, the separate document that will sketch out the shape of the future relationship that will set her alongside the divorce treaty. we will see what they have managed to work out there. but, you talk about those proposals from michel barnier, the eu chief negotiator, yesterday on the irish backstop, the most controversial bit of the deal, and they fell far short of the deal, and they fell far short of what some mps are looking forward to change their mind and support the deal when it

leave a proposed customs union provided that northern ireland remained inside. 0ur correspondent adam fleming has been incredibly tense and fraught at some points this week. some of the diplomats you speak to from both sides are just relieved that the civil servants are still sat round the table today and they will sit round the table tomorrow. we've seen a memo that's circulating around the other 27 member states in the eu saying they are open to workable new solutions on the uk, so that's something. and we still haven't seen the last piece of this puzzle, which is changes to the political declaration, the separate document that will sketch out the shape of the future relationship that will sit alongside the divorce treaty. so we still haven't seen what they've managed to work out there. but, but, but — you talked about those proposals from michel barnier yesterday, the eu chief negotiator yesterday on the irish backstop, the most controversial bit of the deal, and they fell short of what some mps are looking for to change their mind and support the deal when it goes back to parliament on tu

adam fleming is in brussels. it is so confusing, we are hearing differences of opinion.appen today? she will have to plead quite strongly. i don't know if that is the case, the eu is united on this lowest common denominator option, a short technical extension for a deal that passes through parliament and needs a few months to be implemented in domestic legislation. it was if it was a request for a much longer extension, that would be more controversial among the 27 eu countries. what conditions would they apply to it and how would they protect themselves from the uk being in the eu when they were supposed to have left? having said that, there is a massive condition attached to this offer of an extension from the eu. it will only apply if theresa may's deal is voted through by mps in parliament next week. that is a pretty massive if. that is why a lot of the eu member states are talking about an emergency summit of members coming back to brussels next thursday on the eve of what is supposed to be brexit day. will it be another short extension? will it be another short ext

our brussels correspondent adam fleming, political editor laura kuenssberg and europe editor katya adler the bbc‘s brexitcast — let's take a listen to some of it: was her resignation ever designed to win over the dup because they were not the people who had problems with her leadership. i think it was designed to unlock the stalemate. for ages we have been talking about the you firstery. but it comes back to, was there anything in the constitutional changes in a way that might have been acceptable for the dup? as you suggest, i don't think that alone was going to move the dup asa that alone was going to move the dup as a single act, but as a way of creating political momentum, we have spoken about it so often throughout this whole process, it is not always about the precise policy issues on the table, it's about creating a sense of political energy and inevitability, but it looks very difficult tonight to see how it's going to change things in a very dramatic way. and it means that the dup still hold the prime minister's future in their hands. dup still hold the prime minister's future i

let's go to adam fleming who is in strasbourg.e just as closely as we are is there any sense they would listen to any new proposals that might come from here? we have seen the good and the bad in terms of reactions from strasbourg here today, on the negative side we had a senior mep say it is time for the parliament in the uk to just decide to commit the game is over, are you in or out and do you accept the consequences of either? then another senior mep was scathing about theresa may, saying she lacked the basic human skills required in a later because of the eu summit last week she managed to annoy the prime minister of luxembourg who is the nicest man in europe. but then we heard from guy verhofstadt who was the european parliament brexit front man who said he is pleased of what is happening in parliament at the moment because it is the first step towards agreeing a cross—party consensus about a brexit that parliament could prove, something he has been calling for for quite some time. we havejust got has been calling for for qu

leave a proposed customs union provided that northern ireland remained inside. 0ur correspondent adam fleminground the table today and will sit round the table tomorrow. we have had seen a memo around the other 27 member states in the eu saying they are open to workable new solutions on the uk, so that is something. and we still haven't seen the last piece of this puzzle, which is changes to the political declaration, the separate document which will sketch out the shape of the future relationship which will sit alongside the divorce treaty. so we still have roxy and what they have managed to work out there. —— not seen what they have managed to. but you talked about sl barnier yesterday on the irish backstop, a controversial bit of the deal, they fell short of what mps are what looking for when it goes back to parliament on tuesday. staying with brexit, british vets have seen a spike in anxious pet owners seeking brexit travel advice in the last three months, according to a survey by the british veterinary association. currently pets can travel with their owners throughout the eu thanks to t

our europe correspondent adam fleming is in strasbourg.deadlock? that is the question. would theresa may be coming all the way here, with there be rumours of a press statement in a couple of hours' time if she was going to get nothing? or is she obliged to come and end the process of getting clarification about the brexit deal that she launched with great fa nfa re brexit deal that she launched with great fanfare about a month ago? if she does succeed here tonight, it will be a massive turnaround from just a few hours ago, when michelle barnier, the eu's chief negotiator, was telling ambassadors of the 27 other countries that the situation was bleak, that the uk had rejected the eu's proposals, and he wasn't even convinced the uk negotiators we re even convinced the uk negotiators were acting in good faith. we will find out and about three hours. separately, the eu has started talking about how they will respond toa talking about how they will respond to a request from the uk to delay brexit day and extend the talks. the date they have in

let's speak to our correspondent adam fleming in brussels.tever it happens here in westminster, the planning seems to be on the basis that ate no—deal brexit is looking more and more likely. here at the european commission in brussels they have been doing their contingency planning for if the uk leaves without a deal at any point, since january last year. they are saying here that that work is now completed and the chances of there being a no—deal brexit are becoming increasingly likely. in the words of one senior official, it is because there is no positive majority at westminster for the deal, or there is no positive majority at westminsterfor the deal, or a constructive idea for a way forward to handle the situation. today the commission has repeated what it has been saying for quite some time now, that no deal equals a lot of disruption. british businesses would face increased checks on their exports to the eu, and british tourists, well, they would not be able to use the eu lines at european airports when they go on holiday anymore and y

adam fleming is in strasbourg for as now.ember states and eu institutions, they are just as split as the uk appears. we have got some people saying no deal is inevitable and the uk will leave it no withdrawal agreement and no deal at all on or around the 12th of april and it is just a question of when it happens. others are saying that surely if parliament is so paralysed, there has got to be a general election. then you get a few optimists, saying a few, then you get a few optimists, saying afew, —— then you get a few optimists, saying a few, —— just a few, saying that they will have to vote for theresa may‘s deal and maybe it willjust sneak through at the last minute. add in terms of theresa may‘s future, people here lost faith with her a few months ago because they saw her trashing her own deal which he had done with the eu and siding with their opponents. having said that, they at least respected the fa ct that, they at least respected the fact that theresa may was back to the ground rules of the whole brexit process. the

we can cross to brussels and talk to our correspondent, adam fleming.bout hard brexit or soft brexit, it just it is no longer about hard brexit or soft brexit, itjust seems to be an place down at endless brexit. over the weekend that is one official civil service from both sides of sat around the table into the detailed technical work. it is not ministers 01’ technical work. it is not ministers or the prime minister coming to do a deal. what they are looking at is the three work streams going on at the three work streams going on at the moment. the first one is coming up the moment. the first one is coming up with a plan to explore alternatives to the backstop. that will happen after brexit transition period. then there is the plan to get more legal reassurances about the backstop and the fact that it will be temporary if it ever comes into force. the uk would like some clarification about how the uk could leave it. that is what discussions we re leave it. that is what discussions were about yesterday. michel barnier‘s now infamous tweets. week. he targ

first, our reporter adam fleming is in brussels for us right now. very good morning to you, adam.uite unconvincing, they did not think she had a deal to get the plan through parliament next week or a plan of what to do if the deal did not go through. they were really, really not impressed by her and that is what informed the big discussion they then had for several hours after that, with all sorts of ideas and date and plans and theories and strategies being discussed among the leaders around the table, which does not happen very often because normally, these things are arranged in advance by diplomats and ambassadors and ministers and just signed off by leaders. this was a proper brainstorming session by the people that run the continent of europe. it was fascinating to watch. they had two things in their mind, one, they we re two things in their mind, one, they were really worried about having to come back next thursday for an emergency summit, where it looks like there could have been no deal happening in about 20 hours‘s time and they did not really want to get involved in tha

adam fleming from the bbc.ister, having secured a time limit to the backstop or unilateral exit mechanism to the backstop?president juncker, does any of this change the contents of the deal at all? >> what we have secured is legally binding changes which is what parliament asked us to secure. what we have secured very clearly is the backstop cannot be indefinite. it cannot become permanent.it is only temporary . if it is the case we were ever to get into the backstop. when we also secured and what parliament was very clear that it wanted was that alternative arrangements could replace the backstop. and as i have said, there is a timetable to that such that alternative arrangements would be in place of the end of december 2020. if it was necessary to use the insurance policy, it would not be necessary to use the backstop. there will be alternative arrangements that could replace the backstop, as parliament requested. >> the influence we agreed upon is respecting in the spirit of bilateral conclusions that counc

let's get some reaction from strasbourg now from our brussels correspondent adam fleming. complemented the deal, he did not use the word change or changes which is how the prime minister describes what she has got. he also said this is a second chance for the deal but there will not be a third. if mps vote it down to make to the eu will not do any more to help. also intriguingly in the small print of a letter published last night he talks about the fact that if the brexit process is extended beyond the 23rd of may, the european parliament elections, the european parliament elections, the uk would be legally obliged to ta ke the uk would be legally obliged to take part in them so that's an interesting subplot. then you talk to people privately and they are not convinced theresa may has the numbers to get the deal through tonight and that any of this will make any difference at all. thank you adam, it's a day for small print and working at legal ramifications. let's put some of those points to ben wright our political correspondence, interesting detail from adam, chris mason

we'll get the latest from our political correspondent jonathan blake in wesminster, but first adam flemingday from michel barnier, the chief eu brexit negotiator. he's also been tweeting in the last hour or so. what is it insane? so what happened is that michel barnier updated ambassadors from the 27 eu countries about what has gone on this week and about the proposal is that the eu had tabled to provide reassurance to the uk about the northern irish backstop. now it is getting very complicated so now it is getting very complicated so bear with me. the first part of the package is that letter which was written in january the package is that letter which was written injanuary by donald tusk in saying that the backstop would be temporary if it was ever required. the eu would work really quickly to get a trade deal in time, that letter is going to be put into eight special legal form that will go alongside the treaty so it will be pa rt alongside the treaty so it will be part of the overall deal rather than a letter sent from one office to another to make it a bit stronger and a bit more lega

called backstop, a contingency plan to avoid a hard border with ireland. 0ur europe correspondent adam flemingts. the really interesting one was the fourth tweet in his big twitter thread. you know that uk wide customs union we have negotiated with you was part of the backstop so there is not a border in the irish sea between great britain and northern ireland ? sea between great britain and northern ireland? you, the uk, could have a unilateral exit mechanism mac mechanism to come out of the backstop in the future if you wanted. the idea that there is to neutralise his accusation thrown at the eu that secretly they want to keep the uk in a customs union against its will. the eu is saying that tweet number four is the proof that tweet number four is the proof that a future government could come out of the customs union bit over the backstop if it wanted. the crucial bit is, the rest of the backstop would still apply in northern ireland. northern ireland would still be part of the eu's customs territory. northern ireland would still have to sign up to about 100 pages worth of eu rules and regul

our europe correspondent adam fleming has been analysing the tweets.e fourth tweet. in his big twitter thread. this is where the eu was saying to the uk you know that uk wide customs union you can negotiate with as part of the backstop? there's not a customs border in the irish sea between great britain and northern ireland. they could have a unilateral exit mechanism to come out of that date of the backstop in the future if you want it. the idea there is to neutralise this accusation in the eu that secretly wa nt to accusation in the eu that secretly want to keep the uk in a customs union against its will. the eu is saying there that tweets to number four is the proof that the future government can come out that customs union bit of the backstop if you wanted. the crucial bit is the rest of the backstop would still apply in northern ireland. northern ireland would still be part of the eu custom territory. northern ireland will still have to sign up to about 100 pages worth the eu rules and regulations on goods, products, agriculture and livestock. i i

with me now is our brussels correspondent adam fleming.ortant view is how they perceived theresa may, her confidence, her ability to convince them that there is a plan hit and she can get it through? this is more complicated, last night, there were lots of briefings, it wasn't difficult to find someone to tell you this back theresa may's performance had not been great, she had been unconvincing in how she would get this deal through parliament next week if it does go to parliament, and what she would do if the deal failed for a third time. lots of member states saying that informed the debate afterwards. but speak to others with a more nuanced view and they say, was theresa may ever going to lay out a study in a i’ooiti ever going to lay out a study in a room with 27 people prepared to leak it instantly so her opponents would rip it apart? and is it a personal failing of the prime minister or a reflection of the arithmetic in parliament and the difficult situation? it is a british political problem rather than a personality problem. calcul

adam fleming is in brussels for us.estminster‘s court, what are the next moves from there? what they are doing now is having a ceremony to mark 25 —— to mark the european economic area. later today we will get the official legal written version of what the eu leaders agreed last night which will allow the eu to officially sign up to this plan to delay brexit and make the new cliff edge the 12th of april. there were three big things to bear in mind to help you understand how the eu has ended up in this position with the uk. first, the 27 other leaders last night were left concerned about the situation in british politics after they spoke to theresa may. some saying it was her performance to blame, others are saying she just reflects what is happening in the uk and the problem is british politics not her leadership. the second thing is eu leaders did not want to be confronted with another emergency summit next week, hours away from a potential no—deal brexit, where they would shoulder some of the blame and have to find th

let's get more on this from adam fleming, who's in brussels for us. what developments there?. now they say the work has finished and they are publishing the whole lot in a user—friendly format for businesses and citizens. there's a lot in there but most is stuff we knew already but it is wrapped up in this smashes, but in the commissions assessment the uk living without a deal on the 12th of april is increasingly likely, and senior officials in the european commission says that is because there is no positive majority for the deal at westminster and no constructive opposition for a wait forward either. so the eu side is getting its ducks on a role for no deal and the significant hassle that would entail. there is no room in that no brexit date on the 12th of april? there is a bit of wriggle room because eu officials were saying they would offered the uk potentially another short extension that would go from the 12th of april to the 22nd of may where the uk would not have to take part in the european parliament elections. it is a little bit more complicated than we first thoug

we are certainly constructively engaging at the moment. 0ur correspondent, adam fleming, is in brusselss a much more racy situation and the one given by the european commission, the organisation running the brexit talks on daily basis. they had dinner with michelle barnier last night. the ministers went home on the train this morning and then we heard from eu officials and private and then backed up by the ee commission chief spokesman at lunchtime today that progress that had been made is zero. —— the eu commission. there has been no solution found to match the expectations of the uk to get legal guarantees that the irish backstop, if it ever comes in, if there is no trade deal to solve the problem of the irish border, but it would only be temporary and the position of the year that they cannot be a time limit on the backstop because it ceases to be an insurance policy it is designed to be in there will not bea is designed to be in there will not be a mechanism whether the uk can unilaterally withdraw from the backstop because it will cease to be an insurance policy. talks have not bro