our first report this lunchtime is from our europe correspondent adam fleming. don't you hate it when you arrive early? theresa may appeared to touch down in berlin before angela merkel was ready to meet her, but the eu has been hanging around too, the german chancellor and others waiting for the uk to say what it will do with any extra time in the brexit process. and that's what european affairs minister is arriving here in luxembourg for a briefing on brexit wa nt luxembourg for a briefing on brexit want from the uk too. a plan. from every diplomatic limbo, the same message. of course, we still need clarity from the uk's side, the extension will be regarded upon by the government, of course. we want to understand what the uk needs this

from brussels, here's our correspondent adam fleming.t in brussels, michel barnier sat out the menu of options facing the uk. pass the deal in the next few days and briefly delayed brexit for a few weeks to settle the details or... if the uk parliament does not vote in favour of the withdrawn agreement, in the coming days, only two options would remain. leaving without an agreement or requesting a longer extension of article 50. it would be the responsibility of the uk government to choose between these two options. he's willing to change the part of the deal about the future to make it more appetising to mps, who want to close economic relationship. but the terms of the divorce are settled. close economic relationship. but the terms of the divorce are settledlj terms of the divorce are settled.” don't want to make any comment. just we are waiting for news from london. when is the last moment of the news could come? we are waiting, we are still waiting. the chief negotiator has laid out some of the choices and some of the costs but what

adam fleming, bbc news, luxembourg.ss—party talks between the government and labour are set to continue to try to find a way of getting parliamentary approval for theresa may's brexit deal. but with no agreement so far, and just four days to go before the uk is meant to leave, mps are openly voicing frustration. here's our political correspondent ben wright. ina hurry in a hurry to find more time, theresa may left downing street for berlin desperately seeking another delay to brexit. the prime minister is telling eu leaders she can finally get a deal passed through parliament by the end ofjune. theresa may has said that the withdrawal agreement itself cannot be renegotiated with the eu, but some brexit back cabinet ministers have other ideas. the prime minister is up to see angela merkel today, and what i think would be fantastic is if angela merkel will try to support a proper uk brexit by agreeing to reopen the withdrawal agreement. and some tory backbenchers clearly hate the idea of another delay. ladies and gentleme

adam fleming is in brussels.rk what the eu has been saying about an extension is that if theresa may wants to get along extension to the brexit process , along extension to the brexit process, another one, to the one we've already had, she would have to louder convincing plan for away forward by next wednesday. she has got a plan for away forward but the question is, whether eu leaders are convinced by it. we had a tweet from donald tusk, the chair of the european council, who chaired —— was chairing the meeting next wednesday, saying it is too soon to tell what will happen. there is no clarity he says but he urged the other 27 eu leaders to be patient so wait and see what she comes up with. then a whole lot of other dates to bear in mind. the summit next wednesday where leaders will make a decision about an extension. if there is no extension, the uk would be leaving the eu with no deal on the 12th of april and as nick was saying, the other big day that everyone has got in mind is the 23rd of may because that's

alex forsyth in westminster and adam fleming in brussels. may faces more talks with the labour party, further votes in parliament, and another eu summit next week. our reality check correspondent, chris morris, has this assessment of the hurdles ahead. so, things are, to put it mildly, a little fluid. we know talks between the government and the labour party are continuing, to try and find a last—minute compromise, but there is not an enormous amount of confidence that they will succeed quickly. they are supposed to lead to further votes in the house of commons, to try to pick a winner from a number of options, which could include the prime minister's deal, the withdrawal agreement and political declaration as they currently stand. and then perhaps the options that attracted the most support among mps on monday. a permanent customs union is one suggestion for a closer economic relationship. another is membership of the single market, the option known as common market 2.0. or, another referendum, to allow the people another say on brexit. but

adam fleming, the bbc‘s brussels reporter, is with me now. ertainty we don't have a no deal exit in about 24 don't have a no deal exit in about 2a hours' time. otherwise, what have we got? about as well, a diplomat i have come to know whose opinion i really respect has just have come to know whose opinion i really respect hasjust told me he feels nothing this morning, curiously empty, because it is just so curiously empty, because it is just so indecisive, and i think probably what he means is they have ended up with a compromise of a new deadline which is neither soon enough to really put pressure on british mps to vote for the deal and get this through, no long enough for a massive change in the british position. and if you look at the list of people who lost last night and didn't get anything, people who wa nted and didn't get anything, people who wanted a long extension didn't get that, people who wanted a really short extension didn't get that either, people who wanted a mechanism to put a firewall around the uk so it couldn't get overly

our correspondent adam fleming is there.'s chief brexit negotiator michel barnier later, but he has been speaking this morning and is perhaps suggesting to the uk that they have more time but they need to concentrate their minds? he was speaking at a brea kfast minds? he was speaking at a breakfast hosted by a think tank before speaking to the foreign affa i rs before speaking to the foreign affairs committee in european parliament. his message first thing this morning was that he had been watching the votes last night and said he found it very challenging and stressful watching the british political process unfold, and he said the uk was left with three options. number one, the meaningful vote goes through in the coming days and then theresa may seeks a short extension to article 50 to get all the domestic legislation put in place. this is what he had to say about options two and three. well, we we re about options two and three. well, we were going to hear from michel barnier, but i willjust tell you instead, the uk leaves

adam fleming is in luxembourg. this isa adam fleming is in luxembourg.reign affairs ministers in luxembourg today where brexit is not on the agenda but the foreign secretary will be arriving any minute now and you can bet we will be asking him about the cross— party will be asking him about the cross—party talks and some of his cou nterpa rts cross—party talks and some of his counterparts in europe will be asking him about it on the margins of this meeting as well and that is because the eu wants to see an end product, or at least a bit more progress in the cross—party process in the uk. you remember that the deal that was struck between theresa may and the other 27 leaders at the last summit was that the uk would indicate a way forward by the end of this week. i think the feeling generally amongst the eu is that convincing way forward does not appear to exist yet. 0k, theresa may is reaching out tojeremy corbyn and talking to the labour party, which in eu's ices progress because they have been calling for that, but is it progress enough for the eu to ma

let's speak to our brussels reporter, adam fleming. fan majority of them have been in favour of an extension and they have been in favour of this idea of a flexible, longer extension. what eu leaders will have to do tonight is ta ke leaders will have to do tonight is take a maximum end date for that extension, some say it could be december this year or march next year but it will be made very clear that if the british parliament can approve the deal and get it through, then the uk could leave earlier than that. but there will be some small print. in the draft document that leaders will look at today, if the uk do not participate in the eu parliament elections, it could leave automatically. if it stays on for a lot longer, it will have to behave well, it cannot disrupt or jeopardise the eu's upcoming business like the upcoming budget or picking a new president for the european commission. lots of countries worried if a new prime minister or government not sticking to the rules. can you do a light touch version of it or do you need touch

adam fleming there in luxembourg and of course thank you to ben wright in westminster.e air pollution has come into force in central london. under the scheme, drivers of older, more polluting cars and vans will have to pay a daily fee of £12.50 on top of the existing congestion charge — and bigger vehicles will cost £100. the mayor of london, sadiq khan, says he's responding to a public health emergency, as victoria gill reports. the dangerous reality of city life. these images filled with a heat sensitive camera showed the pollution from vehicles being pumped into our streets. it's invisible but on busy city streets like this we're all breathing it and long—term exposure to air pollution from traffic can damage our lungs, our hearts, and it reduces our life expectancy. that's why london is embarking on a bold venture. the world's first ultra low emission zone. from today drivers of the most polluting vehicles will have to pay to enter the city centre. the ultra low emission zone is set to be expanded to cover the entire area between the north and south circular roads i

let's get the reaction from brussels with our reporter, adam fleming. adam, good morning to you.gs, first of all the length of the extension, some countries, like the netherlands, wa nted countries, like the netherlands, wanted it to be up to a year long so that the deadline would be next spring and the uk would have loads of time. other countries, led by france, wanted the extension to be much shorter, so they have ended up with what they always end up with, a compromise that pleases and annoys eve ryo ne compromise that pleases and annoys everyone equally, the halloween end point for the brexit process. the other argument was over whether there could be a mechanism to ensure that the uk behaves properly for the period that it was in the eu for a bit longer and didn't jeopardise any eu decision—making. it turns out there is no mechanism for that, so all we have got is a word to say in the uk will behave, that has been forged a little bit. we are left with the same options — does the uk past that heal, pursue a closer future relationship than until now, or does it have a massive

adam fleming, thank you very much.d at the scene. it comes after three teenagers were taken to hospital earlier in the day after being stabbed within minutes of each other in north—east london. israelis go to the polls today in an election that could award benjamin netanyahu a record fifth term as prime minister. his right wing likud party faces strong competition from a centrist alliance led by a former military chief, benny gantz. polls suggest the two are closely tied. 13 prison officers had to be taken to hospital after being assaulted by teenagers at a young offenders institution in feltham, in west london. the officers were among about 20 staff attacked during an outbreak of violence at the weekend. prison officers have partly blamed increasing tensions at feltham on recent changes in the treatment of inmates who misbehave. courts are to be issued with the first detailed guidelines on sentencing criminals with mental health conditions and disorders. under the proposals, judges and magistrates would try to determi

my colleague adam fleming caught up with him this afternoon.daily mass, we have every day at 615. and about 15 minutes after we started the mass, the fire alarm rang in the cathedral and so it was a very big surprise for all of us because we never heard such an alarm in the building. there was this alarm and some messages in french and english to ask people to leave immediately the cathedral because people started to leave by the front doors of the cathedral, with my colleagues, we immediately left. and when the cathedral was empty, we came back into the cathedral and just discussed whether some colleagues, people who were at notre dame, and we all thought that it was like a mistake or something wrong with the alarm system, but we never thought about such a fire. i left may be 20 minutes after the alarm and when i left the cathedral at about 645, i did not see any fire, any smoke, any firefighter trucks. when did you realise what was happening?” firefighter trucks. when did you realise what was happening? i went back afterwards at home and a fe

our brussels correspondent adam fleming is in luxembourg.nt meeting going on, not about brexit, but we are concerned with brexit, and we are hearing from reuters that mrs may is going to be travelling not only to berlin to meet chancellor merkel, but also to the elysee palace in paris? yes, so ifi the elysee palace in paris? yes, so if i had been speaking to ten minutes ago, i would have told you that the diplomats here are saying, she is going to berlin, why is the prime minister not going to paris? because it is emmanuel macron, the french president, who is being the toughest and asking the most questions about what the point of an extension would be. and lo and behold, the prime minister is going to paris to talk to president macron to paris to talk to president macron to talk about the extension of what the conditions might be. there are two things people are talking about. first of all, what is theresa may's plan. you remember the agreement she struck with a 27 eu leaders at the last summit was that she would come to them with a plan fo

adam fleming gave us an update from brussels a little earlier. been saying to theresa may for months now that if she doesn't have the votes on her own side, she has to reach out to the other side to get the deal through. they are pretty please that she's adopting that strategy now, the european parliament ‘s brexit coordinator tweeted last night better late than never. people in brussels have exactly the same questions that people have in westminster, what does the end product of this cross—party discussion going to be? can both political parties, the conservatives and the labour party, survive their leaders working together? with this go down the route, the plan be sketched out of more indicative votes in parliament? what will that lead to? and will there be more deadlock at the end of it? one of the first eu leaders who suggested this approach was the danish prime minister, he tweeted last night that he was welcoming this, and then asked,isit he was welcoming this, and then asked, is it too good to be true? we got a cryptic tweet from donald tu

lets across to brussels and adam fleming.ality now, at this stage, that the extension, in whateverform now, at this stage, that the extension, in whatever form that comes, will be agreed to? yes and no. a majority of european countries are in favour of this idea that has been put forward by donald tusk, the president of the european council, ofa president of the european council, of a long, flexible extension to the brexit process that the uk could leave earlier if it ratifies the deal. the danish prime minister, in the last few minutes, said he was behind that idea. although the actual end date for that extension is still a bit of a mystery, because in the draft document that has been circulated in brussels, that leaders will sign up circulated in brussels, that leaders willsign up to, circulated in brussels, that leaders will sign up to, the maximum end date is in there as xx.xx.xxx, left for eu leaders to decide. the options are either december this year or march next year, spring 2020. here is what the irish mep and vice

but first, let's go to brussels and speak to our correspondent adam fleming... that letter perhaps on donald tusk‘s desk as we speak. meanwhile, he is proposing a flexible extension to brexit, what does that mean exactly? in simple terms, the idea donald tusk is putting on the table is article 50, the brexit process in the eu treaty, the date of that, which has already moved from 29th of march to the 29th of april, be moved to the end of march 2020. but there isa to the end of march 2020. but there is a little spin on this which is it would be very clear that if the uk parliament managed to get the brexit deal through, then the uk could leave on a date that was earlier than the end of march 2020. we have thought that might be the 22nd of may but it sounds like theresa may is asking for it to be the 30th of june. you are right, the e—mailfrom downing street will have landed in donald tusk‘s inbox a few minutes ago. my reaction is, the eu won't go for this because they want a longer extension, so this... they have a clear end point rather than having to constantly

talk to our political correspondent in westminster but first let's talk to our brussels reporter, adam fleminge donald tusk, the president of the european council, has always been in favour of an extension. this is up to the longer end to give the uk the maximum amount of time and space to work out what it wants to do, whether that is get this deal through, change the deal to a different kind of brexit, have a referendum, stay in, change the government, have an election. he wa nts to government, have an election. he wants to have maximum space available and it's worth remembering what donald tusk is's job is. in the run—up to summits like the one we'll have in brussels next wednesday, he speaks to all the leaders in person or on the phone, try to find a consensus position to unite everyone but then he puts it on the table and the ultimate decision is down to the leaders. the plan can change quite significantly once those prime ministers and presidents and chancellors get into the room and get their hands on the document. of course it has to be signed up to by the uk. the last time an extension

but first let's go to brussels and speak to our correspondent adam fleming.n extension, and there watching closely the events that have been described in westminster. i cannot tell you exactly what is happening because of the 27 other country's eu ambassadors are in talks to snow. they are talking over the proposal of donald tusk‘s extension. the letter which arrived in time for the brussel‘s machinery to start processing it before the weekend. three things in your letter are being flagged up to me by uk officials. first of all they say that it addresses the eu's number one concern, this idea that the uk might say in past the 23rd of may and not take part in the european elections. the prime minister has now put in black and white that the uk will put the necessary things in place so if it is still in on that date, those elections can take place, even though theresa may wants to do everything she can to avoid having them, which is a separate issue. the next thing that is flagged up to me, is the words, sincere cooperation. that is a big brussels diplomatic co

adam fleming in brussels, thank you. adam fleming in brussels, thank you very much.land and wales are in deep crisis according to a report by mps. they say there's been increase in overcrowding caused by the use of longer sentences and cuts to funding. they've found the number of prison places has not kept pace with demand. here's our home affairs correspondent tom symonds. a riot in hmp birmingham... 0vercrowded, underfunded and increasingly unsafe. mps on the justice select committee say something must be done about our prisons. there has been a string of riots behind bars. the pressure is so great, building more prisons is no longer a sustainable solution, according to today's report. the number of inmates has fallen slightly in recent years but only after growing steadily for 25 years, from 114,000 in 1993 to 82,000 in 2018. because more criminals are being jailed for longer. in the last five years, budgets have been cut by 15% and the ministry ofjustice estimates that closing the funding gap would mean cutting the prison population by 20,000. that's a fifth. mps

adam fleming, bbc news, luxembourg.nch president on the reform process for the eu. happy to grant the extension but he's really truculent uk could cause problems for the eu, on things like the eu budget or the putative eu armour —— army somewhere down the line. he may grant a flexible extension but that would work two ways, at the uk were to be disruptive may be the eu would have powers to cut that extension short. those are some things that are being discussed at the moment but of course it is for the 27 to decide as a whole than they meet in brussels tomorrow. that's get a feeling of what went on in berlin this morning. let'sjoinjenny hill. what went on in berlin this morning. let's join jenny hill. a what went on in berlin this morning. let'sjoinjenny hill. a rather interesting statement from leader of the house of commons this morning, saying it would be fantastic if the german chancellor was to have a look at the backstop again. any suggestion in berlin they are likely to reopen the withdrawal agreement? well, two

adam fleming, one of the bbc‘s correspondence in brussels said...it over and done with. the eu has a lot of patience with they do not want to put them all a cliff. as long as they want to stay in the eu and delay brexit, it will be delayed. does the eu reach a tipping point where they felt they cannot continue. an extra extension in october, i cannot believe we are looking that far forward already, it would be much more difficult than the extension granted. the reason we ended up with the extension until the 31st of october, yes, halloween, because it is a compromise. a compromise with a group of countries between the netherlands and germany that went to a longer extension, up until the 2020, his mother countries, very vocally led by france and went to a much shorter extension much along the lines of what theresa may was asking for so in the middle of the summer. the eu likes that take of itself as a compromise machine. that think that was thought of both the 31st of october. there was another discussion last night about could you have a mechanism t

adam fleming is in luxembourg — and has sent us this update.en happening in luxembourg today is a meeting of the eu general affairs council, the eu affairs ministers for the member states. meeting first of all this morning without the uk to talk about brexit and that request from the uk for a delay to the brexit process until the 30th ofjune. the minister spoke for about an hour, the heard from michelle barney of the chief negotiator who then came out at a press c0 nfe re nce negotiator who then came out at a press conference and briefed us on what they were discussing. the main thing to point out about what he was saying is that the uk must come up with a credible road map, a plan to justify an extension to the brexit pi’ocess justify an extension to the brexit process and the length of the extension would be based on the purpose of the extension. into that we can read that the eu does not think theresa may has provided a clear enough justification for delay for the brexit process yet. you might remember last friday theresa may wrote to donald

adam fleming. if you wa nt —— sound bike. adam fleming.happens next, we cannot promise that. but you can send your questions to us and at 11.30am this morning we'll be putting them to our experts. you can get in touch on twitter by using the hashtag... parents in england who home—educate their children could soon be forced to add their names to a new register. ministers say the scheme, which has the backing of 0fsted, would help councils intervene if standards need improving. some parents believe any list would be an unwanted intrusion into their lives. here's our education and family correspondent frankie mccamley. the number of children who have not been receiving education in schools in england has more than doubled in five years to around 60,000. there are many reasons for children to leave mainstream education, including a lack of support for special needs, religious reasons, or purely out of personal choice. but not all are visible to local authorities. the government is now proposing a new registerfor all children not being educated

from brussels, here's our correspondent adam fleming. michel barnier sat out the menu of options facing the uk. pass the deal in the next few days and briefly delay brexit for a few weeks to settle the details or... if the uk parliament does not vote in favour of the withdrawal agreement in the coming days, only two options would remain. leaving without an agreement or requesting a longer extension of article 50. it would be the responsibility of the uk government to choose between these two options. he's willing to change the part of the deal about the future to make it more appetising to mps, who want a closer economic relationship. but the terms of the divorce are settled. i don't want to make any comment. just, we are waiting for news from london. when is the last moment the news could come? we are waiting, we are still waiting. the chief negotiator has laid out some of the choices and some of the costs but what happens next in brexit is a decision for eu leaders when they meet theresa may at a special summit in brussels next week. t

let's talk now to our brussels correspondent adam fleming who has been following all the details latet and since early this morning again. adam, hello to you. tell us more about how the state of the 31st of october, that was thrashed out last night, and in particular what clues it gives us as to how much patients the eu might have going forward. the answer to your second question is at the eu still has quite a lot of patience in that they are not at the stage where they want to push the uk over a cliff. so at this point, as long as the uk wants to stay in the eu and delay brexit, brexit will be delayed. the most important thing to watch in the coming months is whether that mood shifts and actually does the eu reach a tipping point where it feels it just cannot continue? there were some hints from leaders last night as he relating the summit that an extra extension in october would be much more difficult than the extension that hasjust been difficult than the extension that has just been granted. difficult than the extension that hasjust been granted. the reason we have ended up with a

our brussels correspondent, adam fleming, is in luxembourg today. he european leaders, the meeting with angela merkel should be reasonably 0k, meeting with angela merkel should be reasonably ok, but the one with emmanuel macron, that could be quite awkward? yes, because emmanuel macron of france is one of the leaders who is asking the most questions about whether any extensions to the brexit process would make any difference, and also whether there should be any conditions attached to the uk if it stays in the eu for longer. and what imean by stays in the eu for longer. and what i mean by that is the eu has some big decisions coming up. next year they will have to finally decide and approve of their next long—term budget which will last for seven yea rs budget which will last for seven years and the summer they will be selecting a new president of the european commission, so pretty big things, and you can find quite a few countries around here wondering whether the uk should really have a say in those decisions or as a departing member state its hand