adam fleming, bbc news, brussels. our brussels correspondent is adam fleming.h is this political brinksmanship, and is there any sign that brussels could blink first? at the moment, no sign of any blinking on either side, and this is one of those moments where you step back and realise that for there to be a deal and for the uk to leave with a deal and for the uk to leave with a deal on october 31 it would require an almighty climb—down by one side 01’ an almighty climb—down by one side or the other, this has come about because there was a meeting yesterday here in brussels held by the eu "brexit" negotiators in brussels where they updated officials from the 27 national governments on the other side, about conversations that have been had with the prime minister, with the brexit secretary and the prime minister's new brexit adviser, david frost, here in brussels last week meeting his opposite numbers. the only way that a deal will get through cabinet, government and parliament is if there is major changes to the withdrawal agreement, not just taking out the cha

adam fleming, many thanks.with the attempted murder of a six—year—old boy at the tate modern gallery in london. the child fell from a viewing platform on the tenth floor on sunday. the court heard the boy fractured his spine, legs and arms — and suffered a deep bleed to the brain. he's in a critical but stable condition in hospital. the teenager — who can't be named because of his age — was remanded in custody. police in madagascar say they've found the body of cambridge student alana cutland, who fell from a plane 12 days ago. the 19—year—old was carrying out research on the island. officers say her body was discovered in a remote area and will be recovered by helicopter tomorrow. 0fficials assessing the whaley bridge dam have warned that while some people have been allowed to return home — most of those evacuated last week must wait until experts confirm the site is "absolutely safe" from flooding. 1,500 people were told to leave last thursday, when the dam at toddbrook reservoir was badly damaged after torre

adam fleming, bbc news, brussels.respondent adam fleming says there's little sign of movement on the european side. at the moment there is no sign of any blinking on either side. and this is one of those moments where you step back and realise for there to be a deal and the uk to leave with a deal on the 31st of october, it will require an almighty climb—down by one side or the other. this has all come about because there was a meeting yesterday here in brussels, held by the eu's brexit negotiators with the updated officials from the 27 national governments on the other side about some conversations that have been had with the prime minister, with the brexit secretary and with the prime minister's new brexit adviser, david frost, who was here in brussels last week meeting his opposite numbers. and the eu has concluded that the only way a deal will get through the cabinet, the government and the parliament is if there is some major changes to the withdrawal agreement. notjust taking out the irish backstop, but the uk h

adam fleming in brussels. on bbc news we'll be looking at what a no—deal brexit would mean. if you have questions about no deal, our experts and correspondents will be answering them on the bbc news channel. contact details are on the screen now — please do get in touch with whatever queries you have. that is all day tomorrow here on bbc news. a damning report has found that a chief scout who worked for chelsea football club in the 1960s and ‘70s was a dangerous and prolific child abuser, and says some adults at the club must have known. the club has apologised unreservedly for what it says was terrible sexual and racial abuse suffered by some of its former youth players. our sports editor dan roan is at stamford bridge. explain more about what happened, about what the club is saying. chelsea say that the publication of two reports this afternoon show that they intend to shine a bright light into the dark corners of the club's history, and they are not going to shy away from responsibility for what happened in

let's hear what the reaction's been in europe now, and our brussels correspondent adam fleming joinsk how this is going down. we will find out shortly because it is about to start its regular press briefing, the eu, so we'll hear from a spokesperson from the european commission. they are bound to be asked about this and bound to be asked about this and bound to be asked about this and bound to have prepared a line responding to boris johnson bound to have prepared a line responding to borisjohnson is letter, which they received last night. i don't think its contents would have come as a huge surprise. this is lots of stuff borisjohnson that mentioned in his leadership campaign to become leader of the conservative party and prime minister, stuffy repeated when he became prime minister and also stuff repeated by his chief europe adviser, david frost, who visited brussels a couple of weeks ago to speu brussels a couple of weeks ago to spell out lots of this. having said that, does feel a bit different now it is written down in black—and—white on paper and using quite precise language. h

likely to lead to a hard border between northern ireland and the republic. 0ur europe correspondent adam flemingireland's booming economy will boom a lot less if there is no brexit deal, which means a phone call between the two prime ministers yesterday is a subject over coffee today. i think the relationship already is strained. boris has only yesterday made contact with the taoiseach of ireland. the british have chosen to come out, and we are only defending our interests, they are defending theirs, so i wouldn't particularly want to blame anyone. hopefully it won't come to that, we'll sort something out. hello, what do you think of brexit? if something isn't sorted out, farmers like raymond will be hardest hit. most of his speech goes to the uk. he is worried there would be a further fall in the pound, and about tariffs, the taxes that would be charged on imports by the uk. both would make his beef more expensive. in the unthinkable event of a crash—out brexit, this farm would have to cease beef farming, we are going to have to do something else with the land. disruption to transport is anothe

adam fleming is in brussels. borisjohnson has said the backstop is unviable. very critical about this today, and we had donald tusk, the president of the european council on twitter, and he said that boris johnson's council on twitter, and he said that borisjohnson‘s proposal would lead to the reintroduction of a border on the island of ireland and that he was not exactly being honest about that. there was a document circulated amongst the 27 other eu governments rebutting a lot of the prime minister's claims about the good friday agreement. the eu is sticking to its position that the backstop has to stay in the divorce treaty that will be signed before brexit day if there is to be a deal and thejoint brexit day if there is to be a deal and the joint search for alternatives to the backstop will only happen after that. angela merkel of germany said something similar today, and i merkel of germany said something similartoday, and i imagine she will say something similar tomorrow to borisjohnson will say something similar tomorrow to boris johnson face—to—face wh

here's our brussels reporter adam fleming.u thinks about the idea of the uk leaving without a deal on october the 31st. the eu ‘s view is that no deal will hurt you more than it will hurt us. they point to plenty of studies to back that up. take one published the summer back that up. take one published the summer bya back that up. take one published the summer by a university in belgium which found the eu would lose 1.2 millionjobs in the uk which found the eu would lose 1.2 million jobs in the uk about which found the eu would lose 1.2 millionjobs in the uk about half which found the eu would lose 1.2 million jobs in the uk about half a million. another eu number is bigger but the eu is bigger, so as a percentage, it's actually smaller. the uk is also pledging to eliminate most of the import taxes on goods coming into the uk. known as tariffs. that means european forums — firms during have to about the overnight becoming more expensive. the same is not true in the other direction. the eu thinks it's prepared. it has passed eu

our correspondent adam fleming is in brussels.se to borisjohnson's letter. in brussels there is a big drive by the eu to reject and rebut what borisjohnson has the eu to reject and rebut what boris johnson has been the eu to reject and rebut what borisjohnson has been saying about the irish border backstop. we saw that tweet from donald tusk which did not name the prime minister, it did not name the prime minister, it did not name the prime minister, it did not quite call him a liar, but nearly dead, and then we had a spokesperson from the european commission saying that the letter did not provide any workable alternatives —— nearly did. and the ego's brexit negotiators rejecting and describing lots of the claims that boris has made as misleading and incorrect. the backstop contravening the good friday agreement or that the people of northern ireland would not have a say, and also deciding idea that already have northern ireland and ireland, which have separate legal system is coexisting, the ego says thatis system is coexisting,

well, adam fleming is in brussels and he sent this update on the eu's reaction to the prime minister's today, and we had donald tusk, the president of the european council on twitter, and he said that borisjohnson‘s proposal would lead to the reintroduction of a border on the island of ireland and that he wasn't exactly being honest about that. there was a document circulated amongst the 27 other eu governments by the eu's brexit negotiators rebutting a lot of the prime minister's claims about the good friday agreement. the eu is sticking to its position that the backstop has to stay in the divorce treaty that will be signed before brexit day if there is to be a deal, and the joint search for alternatives to the backstop will only happen after that. chancellor angela merkel of germany said something similar today, and i imagine she will say something similar tomorrow to boris johnson face—to—face when he goes to berlin. i also imagine he would hear something similar from the french president in paris on thursday and from donald tusk when they meet at the g7 summit at the weekend. altho

adam fleming is in brussels. adam, are they going to talk or aren't they?, and borisjohnson's europe advisor, a guy called david frost was having meetings with his opposite numbers. yesterday there was another meeting where the eu brexit negotiating team spoke to diplomats from the other 27 national governments and they concluded at this point there was no basis for what they called meaningful discussions with the uk because the uk is asking for things the a you can't accept, not just uk is asking for things the a you can't accept, notjust getting rid of the bit of the deal to do with the irish border but also to do with the irish border but also to do with the uk's financial organised no obligations and the role of the european court of justice obligations and the role of the european court ofjustice overseeing the brexit deal, if there is one. so the brexit deal, if there is one. so the eu is getting closer to the point where they think the only possible outcome to the whole brexit process is the uk leaving on october the 31st with no deal whatsoever. on

here's our brussels reporter adam fleming. the eu thinks about the idea of the uk leaving without a deal on october the 31st. the eu's view is that no deal will hurt you more than it will hurt us and they point to plenty of studies to back that up. take one published this summer by a university in belgium, which found the eu would lose 1.2 millionjobs and the uk about half a million. now the eu number is bigger but the eu is bigger, so as a percentage, it's actually smaller. the uk is also pledging to eliminate most of the import taxes on goods coming into the uk, known as tariffs. that means european firms do not have to worry about their products overnight becoming more expensive. the same is not true in the other direction. the eu thinks it's prepared, it has passed european wide legislation that will apply for a temporary period insect is that it really cares about like aviation, road haulage and some financial services. and the countries that will be particularly effective particularly affected because they have a very cl

our correspondent adam fleming is in brussels.son has done today adds pressure on the eu after the g7 meeting at the weekend. he might be getting an upper hand? someone very close to the eu negotiating team sent me a text this morning saying whatever happens the eu will not change its position just because the threat of no deal had become more credible, or because the opponents of no deal had got more organised. in other words, as far as they are concerned, the eu negotiators, this isjust a as far as they are concerned, the eu negotiators, this is just a very loud, dramatic noise. what they care about is, is the uk going to come forward with concrete proposals to fix the backstop in a way that is compatible with the eu's red lines and is interest? will that lead to a revised brexit deal that can be approved by the uk and eu leaders? will that then be approved by the british parliament? that is what they care about here in brussels, about what is happening in parliament, rather than there will be fewer or longer sitting days and if

adam fleming is in brussels for us now. how is brussels feeling about this?ond ago, that of the prime minister was really serious about getting a deal with the eu, he is making things difficult for himself by suspending parliament? talking to eu diplomats in the last few days, what they've been saying is two things. firstly, they have never really bought this idea that the confrontation to end all confrontations was going to take place in the first or second weeks of september. or a few days after that, anyway, they thought that this was going to go to the end of october, and the opponents of the prime minister and parliament would keep fighting right until the last minute. so that is still the case. —— opponents of the prime minister in parliament. there were also concerned there would not be time to implement any ratified deal between the eu and the uk in time for the sist the eu and the uk in time for the 31st of october, so that has not changed either. and from one senior eu source very close to the negotiations, they have said, whatever happens, the eu i

this article by our correspondent in brussels, adam fleming, explains that's because they see it as anwo extensions in order to agree on a withdrawal deal. let me remind you what european council president donald tusk said after the second one was granted in april. let me finish this with a message to our british friends. this extension is as flexible as i expected and it's a little bit shorter than i expected. but it is still enough to find the best possible solution. please do not waste this time. that was in april. today, this is what a french member of the european parliament told the bbc. i don't know how many boris johnson's you have, but we have a boris johnson coming to paris and berlin saying that he wants a deal. saying that he will work on it and accepting that the ball is in his court that he has to come with proposals. then one week later, we have a british government that seems to be more interested in a no deal than anything else. we haven't heard proposals coming from borisjohnson or the government. of course a deal hasn't been made — and borisjohnson has insisted that

here‘s our brussels correspondent adam fleming. the eu has not given up yet.not putting all their cards on that outcome yet. they are looking towards the g7 summit of leaders and france towards the end of this month and are thinking that could potentially be a moment where no deal breaks it becomes inevitable or not. others here in brussels say that it could be a couple of weeks after that and will be when the british parliament returns from the summer british parliament returns from the summer break where we will really know where this is headed. if you step back, this is one of those moments where you realise that if there is going to be or breaks a deal on the 31st of october, one site is going to have to execute an absolutely massive plan now. reaching a new agreement with the eu isn‘t the only way of avoiding no deal. it could still be blocked by the british parliament. borisjohnson‘s government currently has a majority of one. and opponents of a no deal are trying to get the numbers to win a vote of no confidence. but have a look today‘s front page of th

our correspondent, adam fleming, is in brussels. they've had a few hours to think about this.e who are, i hate to put it this way, but less influential, less close to brexit, and they've tended to focus on how this makes the uk look as a democracy, so you saw the tweet from guy verhofstadt, the brexit coordinator for the european parliament. he quoted the slogan from the winning leave campaign in the referendum, and he said taking back control never looked more sinister. a french mep, used to be the french europe minister and is close to emanuel macron, french president, said it was almost as if the uk was suffering from a disease which meant they didn't want to debate big, momentous decisions like brexit. the chair of the foreign affa i rs brexit. the chair of the foreign affairs committee in the german parliament pondered whether you could, on the one hand, say you were representing the will of the people by delivering brexit while, on the other, reducing the number of days that parliament could set in terms of the eu's negotiators, they are keeping pretty quiet, and that's

in a moment will talk to our correspondent in brussels, adam fleming.ndent, peter saull at westminster. mrjohnson‘s letter rebuffed by the eu. he may not have been surprised by that? no, i don't think anyone in downing street will be surprised by the response from the eu. this was supposed to be an opening diplomatic salvo from boris johnson, supposed to be an opening diplomatic salvo from borisjohnson, ahead of a series of meetings, culminating with the g7 summit. we know borisjohnson wa nts to the g7 summit. we know borisjohnson wants to get rid of the northern irish backstop and he gave three reasons for it. first, it is anti—democratic, secondly that it undermines the peace process in northern ireland. and thirdly that it can't be a basis for a future relationship between the uk and the eu. this has prompted quite a backlash from eu leaders today, some suggesting that some of boris johnson's claims have been misleading and then back here in westminster a senior uk government source saying it is sad that it appears that the eu is not willing to be re

adam fleming is in brussels, how has the letter been received?n circulated amongst other eu countries and their brexit teams,.lj imagine there will be an agreed, united eu position by the end of the day, even if it is just acknowledging the ideas in the letter rather than setting out what they will do about it. borisjohnson is going to see angela merkel in berlin tomorrow, emmanuel macron in paris on thursday, then he will be at the g7 summit at the weekend. donald tusk, the president of the european council, will also be there. it will be hard for the eu side not to comment, probably the intention of the british government. but speaking to diplomats privately here, there are three camps. there are people very close to the drafting of the backstop and the withdrawal agreement who were really involved and are frankly quite horrified. they think it crosses one of the eu's big red lines, which is you need to have a ready to go, fully worked out back a plan for the irish border in the brexit deal that is signed by both sides before brexit day. they a

clarity, i thought, we will put that isa clarity, i thought, we will put that is a question to adam fleminghappened is that angela merkel has said it is the uk'sjob that angela merkel has said it is the uk's job to that angela merkel has said it is the uk'sjob to put that angela merkel has said it is the uk's job to put forward alternative to the backstop. that is the eu's position, they have said, we have given you our solution to the irish border, the back—up plan is the backstop, and if the uk wants changes to it, they have to present them. that was the criticism we got yesterday in reaction to boris johnson's letter about the backstop that he sent to donald tusk on monday. then it seemed that boris johnson took up the gauntlet and said, yes, you're quite right, chancellor merkel, it is britain's job to propose solutions to the backstop, an alternative, and we will do that in the next 30 days. so it sounds like between now and i have just checked on my phone calendar, the 19th of september, borisjohnson hasjust calendar, the 19th of september, borisjohnson has just committed to come forw

we can go to adam fleming in brussels, any reaction there yet?use opponents of no deal had got better organised. so it is business as usual as far as the eu are concerned. and what people have said to me over the last few days over the stuff that could potentially happen in parliament was this — the eu was not buying this line that there was going to be some be all, end all final confrontation between the government and opponents of brexit in the first two weeks of september. they always thought that this would run, as far as parliament is concerned, until the very end of october, right until the last minute. also on the eu side, they we re minute. also on the eu side, they were quite suspicious that there was going to be enough time to get parliament to approve a new brexit deal and implement all the necessary domestic legislation and law that would be required to make that brexit deal a reality between now and october the 31st anyway, so i don‘t think anything that has happened, by what borisjohnson has announced today, will change that view. w

we can speak now to our europe reporter adam fleming who is in brussels for us this morning. ause they had not been told it was going to happen and they we re told it was going to happen and they were not expecting it. eu leaders are keeping very quiet about it because they see this as a domestic internal political process do want to get involved in and it is not something for them to comment on talking to eu leaders they do not buy the strategy. that if they can get people to shut up, they can get a better deal in brussels. in brussels, they think boris johnson's opponents will keep fighting him and tried to get what they want right up until the last minute and they also say that negotiating strategy is based to protect the eu rather than in response of whether the government is ramping up planning for no deal or whether opponents for no deal are getting more organised. having said that, a few european politicians say it is not a good look for a european democracy. the brexit co—ordinator tweeted yesterday saying this was sinister. a french mep close to emmanuel macron said i

let's speak now to our brussels reporter, adam fleming. adam, how has the eu responded?fell into three different camps, the officials and the diplomats. people quite closely involved in drafting the backstop, saying it crosses one of the big red lines of the eu that you need a back—up plan for the irish border that is ready to go, fully worked out and in the deal signed by the two sides before the uk leaves. then you get people who think this is a stunt by boris johnson and it is more of a gesture than a genuine offer and something to be negotiated. then you get a new, just a few, people who think this is an opportunity and a window to break the stalemate in the brexit process. no official reaction from the eu but we're about to get some in the next day or two, not least because boris johnson in the next day or two, not least because borisjohnson is going to berlin, paris and then biarritz and france to see g7 leaders, and among the people attending that summit will be the president of the repair and council, donald tusk, the recipient of this letter. thank you very much

our brussels correspondent adam fleming joins me now. what significant lines are we heeding?or negotiations as long as the uk brings ideas that are compatible with the additional —— with the existing withdrawal agreement. lots of studies, like the international monetary fund and the world bank and the oecd and various academics say, if they know deals scenario comes to pass, the uk loses a proportionally more than the eu does. —— if no deal scenarios come to pass. that is not a new thing they're saying. they have their own operation yellowhammer and it is based on very similar assumptions, that if there isa similar assumptions, that if there is a new deal brexit, overnight to the uk will become what is known as a third country, one that has no links with the eu —— no—deal brexit. and there would be nojoint mitigation measures put in between the uk and the eu, beyond the ones that they are putting in on their own, and there will be no bilateral deal is done with individual eu countries with the uk to help the uk out if there is a no—deal brexit. in terms of whether the no deal

adam fleming is in brussels. what more can you tell us about the agenda of these discussions?eekend before so she should have seen borisjohnson face—to—face alongside don't tusk in france at the weekend but they're doing and by phone instead for some this is a second time they will have spoken and everybody in an atmosphere of construct of this and engagement. the eu is looking for concrete proposals from the uk that are compatible with the withdrawal likely meant. perhaps a bit of an antidote to the sum of the more excitable headlines and analysis in the last couple of days that following boris johnson the last couple of days that following borisjohnson cosmic the last couple of days that following boris johnson cosmic trip to paris and the london the eu is ready to move. it looks like we are ready to move. it looks like we are ready to move a little bit, only within very narrow parameters that we know very well. how much are eu officials listening not only to borisjohnson but officials listening not only to boris johnson but also watching officials listening not only to bori

adam fleming, our brussels correspondent. westminster, because it is saying to westminster, because it is not quite true that they are not prepared to talk but probably what i what they're going to talk about. yes, in public the eu says they adore is open if the uk wants to come and clarify its intentions add was the talk about ideas that are compatible with the withdrawal agreement. in private those same officials are telling their counterparts from across the eu there is no basis at the moment for what they describe as meaningful discussions with the uk because what the uk is asking for, the elimination of the entire backstop, is unacceptable to the eu. the logic that has drawn from that, the implication, is that the government's intention is to go for ano government's intention is to go for a no deal are they are not serious about negotiating. that is one analysis by one senior official about how the situation looks. the fa ct about how the situation looks. the fact is the eu has not given up on the deal yet. they have not

let‘s get more from our brussels correspondent adam fleming...d and the republic can coexist as parts of different legal orders. that is only because of the legislation of the eu. they have not closed the door yet. no one on the eu side is saying we are not going to talk. just like the uk is not saying they are not going to talk any more. it is not finished yet. nobody wants to look like the person who blocked out and slammed the door. yes and when you listen to angela merkel, she says that it will only be over on the last day of the article 50 process which is the 31st of october. the eu will not be the ones to say it is over first. if the will not be the ones to say it is overfirst. if the uk will not be the ones to say it is over first. if the uk don‘t either we will be going over these arguments for some time unless boris johnson‘s next move is to say that he has tried his best and there is no negotiating position with the eu. there are quite a few diplomats in the eu side saying that that is what he is intending to do and that the letter is