his language here, he is being tough on boris johnson, michael gove and andrea leadsom.nintended "suicide pact" about michael gove and boris johnson. andrea leadsom, when she made those comments about theresa may and not being a mother and how that affected her political judgement. he has been highly critical. it's something you don't expect to hear from critical. it's something you don't expect to hearfrom philip hammond. i think sometimes that is a bit overstated because on a personal level, he is very human and quite likeable, i think. level, he is very human and quite likeable, ithink. he is level, he is very human and quite likeable, i think. he is more than he is sometimes painted in the press. this is pretty tough language andi press. this is pretty tough language and i suspect he is trying to say that these people aren't really adults. he is. hopefully we get a contest that involves people who perhaps behave in a better way than they did in 2016. henry, let's use that as a segue to get into the times piece. leadership rivals urging the pm to stay on for months? t

. —— andrea leadsom. that is a bit of jockeying for leadership. absolutely.kly, the best chance was last time and she bottled it. but i think there's about 20 or 30 mp5 it. but i think there's about 20 or 30 mps who are thronged or head into the ring. the suggestion clearly is we will have an extension. —— throwing their hat into the ring. it will be on june throwing their hat into the ring. it will be onjune the 30th. you have to have mep sitting in the european parliament. mrs may has been begging for a short extension, to avoid this. the conservative party have except that they do have to realise this may happen. andrea leadsom is showing there is some attraction in the conservative party who think they can put forward a wish list, they can put forward a wish list, they cannot open the withdrawal agreement, they need to accept that and andrea leadsom today abstain from voting, which causes a lot of other problems, but i think there are still a other problems, but i think there are stilla numberof other problems, but i think there are still a number of tory

the leader of the house of commons, andrea leadsom, has just leader of the house of commons, andrea leadsomhe is looking forward to the restoration programme at the house of commons and house of lords. what lessons does what has happened in paris have put something like that? one of the lessons is it is necessary... one of the reasons for it is the unsafe wiring. you can't afford to let that fester with him for something to happen. it kind of underlines the need to do it. when it is being done, the need to make sure that every precaution is taken. what would you regard as the most comparable incident here to what has happened in paris?” suppose it was the tragic fire at york minster almost 30 years ago. that was caused by a lightning strike. one looks at the amazing restoration programme that has happened, so there is reason for hope. duncan wilson, thank you so much forjoining us. in a moment we'll have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news: france's president vows to return notre dame cathedral to its former glory after last night's devastating blaze. it took nearly 1

andrea leadsom, there.usiness secretary rebecca long bailey, one of the labour team in the cross—party talks, said further negotiations were planned but added it was "disappointing" there not been any movement on the government's red lines. we are only waiting for the government to come back to us now to say whether they are prepared to move on any of their red lines. as i say, we had great discussions and we went into a lot of technical detail, but so far we have not seen anything from government that would suggest they are prepared to change any part of the deal going forward. obviously, that is disappointing because we know the prime minister committed to compromise and indeed, we have committed to the same but we have not seen any real compromise yet. also speaking this morning, london mayor sadiq khan has told the bbc he was in favour of cancelling brexit and revoking article 50, but he welcomed the prime minister's decision to hold talks with jeremy corbyn. she's been negotiating with the eu, the cabi

was about the extension process. 14 people speaking against it, liz truss, gavin williamson, andrea leadsomith the biggest opponents of this strategy. philip hammond, the chancellor, called for a democratic process , chancellor, called for a democratic process, election or referendum. dawn foster, do you think we will see resignations from the cabinet over this from the right—wing of that grouping? a gap i think so. at this point, the right—wing of the grouping, the tory party, they are increasingly desperate. there was a story at the weekend apparently some conservatives have been pressuring the dup to steal the mace to stop parliament from sitting but they couldn't find where it was kept overnight! thank you both very much indeed. the prime minister saying that this was a decisive moment in the story of these islands. we will say, clive, what the fallout is of her decision. we will indeed thank you, geeta guru—murthy at westminster. i should tell you that the snp leader and scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, has been responding to this, saying that if mps are now the 12th of apri

the eu without a deal, well that is now going through the lords and the leader of the commons, andrea leadsomnment will not prevent that brexit delete bill being presented from royal assent is approved by parliament. —— brexit delete bill. it is not going to the lords, if it passes muster through the houses of parliament when it goes back to the commons, the leader of the health says there will be nothing to prevent that bill being presented for royal assent. she goes onto say that will be held on that law if it comes back from the lords to the commons tomorrow and it won't last 90 minutes. presumably, according to this timetable if everything goes according to plan —— before she actually has to sit down with other eu leaders at that crunch meeting in brussels, she could well be there with a new law passed that will prevent her from unilaterally taking the uk out of the european union without a deal. that news that is just coming to us in the last couple of minutes or so. now a ultra low emission zone has come into force in central london which means drivers of audit more polluting vehicles w

but andrea leadsom clearly is not thrilled that we are heading to a further extension, the prospect ofstill saying even at this stage she wants the prime minister to do something other than the theresa may's own stated objective. it was all quite extraordinary. but the talks with labour will continue today. they're at ministerial and shadow cabinet level and one of the people going from the labour side is the shadow chancellor, john mcdonnell. what we are trying to do is make sure that we arrive at a deal which is first of after protecting jobs and the economy, we don't think theresa may's deal does that and we are discussing the issue that it seems she has raised in cabinet about going back to the people as well. she has raised in cabinet about going back to the people as wellm she going to move her red lines. hasn't been so far, but we are trying to be constructive in the talks. i'm joining them today. the chancellor as well. so we have broadened the talks out to try and move them on as well. those talks will start at one o'clock and i think no ten will be relieved theresa may can go

andrea leadsom defended the decision to hold talks with the labour leader, saying it was something they withjeremy corbyn is not something i want to do at all. it is not something the prime minister wants to do. but far worse than that would be to fail to deliver on brexit. that would be the appalling thing because we were quite clearly told by the people in 2016 to leave the european union and every single politician who went on the air said, "what you decide, we will implement." those talks look likely to continue, but today labour said they would consider revoking article 50, that is stopping the brexit process, to prevent leaving without a deal. if we get to a situation where parliament has to look at revoking article 50, that will be disappointing and it will be as a result of the crisis the government has caused, unfortunately. it will be a matter that we consider very carefully at the time, but we have promised our party members and our constituents that we will do all we can to avoid a no—deal situation and it is something that we would consider very, very strongly. parliament i

boris johnson and but he is using some strong language about borisjohnson and michael gove and andrea leadsomrself, when she was running for leader against theresa may and her leadership campaign imploded with some comments about theresa may not being a mother and not understanding things. he's used the phrase unintended suicide pact about boris johnson and the phrase unintended suicide pact about borisjohnson and michael gove after their aborted leadership run. these are quite strong words. taking the story forward, he says we will have a very wide field in the next conservative leadership contest. he makes the joke that he's going to be about the only member of cabinet not running. interesting to see that. this is as speculation moves to how much longer mo has got. not very long would be the assumption but she's managed to hang on —— how much longer theresa may has got. repeatedly. written off. exactly. her remarkable skill, hanging on when everybody else would think it isa when everybody else would think it is a lost cause. interesting that philip hammond is talking like this. it feels sli

andrea leadsom. more from her later. law, companies, charities, and public sector organisations but 250 employees are marked, must publish their gender pay gap figures every year. the deadline to report the numbers is eminent, the thousands of companies still have not submitted their statistics. labour asked an urgent question in the commons to see the action the government is taking. the minister is saying that that mass majority of firms are taking action to tackle the gender pay gap. the inequalities and gender pay cannot be tackled overnight. there will not be reduction overnight, but what matters is that they are taking the right action for change in the right direction, and progress is being made. they missed the earlier deadline to submit their figures on the 30th of march, and looking at the numbers, labour criticises the government for not leading by example. in an analysis of this report, it shows the pay gap has not been narrowed, and shockingly, the department of culture and sport reported a 22.9% pay gap com

andrea leadsom defended the decision to hold talks with the labour leader, saying it was something theydoing through gritted teeth. working withjeremy corbyn is not something i want to do at all. it is not something the prime minister wants to do. but far worse than that would be to fail to deliver on brexit. that would be the appalling thing because we were quite clearly told by the people in 2016 to leave the european union and every single politician who went on the air said, "what you decide, we will implement." those talks look likely to continue, but today labour said they would consider revoking article 50, that is stopping the brexit process, to prevent leaving without a deal. if we get to a situation where parliament has to look at revoking article 50, that will be disappointing and it will be as a result of the crisis the government has caused, unfortunately. it will be a matter that we consider very carefully at the time, but we have promised our party members and our constituents that we will do all we can to avoid a no—deal situation and it is something that we would consid

now i can feel my heart in my chest — it's stopping me sleeping." )=()the leader of the house andrea leadsomeeling the weight of brexit and that their health is a priority, pointing to the house of common's free helpline and counselling services. and, after conversations with several mps who are struggling, the mental health charity, mind, wrote to all of them offering support. there are certain types of workplaces, of which westminster is probably one of the best or worst examples, where the added pressure puts additional emphasis on your mental health. the visibility, the high—profile nature of the work, and then when you add in a particular crisis situation then that can all take its toll on workplaces. people are exhausted. people are exhausted, i think, mistakes will be made. this cheshire mp knows what it is like to feel out of control. he suffered a breakdown several years ago and he is worried that mps are now being pushed too far. has this prolonged pressure taken its toll on your mental wellbeing? yes, for definite. i'm aware of some of the trigger points and how to manage that, bu

andrea leadsom defended the decision to hold talks with the labour leader, saying it was something theydoing through gritted teeth. working withjeremy corbyn is not something i want to do, at all, it is not something the prime minister wants to do, but far worse than that would be to fail to deliver on brexit. that would be the appalling thing. we were quite clearly told by the people in 2016 to leave the eu, and every politician who went on the air said, what you decide, we will implement. those talks with labour look likely to continue in the coming days, but the party has complained that the government hasn't accepted its demand for a customs union. we are willing to be flexible, but we have to see the government move they are red lines first. move their red lines first. we have outlined our concerns and where we would like to get to, but equally, compromise works both ways, and we are not seeing any element of compromise from the government. we are hopeful that will change in the coming days, and we will certainly consider any proposals they put to us, if they come near to the objec

fox saying that any compromise around a customs union would be a betrayal of brexit through to andrea leadsomement should be reopened. you heard mark francois, a leading brexiteer, saying that britain should just leave on friday, even though the prime minister is insisting that would be very damaging for the economy. so the political arguments that have been dominating westminster for months dragged on, but the prime minister has made a chance, she has decided she cannot get the withdrawal agreement through parliament just get the withdrawal agreement through parliamentjust on the backs of tory mps and the dup, the numbers are not there, which is why she has gone to labour looking for help, and those talks will continue this afternoon, and the question, though it is, will that be enough for the eu, to hear from the prime minister that she has a process, a route map through to what she says will be a solution to this crisis? or will they want more, proof from her that she can deliver the numbers with a plan in parliament? i mean, she can't do that, really, at the moment, and it is clear that t

andrea leadsom. renewal bill which will kickstart the restoration of the houses of parliament could be tabled as soon as thursday. now, britain's top civil servant is demanding ministers co—operate with his inquiry into the leaking of discussions at the national security council. sir mark sedwill has written to ministers on the council and their special advisers after the daily telegraph reported details of a meeting about chinese telecoms firm huawei. following tuesday's meeting, the daily telegraph reported that it had agreed to allow huawei limited access to help build britain's new 5g network, amid warnings about possible risks to national security. labour raised the leak in the commons. let me be clear. from this side of the house, if the minister did leak the information, they are not fit to serve in the cabinet. and they are certainly not fit to be prime minister. ultimately, the chronic lack of investment by this government has meant that we are without thriving digital or manufacturing indus

suggest that there is compromise, and it seems everybody is now drawing up red lines of their own, andrea leadsomsecond referendum, we can't take part in european elections, it is almost as if people's positions are hardening, rather than moving? it is highly controversial. all of this, all of the things that are being put on the table now have been contested at some point over the last two and a half years. there are no new ideas? exactly. there does seem to be a fairly limited space between the two when it comes to this idea of a customs relationship. labour insisting it is a customs union, you heard rebecca long—bailey making that point this morning. the government saying, actually, if you look at the customs arrangement we have, it is quite, love. to what you have, it is quite, love. to what you have been suggesting. so i think there is still a bit of thrashing about of that. that needs to be some movement, it is quite clear labour will not agree unless there is a movement over the next few days — is that possible? perhaps it is. but the other thing to throw into the mix which makes it even m

and we are hearing from andrea leadsom telling us hearing from andrea leadsom telling us that what happensnd votes and debates, it depends on the progress of those talks between the labour party and the conservative party. so that will be determining the agenda of parliament but andrea leadsom suggesting it may be the case that parliament might need to sit next friday. parliament does not normally sit on friday's because that is when mps go back to their constituencies and hold their surgeries, but, mps go back to their constituencies and hold theirsurgeries, but, of course, we are in very unusual times and next friday is the 12th of april, the new brexit deadline. let us april, the new brexit deadline. let us get the thoughts of the conservative mp dominic grieve who voted for the bill last night. welcome. good morning. what do you think should happen in terms of the sort of delay that you would like to see? the first thing is to see what comes out of the discussions between government and the opposition. clearly, if we can come to some view astoa clearly, if we can come to some view as t

through, this is not a real crisis because you have names listed here, including gavin williamson, andrea leadsomon. it feels like a long extension is in the works and i think it's over the long it sound like a big chunk of her cabinet, also the key players when it comes to other domestic policies would not be very happy about it. but will they resign? it is hard to see what their in game is really. as might colleague in the new statesman this week said, these mps are going to have to at some point decide what they hate more. do they hate aesop brexit, a general election, a second referendum more? —— aesop brexit. they will have to make that decision, just saying we don't want a long extension. it is not going to bring about any kind of consensus among some. i don't even think that some of them know exactly what they wa nt some of them know exactly what they want and how they will manage to get to the position they want to be had because for a long time, they have been attempting to hoist a new deal oi'i been attempting to hoist a new deal on to parliament effectively by really got all the other

the leader of the house andrea leadsom told us she is aware that mps are feeling the weight of brexit, after conversations with several mps who are struggling, the mental health charity, mind, wrote to all of them offering support. there are certain types of workplaces, of which westminster is probably one of the best or worst examples, where the added pressure puts additional emphasis on your mental health. the visibility, the high—profile nature of the work, and then when you add in a particular crisis situation then that can all take its toll on workplaces. people are exhausted. people are exhausted, i think, mistakes will be made. this cheshire mp knows what it is like to feel out of control. he suffered a breakdown several years ago and he is worried that mps are now being pushed too far. has this prolonged pressure taken its toll on your mental wellbeing? yes, for definite. i'm aware of some of the trigger points and how to manage that, but of course, if those that are controlling the environment and the business of the house of commons are not aware of it, it makes things a bit

house of commons leader andrea leadsom has set out plans to hold a 90—minute debate tomorrow on the primer a delay to brexit, in order to comply with legislation expected to be passed into law. it comes as theresa may prepares to meet both the german chancellor and the french president tomorrow, ahead of the crunch european council summit on wednesday, where another delay to britain's departure date will be discussed. our political editor laura kuenssberg has more. a mood for compromise might just trickle through — sombre and slow, after all the shouting. could the government really, though, do a deal with the other side? we don't have a majority in parliament, so we have to look to other parties to seek agreement that will allow us to get brexit over the line in parliament, as the law requires. you can't go into any of those discussions with big red lines, because otherwise there's no point having them. given the prime minister has tried to hang onto them for so long, the man who wants to replace her in number ten might take some convincing. the latest offer to the labour tribe, welcomin

just listen to the leader of the house, andrea leadsom, being pressed about whether mr corbyn is now the show. we are determined to deliver brexit and that is the entire focus, and as everybody is aware, parliament is not supporting the prime minister's deal and the prime minister is trying to find what deal the parliamentary mps will support and that is what she is focused on. it is absolutely logical to do that. we have to leave the european union. that is what people voted for and what the prime minister is trying to do is find a way to deliver on that. thanks very much. how could she back this? the difficulty for ministers as they have spent the past couple of years saying what a terrible manjeremy corbyn is and how they have got to go cap in hand to him to bail out brexit. they are having to tread this awkward line, insisting they disagree with him but they would quite like an agreement with him at the same time. this is the health secretary, matthew hancock. i disagree profoundly withjeremy corbyn on a whole series of issues. i think on security matters he is dangerous. i think

a leading leave campaigner, indeed the leader of the house of commons, andrea leadsom gave her reactionthe time to make sure that we deliver the brexit that we are all looking for, that we work closely with the eu and that they are genuinely helping to make sure we do deliver on the referendum. there won't be any change in our minds about that, we are absolutely determined to deliver on that referendum. so in emphasis from a cabinet member there that theresa may's government will deliver on the referendum, and that message has to be underlined by the prime minister himself against scepticism from the backbenches, i suspect quite a few people will be loving unhelpful questions at her. for example, veteran brexiteer peter bone was reminding the prime minister that she said she couldn't accept a brexit delay beyond the 30th ofjune, so he was saying, are you ready to stand down now? interestingly, there has been talk already this morning on and off the record, again with some people in theresa may's party, about the pa rty‘s theresa may's party, about the party's leadership roles. technical

andrea leadsom, one of the committee this morning acknowledged it looked like the cabinet would have around bringing mrs may's deal back. have to agree on something around bringing mrs may's deal backlj think what we all had to recognises that the prime minister's deal is the best on the table. the problem with all the other options rejected la st with all the other options rejected last night is that none of them is as good for the united kingdom. the compromise option which delivers on the eu referendum, but at the same time enables us to accommodate the wishes of those who wanted to remain in the eu, that is the best compromise. i think that is clear and that is why all those that their alternatives are being rejected. so we need to make some progress in getting a deal through. in final point, the withdrawal agreement, the eu has been very clear, there is no deal unless we pass the withdrawal agreement. parliament even rejected back last friday, so we definitely need to focus on what we want and not what we don't. will you be pushing against longer delays?” not what we don't. will

the leader of the house andrea leadsom told us she is aware that mps are feeling the weight of brexite nature of the work, and then when you add in a particular crisis situation then that can all take its toll on workplaces. people are exhausted. people are exhausted, i think, mistakes will be made. this chestshire mp knows what it is like to feel out of control. he suffered a breakdown several years ago and he is worried that mps are now being pushed too far. has this prolonged pressure taken its toll on your mental wellbeing? yes, for definite. i‘m aware of some of the trigger points and how to manage that, but of course, if those that are controlling the environment and the business of the house of commons are not aware of it, it makes things a bit more challenging. the pressures is on — mps know thatjune will mark three years since the referendum, when the brexit process began. what they can‘t tell is when or how it will end. nina warhurst, bbc news now, unless you‘ve been living under a stone somewhere, you‘ll know that prince harry and his wife meghan markle are about to have a

the leader of the house andrea leadsom told us she is aware that mps are feeling the weight of brexit of them offering support. there are certain types of workplaces, of which westminster is probably one of the best or worst examples, where the added pressure puts additional emphasis on your mental health. the visibility, the high—profile nature of the work, and then when you add in a particular crisis situation then that can all take its toll on workplaces. people are exhausted. people are exhausted, i think, mistakes will be made. this chestshire mp knows what it is like to feel out of control. he suffered a breakdown several years ago and he is worried that mps are now being pushed too far. has this prolonged pressure taken its toll on your mental wellbeing? yes, for definite. i'm aware of some of the trigger points and how to manage that, but of course, if those that are controlling the environment and the business of the house of commons are not aware of it, it makes things a bit more challenging. the pressures is on — mps know thatjune will mark three years since the referendum,

well, the leader of the house of commons, andrea leadsom, has issued a statement, saying that the firehistoric buildings. the approval of the restoration and renewal programme by both house of commons and lords last year was a huge step towards the protection of the palace of westminster. last year, a major programme of work was completed to enhance fire safety and, when construction work starts as part of the restoration and renewal programme in the mid—2020s, fire risks will continue to be constantly assessed. ina in a moment we will be catching up with all the business news but first a look at the headlines. hundreds of millions of euros are pledged to return the notre—dame cathedral in paris to its former glory after firefighters work though the night to save it from a devastating fire. a night of shock and despair but relief that the main structure of the building stays intact and experts say the main parties intact. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. more than 100 climate change activists have been arrested for blocking roads in central london during protests which

some very important meetings as andrea leadsom suggested.ithdrawal agreement earlier on today, and those talks that you mention continue between government ministers and members of the shadow cabinet about an attempt to reach a compromise of sorts with labour, in your revised brexit deal that the uk could negotiate with the eu, that the government hopes would be able to command a majority here in the house of commons which so far theresa may has not been able to do. we have this morning from the shadow chancellor about his attempt to join those discussions. what we are trying to do is make sure we arrive at a deal which first of all protects jobs and the economy, we don't believe theresa may's deal does that. and discussing the issue she has raised in cabinet, the issue about going back to the people. is she going to move her red lines? she hasn't so far. we are trying to be as constructive as we can in talks. i am joining them today, the chancellor is as well, broadening the talks to move them on. sojohn mcdonald so john mcdonald mentioning

that was kind of what andrea leadsom seem to be suggesting this morning.m is as good for the united kingdom. the compromise option, the one that delivers on the eu referendum, but at the same time enables us to accommodate the wishes of those who want to remain in the eu, that is the best compromise. i think that is clear that is why all of those other alternatives are being rejected. so what we do need to do is make some progress in getting a deal through. also, a final point, the withdrawal agreement, the eu has been very clear, there is no deal unless we pass the withdrawal agreement. parliament even rejected that last friday. so we do definitely need to get down and focus on what we do want and not what we don't want. are you going to be pushing against a longer delay? i am absolutely clear and have been all the way through, i believe the uk will be so much better once we have left the european union and i am supporting the prime minister to make sure we do that. thank you very much. a couple of other morsels of news this morning from the prime ministe

i am joined by andrea leadsom who herself stood for the tory leadership last time to reflect on the effectlong—bailey, one ofjeremy corbyn's team, who knows exactly what has happened. also the only mp for one of the smaller parties ahead of the local elections, caroline lucas of the green party. she is hot for another referenda. brilliant idea or hideous idea, join us at ternet and whatever you think. we will be meeting the man who got a surprise visit from gareth southgate after turning his back on hooliganism and became a footballing force for good. stay with us for that. headlines coming up. force for good. stay with us for that. headlines coming upm force for good. stay with us for that. headlines coming up. it makes my heart pound... it is quite easy to see rembrandt as the evil genius. hello, this is breakfast with nina warhurst and ben thompson. it is 8:30am. here is a summary of the morning's menus. -- main news. theresa may has said the country now faces the stark choice of either leaving the eu with a deal or not leaving at all. in a statement, the prime minister said she'd had t

let's have a listen to what andrea leadsom thought about the latest news.time to make sure that we deliver the brexit that we are all looking for, that we work closely with the eu and that they are genuinely helping to make sure that we do deliver on the referendum. there will be any changing our minds about that. we are absolutely determined to deliver on that referendum. those talks with labour have been ongoing for a week now. everyone been very positive about them, although there is no sign ofa about them, although there is no sign of a breakthrough. many people thinking that the idea of a customs union could be a compromise but of course that is pretty unpopular amongst many in the conservative party. this is what labour is brexit spokesman thinks about the latest delay. i think it is a good thing there is an extension. we needed it. i think businesses and communities will be very relieved that we're not leaving tomorrow without a deal. the real question for the prime minister is what she's going to use his time for because we can carry on going as we