ben wright, thank you very much. may had started the week by postponing the big vote on her brexit deal, and embarking on a whistle—stop tour of european capitals in an effort to win further concessions from eu leaders. on tuesday lunchtime, the bbc news at one reported on her visit to berlin, including this moment. from there it was onto her next stop. at every turn the prime minister appears stuck. political gridlock at home, and here in berlin, even her car door refused to open. her fundamental problem though, she has agreed the deal must have a backstop to avoid border controls ever returning on the island of ireland, and parliament doesn't like it. the moment was also discussed by presenter simon mccoy and berlin correspondentjenny hill on the bbc news channel later that afternoon. i suppose if you wanted an analogy, the difficulty the prime minister had in just getting out of the car, itjust shows how much things are stacked against her. yeah, it wasn't the best start to her meeting with angela merkel, who was

ben wright, bbc news. heard there, there'll be a statement in parliament tomorrow on the legal advice given to ministers on the eu withdrawal agreement — that's the deal setting out the terms of britain's departure. the following day, theresa may will begin five days of debate on that agreement — and on the document setting out plans for the uk's future relationship with the eu. after that — on tuesday december 11th — mps will be able to have their say in a ‘meaningful vote‘ on the brexit deal. 0ur political correspondent ben wright gave his assessment on events. perhaps an impossibly daunting task, mps have denounced the deal and opposition mps have lined up against it but there might be a 5— day debate and that might change minds and in the darkened corners of westminster, the tea rooms and the bars, tory whips will be imploring their mps to listen to the argument michael gove is making when he said this was the only deal on the table and the only one that could guarantee an orderly brexit. i don't get a

our political correspondent ben wright reports.ing back in downing street last night, in the dark about whether or not she faces an imminent vote of no confidence in her leadership. she had been in european capitals, try to something to soften opposition to her brexit deal in westminster. but tory opposition seems to be hardening. the chief whip is also in number ten late, the man who had forced his discipline among tory mps, knows the number of rebels will be critical. according to the rules, if 48 conservative mps submit letters to this man, sirgraham conservative mps submit letters to this man, sir graham brady, the chairman of the 1922 committee, a confidence vote must he triggered. several sources, including a cabinet minister, had told the bbc they believe the 48 letters required for a vote has been submitted. will she please, at this late stage, put the backstop and all these horrors behind her? alan harrison --: patterson has contributed to the letters at. another senior tory at the confidence vote would be a huge mistake.

our political correspondent ben wright reports.ng world leaders in argentina, theresa may returns to the harsh political realities of westminster where she has nine days to sell her brexit deal to a deeply sceptical parliament. the area in which i have the greatest concern... ministers accept the agreement on the table is a compromise but today received a punchy sales pitch from a key brexit supporting member of the cabinet. this deal of course is not perfect. but it does provide those of us who campaigned to leave with an opportunity to take back control of the borders and have control of immigration policy. it means we end the huge automatic sums that go to the eu every week, and it gives us the capacity in huge sectors of the economy to diverge if we think that is right. one of the leading figures in the leave campaign, michael gove, has stuck by the prime minister, refusing to follow other brexiteers out of the cabinet, and mr gove says tory mps who want to leave the eu have no choice but to vote for the deal. i reflected long

now it is our political correspondent ben wright.nister? that was a question she thought was a rather impersonal, and ba rt thought was a rather impersonal, and bart to preminger —— far too premature. then she said she was determined to come back, i bought her mps determined to come back, i bought hermps and determined to come back, i bought her mps and try to persuade them to get this through. she is not interested in discussing legacy issues now, and she wants her mission as prime minister to be the prime minister who takes britain out of the european union. she wants that to be her role in history. it's afair that to be her role in history. it's a fair question is in it, because this could be her last international summit. at the fair question, but she hates hypothetical questions about whether or not this deal is going to pass, what she would do if she doesn't get it through, and she never liked indulging in hypotheticals. i think everything that we heard there is fairly predictable. stuff that we have heard before. anything surp

ben wright, bbc news. investigation at the fashion group ted baker, following claims its chief executive forced staff to let him hug them. it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i am feeling so helpless that the children are dying in front of me and i can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippie cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles. at 11am this morning, just half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then philippe cozette, a minerfrom calais, was shaking hands and exchanging flags with robert fagg, his opposite number from dover. this is bbc world news, our top story this hour: the un warns the threat posed to all of us by climate change has never been this serious as a global climate summit opens with a push to cut emissions. let's stay with th

live to westminster and our political correspondent ben wright. ituation tonight? it has changed in the last couple of hours since you andi the last couple of hours since you and i last spoke? yeah, we know one letter has gone in, eleanor patterson, former environment secretary, a keen leading brexit ie littered with the course that brexit has gone and the deal that theresa may has signed up to with the eu —— owen paterson. he has put in his letter which has been published in the daily telegraph tomorrow, saying we can't trust her any more because of the way she conducted herself through the brexit negotiations, so there is one more we know has been added to the tally, but the rest i'm afraid it speculation. we don't know. as laura said, the only person who does is sir graham brady, and we are expecting him to meet with the prime minister after prime minister's questions tomorrow. it could be routine, could be something not more. we have to wait. what about the sense among tory mps of the prospect, having delayed the vote that was due to take place

we will be talking to ben wright.ster as the prime minister delays the crucial vote on her brexit deal at the 11th hour. there will now be a vote of confidence in my leadership. the prime minister has eight hours to save herjob. we are live at westminster with a bbc news special as prime minister theresa may fights for her political survival. you're watching a bbc news special. live at westminster. good morning and welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt, live at westminster. there was certainly advantages to reporting from the heart of where the story was happening, allowing programmes like victoria derbyshire to capture the divisions in parliament live on our screens. i'm going to talk to your colleague now, james cleverly, conservative mp and vice chair of the conservative party. i gather that you don't necessarily want to talk to each other, so if you want to go... are you happy to? i will go, that's fine. ok, all right. mr cleverly, please do join us. good morning to you. and the coverage exten

ben wright, bbc news.an independent investigation into allegations of what's described as "forced hugging" by its chief executive. ray kelvin is pictured here. he usually chooses to be photographed not showing his face. staff have begun an online petition accusing the 62—year—old founder of verbal, physical and sexual harassment — claims they say are entirely at odds with the company's values. our business correspondent joe miller has the details. an anonymous petition was posted online just a few days ago and it's already garnered around 2,000 signatures. and in it, employees at ted baker accused the company's boss, ray kelvin — who took it from glasgow selling shirts to a globalfashion phenomenon — not only engages employees in unwanted embraces but has also asked female workers to sit on his knee and whether they could massage their ears. they also say he engages in sexual innuendo, and the creator of the petition says that when they went to hr to complain, they were told that "this is just what he is l

ben wright, bbc news. crucial vote and if you want more explanation on brexit, there is a lot to explain, a lot ofjargon and it is all on our website. now, for something different. australians have a reputation for being rather fond of alcoholic drinks, but it seems that claim might not be rooted in reality — at least, not if you look at officialfigures, which suggest consumption has fallen to their lowest levels in decades. according to the research, the average australian will, each year, knock back 224 cans of beer and 38 bottles of wine but the same statistics also suggest that one fifth of the australian population are tee—total, meaning they never drink any alcohol at all. phil mercer has the story. believe it or not, alcohol consumption in fun—loving australia is at its lowest since the early 1960s. beer, wine and spirits are still a big part of life here, but in a land with a busy reputation, —— but in a land with a boozy reputation, it is young people who are drinking less. i think it is really in

let's talk to our political correspondent ben wright at westminster.can all be forgiven for watching that, thinking what is going on? is this possible? how does it work? i'm sure you have the answers. it sounds like a dramatic piece of political theatre jeremy corbyn was like a dramatic piece of political theatrejeremy corbyn was producing. in fact, it is a fairly meaningless motion in many ways. calling for a vote of confidence in the prime minister is a symbolic act byjeremy corbyn. it may be the government decides to allot time for this vote to ta ke decides to allot time for this vote to take pace but even if it passes, which, of course, would require the support of the dup and a handful of tories as well to get it over the line, even if labour passes this motion, it doesn't actually amount to anything. it is only symbolic, it isn't a vote of confidence in the government. that is legislated for a different way, and that could potentially go on and trigger a general election, were labour to win that. it is not a vote of confidence in the government,

ben wright, thank you very much. lunchtime, the bbc news at one reported on her visit to berlin, including this moment. from there it was onto her next stop. at every turn the prime minister appears stuck. political gridlock at home, and here in berlin, even her car door refused to open. her fundamental problem though, she has agreed the deal must have a backstop to avoid border controls ever returning on the island of ireland, and parliament doesn't like it. the moment was also discussed by presenter simon mccoy and berlin correspondentjenny hill on the bbc news channel later that afternoon. i suppose if you wanted an analogy, the difficulty the prime minister had in just getting out of the car, itjust shows how much things are stacked against her. yeah, it wasn't the best start to her meeting with angela merkel, who was stood on the red carpet waiting as mrs may's staff tried desperately to get her out of the car. as you can imagine, a great deal of heavy symbolism is now being attributed to those first few moments

we will be talking to ben wright.valanche of breaking news all seemed to be coming from one place. turmoil in westminster as the prime minister delays the crucial vote on her brexit deal at the 11th hour. there will now be a vote of confidence in my leadership. the prime minister has eight hours to save herjob. we are live at westminster with a bbc news special as prime minister theresa may fights for her political survival. you're watching a bbc news special. live at westminster. good morning and welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt, live at westminster. there was certainly advantages to reporting from the heart of where the story was happening, allowing programmes like victoria derbyshire to capture the divisions in parliament live on our screens. i'm going to talk to your colleague now, james cleverly, conservative mp and vice chair of the conservative party. i gather that you don't necessarily want to talk to each other, so if you want to go... are you happy to? i will go, that's fine. 0k, al

this report from our political correspondent ben wright.that has proved its readiness to defeat the government. the eyes mac to the right 311, the noes the eyes mac to the right 311, the noes to the left. defeated three timesjust noes to the left. defeated three times just yesterday. —— the ayes. the government forced to publish its legal advice and backing a move to put parliament into the driving seat if theresa may's deal is voted down next week. this morning one brexiteer cabinet minister was fuming. i think that there is, as i have written recently, a real danger that the house of commons, which has a natural remain majority, may attempt to steal brexit from the british people. and he wasn't alone. the most important thing to do is to vote for the prime minister's deal, that's the best way to secure brexit and the future of the country. the prime minister, government and parliament will deliver on brexit, thatis parliament will deliver on brexit, that is ourjob and we should all know that that is ourjob and i remain optimistic and conf

it's a crucial week for the british prime minister — here's our political correspondent ben wright atdozens of tory mps have denounced this deal, and opposition parties have lined up against it. however, there will be a five—day debate and that might change some mines. and in dark corners of the palace of westminster in the tea rooms and the bars, tory whips will be imploring their mps to listen to the argument michael gove made today, when he said that this was the only deal on the table and the only one that could guarantee an orderly brexit. i don't get any sense that downing street have given up on the idea of getting this through the house of commons, nor do i get a sense they have some cunning plan b in case it is defeated. it is that which is adding to the sense of frenzy and panic in westminster. everybody is asking what would happen then. theresa may might well have another 90, theresa may might well have another go, bring her deal back and ask mps to vote again, if she is still prime minister. a cross—party group of mps might use that moment to push another referendum, or as

our political correspondent ben wright reports. have you lost control of brexit, prime minister?ng on the third beleaguered brexit plan, theresa may headed off to prime minister's questions this morning and a parliament that has proved its readiness to defeat the government. ice on the right, 311, knows the birth, 293. defeated three dans yesterday, mps forcing the government to publish its legal advice and backing if the put parliament in the driving seat if theresa may's deal is voted down next week. and this morning one brexiteer cabinet minister was fuming. i think that there is, as i have written recently, a real danger that the house of commons, which has a natural majority for remain, may attempt to steal brexit from the british people. and he wasn't alone. the league the most important thing is to wait for the prime minister's brexit deal, that is the way to secure the future for the country. parliament will deliver on brexit, thatis parliament will deliver on brexit, that is a job, we should know that is ourjob and i remain optimistic and confident about that. it is a me

well, our political correspondent ben wright confirmed earlier it does look late tonight as if labour'sis now not going ahead. number 10 sources say they won't go along with what they call silly political games and the government is quite entitled to ignorejeremy corbyn‘s demand today because he wasn't calling for a formal vote of confidence in the government. that would be the big parliamentary zou kai that could potentially collapse the government and lead to a general election, and the process for that is all set out in an act of parliament butjeremy is all set out in an act of parliament but jeremy corbyn is all set out in an act of parliament butjeremy corbyn doesn't wa nt to parliament butjeremy corbyn doesn't want to go there yet because, as laura says, he's only going to pull the trigger when he thinks he might have a chance of winning the vote. today was about piling pressure on the embattled prime minister and trying to capitalise on a political crisis that shows no sign of diminishing, as westminster staggers towards christmas. so today you saw tory mps who were supportive of

joining me now is political correspondent ben wright. she looked a bit taken by —— aback by that.tion, but right question. if that boat fields, her political future will be in doubt. you hear the same lines, the same tone, the same demeanour was you don't get the sense when you listen theresa may that she thinks vote is doomed and she is in desperate political trouble, which she seems to be from here certainly. she doesn't show much emotion about that. is that because she feels she can't? may be seen on something that we don't, i don't know. she never improvises. she sticks rigidly to the lines that she is intent on delivering. she hates engaging in these emotional, hypothetical questions. she gave that question pretty short shrift. she must know that she has a hell of a mountain to climb to begin to chip away at the numbers on her own side who are determined to vote this time in ten days. you don't get a sense of that when you hear herjust there. losing another minister today. could there be more? it is another name on the list of those who are going to rebel and vote against thi

ben wright, in westminster, thank you.on chains have fallen today after the online retailer asos issued a profits warning. its shares slumped by almost 40% as it said it had been affected by heaving discounting last minute. as our business editor, simonjack, reports, high—street woes now appear to be spreading online. a superstar of the online retailing world, asos has been stealing business on the high street for over a decade, but today it found itself going for a pre—christmas knock—down price. it reported it was offering bigger discounts than ever to keep up with the competition. shares in asos crashed 38%, dragging online rival boohoo down 14%. that affected high—street rivals with a big online presence — h&m fell 9%, and next fell 5%. so how and why are things changing now? online retailers don't always experience the same kind of problems the high—street retailers do, but what's happened now is you have this sort of discounting contagion, where everyone is kind of doing it, and that forces everyone's competitors to

let's just cross now to westminster and speak to our correspondent ben wright, who's been following eventsons. we can get the very latest reaction from him. ben, just bring us up—to—date with exactly where we are at so far. chris, another very rough ride for the prime minister. she appears in the commons almost daily now to update mps on what is going on in this saga. she confirmed earlier on in her statement that the delayed vote, which of course was pulled last week, meant to be on december the 11th, will be happening in abouta december the 11th, will be happening in about a month's december the 11th, will be happening in about a months time, the week beginning january the 14th. that was an announcement met with incredulity really across the commons. many mps cannot understand why on earth it is not being done now before mps disappeared for christmas. this is what the prime minister said... we intend to return to the meaningful vote debate in the week commencing 7th of january, and held the vote the following week. mr speaker, when we have the vote... ..when we have the vote, members wil

ben wright, bbc news, westminster.asking the eu for permission. he's in our westminster studio. firstly, the legal advice that was published this morning, one of the reasons the government gave out for not wanting to give up was issues of national security and things like that. there doesn't seem to be any dangers of that, having seen it.|j don't think it is so much national security so much as the idea that the government generally, with legal advice, it likes to control the message, and, as it were, to spain macro what might be said or not. all thatis macro what might be said or not. all that is as happened is that —— to spin what might be said or not. all that has happened is to release the legal advice in its full and unspun form. any legal surprises in it? no, the attorney general‘s statement yesterday mirrors what the legal advice, that he gave, it is just legal advice given in plain and perhaps more starker terms than a general statement might be, but in substance i can't see any difference at all, and i wouldn'

let‘s get more on this from our political correspondent, ben wright, who‘s in westminster.ce and power for britain to be bad for the economy and loses voice and powerfor britain in to be bad for the economy and loses voice and power for britain in the process. theresa may faces a daunting task trying to get close to the house of commons next week. i thought she cut a familiar figure yesterday trying to sell it to as to bubble house of, and is. she must know in our heart it is not going to get through. labour think the whole thing should be renegotiated, they would go back and ask again. someone suggested the eu was bluffing when they said this could not be renegotiated. in the past, the eu has had to re—negotiate. it had to renegotiate the lisbon treaty when a numberof renegotiate the lisbon treaty when a number of ha rlots, renegotiate the lisbon treaty when a numberof harlots, in renegotiate the lisbon treaty when a number of harlots, in particular countries, did not like the original version. so whatever people say there is plenty of form and precedent for renegotiating.

let's be to ben wright who is at westminster. then this is coming from political editor.er after the pmqs tomorrow. the only person who really knows what is going on at this stage is so graham brady, the chair of the 1922 committee. he will know whether the letters are there or not to trigger a contest or a leadership vote in theresa may's position, but certainly, this evening, there is a growing feeling around westminster, a hardening of expectation, the eurosceptic mps have felt that they have got the numbers. but all have the league caveat it, we will not fully know until later on. i was very struck by talking to george freeman, a theresa may's loyalist, a former chair of her policy board, a former minister under david cameron, talking about the policy that it could be... there might be an argument for someone else on a caretaker basis to be in charge of this process after brexit. is that a sense you have picked up, that there is a feeling that perhaps someone else might get more out of brussels,, that they have got fed up of her. i don't get the sense that george free

let's cross to westminster — and join our political correspondent ben wright. right to get out of the backstop if it wa nts to, to get out of the backstop if it wants to, it has to be agreed by both the uk and the eu, but that is something of course the attorney general will be quizzed on when he is in the house of commons chamber later this afternoon. it is a busy day in westminster and already a select committee has been quizzing both the latest brexit secretary stephen barclay and also olly robbins, the prime minister's chief brexit adviser, civil servant, who has been at the heart of all of this now for more than two years, and he was pressed on precisely how the backstop woodwork, and this is what he told mps. i think that the backstop is not the future relationship that either the uk orthe eu future relationship that either the uk or the eu wants to have with one another, and so it is an uncomfortable position for both sides. and the reality, as you know, i think, chair, in evidence from us, but also in your meetings in brussels, is that there is not a wi

our political correspondent ben wright is in westminster.ds about the northern ireland backstop may be convinced by what he had to say? i think this is a little bit of a red harring, this whole argument because edinburgh brexiteers who hate the backstop, they hated because they can read it in all of its glory and nitty—gritty detail in the withdrawal agreement has its fans and also they are learning very much more from the attorney general now although he is confirming what they have always said which is that there is no unilateral escape mechanism from it and that is one of the things they hate about it. the political argument rumbling alongside this how candid the government is being and whether or not they should publish the full legal advice rather than relying on this summery statement from the attorney general. with me now is owen smith, the labour mp. now, some scenes in there i thought. a very charge atmosphere, wasn't it? yes, the attorney general was clearly enjoying himself as he hasn't ever before, but to really important things.

ben wright, bbc news.heir whole world has been turned upside down. the 22—year—old went missing from a hostel in auckland on 1 december. detectives in new zealand say they are still piecing together exactly what happened to her, and building a timeline of events. a 26—year—old man was charged earlier this week with her murder and will appear in court again next month. the crossbench peer lord lester has resigned from the house of lords. the 82—year—old was suspended by the liberal democrats earlier this year, after being accused of sexual harassment 12 years ago. a party spokesman said lord lester had made the right decision. he denies all the allegations against him. debt charities are warning that some of the poorest families in the country will be left relying on food banks over christmas because of universal credit. from today, all new benefit claimants will be signed up to the scheme. many people already on universal credit have complained about their payments being reduced and delayed. the government

let's speak to our political correspondent ben wright, who is in central lobby.e is asking how co mforta bly will win it. everyone is asking how comfortably theresa may will win it and how important the margin of victory might be. this be a tighter and more volatile vote than it might have been had it been held two weeks ago. the vote on the deal on monday has hardened some of the opposition to earth on the tory backbenches. overall the consensus is that she will win. the fundamental parameters and challenges she faces will remain the same, the parliament is com pletely the same, the parliament is completely opposed to the deal she has on the table and she is trying to renegotiate in some form with various eu leaders. this morning trade secretary liam fox said he thought the cabinet wanted to see changes made to that deal. i think it is very difficult to support the deal if we do not get changes to the backstop. i do not think it will get through. i am not sure the cabinet will agree for it to be put through to the house of commons. why is downing street calling

let‘s talk to our political correspondent ben wright at westminster. thing to explain to mps first before confirming it to the rest of us. that is what we expect to happen now. the question is, what a delay is meant to achieve? it puts off what looks like an inevitable and heavy defeat the government were set to experience tomorrow. there is some hope that there is maybe the possibility of going back to eu leaders and fiddling around with the backstop, perhaps extracting some further concessions but the mood from brussels this morning or the sense was that was simply a nonstarter. the commission spokeswoman for the withdrawal agreement was locked down, there was nothing to negotiate. jeremy hunt, he was also in brussels, said the deal on the table is the final offer. it is not clear if the prime minister wanted to get some further concessions from the eu, what those might add up to. then, thank you very much. theresa may has been holding a conference call with cabinet colleagues and it has now resulted, as we understand it, in the news that she‘s going