our political correspondent ben wright reports. she has a deal mps don't want, the eu says it won't renegotiate and we are just weeks away from brexit. but the prime minister appealed for patience in the commons this lunchtime. the talks are at a crucial stage and we now all need to hold our nerve to get the changes this house requires and deliver brexit on time. by getting the changes we need to the backstop, by protecting and enhancing workers' rights and environmental protections, and by enhancing the role of parliament in the next phase of negotiations, i believe we can reach a deal that this house can support. there was nothing unexpected in the prime minister's summary, and the labour leader accused mrs may of deliberate delay. in truth, mr speaker, it appears that the prime minister has just one real tactic — to run down the clock hoping members of this house are blackmailed into supporting a deeply flawed deal. she is intending to get a deal on the backstop to calm the rebellious brexiteers. can she confirm there is

here's our political correspondent, ben wright. week as theresa may tries to deliver on her pledge to secure legally binding changes to the irish backstop, the most contentious part of the brexit deal, there to ensure no hard border on the island of ireland. but today one cabinet minister said changes could be made without reopening the whole agreement. if there are other ways of doing it that are just as effective, that perhaps we haven't explored... so you think a legal letter or codicil or something... ? well, as i say, i don't think it's the mechanism that matters, it's the objective. but something like an extra document bolted onto the withdrawal agreement is unlikely to be enough for backbench tory brexiteers. they want the deal rewritten and the backstop ditched altogether. well, the european union has said that it won't reopen negotiations at all, but that is what you would expect them to be saying until the government goes with a very firm plan. i think the ball is in the government's court. the ayes to the right 258, the

ben wright, bbc news, westminster.ions and is filing for administration. all flights have been cancelled with effect from today. the airline operates 17 regionaljet aircraft and covers routes to 25 european cities. the carrier had seen a dip in profits in recent months. our business correspondent rob young reports. flybmi, no longerflying. it's cancelled all flights with immediate effect. the company is also filing for administration. the carrier flew more than half a million passengers last year. its smalljets operated on routes from aberdeen, bristol, newcastle, east midlands, sta nsted and others, to 25 european cities. passengers who've been affected are anxious. i'm in belgium at the moment and ijust got the bbc alert that flybmi have gone into administration. all the flights for me to return home are really expensive and flybmi have said they won't return the £134 that i initially spent, so i don't know how i'm going to get back. flybmi, based here at east midlands airport, says its collapse was unavoidable. it's

ben wright, bbc news, westminster.football player emiliano sala, who died in a plane crash last month. the 28—year—old was killed two days after signing for cardiff city, when his plane came down in the english channel. from progreso, natalio cosoy reports. applause. emiliano sala's body leaves the grounds of his childhood football club, san martin de progreso, in central argentina. his relatives, friends and neighbours came to say goodbye to the local hero at a private funeral. translation: he never forgot his roots, and that means people have a very fond memory of the kid, of emiliano. sala spent his early years developing his football skills here. he left, aged 14, to pursue bigger opportunities. he was flying from france to cardiff when his plane disappeared over the english channel on 21 january. the bluebirds had paid a club record of £15 million for the player's transfer from ligue1 nantes. two weeks later, the wreckage was found, and shortly afterwards, sala's body was recovered. the pilot, david ibbotson, is s

ben wright reports.ers will continue apace this week as theresa may tries to deliver on her pledge to secure legally binding changes to the irish backstop, the most contentious part of the brexit deal, there to ensure no hard border on the island of ireland. but today, one cabinet minister said changes could be made without reopening the whole agreement. if there are other ways of doing it that are just as effective, that perhaps we haven't explored... so you think a legal letter or codicil or something... ? well, as i say, i don't think it's the mechanism that matters, it's the objective. many brexit enthusiasts on the tory backbenches will not like that. they want the withdrawal deal rewritten or the backstop ditched altogether. well, the european union has said that it won't reopen negotiations at all, but that is what you would expect them to be saying until the government goes with a very firm plan. i think the ball is in the government's court. the ayes to the right, 258. the nos to the left, 303.

ben wright reports.l continue apace this week as theresa may tries to deliver on her pledge to secure legally binding changes to the irish backstop, the most contentious part of the brexit deal, there to ensure no hard border on the island of ireland. but today, one cabinet minister said changes could be made without reopening the whole agreement. if there are other ways of doing it that are just as effective, that perhaps we haven't explored... so you think a legal letter or codicil or something... ? well, as i say, i don't think it's the mechanism that matters, it's the objective. many brexit enthusiasts on the tory backbenches will not like that. they want the withdrawal deal rewritten or the backstop ditched altogether. well, the european union has said that it won't reopen negotiations at all, but that is what you would expect them to be saying until the government goes with a very firm plan. i think the ball is in the government's court. the ayes to the right, 258. the nos to the left, 303. last we

ben wright, bbc news, westminster.ial elections, that were due to take place today — were postponed for a week. nigeria's electoral commission blamed "logistical problems". the country's two main political groups both condemned the move, and accused each other of trying to manipulate the vote. with all the sport now, here's karthi gna nasegaram at the bbc sport centre. good evening. there have been some spectacular upsets in the fifth round of the fa cup in the past, but it is time to pop out of the room if you don't want to know if there were any today, because match of the day follows soon on bbc one. premier league leaders, manchester city couldn't find a way past league two side newport county in the first half of their game at rodney parade. but pep guardiola's men eventually won 4—1 with all of the goals coming in the second half. there were also victories for brighton and millwall. and in the scottish premiership, rangers missed the chance to move to within three points of top of table celtic. steven gerrard's s

ben wright, bbc news.logised and said they will review their approach after failing to investigate racist graffiti. a ten—year—old boy found the words "no blacks" painted on three doors in his block of flats in salford. david yamba found it on the 8th of february, five days after his family had moved in. his fatherjackson reported it to greater manchester police on the same day but didn't receive any response until he tweeted about it last night. millions of workers could see their take—home pay fall from april, when the amount they have to put into their pension pot increases. since 2012, ten million eligible workers have been automatically signed up to workplace pensions, and from april, their contribution will rise from 3% of their salary to 5%. here's our business correspondent rob young. building up a pension pot — sacrificing part of our wages today to pay for a more comfortable retirement. since 2012, 10 million eligible workers have been automatically enrolled in a workplace pension. from april, ma

ben wright, bbc news.g in us military planes on the colombian border. president nicolas maduro denies there's a humanitarian crisis, saying the relief is a cover for a us invasion, and his troops will not let it through. but venezuela's opposition leader juan guaido has called for crowds to converge on the border to collect the aid. our international correspondent orla guerin reports from yare. where the lack of food and medicines are claiming lives. the eyes of the revolution are everywhere. president maduro's militia still trying to keep the people in line. and in the town of yare, locals queue to sign his petition against the us. many here have given years to the socialist cause, and this was a venezuelan showpiece. but the facade is crumbling. if you need medical help in yare, you don't look to the government. it struggles to provide even a painkiller. you come here, to a clinic run by the catholic church, with support from the european union. outside, the local priest, padre pancho, tries to reassure

ben wright, bbc news, westminster.petitors, to try to improve reception in rural areas. ministers want 95% of the uk to have a mobile signal by 2022. more than 20% of the uk is without access to an adequate signal for basic voice services from all mobile operators. thousands of criminals in england and wales will be tagged with gps trackers to allow authorities to constantly monitor their wherabouts. the current tags, which are worn by around 60,000 offenders, are only linked to a fixed address, such as an offender's home, with alerts generated if they are not there at certain hours. our home affairs correspondent danny shaw reports. in we have gps technology in our ca i’s in we have gps technology in our cars and now smartphones. after 100 yards... now, it is being used to track movements of offenders and suspects on bail. this is a demonstration of how the satellite tags are fitted, using inexpert who has helped to set up the scheme. the ankle tag sends an alert if someone goes to an area they are banned from 01’ goe

our political correspondent, ben wright, has this assessment from westminster.t the moment and it has been tumultuous, chaotic and no one knows really where we are going. it has been clear for a long time that there are many labour mps very angry about jeremy corbyn‘s leadership of the labour party, he is on the far left, a great fan of tony ben and had been on the extreme left of the labour party, sidelined and nobody paying much attention for the last 20 years and now he is in charge and the large moderate block in parliament, labour mps have been there a long time and very uncomfortable about this and his approach to brexit. that is particular anger about how he has handled anti—semitism crisis that has gripped the labour party, evidence that some labour activists certainly online have been anti—semitic and abusing labour mps and there is disquiet about that. that has boiled over and several labour mps have said they cannot take it any more and are throwing in the towel and will set in the house of commons as independents and you asked whether this will snowb

our political correspondent ben wright reports.by declare that the said ian austin is elected as member of parliament for the dudley north constituency. an mp since 2000 and 535 years in the labour party, the son of a refugee from the holocaust. but today ian austin said he had finally had it with jeremy but today ian austin said he had finally had it withjeremy corbyn ‘s led labour party. it's the most difficult decision i've ever had to ta ke difficult decision i've ever had to take but i am taking it because i have become ashamed at the labour party, if i'm honest. one of the main reasons ijoined the labour party as a teenager here in dudley more than 35 years ago was to fight racism and i could never have believed that i would leave the labour party because of racism. believed that i would leave the labour party because of racismm was labour ‘s handling of anti—semitism within its ranks that has triggered his resignation. the i’ow has triggered his resignation. the row dragged on for two years prompting protests in parliament a

ben wright reports. continue apace this week as theresa may tries to deliver on her pledge to secure legally binding changes to the irish backstop, the most contentious part of the brexit deal, there to ensure no hard border on the island of ireland. but today, one cabinet minister said changes could be made without reopening the whole agreement. if there are other ways of doing it that are just as effective, that perhaps we haven't explored... so you think a legal letter or codicil or something... ? well, as i say, i don't think it's the mechanism that matters, it's the objective. many brexit enthusiasts on the tory backbenches will not like that. they want the withdrawal deal rewritten or the backstop ditched altogether. well, the european union has said that it won't reopen negotiations at all, but that is what you would expect them to be saying until the government goes with a very firm plan. i think the ball is in the government's court. the ayes to the right, 258. the noes to the left, 303. last we

our political correspondent ben wright is here. how serious is this?the chancellor to have a low—key visit with chinese officials imminently. the treasury today said that the visit was ever announced or confirmed but there has clearly been picked up and the visit 110w clearly been picked up and the visit now is not going ahead. it may or may not have something to do with this pretty lacklustre speech that the defence secretary gavin williamson made last monday talking about sending the uk‘s aircraft character —— carrier to the pacific. that will be noticed in china. and today the former chancellor george osborne said that the government china strategy was all conceivable and a reminder of how sensitive the relationship is between china and the uk. in recent years rainbow bootlaces have become a way for sportsmen and women to show their support for the lgbt community. but now non—league football team altrincham have taken it to a new level by playing a game in a whole rainbow kit. our reporterjo currie was at the match. altrincham football club was look

our political correspondent ben wright reports. so, will there be more?ay three conservative mps strode out of the partyjoining the eight who split from labour on monday. its opposition to brexit that binds them, while the prime minister hopes to keep brexit on track and her party together the split has caused regret in the cabinet. sad to lose three, good, committed colleagues so we will see what happens next. how serious is this? it is serious and we are in a very serious time as we try to get the right outcome for the uk on leaving the european union so i hope we will all be able to support the prime minister and get the deal through next week. that suggests parliament could be presented with a revised brexit deal soon as next week. there are many tory mps and ministers who insist the uk must not leave the eu without a deal and that could be the issue the triggers more defections. a deal and that could be the issue the triggers more defectionsm a deal and that could be the issue the triggers more defections. if we simply become the brexit party, then i

the vice thank you, ben wright in westminster.d casualties, but staffordshire fire service says the blades affected much of the building and some parts of the structure may not be saved. the fire has completely consumed one wing of the building, it has broken through the roof and we have used several jets to fight the fire from both the exterior of the building and the inside of the building. patients at the facility are treated for mental health difficulties and police say that during the incident one patient left the scene but was found a short time later. all patients will now be transferred to other facilities. patients will now be transferred to otherfacilities. police say patients will now be transferred to other facilities. police say a 43—year—old man has been detained on suspicion of arson and they are appealing for any witnesses to come forward. democratic and republican negotiators in the us say they‘ve reached an agreement in principle on border security that they hope will avoid a second government shutdown. no detail

let's get the latest from our political correspondent ben wright in westminster.nd of depends who you ask about this moment in british politics. some people say this could be the beginning of something extraordinary, other people say it really does not amount to much, there are only 11 of them and there you go? true, charlie, it could be a small landslip of british politics or the beginning of something significant, an avalanche that changes the shape of british politics has been a bit. we simply do not know. what is true is that this new group has had a good launch, and there is clearly a momentum to it and clearly those three tories, so quickly to cross the floor and then launch the blistering attack they did on the current tory party in that press conference yesterday was powerful stuff. i know that a number of tory mps and ministers privately would agree with almost every word they said. the question is whether any more will cross the floor and join this new group. ifeel more will cross the floor and join this new group. i feel it's unlikely although last nigh

our political correspondent ben wright reports.in is elected as member of parliament for the dudley north constituency. an mp since 2005, 35 years in the labour party, the son of a refugee from the holocaust. but today iain austin said he had finally had it withjeremy corbyn‘s led labour party. i think underjeremy corbyn‘s leadership, there has been a culture of extremism and intolerance that's been allowed to develop, and anti—semitism that's been allowed to develop and has flourished, and i think jeremy corbyn has not taken it nearly seriously enough, i think he's incapable, if i'm honest, i've dealing with it properly. and i think he's refused to get to grips with this. it is labour's handling of anti—semitism within its ranks that has triggered his resignation. the row dragged on for two years, prompting protests in parliament and promises from jeremy corbyn to stamp out anti—semitism within the labour movement. but when seven labour mps quit the party on monday, they cited the leadership‘s handling of anti—semitism as well as

our political correspondent ben wright reports.not be negotiated and we are just weeks away from brexit. but the prime minister appealed for patience in the commons this lunchtime possibly talks are at a crucial stage and we now all need to hold our nerve to get the changes this house requires and deliver brexit on time. by getting the changes we need to be back stop, by protecting and enhancing workers' rights and environmental protections, and by enhancing the role of parliament in the next phase of negotiations, i believe we can reach a deal that this house can support. there was nothing unexpected in the prime minister's summary and the labour leader accused her of deliberate delay. in truth, it appears that the prime minister has just one real tactic, to run down the clock hoping members of this house are blackmailed into supporting a deeply flawed deal. and the eu side does not seem to be budging over the irish after talks with the brexit secretary in brussels last night, their chief negotiator said the deal was done. it is c

let's cross to westminster now where our political correspondent ben wright has more.t defeats like this are being routine in westminster these days. this was a defeat for the government, 67 tories abstained and another five actually voted against the government on this motion. the vast majority of conservative mps who decided the government lips were members of the eig, euro sceptics who did not like this motion because they felt it did not sufficiently rule out a no—deal brexit. but a handful too of pro remain tories who added to this rebellion against the government. so another bad night for theresa may. no question about that. this motion was symbolic, it doesn't really change very much but it shows the fragility of her authority. also it reveals i thought behind the scenes in the corridors and afterwards be real anger that now exists within the tory party between members of the erg and the mainstream middle, many of whom want to get over the line and those who wa nt to get over the line and those who want another referendum. this is com pletely want another refere

let's chat to our political correspondent ben wright at westminster.as been the labour mp for dudley north since 2005. he was a minister in the gordon brown government, towards the end. a well respected labour backbencher, a very small majority, his constituency at the moment, only 22. but he has launched a blistering attack on the party leadership as he has walked out. it was expected that if there was going to be another labour defection in the next few days, ian austin was the top of everyone's watch list. he has been in despairof everyone's watch list. he has been in despair of how the party has been handling anti—semitism for a very long time. he had a big run in with the party chairman, ian lavery, last summer, which put him under investigation, actually, with how he approached the discussions with the party chairman. in his resignation interview that he has done with the local paper, he said a culture of extremism, anti—semitism and intolerance was driving good people and mps out of the labour party. he is very cross. this is what he said this m

to push for "other available options" including a general election. 0ur political correspondent ben wrighteparate the parliamentary party, i think, from the wider membership. i think among labour party members there will be a degree of delight that finally, after many months of waiting for what they will feel is the decision taken to the party conference to solidify in a firm commitment at the dispatch box committing labour to a second referendum has finally happened. we believe the labour party membership overwhelmingly want another referendum. the parliamentary party is far more divided. i think there is a lot of scepticism among labour mp5 about the wisdom of going so firmly now, rhetorically at least, down the path ofa rhetorically at least, down the path of a referendum. i think if we were to get to the moment of a goat, when the house of commons has to decide if they want another referendum or not, i think you would see dozens and dozens of labour mp5 who might d efy and dozens of labour mp5 who might defy their own party leadership and vote against another referendum. labour in parl

wright rigueur. she's a professor of public policy at harvard university's kennedy school of government. lae's also the author of "the loneliness of the republican." and welcome to you both. eugene, i want to ben with you here. middle east following governor northam's pictures surfacin from that year book, there was a strong collective call for h resignation. that subsided somewhat. unpack how that has evolved. >> i think what democrats in virginia have come to realize is the complexity of what's happening in their state at the top levels. you have the three most powerful lsliticians, all democrats, all in scandalo that a year ago democrats would have easilyi called for tr resignation over. i think what they have come to realize, though, is that if all three of these individuals lea office that the most powerful politician in virginia will be a rean, and we have to remember that, after the midteom elec there was some discussion about how virginia had finally turned blue consistently, and if these three men leave their position, that won't be thease, and i think some on the left are trying to aluere out where their v are, what's most important and what's at risk long term. >> nawaz: professor r

our political correspondent ben wright reports.he dudley north constituency. an mp since 2000 and 35 years in the labour party, the son of a refugee from the holocaust. but today ian austin said he had finally had it withjeremy corbyn‘s led labour party. underjeremy corbyn‘s leadership, there has been a culture of extremism and tolerance that has been allowed to develop, and anti—semitism has flourished, and i thinkjeremy corbyn hasn't taken it nearly seriously enough. i think he is incapable of dealing with it, and he has refused to get to grips with this. it was labour's handling of anti—semitism within its ranks that has triggered his resignation. the row dragged on for two years prompting protests in parliament and promises from jeremy corbyn to stamp out anti—semitism in the labour movement. but when seven labour mps quit the party on monday, they cited the leadership‘s handling of anti—semitism as well as a big reason for leaving. today they showed their solidarity for their former colleague by saying mr austin stayed true to

our political correspondent ben wright reports. so, will there be more?strode out of the party joining the eight who split from labour on monday. it's opposition to brexit that binds them, while the prime minister hopes to keep brexit on track and her party together the split has caused regret in the cabinet. sad to lose three, good, committed colleagues so we will see what happens next. how serious is this? it is serious and we are in a very serious time as we try to get the right outcome for the uk on leaving the european union so i hope we will all be able to support the prime minister and get the deal through next week. that suggests parliament could be presented with a revised brexit deal soon as next week. there are many tory mps and ministers who insist the uk must not leave the eu without a deal and that could be the issue the triggers more defections. if we simply become the brexit party, then i do not believe we have a successful future ahead of us. so you would leave? i don't think i'd be able to stay part of a party that was simply a brexit pa

our political correspondent ben wright reports. so, will there be more?terday three conservative mps strode out of the party joining the eight who split from labour on monday. it's opposition to brexit that binds them, while the prime minister hopes to keep brexit on track and her party together the split has caused regret in the cabinet. sad to lose three, good, committed colleagues so we will see what happens next. how serious is this? it is serious and we are in a very serious time as we try to get the right outcome for the uk on leaving the european union so i hope we will all be able to support the prime minister and get the deal through next week. that suggests parliament could be presented with a revised brexit deal soon as next week. there are many tory mps and ministers who insist the uk must not leave the eu without a deal and that could be the issue the triggers more defections. if we simply become the brexit party, then i do not believe we have a successful future ahead of us. so you would leave? i don't think i'd be able to stay part of a par

our political correspondent ben wright is at westminster.from mr austen ofjeremy corbyn cosmic leadership and saying the current left hand completely taken over the party, what is the response going to be, ifany, party, what is the response going to be, if any, from leadership? pretty curt, the leadership has said, a labour party spokesperson has said they regret ian austin going and they regret ian austin going and they think that now he should stand again and have a by—election and contest his seat. end of statement. for ian austin, this has been a big deal, he has been top of everybody‘s watch all week, as we looked around to see if the labour number of defections would grow. ian austin has made his despair with the labour party very clear in recent weeks and months. primarily about anti—semitism, how it has handled that issue within its own ranks, he has had a number of run—ins with the leadership about that and is furious with how the party has handled the issue, his father was a refugee from the holocaust and he feels the labour leader