thank you, ben wright.x flight data indicates "clear similarities" between last week's crash of an ethiopian airlines 737 max and the same model flown by lion air, which crashed off the coast of indonesia in october. a preliminary report into last sunday's crash, which killed 100 and 57 people, will be released in about a month. which killed 157 people, will be released in about a month. warming air and sea temperatures are causing arctic glaciers to melt, and now the increasing rainfall is creating problems for animals, like reindeer. radio 4 today programme presenter martha kearney, has travelled to the region to see the effects of climate change, with british researchers. this former mining village has the feel of a frontier town in the wild west. 0ur posse headed out from the base on snowmobiles. i havejoined a convoy of scientists heading across the tundra towards a glacier — one of the most studied in the arctic. this is the edge of the original glacier where the ice brought huge boulders down. but si

ben wright, bbc news.ght, who we heard from in that report. he told me that the issue of a second referendum and labour backing it returned again on the agenda today. labour's constantly shifting around the question of a referendum. we know what the labour party conference passed in the autumn of last year, which was that labour has to get behind it, if all other demands have failed. there will be an opportunity, it seems, the deal comes back this week for mps to vote on sunday, called the wilson kyle amendment. two labour mps are putting forward an amendment that makes support of the pm's deal conditional on a ratification referendum, later on. jeremy corbyn was saying, today, that he was minded to ask his mps to back that. what's less clear is if that passes, whether he would still then backed the government's actual motion to approve the deal. we're not going to know until we see the actual amendment itself, i don't think. there is clearly tension between the labour leadership and labour party membershi

ben wright, bbc news.ster says black box flight data indicates clear similarities between last week's crash of an ethiopian airlines 737 max 8 and the same model flown by lion air, which crashed off the coast of indonesia in october. a preliminary report into last sunday's crash, which killed 157 people, will be released in about a month. counter—terror police say a stabbing at stanwell in surrey last night has hallmarks of a terror event inspired by the far—right. officers were called to reports of a man carrying a baseball bat and a knife, shouting racist comments. a 50—year—old man was arrested. another man was taken to hospital with non—life threatening injuries. areas across the uk are still at risk of flooding after persistent heavy rain yesterday led to dozens of flood warnings being issued. the majority are for parts of yorkshire, from where our correspondent luxmy gopal reports. a village road turned into a river. ca rs a village road turned into a river. cars were left abandoned in flood waters i

ben wright, bbc news. we return to the top story.o pay their respects to the fifty people who died as a result of the new zealand mosque attacks. the couple joined the irish guards and theirfamilies in remembering the victims at a st patrick's day parade in west london. the duchess then handed out baskets of shamrock, and the duke, who is colonel of the irish guards, took the salute. we have been covering events from new zealand as the whole country continues to really real and try and come to terms with what has happened in those terror attacks. my colleague clive myrie has been speaking to the mayor of christchurch lianne dalziel. it has been this reallyjust believe that this could happen here in christchurch. and i think the reality is that we were chosen for a reason. we are a safe city and a safe country. and that's why this happened here. and i'm not going to give a voice to the hatred and the expressions that are seen to be the motives behind this. but i'm pleased to see city leaders around the world standing up against islamo

ben wright, bbc news. and benjoins us now from westminster. ben, what is going to happen this week?is a very dicey business and it's impossible to be certain where brexit ricochets next. we do know theresa may will be in brussels on thursday for a summit of eu leaders and they will talk about an extension to the brexit process, a three month extension if she goes with a deal, a longer extension if she can't. you can hear the protests here are still going on even in the middle of the night. it's all about the numbers here in parliament. if she's got any chance of getting this deal through, she needs to get the dup on board. if there are ten in piece swing behind the deal i think a good chunk of conservative mps will follow suit and the prime minister has been speaking to tory mps all weekend. a core of tory brexiteers look unlikely to budge, though, and no 10 will want some labour mps to defy though, and no 10 will want some labour mps to denyeremy corbyn and get behind the deal too. if there is a vote on tuesday or wednesday, it looks like it will be very tight. but we are now at a

ben wright at westminster, thank you.one into administration, putting 500 jobs at risk. the high—end brand — worn by celebrities including the duchess of cambridge — has 39 stores, five of which will close immediately. administrators say they're continuing to look for a buyer. the former foster carers of an iraqi teenager who left a bomb on a tube train in 2017, injuring more than 50 people, are suing surrey county council. they say officials were negligent in failing to tell them that ahmed hassan had been trained to kill by the islamic state group. he'd built the bomb in secret, while in the care of ron and pennyjones, who've been speaking to our legal correspondent, clive coleman. horror on the tube. a partially detonated bomb sends a fireball down the carriage, burning morning commuters, who stampede to escape. the bomber is ahmed hassan, an iraqi asylum seeker who, unbeknown to his foster parents, ron and pennyjones, had confessed to immigration officials he'd been trained to kill by the islamic state group. 18 month

our political correspondent ben wright reports.ands of northern england, and cities such as stoke—on—trent, the government is promising more money for new infrastructure and training in struggling english towns aware the vote in favour of brexit was high. struggling english towns aware the vote in favour of brexit was highlj think this really can make a difference and really help ensure that some communities that have not felt they have been touched in the same way by growth in the economy on prosperity feel this too, and we are ensuring that all of our country can be confident as we look to the future. a16p be confident as we look to the future. a1 6p pot will be available, and most of that has been allocated to areas already, the three largest recipients of funds will be the north east of england, followed by the midlands, and north—eastern humber. —— will be the north west of england, followed by the midlands, and yorkshire and humber. today, some of those labour mps said the money promised was pathetic. this isn't going to answ

ben wright, bbc news.ng at stanwell in surrey last night has hallmarks of a terror incident inspired by the far—right. officers were called to reports of a man carrying a baseball bat and a knife, shouting racist comments. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds gave us more details from new scotland yard. this happened at 10:30pm last night, a man around heathrow shouting racist comments, being threatening to people. some eyewitnesses said he was striking out at passing cars. he had a baseball bat and a knife. at one point a 19—year—old man who was sitting in his car was attacked with that knife antibodies hands up to defend himself according to his wife and luckily he only suffered some less serious injuries. a big armed police response, the man was arrested, he is 50 years old, and a nearby house has been searched for much of the day. this afternoon, most senior counterterrorism officer in the country, assistant commissioner neil basu said this was being treated as a terrorist incident and it did hav

first let's go to our political correspondent, ben wright who's in westminster. but nobody knows. there is political palat —— paralysis here with precedent. if a deal had passed through the house of commons by the close of play tomorrow, the eu said we could be out, brexit could happen by may 22. if it doesn't go through by the end of tomorrow then the government has until the 12th of april to come up with an alternative plan after having discussions with mp5 about some sort of option, a plan b through this crisis. theresa may laid herfinal card last night without meeting of tory mp5, promising them she would go soon after her deal had gone through and promising them she would not be there for the next phase of negotiations. that did a loss to win over many of her brexiteers, a who think she has screwed up the negotiations i don't want to there for the second phase. but it hasn't gone over enough. there is still a ha rd gone over enough. there is still a hard pocket of conservative mp5 who hate the steel and are not persuaded. and most crucially, the democratic u

let‘s speak now to our political correspondent ben wright in westminster. uk closely aligned, something to get a majority in parliament which is a challenge if as seems likely the deal is rejected again. just clarify one thing for us which still remains, which is, by law, the 29th of march is still the date we leave the eu? that is right, it is in uk and eu law. the fact there will be an extension deals with the eu law issue but the government will have to change a statute here to scrub out march 29 from the legislation and replace it with something else. not a complicated process, it takes a couple of days to go through parliament using parliamentary procedure but it has to happen. to reset the clock even for a short time. it will feel too many there is some breathing space for everyone to regather their thoughts, calm down, think clearly about what they want to happen next. it doesn‘t make the outcome anymore certain, we are in the middle of a big political crisis, the pressure is off the government and parliament a bit after brussels last night. thank you

our political correspondent, ben wright, is here. ben, is it a surprise he quit his local party?ped before he was pushed. today, nick boles says he has no regrets about working to stop and no brexit and cooperating with mps from other parties. the irony is he is one of the many tory mps who backed remain in the referendum but now supports a prime minister's deal to get brexit done. he has voted for that twice already and will back it again if it comes back to the commons next week. if the government has any chance of getting that withdrawal agreement three, number 10 needs to persuade the dozens of tory brexit enthusiasts to swing behind the deal but they hate it. in particular the irish backstop. today there has been a lull in the brexit drama but behind the scenes are truly website been hammering the phones, trying to persuade those tory rebels to get behind the deal, whatsapp groups have been buzzing, the prime minister has been on the phone to backbenchers. but there is a lot of work to do. they are trying to win over the dup as well, who will be critical in all of this. they

critics, including the democratic unionists, were still work in progress. 0ur political correspondent ben wright, 391. the noes have it, the noes have it. 75 tory mps rebelled. with days to go until the uk is meant to leave the eu, the government will try again probably. we will only bring the deal back if we are confident that enough of our collea g u es we are confident that enough of our colleagues and the du p are prepared to supported so that we can get it through parliament, and we're not going tojust keep through parliament, and we're not going to just keep presenting through parliament, and we're not going tojust keep presenting it through parliament, and we're not going to just keep presenting it if we haven't the dial. the government needs to persuade dozens of tories and the dup to back the deal. some conservative mps have changed their mind. the rest are being warned of the consequences if they don't. clearly, if we don't get this deal through, we are almost certainly going to have to fight a european parliamentary election, almost certainly going to have to have a longer extension.

earlier our political correspondent ben wright told me this disagreement has been going on for some timeut of step about what should happen if there is no deal reached with the eu. they both have been arguing for a long time and that has been completely unacceptable and he had been making that argument publicly. his local association thought that a no—deal brexit should remain on the table, so that's been the root of their disagreement. but nick boles was a remainer during the referendum, since then he has been supportive of the prime minister and he has voted twice already for the withdrawal deal that there is on the table. he'll vote for it again next week, but i think the fact that he was being so public in a prosing a no—deal brexit, that was being so public in opposing a no—deal brexit, that angered his local party. he's also been working with other mps from other parties to come up with a softer version of brexit, the norway option, if the prime minister's deal goes down. all of this has been a red rag to his local organisation and it shows that brexit has divided the country, its

we'll have more on that in a moment from ben wright in westminster.he case of the northern ireland secretary karen bradley, who's also been saying sorry. let's talk to emma vardy in belfast. what has she been apologising for? yesterday in the house of commons, karen bradley said that killings by security services during the troubles in northern ireland were not crimes, that they were by people carrying out their duty in a dignified way. now this is such a contentious issue in northern ireland, not least because there are a number of unresolved investigations at the moment, looking at the deaths of unarmed civilians attributed to police and the british army. just next week, former british army soldiers are due to find out whether they will face prosecution for their involvement in bloody sunday in which 14 civilians we re bloody sunday in which 14 civilians were killed. she has faced a lot of criticism for this and today karen bradley has issued a sincere apology, saying she is profoundly sorry that her words were wrong but it is not the first time she

our political correspondent ben wright is at westminster and gave us this update.rly nasty and had to stop. she was sticking up for diana and being supportive but at one point she described her as a coloured woman. it is definitely worse if you are a woman and were support if you are coloured woman. diana gets a huge amount of abuse and that is something that needs to be continued to call out the cold out. it was a revealing choice of words that was outdated and offensive, was the message on twitter. it was such an old—fashioned racial term message on twitter. it was such an old —fashioned racial term that really just today and emma old —fashioned racial term that reallyjust today and emma rudd apologised very quickly saying she was mortified by her clumsy language and said sorry to diana abbot. she will not want to have stumbled into this dispute around race and language. the fashion retailer l k bennett, has gone into administration, putting 500 jobs at risk. the high end brand worn by celebrities, including the duchess of cambridge, has 39 stores, five of which

our political correspondent ben wright gave us some background to latest developments.onsistently supported the prime minister's deal in the last few weeks, he has voted for it, but the difficulty, the tension between him and his party is that he has four months also said that there should be under no circumstances a no—deal brexit at the end of march. he was making that argument very forcefully, to the clear irritation of his local party members who thought that no—deal brexit should be contemplated and should be on the table. he has also been very prominent working with mps from other parties, trying to find agreement and consensus around a different sort of economic relationship with the european union after brexit, to the one that the prime minister envisages, sort of the norway option, and he has been working on that. clearly all this has put him out of kilter with his own party, who have locally, made it clear that they do not want him as their candidate at the next election and are on the brink of trying to deselect him. he has really jumped before he was pushed.

let's speak to our political correspondent, ben wright, whojoins me now. to this resignation. he was a remainder during the referendum but has consistently supported the prime minister's deal in the last few weeks, he has voted for it but the difficulty, the tension between him and his party is that he has also said that they should have not accept no deal under any circumstances. the thought that in no—deal brexit should be contemplated and on the table, he has also been very prominently working with mps of other parties to find agreement and consensus around a different sort of economic relationship after brexit to the one that the prime minister envisages, the norway option and he has been working on that behind the scenes, this is put him out of kilter with his own party that have made it clear that they do not want him to be their candidate at the next election and trying to deselect an injury has really jumped election and trying to deselect an injury has reallyjumped before he was supposed to. you're supposed to bea was supposed to. you're supposed

ben wright, bbc news, westminster. there are so many options still open, ben.he personal pressure like now on the prime minister? kate, it's intense. across the tory party, mps talk freely about her collapsing authority. they criticise her tone and tactics. she has returned from brussels further diminished, because she has been handed a route map through this crisis by the eu. they had to figure out her next steps. so much of the prime minister's future is now entwined in this deal that she is clinging on to and insists it is the only way to deliver brexit. there will be another vote on that, we think next week. but the problems she faces trying to get that through are the same now, if not worse than they were a few days ago. the dup don't back it. dozens of tory mps hate it. labour show no sign of swinging behind it. so if that goes down and isn't past, then we are into what is called indicative votes, a process of trying to sift through the various other sorts of brexit there might be, something softer, something more like norway's relationship with the eu, m

we will talk to ben wright our political correspondent in a minute and we will be live in strasbourgithdrawal agreement will guarantee that the eu cannot act with the intent of applying the backstop indefinitely. if they do, it can be challenged through arbitration, and if they are found to be in breach, the uk can suspend the backstop. the backstop is the insurance policy designed to make sure the border on the island of ireland remains open in all circumstances, by keeping the uk in a customs union with the eu. last night's talks resulted in a welter of documents, legal instruments, statements and declarations, some of them legally binding, about how the backstop could be avoided and how the uk might suspend it in some circumstances in the future. and, if we vote for this improved deal... mps debated brexit until nearly midnight. this morning, only one thing matters — numbers. can the prime minister persuade enough mps who rejected the withdrawal agreement the first time round, two months ago, to bring themselves to back it now? i will certainly be very influenced by what the dup d

let's go over there now and talk to our correspondent ben wright. the eu deciding the timetable. happen next, is it any more likely mps will support ideal? the eu has released —— relieved some of the pressure. the question whether her deal will go through is still pertinent. that is one route, that brexit can happen still if the deal positively parliament next week, then the uk will leave on may 22. allowing time for the additional legislation to go through. it remains a massive if, looking unlikely a few days ago. it is looking less likely now. hard to see that anything in brussels will swing brexit is who hate the deal behind it all convinced the dup or win enough labour mps to can —— to get the deal through. we are looking at plan b presented to the prime minister by the eu which will involve a couple of weeks of parliament and the government trying to come up finally with a consensus around an alternative, that could be around an alternative, that could be a reworked political declaration, a twea k to a reworked political declaration, a tweak to the deal, or something more si

our poltical correspondent ben wright is in westminster.at the immediate response has been to this extension, and the way in which theresa may has been perceived? she returns to westminster today, i think, damaged at the end of a torrid couple of days for her. across the tory party there is anger at how she has handled this, her tone, tactics, approach. it feels she is in difficulty in terms of her leadership of the tory party, putting it mildly. she needs to wrestle back control over this process and number 10 and parliament will be relieved there has been a reprieve. it felt 2a hours ago we could be heading quickly towards the buffers next friday and a potential no deal begs it if this deal were voted down again, and if the eu as it seemed possible was not prepared to countenance an extension. so there will be a delay. number 10 will try to get the deal through again next week, we believe. the chances of that going to have not increased, they have gone down since she made her statement on wednesday night. it is very hard to see how the nu

ben wright is with me this morning.were supposed to be leaving the european union. i think really, theresa may is daring mps of both parties who say they wa nt mps of both parties who say they want this to happen devoted on the day it was meant happen, i think she wa nts to day it was meant happen, i think she wants to force them to really confront the choice that is there on the table because if this went through, brexit would happen on may the 22nd. that is an interesting point you're making because in some ways, on a level, there is little difference apart from the split of the deal. what you are saying is a lot of this may be about the emotions of this day and this vote. yes, that is light. i think there is a change to the last time she presented this two weeks ago, taking up presented this two weeks ago, taking up the political declaration about the future, just focusing mps on the divorce. 0f the future, just focusing mps on the divorce. of course, she has also told her own mps that if this deal goes through, she

— including the democratic unionists — were still work in progress. 0ur political correspondent ben wrightfeat. with days to go until the uk is meant to leave the eu, the government will try again, probably. we will only bring the deal back if we are confident that enough of our colleagues and the dup are prepared to support it so we can the dup are prepared to support it so we can get it through parliament, and we are notjust going to keep presenting it if we haven't moved the dial. the government needs to persuade dozens of toadies and the dup to back the deal. some conservative mps have changed their mind, the rest are being warned of the consequences if they don't. mind, the rest are being warned of the consequences if they don'tm we don't get this deal through we are almost certainly going to have to find a european parliamentary election, almost certainly going to have to have a longer extension. labour looks likely to back a plan to make its mps support for video conditional on being put to a public vote. theresa may's deal has been rejected by parliament and rumour has it she's bri

our political correspondent, ben wright, reports.ial heartlands of northern england, and cities such as stoke—on—trent, the government is promising more money for new infrastructure and training in struggling english towns, where the vote in favour of brexit was high. struggling english towns, where the vote in favour of brexit was highlj think this really can make a difference and really help ensure that some communities that have not felt that they have been touched in the same way by growth in the economy, on prosperity, feel this and that we are ensuring that all of our country can be confident as we look to the future. a1 6p hot will be available and most of that has been allocated to areas already, the three largest recipients of funds will be the north—west of england. there is brexit politics in all of this. labour mps representing lever voting constituencies such as stoke have been pushing hard for more investment and the is hoping it can persuade some of them to support the prime minister's deal but today some of those labo

ben wright is in westminster. 23 days to go — i mean, is there any hope now that a deal can be reachedy think will happen next week if they think will happen next week if they bill will go through are not? nobody knows. one said to be that it can go either way in single digits. they felt that that the batteries and nate might set that will not be the same as the one injanuary. so much hinges on what, if anything, it jeffrey cox can come back from that backstop. listening to sandy wasn't there, you had the death of his opposition to that backstop as it is at the moment. —— the depth of the opposition said that backstop at the moment. i thought today, that on the racket statement from that european commission and that nothing has been achieved self i proved that the state of these talks clearly are in some difficulty. that is very little time left to get that sort of progress that theresa may is looking for. what sort of efforts might be focused on vessels in the next coming days and? on an official level, the talks are continuing to find a path, compromise through, we wait to see itjeff

our political correspondent ben wright is here.'t really care about their relationship? yeah, she thought she had a friend there. she will probably take that with a bit ofa will probably take that with a bit of a shrug, maybe get used to donald trump shooting from the hip here. but it is a sentiment echoed widely in the house of commons and on her own side. george freeman, we had backbenchers saying that theresa may has to go at the earliest opportunity. and there is a feeling now in the tory party that she cannot be the person to lead them through phase two. if they are resolved and that way and the rumours are that ——cabinet—— feels that way, as well, they can't do a vote of no—confidence, how do they get rid of her? she is safe until december, 12 months on from when the previous challenge happened. but if cabinet no longer supports the prime minister and they don't want her to be at the helm, then power erodes from under the prime minister very quickly and they would need to be quite clear she can't carry on. they wa nted quite

our political correspondent ben wright reports.ol to the old industrial heartlands of northern england, and cities such as stoke—on—trent, the government is promising more money for new infrastructure and training in struggling english towns, where the vote in favour of brexit was high. i think this really can make a difference and really help ensure that some communities that have not felt that they have been touched in the same way by growth in the economy, on prosperity, feel this too and that we are ensuring that all of our country can be confident as we look to the future. a 1.6 billion pot will be available and most of that has been allocated to areas already, according to need, the three largest recipients of funds will be the north—west of england. there is brexit politics in all of this. labour mps representing leave voting constituencies such as stoke have been pushing hard for more investment and the government is hoping it can persuade some of them to support the prime minister's deal but today some of those labour mps

let's go live to westminster and speak to our political correspondent ben wright.ular so we haven't gotten very far yet. almost eight diplomatic way of saying we had a pretty big row about this. it feels we have reached a bit of a hump here. almost insurmountable problem between pe and to the uk, thatis problem between pe and to the uk, that is now becoming clarified. they've been talking about what to do on the backstop now for two months. since the house of commons first rejected theresa may's deal and saint geoffrey cox an brexit secretary back to brussels to try and renegotiate the irish backstop, the mechanism for ensuring the hard border on the island. many tory and peter want a unilateral exit mechanism for the uk. 0rfor this backstop mechanism for the uk. 0rfor this ba cksto p to mechanism for the uk. 0rfor this backstop to be ditched altogether and taken out of the withdrawal agreement. that will not be possible. for theresa may to have any hope of getting this deal through again next tuesday, geoffrey cox has got to come back from the eu at some point bef

she said: our political correspondent ben wright is following the story for us., clearly, amber rudd clattered into a really difficult and controversial row here about language and race. this was in the context of an interview in which she was straining to say that she understood how difficult it was for, in particular, black and minority ethnic women suffering online abuse, the trolling they get and how important it is that it they get and how important it is thatitis they get and how important it is that it is stopped and called out. it is when she called diane abbott a coloured woman that this erupted, diane abbott responded as you saw, and it was inevitable therefore that amber rudd would quickly have to respond and apologise profusely in a way that she did. but it was a striking phrase to use, such an old—fashioned phrase, striking phrase to use, such an old —fashioned phrase, it striking phrase to use, such an old—fashioned phrase, it is outdated, it is a racial slur that really jars now, and outdated, it is a racial slur that reallyjars now, and i think am

here's our political correspondent ben wright. brexit delayed, a crisis eased.this morning, theresa may knows control over the brexit process could soon be in the hands of parliament. if she fails again to get her deal through the house of commons next week. if you want a brexit deal, you have to have this withdrawal agreement. unless people realise that by tuesday, we are in a very serious problem. if the deal is passed by mps next week, the eu says brexit could happen on may the 22nd, giving parliament time to get all the necessary laws through. but few here think there is much of a chance of that happening. dozens of tories hate it and even those that voted for it last time think theresa may has blown it. she has picked up the crumbs they have thrown at her. it's absolutely humiliating. she will come back to westminster next week and then try and get her deal over the line with nothing new to offer the dup. defeat again would mean mps and the government have until april the 12th to prove to the eu that there is a plan b, an agreed way out of this crisis that

our political correspondent ben wright gave us the latest.larly online, and she said during the course of that interview that it during the course of that interview thatitis during the course of that interview that it is definitely worse if you area that it is definitely worse if you are a woman, i'm quoting from what she said, it is worst of all if you area she said, it is worst of all if you are a coloured woman, i know that diane abbott gets a huge amount of a beer use their wet abuse, that is something we need to call out. it was the use of the phrase coloured woman that was picked up importantly by diane abbott, who thought that was a terrible expression to use, com pletely was a terrible expression to use, completely outdated, and she said in a tweet herself, the term coloured is an outdated, have their wet offensive and revealing choice of words. that immediately makes this a pretty explosive political issue, but sam rudd on the back that. an apology was clearly required very quickly if this was going to be contained, and in the last f

ben wright in westminster, thank you very much indeed.lking to people down here that there is no confidence, none whatsoever, that this deal will be passed. that's why they have left all the options open to the house of commons. hoping, hoping, that the house of commons can answer some of the questions for them next week. french president emmanuel macron issued a clear cut message, saying the uk was solely responsible for what happens next. the responsibility now is on the british side. this is one of the great achievements of this day. we have confirmed the fact that european elections have to be held within a clear framework. european elections have to be held within a clearframework. we must not fall into the trap of telling the british what is their responsibility. we have made decisions and responsibility is clear from the beginning. decisions and responsibility is clearfrom the beginning. we respect the british vote, we have negotiated an agreement, and gave deadlines. it's now up to the british political system to finally provide a