the brexit secretary, david davis, said british business could now invest with confidence, and the uk would be free to negotiate new trade agreements during the transition process. our europe correspondent, damian grammaticas, has the latest. first thing this morning, and it was ireland's foreign minister who was in brussels meeting michel barnier, before david davis got there. his aim, to see to it that irish concerns remained uppermost in the brexit negotiations. simon coveney had begun the day tweeting that he was on an early flight to ensure there would be no backsliding on the irish border issue. after his meeting, a satisfied looking mr coveney said that solidarity with the eu partners remained strong. a little later, it was david davis's turn, hoping a transition deal could be secured, to do so was urgent with brexitjust a year away. are you confident today? we're determined, mr barnier said.

the proof of it will come when we hear from david davis and michel barnier ata from david davis and michelin around half an hour's time and then if they publish any documents where we can actually see what they have agreed. and of course the proof of that will be what has the uk had to give up on and water down in terms of what it wa nted and water down in terms of what it wanted to get this far, and where is the eu won't comprise. but those are the eu won't comprise. but those are the details we have to wait for. but the details we have to wait for. but the signals privately are looking very positive. as you say we are waiting to detail. some have said the transition period if we are still subject all the rules is like an extension of membership rather than an actual change. what is the uk government want to be in that for it to be a transition period? first, the uk says the important thing to remember about the transition period is that legally the uk will be out of the eu. brexit will have happened. it is just that the terms of trade and cooperation with europe will be on roughly the sa

david davis is now taking the podium. mr. confident that bridget leaders will welcome a deal reached. sarah, and a world that we're , whatg about trade wars this that do for the conversation? sarah: i think it as a level of certainty that we were still wondering about in terms of what the u.k. and european negotiations would look like, and so, that does remove part of it. i think where the issues between weree and the u.k. protections were stemming from. a lot of m&a with the trump administration. david: is this terribly good news for angela merkel? she is now the chancellor for another term, right? and she has her friend amanda macron working and now she has this cleared up. jay: i called the three main regions, call it research europe, led by merkel and macron. you are right about that. europe is put to bed for to demonstrate disintegration process more fully in the next couple of months, that is really what investors should be looking for. more integration from europe. david: sarah, let me jump ahead to the ec bp what does

i am leaving it to the prime minister and david davis to lead on those discussions. but you said it is yourjob to come up with the options, what is the current cabinet position on whether or not immigration should be included in the discussions on future partnership? it is for the prime minister to decide that. march now, 12 months until brexit day, and you are saying that the home office has not taken a position, never mind the government taking a position, you as home secretary have not taken a view on what the immigration proposals or objectives should be in the future partnership? i have provided and continue to provide the negotiators, i and david davis, with information they require in order to take forward there negotiations forfuture arrangement. but you have to make decisions for what is the best immigration arrangements for the country in the future. have you not taken any deal at all on what the best immigration objectives should be from the future partnership and negotiations? my commitment is to make sure

nick watt and david davis on the european tour.a very average star. but we can understand the universe. that makes us something very special." so said stephen hawking, who died in the early hours of this morning. he certainly understood the universe better than anyone. an undisputed national treasure, internationally admired, he was notjust a great physicist, he was a man who could frame the most brilliant and pithiest of quotes — a quality perhaps born of the necessity to be economical with words. we'll talk to his great scientific collaborator, sir roger penrose, in a moment. but first, we thought we'd get our technology editor david grossman to explain the physics for which stephen hawking will be remembered. all: 0h! stephen hawking! the world's smartest man! stephen hawking's place in popular culture is unrivalled. 0h! i think you are being pedantic. astounding. to think the lord created all this in just seven days! incorrect. it took 13.8 billion years. like einstein, on whose birthday he died, he came to epitomise the public

david davis.ing on the government, to intervene on the {7.4 billion takeover of british signed gkn. during the hearing of the business committee, the union united under a group of mps who wrote the the secretary clark to block the takeover. they're very clear national security implications. it's also about our future defence capabilities moving forward. we have a plan for future we are involved in, notjust existing products, the airbus industry elsewhere in europe, but also involved in significant product development, r&d15 year contracts. with contractors in the united states as well. it's about maximizing share of values. if you can get away with it that is very well, that is not good for uk. what i know, is it buy, sell short term business model. we have a long—term business model where we invest in technologies for the long—term, i am an engineer, i worked, i have been on the board, i know what it takes in this business to deliver, and i know for a customer, a shorter programme is seven years,

the brexit secretary, david davis, and the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, say it is a decisiveard. they announced this morning that they've reached agreement on a large part of the deal for britain's departure from the eu — from the rights of eu citizens, to the transition period and how much the uk will pay. but how to avoid a hard border in ireland is still an issue. the announcement comes ahead of an eu summit later this week which the prime minister hopes will pave the way for talks on trade. our europe correspondent, damian grammaticus, is in brussels. today has been a busy day here in brussels, david davis called it a significant step, mr barnier called ita significant step, mr barnier called it a decisive step. the outline agreement for this transition period that would come in in one year's time when the uk leads the eu, the link all the rules and trading freely but there are crucial issues remain an earlier today the irish foreign minister was here to make sure the irish border issue was not overlooked. first thing this morning and it was the irish foreign minister who

david davis. by crown prince mohammad bin salman. with the queen. on women driving. and its involvementar in yemen. as amnesty international confirms. in saudi arabia? from saudi arabia to this... are shouting "shame". of potentially hundreds of people in this country! where it's backing attempts to restore the country's president. advisers are directing the war. it cannot be right that her government... in what the united nations says is evidence of war crimes. lessons to be learned on that. theresa may. to have it aired in parliament? online petitions to parliament. so, how does the system work? click on a link to set up your own petition. to give a response. debated in parliament. they reached the magic 100,000 figure. we look at them quite carefully. carefully. debated recently and it would be repeating a debate. repeating a debate. have referred to things that the government can not deal with. government can not deal with. have a set of criteria that we look at. and how you do you decide? what kind of things are you looking for in a petition? to take that forward. that 100,000 thre

david davis, brexit secretary has said this is something that must be left to the electoral commission. severally, we have heard news that an mp, dan poulter, has been cleared by the conservative party over allegations of behaving inappropriately towards female colleagues, what more do we know about this? one of a number of conservative mps people will remember back in the autumn were accused of various sexual impropriety incidents, he was accused by a fellow mp, andrew bridgen, of allegedly that he had treated women inappropriately, and an investigation was held, he has been found, they have found in his favour that he did not treat those women inappropriately. this investigation according to the conservative party was thorough and impartial, and chaired by an independent qc and there was insufficient evidence to support the complaint. that is what we have

departure from the eu, david davis wasn't keen to answer questions from labour about whether the uk with a edu if parliament voted that a final brexit deal. in what was called a meaningful vote. i made very plain what meaningful vote means. i don't want to retract from that. i recommend you go back... when he was a minister colleague and a committee, well i am sorry about... asking questions, there's no answer. will there be an opportunity to suspend article 50 in the event, there was in time for a meaningful vote will mean that you mean that... another labour mp said ed needed

the brexit secretary david davis and the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier are due to give a press conference later this hour — we'll bring you that live. drivers have been stuck in cars overnight and hundreds of schools are closed in south—west england and wales, as heavy snow continues to cause disruption. the television presenter ant mcpartlin has been arrested on suspicion of drink—driving in west london. he has been released. and lowering the stakes — the gambling commission recommends bringing the maximum stake for fixed—odds betting terminals down to £30. good morning. it's monday 19th march. welcome to bbc newsroom live. international chemical weapons experts have arrived in salisbury to begin verifying the type of nerve agent used to poison sergei skripal, and his daughter yulia.

at the papers at 10.40 are the broadcaster david davies and lucy fisher, senior political correspondent at the times. that's all ahead on bbc news. now on bbc news it's time for sportsday. hello, i'm 0lly foster at the bbc sport centre. these are our headlines tonight. the stage is set at stoke for manchester city. will they split up and will it be another step towards the premier league title? michael carrick has five league titles on his cv, but the manchester united captain is calling it a day at the end of the season. and the championship is theirs, but now ireland are targeting the grand slam. twickenham is the focus in the final week of the six nations. good evening. we will have the very

i saw david davis and michel barnier announcing the interim agreement.ress than i thought. seeing other commentators as well, they want to give people more credit than they have tried. thank you for sharing your opinions and your views. thank you, too, for your company. that's it for the briefing. bye for now. hello there. temperatures have been slowly recovering over the last couple of days after that mini beast from the east brought us that disruptive snow. and in fact, as we head out into thursday, a milder start and generally quite a mild afternoon. with some good spells of sunshine, it really will quite springlike. the atlantic has come back to life, now feeding in cloud and this milder air. we've seen the back of that cold easterly wind. you can see the air mass chart here, the orange colours which will be moving in, certainly for thursday. something a little bit fresher pushing in behind for the end of the week, for friday. mild air never too far away. in fact, at the weekend, given some sunshine, should be quite pleasant. as we head through the o

later, in brussels, british brexit minister david davis and eu chief negotiator michel barnier meet to hammer out key details ahead of an eu summit this week. finally, in australia at 2200, myanmar leader aung san suu kyi will deliver a highly anticipated speech following her involvement in the asean summit at the weekend. whale sharks are the world's largest fish. they're endangered, and used to be severely hunted off the coast of west india. the practice is now banned, and fishermen are even encouraged to rescue and release whale sharks that get tangled up in their nets. interesting. let's look at what you have been talking to us about the story we have been talking about, facebook, and the use of our data. we will discuss the allegations later. we have the question, are you concerned by the way that kate jones use your data? jerome says people

what is interesting is that david davis spent a lot of time in europe capitals and not in brussels, and the reason is pretty obvious, divide. is he capable of dividing europe? martin: he is probably trying hard and has done a real roadshow. he has been to every single capital of the remaining 27 countries. the question is, how can he achieve that? then you need to look at the european union -- european incentive to remain united. if there is anything that you cannot allow at this stage -- the e.u. cannot allow at this stage is an exception where anybody is trying to tariffs it. if the e.u. were to allow that at this stage, anybody else would follow. the french say, we want this, and the german say, we want that. this would be the beginning of the end of the european union. this is the line of defense,

decision on the part of michel barnier and david davis to agree on a transition bill, what happens after march, is good news for companies and businesses in terms of their planning? well, yes and no, this is firstly, breakthrough, is that a breakthrough really? or is thisjust some of that a breakthrough really? or is this just some of the bits that we already knew they were common ground on, they have officially said yes, we have common ground in these situations? some of the enormous issues, like the biggest issue to brexit of all, the irish border issue, there is no ground made on that issue at all. well, there is no breakthrough on that at all, critically. and that is the biggest thing that could derail this. a transition deal in this period after march 2019, there is an agreement on some of the situation after that time, yes. company six ports said that in the uk, they know where they are presumably until december 2020, which is important. yes, that is

david davis, can i ask you going to have to use all your renowned skills asa diplomat to sell these hard facts to your fellow brexiteers? i don't think so. the simple fact is, go ask boris, ask the other brexiteers in cabinet if you like. what the centre of this is is parliament will always have a say. today the rules come down through the european parliament, doesn't really have a proper say, this time i'll have a say, and they will exercise that say in the knowledge and the consequent is one way or another. will it give us access or not. that is what every country will do, that's what will deliver the best outcome for britain in the long run. lest any brexit supporter fear that today marks betrayal, the prime minister warned the eu that it, too, needs to hard fa cts . herfundamental vision for brexit remains unchanged. out of the single market and customs union. no direct say for the european court

it can't dictate terms, david davis gave his top tips on how to negotiate. at the beginning of this process, i said to the house one of the debates that they would be astonished how to play i was going to be in the next two years. i take the view that when public aggression in negotiations generally doesn't work very well. it creates an attitude on the other side and i avoid it. what anyone else does is up to them. we've give me different advise? >> would you give me different advice? now, to prime ministers questions were theresa may defended the uk's relationship with saudi arabia the start of a three—day visit by the crown prince. his schedule included talks with theresa may and once with the queen. the crown prince is credited with

i am joined by steven doughty and joined by a webcam by david davis. these powers are going to affect people for years to come. shouldn't they have a say on them from day one? they will have a say from day one and they will have. those powers are currently in brussels and they are going to come back to london where they will be decided upon by a british government made up of mps from england but also wales, scotland and northern ireland so those powers are already coming back to the united kingdom. it will already have a much greater say to how these laws are made. and in the short term, maybe not immediately but in the period of the next two years, many of the powers will be divulged straight down towards cardiff bay or scotland and northern ireland. everyone is going to mark powers as a result. but that's the majors ticking point, eventually those powers will go

solution that the brexit secretary david davis has talked about as far as the irish government is concerned isa as the irish government is concerned is a non—runner. but if you leave aside the issues of remain and lead and everything else and just look at where we are now time is running out very fast. the irish government has been all round the other 26 remaining eu members and has solid support for the agreement that the uk government has signed up to so far that if they cannot find a solution... if they cannot come up with enough cameras and enough balls as it where... the default option would be that northern ireland would have two adhere to single market regulations, custom union regulations, custom union regulations and so on. the other two options which the british have said would work would be number one that they negotiate a free trade agreement with the eu therefore

with me are the broadcaster david davies and lucy fisher, senior political correspondent at the times. welcome to the both of you. many of tomorrow's front page is already in. let's have a rifle through them, we can takea let's have a rifle through them, we can take a look, starting with the metro, rather menacing picture of vladimir putin. as theresa may told mps that the nerve agent used in the salisbury attack was something developed by russia. while the i reports that theresa may has given russia 36 hours to report what they knew of the attack. the financial times, which leads with a picture of theresa may at the dispatch box saying that unless a credible reason is given this action amounts to unlawful use of force by the russia against the united kingdom. while the times tells it's readers that it understands gchq and the ministry of defence are working to accelerate a joint offensive cyber programme against russia. moving on — the mirror — who broke the story of former england playerjamie carragher spitting at a teenager — has a plea from the victim's family for him not to lose

didn't david davies worked for a sugar company?ing them in," he said to me once, "until they don't dissolve". disgusting. so i don't know. corbyn does jam ? i don't think michel barnier is a very bakey person. in the cafe he has like a piece of steamed fish. the terrible cake in that shop. it is an austrian cafe. not a strudel in sight. dry cake! also, laura, you had a big milestone of your own at the summit. what did i do? for people listening in brussels. you went to kitty's for the first time. not for the first time. you told me it was the first time. though i did not! this is the irish pub immediately opposite the european commission, and also the bbc bureau. and the story changed, and we had to start working again. we had finished the day at 11:30 brussels time, and then the story about the diplomatic expulsions started to move on, so we ended up working until about 2:00. but we had been for one drink. i had been, but a long time ago. i think that'll do, when i was 18. every good night ends with a party game, doesn't it? so me

david davis? no. specialist knowledge. amazing.tching as well. well done everyone. applause. hello once again. i'm afraid the holiday weekend, albeit early in the year, it is the holiday weekend but it is dominated by low pressure. leaden skies, even here at howra. some have seen some sunshine. northern and western scotland have done quite well. and improving situation for many western parts. hang on in there. if you haven't seen hang on in there. if you haven't seen sunshine, you may be for the day is done. you were further from the centre of the low pressure close by the south—eastern quarter. through the rest of the evening and overnight. all too late in the day from any of you. many of these skies will clear nicely. the rain will become confined and the toepfer eastern areas. we are looking at quite a cold night for the heart of scotland. —6, —7 in the glands. either side of freezing elsewhere. not a bad easter day. even on the big picture it looks fairly quiet until you look towards the south west. if you are in the south—west

david tc davies and stephen doughty there.what's been happening in the wider world of politics this week? here's duncan smith with our countdown. # five, four, three, two, one.# five. a wintry week at westminster and the heating failed at a late—night sitting in the house of lords, prompting peers to wrap up warm. four. welsh nationalist mps are backing manchester city boss pep guardiola for wearing a pro—catalan ribbon at the cup final. he was charged by the fa for promoting a political message. plaid cymru mps tabled an early motion praising his stance. three. back in the lords, a the quick thinking doorkeeper saved the day on wednesday. business can't end if the mace is in place. two. most fashionable subject for a speech this week, brexit as seen on monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, and friday. one. we return to the weather for our top story. and the snow at westminster inspired these images on social media. # five, four, three, two, one.# duncan smith with our countdown. now let's take a look at some westminster news

david davis, let me start with you.hese powers will affect people for yea rs these powers will affect people for years to come. shouldn't they have a say on them from day one? they will and much greater say than before. those powers are currently in brussels and they will come back to london where they will be decided upon bya london where they will be decided upon by a committee made up of mps from england, scotland and northern ireland. those powers are already coming back to the united kingdom. people will have a much greater say over how these laws are made. in the short—term, over the period of the next few years, many of the powers will be devolved straight down the m4 towards cardiff bay and into scotla nd m4 towards cardiff bay and into scotland and northern ireland will to everyone will have more powers as a result. that is the major sticking point. there is not one single thing the welsh; do at the moment it will not be able to do after brexit. we're not taking any powers away from belfast scotland and wales.

office no solutions and only draws red lines david davis is told the u.k. will not be allowed to cherry pick the u.k. it wants to take back control wants to adopt its own stand outs and regulation. but if bush wants to have each recognized automatically indeed this is simply impossible. the british prime minister with a charm offensive in a high profile speech he promises that the u.k. will honor its financial commitments in full. the success of the e.u. is profoundly in our national interest and that of the wider world. while they are waiting for the u.k. the e.u. acts in november two thousand and seventeen that new agencies based in london are relocated to the continent for two days of voting. we selected. to be the new seat of the european mid seems agency and paris to be the new seat of the european banking agency october two thousand and seventeen and there is still not been sufficient progress the european parliament votes against proceeding to the second face the breakthrough comes only in december when to resume a agrees to a backstop solution for n

david davis has been there to be fair. but the prime minister...als, catherine has mentioned theresa may needs the support of the democratic unionists so people say she cannot be an impartial observer. jeremy corbyn, the leader of the labour party with long and strong links with republicans and he's not trusted by the unionists, if he became prime minister that problem of trust would not disappear. and then the irish government, the foreign minister saying "i can imagine in my political life there would be a united ireland", which gets the unionists on the defensive. nobody seems to be considering how this plays in ireland on either side of the border. we were all here for the referendum, it's amazing nobody, not a soul raised this question, excuse me, if we vote to leave what we do with the border? thank you very much, here is now completely... it came up during the referendum campaign but it was not... it did not bubble up... despitejohn major and tony blair making an appearance... they talk over each other. i am sure you're right, but it was not

offers no solutions and only draws red lines david davis is told the u.k. will not be allowed to cherry pick the u.k. it wants to take back control wants to adopt it own stand outs and regulation. but it also wants to have these dogs recognised automatically in the e.u. she simply impossible. the british prime minister with a charm offensive in a high profile speech. promises that the u.k. will honor its financial commitments in full. the success of the e.u. is profoundly in on national interest and of the wider world. while they are waiting for the u.k. the e.u. acts in november two thousand and seventeen that new agencies based in london are relocated to the continent to today's voting. we selected. to be the new seat of the european mid seems agency and paris to be the new seat of the european banking agents october two thousand and seventeen and there is still not been sufficient progress the european parliament votes against proceeding to the second phase the breakthrough comes only in december went to reason maybe a greece to a backstop solution for n

has been endowed by the last hour or so, be just david davis leaving a couple of minutes ago.y time with my head over my shoulder, have expected that he might emerge and continue microphones. we will not know he is coming out until the door opened and it is him. no. not him this time. despite you are doing a good job of keeping a check on things. take us through what other developments we might expect the guards brexit, here in the uk or in brussels or elsewhere this week. there is a slow trickle of developments on brexit. after the prime minister was back speech, we had a senior adviser to the eu commission ‘s chief brexit the eu commission ‘s chief brexit the gauche eater, giving a lecture at the london school of economics. it was quite interesting hearing the concerns that they have about some of the arguments that dee was making just the other day. there was a real scepticism on this guy, about the british proposal that the uk could remain signed up to various eu agencies, medicines agency, the agency that oversees aviation for instance. the suggestion that that might bea

well, the former fa executive director david davis said he believes a boycott would only be worthwhileiam against i am against boycotts by one country u nless i am against boycotts by one country unless the international community gives its positive and practical backing, and that means yes, france, and spain and germany and other countries ideally also support that action. then you make a difference. my action. then you make a difference. my worry is that if one country like england says we are not going to ta ke england says we are not going to take part in a world cup, one other country will replace us and the country will replace us and the country that will be damaged and will be most upset by what has happened is called england. there are claims date there have been high—level talks within the faa about a potential boycott. do you think that they are considering it asa think that they are considering it as a viable option? the more likely option is the dignitaries, the suits not going to moscow, saint petersburg and the rest. will that affect the russians? not really. will it mak

after a request from the committee chair for the government to tell the eu it can't dictate terms, david davise. at the beginning of this process, i said to the house one of the debates that they would be astonished how to play i was going to be in the next two years. i take the view that when public aggression in negotiations generally doesn't work very well. it creates an attitude on the other side and i avoid it. what anyone else does is up to them. we've give me different advise? >> would you give me different advice? now, to prime ministers questions were theresa may defended the uk's relationship with saudi arabia the start of a three—day visit by the crown prince. his schedule included talks with theresa may and once with the queen. the crown prince is credited with kickstarting economic and social reforms in the kingdom such as the lifting of the ban on women driving. but protesters have object to the country's human rights record and its involvement in the war in yemen. despite much talk of reform, there has been a sharp increase in the arrest and detention of dissidents, torture of p

on bloomberg, eu and british brexit negotiators, michel barnier and david davis, are pictured side byu summit. fox news — trump is expected to detail his plan to combat opioid addiction. there's reports the death penalty may be sought for certain drug traffickers. here on the bbc news website a major breakthrough offers hope to multiple sclerosis patients. the results are from an international trial that was able to stop the disease and improve symptoms. and finally on south china morning post, hot off the press: 3d—printed cars will be in mass production in china by 2019. a company from italy says it's edging closer to mass production of the vehicles, which would cost about $10,000 us and reach maximum speeds of 70 kilometres per hour. that is quite phenomenal. so let's begin. with me is nina trentmann from the wall street journal. let's little talk about russia.

brexit secretary david davis has been travelling the continent today — and seeming to make brexit concessionstoo much about the question of whether it's christmas 2020 all easter 2021. so if it means christmas 2020, you'd go for that? i'd go for that. also tonight, we're with stephen hawking's famous collaborator, the mathematician sir roger penrose. and angela merkel has been sworn in for her fourth term in office — but germany now has to contemplate political life without her. gabriel gatehouse is in the rhineland.

the british envoy david davis hailing this as a significant step to a brexit agreement. brbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrba package of rights for eu citizens. we will bring you more on this story as it develops. our busines upupdate. we will start with global trade, which is set to dominate the g20 finance ministers meeting. >> that is right. the two-day talks come at a particularly tnensese time as donald trump prepares for heavy tariffs on steel and aluminum. fears of a trade war between the u.s. and china are alsooooooooog a shadow. fromg china's move away manipulation takg slams against beijing. >> the world is beginning to work together. we see that in the g20 process and g7 process. economy in the world movech a away from markets has not been good for us or the world. we will continue. >> china's development of a socialist market economy has brought about great accomplishments. i think this is an inevitable conclusion from any unbiased, objective individual and is not something that can be chaed by some u.s. officials casual produces or irresponsible remarks. molly: w

david davis as the argument today, if a very good you'll ends up being done, then the border issue to because the relationship will still because the relationship will still be so close between one side, non—eu and the other side that is still the eu. absolutely, if there is still a deal whereby our regulations and economies remain closely integrated. the problem is if we want to start letting in american chlorine washed chicken or doing what the labour party was talking about, banning foi grass from the uk market as an animal rights policy. how do you talk —— stop that coming in over the border? is that the biggest challenge in these talks? without a doubt, that is the one thing... they have managed to reach agreement on a lot of the big things, eu citizens, the divorce bill, other aspects. but the divorce bill, other aspects. but the one thing that has been front and centre of the discussions from the very beginning and they are still no closer to reaching an agreement, it is the irish border. this is why you get a hard brexiteers saying, the irish should leave the customs union as

i mean this threesome me or david davis even than you know on either side of the complacent because of speeding up p.t. that of composite of peace and i let me try hard in the breakfast at the base at to get the irish message over. i went to some.