emma vardy, thank you.eaction from business leaders today, to the ongoing deadlock over brexit. the head of the british chambers of commerce said mps needed to stop "chasing rainbows". he told the group's annual conference that uncertainty was causing "real world damage" to the uk economy. our business editor simon jack looks at the daily pressure on companies. where do you go to escape from brexit? how about this caravan and camping site in dorset? hello. hi there. pat and john headed back from spain in time for the original brexit date because they had so many unanswered questions. insurance, motor home travelling insurance, our private medical. a big thing for us is our mobile phone roaming charges, because that's the only communications we have when we're abroad. there's also the delays on the other side of the channel. there's also things like our driving licences. we don't know if they stack up. and the dogs? we don't know about how their passports stack up. we don't know about blood testing, the rabi

emma vardy, many thanks.ted before on the effect brexit uncertainty has been having on british business. well, today we had one of the starkest warnings yet. the head of the british chambers of commerce, adam marshall, couldn't have been clearer when he took aim at politicians. "you have let british business down," he said. our business editor simon jack reports now on the impact brexit is having on some firms. where do you go to escape from brexit? how about this caravan and camping site in dorset? hello. hi there. pat and john headed back from spain in time for the original brexit date because they had so many unanswered questions. insurance, motor home travelling insurance, our private medical. a big thing for us is our mobile phone roaming charges, because that's the only communications we have when we are abroad. there is also the delays on the other side of the channel. there's also things like our driving licences. we don't know if they stack up. and the dogs? we don't know about how their passports st

emma vardy, bbc news, derry.christchurch, new zealand. we have these pictures coming in from the local hospital. a casualty being stretchered out of an ambulance into the hospital. we cannot confirm at the moment, we know simply there have been reports of gunshots near a mosque in christchurch. police warning of a critical incident. they have issued a warning saying armed officers have been deployed in central christchurch on the evidence that several shots have been fired. they have asked people in the centre of the city to stay indoors. all schools have been placed on lockdown. it is just after 3:15 p.m.. local media reports shots near a mosque in the last couple of hours. there are reports from local media that several people were injured within the building. police warning people to avoid the area. armed police, we understand, clearing up buildings in the vicinity. i think thousands of children, too, were at the time holding a rally for action on climate change in cathedral square. that has now been cleared,

sarah smith and emma vardy, thank you both. let's go back to laura.ng down to 11 o'clock tonight, when the uk officially left the european union. that hasn't happened. who knows when it will happen? it really is quite a moment. it is, and it was the promise that theresa may made to the public time and time again, we will leave the european union on the 29th of march. that process that she triggered was something then that parliament itself voted for, and of course at the general election not so long ago in the long history of britain's tangled relationships between the eu, both of the main parties committed to leaving and then in parliament, a huge majority of mps voted for this to happen. and at the very least, wherever blame lies, who made all of the different calculations, the fact is that parliament has not been able to deliver to the country something that itself promised would happen. and the question marks about where next are profound. it is simply not possible tonight to predict where this might go next. and the divisions and the dilemma toni

emma vardy, bbc news.ar, but says it expects borrowing to be lower. the details were announced in the chancellor's spring statement to mp5. philip hammond said the predictions depended on an orderly brexit, and he highlighted what he called the "cloud of uncertainty hanging over the economy". he also made a number of announcements about housing, police funding and free sanitary products in english schools. our economics correspondent dharshini david reports. at this cookery class in manchester, cuts to some public services have been hard to swallow. they are keenly aware of the way budgets have sometimes failed to keep up with the cost of living over the last decade. we are not getting for what we are paying, really. the policing, the fire, we are not getting them services enough for what we are paying, really, unfortunately. there's issues where you feel like you could do with a pcso just to make sure that things are in charge. in holidays in particular you've got kids that are rioting, dealing drugs. par

emma vardy, bbc news.th this year, but says it expects borrowing to be lower. the details were announced in the chancellor's spring statement to mps. philip hammond said the predictions depended on an orderly brexit, and he highlighted what he called the "cloud of uncertainty hanging over the economy". he also made a number of announcements about housing, police funding and free sanitary products in english schools. 0ur economics correspondent dharshini david reports. at this cookery class in manchester, cuts to some public services have been hard to swallow. they are keenly aware of the way budgets have sometimes failed to keep up with the cost of living over the last decade. at the police saying, the fire, when not getting the services enough. for what we are paying. there are issues where you feel like you could do with things to make sure things are in charge in holidays. riots. dealing drugs. parents having to provide papers, pens, stuff like that, to help the schools to teach the kids, that'sjust not

emma vardy, bbc news, cookstown. were shot dead on a tram in the city of utrecht. five others were injured in the shooting this morning. schools were closed and people were told to stay indoors for several hours as police tried to find the suspect. from utrecht, our correspondent damian grammaticas reports. sirens. late morning, a tramline at a standstill and dutch medics scrambling. the reports were of multiple casualties. armed police units responded fast, too. they moved in as well, hunting at least one attacker who it was thought was still nearby. dan molinaar was in the tram. he says, "all of a sudden, the shooter came running, waving a pistol in the air. ithought, i have to get out of here." what eyewitnesses said was that this morning on the tram here, a man pulled a gun and began shooting. there was panic as people tried to escape the scene and, within minutes, police and ambulances were here. but it is thought that he fled around the corner and now police have a house surrounded in one of the adjacent street

emma vardy, bbc news, cookstown. she will announce detailed reforms to the country's gun laws within days after friday's attack on two mosques which left 50 people dead. clive myrie is in christchurch for us now. yes, the prime ministerjacinda ardern has said her cabinet backs changes to gun laws in principle. police say the killer brenton tarrant used military—style assault weapons which had been modified to make them more deadly, which is not illegal under current legislation. our correspondent hywel griffith reports on the day's developments here in christchurch. hosne, shot while saving her disabled husband. mucad, a three—year—old remembered for his smile. and sayyad, a high school student at the mosque with his mother and friends. it's the stories of the victims, and not the gunman, that new zealand wants the world to hear, as it faces the question of whether they were failed. abdigani would have been at the mosque if he hadn't overslept. but his housemate, mohammed, was there, one of 20 friends he lost as the

emma vardy, bbc news, cookstown.he effects of a devastating storm. cyclone cyclone idai reached speeds of up to 120 miles an hour, and brought with it torrential rain. tonight, the british government said it would send £6 million of relief aid and tents. cyclone idai came in off the indian ocean at the port city of beira, which has been largely submerged, before making its way into zimbabwe. 0ur reporter shingai nyoka has managed to get to chimanimani, close to the border with mozambique, and sent this report. shops with their fronts torn off, windows shattered in the street. roofs rendered useless, ripped from theirjoists. this is beira, where it's thought there has been the greatest loss of life. while the damage on the ground is bad enough, it is from the air that you can see the scale of what has happened here. beira is the major port on mozambique's coast. now it is largely underwater, after the cyclone tore through it, bringing the sea in its wake. the city's tightly packed suburbs submerged. no—one knows yet t

emma vardy, bbc news, derry.er david steel has been suspended from the liberal democrats. the suspension comes after lord steel gave evidence to the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse concerning the late mp, cyril smith. in a statement, the party said that further investigation was needed into his evidence. well, the liberal democrat leader, sir vince cable, told bbc newsnight about the decision to suspend lord steel. well, the decision was taken by our decision—makers in scotland, he is a member of the scottish party. there is very serious concern about what he said, serious allegations, they have got to be investigated and i think the proper procedure, which has been followed, is that he is suspended while these investigations ta ke suspended while these investigations take place. we take very seriously. it is about if you knew what when. yes. i wonder if it is not to the eternal shame of the party that this was not sorted out a long time ago. well, we thought it had been sorted out a long time ago. i

emma vardy, bbc news, derry. at the time, joins me now almost half a century later. could this come anywhere close to drawing a line under it all? i'm afraid not. ithink drawing a line under it all? i'm afraid not. i think there are no winners in this and the outcome is u nsatisfa ctory winners in this and the outcome is unsatisfactory to both sides. on the pa rt unsatisfactory to both sides. on the part of the families, i think there is great disappointment and growing angen is great disappointment and growing anger, as emma vardy‘s report said, that only one soldier has been prosecuted. some of the families will say, understandably, what about the 11 murders committed? the 11 killings. why aren't those soldiers being prosecuted? killings. why aren't those soldiers being prosecuted ? and killings. why aren't those soldiers being prosecuted? and the problem is getting the evidence after nearly half a century is extremely difficult, and soldier f is the only case it would appear in which the evidence meets the tes

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. you can read more about that online. sport today. from the bbc sport centre this is sport today, with me chris mitchell. coming upforyou: the king surpassesjordan. the king of tennis is 100—not out. can federer make it six of the best in indian wells? and rennes come from behind to beat arsenal in the europa league. it isa it is a remarkable story. it really is. as a kid lebronjames had a wall plastered with pictures of michaeljordan. the lebronjames then — who was constantly on the move and growing up with his mother gloria — could never have imagined that some day he would surpass his hero on the list of all time scorers in the nba. but on wednesday, the la lakers star moved abovejordan into fourth place on the all—time list. he did it scoring 31 points in a loss against the denver nuggets. claire thornton reports. he knew this moment was likely to come before even taking to the court. commentator:

emma vardy is at stormont. northern ireland in a particular position.as been this very specific part of this morning's announcement relating to keeping the border on the island open and in a special case scenario is going to relate to the public —— republic of ireland where the government has said they will be new ta riffs government has said they will be new tariffs for other countries and the eu but for the republic of ireland they will not have to pay any ta riffs they will not have to pay any tariffs on goods moving from the south into northern ireland. that is to keep the border open. it raises a few issues. northern ireland could be used as a back door for people re—routing the goods to and avoid tariffs. they will be a real risk of smuggling. the uk government says this is the only... and fortunately we have some technical issues. asked if the emergency no deal measures could lead to smuggling across the irish border, conservative party deputy chairman, james cleverly, accepted there was a theoretical chance it could happen, but said customs chec

emma vardy, bbc news, cookstown.ls have been engaged in talks with the taliban. president trump has also asked the pentagon to look at options for a potential us military withdrawall — that's despite a record number of afghan soldiers and civilians being killed. so what's been the reaction in afghanistan — and is the country ready to look after its own security? 0ur defence correspondent jonathan beale reports. we are out on patrol with afghan special forces. this, we are out on patrol with afghan specialforces. this, the first we are out on patrol with afghan special forces. this, the first time the country's elite troops have allowed western media to join them without us support. we have travelled into a province that is taliban territory. 0ur escort says this area has recently been cleared of the enemy but that is not what these locals say. this man says it is not safe. he said, if he had the money he would leave this area today. another says, there is constant fighting. the taliban, they say, are just 50 metres a

in a moment we'll speak to our scotland editor sarah smith, but first our ireland correspondent emma vardyonce again about the issue of the backstop which is aimed at preventing a hard border in ireland. that easily, is still the most contentious sticking point, even after these votes today? yes for two two big reasons. one because the backstop has become a proxy for the big disagreement over the kind of relationship that the uk wa nts to the kind of relationship that the uk wants to have with the eu and here in northern ireland life exists with fragile peace between two communities and brexit has threatened to throw that up until air. tonight northern ireland is staring into the unknown and there will be real despairfor staring into the unknown and there will be real despair for those businesses who saw the withdrawal agreement as something that would safeguard the way they trade. and there is just as safeguard the way they trade. and there isjust as much safeguard the way they trade. and there is just as much anxiety too south of the border in the republic of ireland, because in ireland

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast.lso had to apologise, after referring to labour's diane abbot as "coloured," in a bbc radio 2 phone—in. our political correspondent ben wright is at westminster and gave us this update. the on line abuse faced by black minority women was particularly 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 s

the event was taking place, and that some people fell to the ground. 0ur ireland correspondent, emma vardyfusion and disbelief over how a group of young people trying to enter a disco ended in disaster. terrible, just chaos. young ones hysterical, the whole night, ijust cannot believe what has happened. just after 9:30pm emergency services were called to reports of casualties outside the hotel. it was soon declared a mjaor incident. one of the teenagers died at the scene, two died later in hospital. absolutely stunned and shocked. there we have people out enjoying themselves on st patrick's night and it ends up in tragedy. the hotel had been hosting a party to celebrate st patrick's day. police believe a crowd outside had been pushing to get in but are still trying to work out exactly what happened. preliminary investigations show that was a crush towards the front door of this hotel and in the crush people seem to have fallen. we are examining now to see if the people who have fallen are those who are deceased. there was a little struggling going on to get people up off the ground and tha

let's talk to emma vardy in belfast. what has she been apologising for? 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 has slipped up and she will have work to do to regain the confidence of people in northern ireland. now to westminster and ben. i gather amber rudd was trying to defend d

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast.s secretary, amber rudd, has also had to apologise, after referring to labour's diane abbott as "coloured," in a bbc radio 2 phone—in. 0ur political correspondent, ben wright, is at westminster. a p pa re ntly apparently amber rudd was attempting to highlight abuse directed towards diane abbott but ended up causing offence herself. that's right. amber rudd said the online abuse faced by black and minority ethnic women was particularly nasty and had to stop. she was sticking up for diane abbott and being supportive but at one point in the interview she described the labour mp is a coloured woman. it definitely is worse if you're a woman, and it's worst of all if you're a coloured woman. i know that diane abbott gets a huge amount of abuse, and i think that's something we need to continue to call out. that prompted a furious response from diane abbott on twitter who said, it was a revealing choice of words that was outdated and offensive. and it is pretty extraordinary that amber rudd ch

emma vardy is injuryfor back to you, joanna. emma vardy is injury for us. at back to you, joanna.action there? that result this afternoon will have been watched with dismay, really, by many people living in communities north and south of the irish border. they have been here three times now, brought to the point hoping that there would perhaps be a resolution. many people round here was hoping there would be certainty for businesses. once again, they will have just seen that deal be voted down with a lot of disappointment. businesses have spent two years here wondering how brexit will affect them in the future. still no a nswe i’s , them in the future. still no answers, right down to the wire. it is already having an effect. there are businesses with contracts on hold, investments on hold, some irish exporters are trying to re—route their goods to europe by not going to the uk at all. there will be huge disappointment for the many people who opposed bragg set near to the irish border. he heard the reaction from nigel dodds of the dup. despite all of this worry here at the irish bo

our ireland correspondent emma vardy is in stormont for us.ings stand, there simply isn't. over the last two weeks, there have been many avenues explored intensively between the dup and the government try to make this deal more palatable but all those avenues just keep seeming to lead to dead ends. now, if the backstop were to kick in, that could mean northern ireland being treated differently to the rest of the uk. this place alone having to follow eu rules. there has been something discussed called the stormont lock, that would mean this place having a role in whether to accept new eu rules and promises that if northern ireland had to remain closer than the rest of the uk to the eu, then the uk would do something similar, would stand by them but there is distrust and suspicion in the dup about whether those promises would be further down the line. make no mistake, there are many remain voters here in northern ireland who would like to see that deal go through only to end all the uncertainty, but i can tell you this, that pressure alone is no

of people fulfilling their duties in a dignified and appropriate way. 0ur ireland correspondent, emma vardyell, despite karen bradley's apology and her explanation, it has been made clear this morning that many families cannot forgive those comments. and they came here to meet with karen bradley to say that they still believe that she should resign. 0f still believe that she should resign. of course, some of the most contentious killings of unarmed civilians during the troubles were at the hands of police and the british army. and many families of victims have spent years fighting for justice victims have spent years fighting forjustice and victims have spent years fighting for justice and fighting victims have spent years fighting forjustice and fighting for a nswe i’s. forjustice and fighting for answers. now, karen bradley has said that to say those killings were not crimes is not what she thinks, it is not what she believes. but we heard from the sister of a man this morning he was shot by the british army who said she came to tell karen bradley she believes she cannot continue in the r

in a moment we‘ll hear from our correspondent emma vardy, who‘s on the irish border, but first let‘snt political editor norman smith. it isa it is a very dramatic day, isn‘t it? first thing this morning mrs may seemed to be heading into a brick wall of brexiteer opposition. but the story of the past few hours has been the steady, slow crumbling, like a stale dry carrot cake, brexiteer opposition, with one after another brexiteer folding. in the next —— in the last hour, dominic raab, who said he was not for turning, said he would back mrs may. speculation about what jacob rees—mogg might do with some of his collea g u es rees—mogg might do with some of his colleagues saying he too may fold, even though he has said he will never abandon the deep nupe, who are still holding out. —— the dup. at the same time we see labour mps and leave supporting constituency doing a wobbly jelly manoeuvre, leave supporting constituency doing a wobblyjelly manoeuvre, beginning to wonder if they should also support mrs may to avoid a long delay. it means we are heading for a knife edge vote. my senses mr

our ireland correspondent emma vardy is at stormont. what with the impact of tariffs be there?nced this morning is this very special set of circumstances for goods that are exported from the republic of ireland north to be sold in northern ireland. what the government has announced is that yes, there will be new tariffs on stuff coming from the eu or outside but ireland would be exempt from those tariffs for goods coming from the south to the north to be sold in northern ireland. the reason for this special measure for northern ireland is to keep the open border, the open land border on the island of ireland. it raises a number of issues. could this be unfairon number of issues. could this be unfair on northern ireland farmers, because they may have to face ta riffs because they may have to face tariffs on stuff they sell to the republic of ireland, but the irish farmers would be exempt from that on goods going the other way. at the moment the uk says it doesn't know what reciprocal arrangements will be from the eu into northern ireland. another question is, does this open the

our ireland correspondent, emma vardy is in newry — on the border between northern ireland and the republicrom nigel dodds who have been speaking to newsnight political editors, talking about staying in the european union. is there a change in strategy potentially coming from the dup?” am not sure it is a change in strategy. i think this is another mark of how much they dislike theresa may's deal and the backstop within it. nigel dodds and the dup backed brexit and backed leave in the eu referendum. he is now saying he would prefer to remain within the eu if it protected northern ireland's place within the rest of the uk because it is the union above all else that is the priority for the democratic unionist party as they see the withdrawal deal and the backstop is something that will siphon ireland off from the rest of the uk, as long as that is an issue for them, then staying in the eu would be preferable to backing the deal. that may sound like a surprise because the dup have got alliances with arch brexiteers like jacob rees—mogg and boris johnson with arch brexiteers like jacob rees—mog

our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports.belief over how a group of young people trying to enter a disco ended in disaster. terrible, just chaos. young ones hysterical, the whole night, ijust cannot believe what has happened. just after 9:30pm emergency services were called to reports of casualties outside the hotel. it was soon declared a mjaor incident. a major incident. one of the teenagers died at the scene, two died later in hospital. absolutely stunned and shocked. there we have people out enjoying themselves on st patrick's night and it ends up in tragedy. the hotel had been hosting a party to celebrate st patrick's day. police believe a crowd outside had been pushing to get in but are still trying to work out exactly what happened. preliminary investigations show that was a crush towards the front door of this hotel and in the crush people seem to have fallen. we are examining now to see if the people who have fallen are those who are deceased. there was a little struggling going on to get people up off the ground and

without a deal this month. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardyjoins month. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy, it is a bit technical but if the uk was to leave the eu without a deal then that would potentially mean new tariffs on goods that come from the eu into the uk in the future and that will happen. new tariffs particularly on agricultural products, things like beef and dairy. but there will be a special exemption for goods coming from the republic of ireland into northern ireland, so republic of ireland producers will be exempt from any of those tariffs that other eu producers sending goods to great britain would have to pay. that is in order to protect the open border on the island of ireland. the uk government says it knows this is a rather exceptional circumstance. it leaves a back door open that could be exploited for smuggling, but the uk government has said it has looked at the circumstances in a no deal scenario and this is the only way it can take unilateral measures to protect the open border on the island of ireland, but because of all the risks i have talked about, the govern

first to our ireland correspondent emma vardy in newry.tely. they were very clear last night and that message has remained the same today. the dup leader, arlene foster, writing a clear article in the belfast telegraph this morning saying that despite all the arguments, she says she is listening to people who voted to remain, who are frustrated, but despite all of this, the fundamental principle of the dup is belief in the union, and she can't believe for any —— and she can't vote for anything that she believes might undermine that. there have been a number of weeks of intense discussions between the dup and the government, looking at all different ways they can try to make this more palatable to the dup, whose votes are key in this. but all those options ended up kind of coming to nothing, if you like. the dup continues to leave the door open to something that could break the deadlock, but at the moment, we heard sammy wilson very angry in the commons earlier, and they aren't going to back the deal this afternoon. but the dup are calculat

emma vardy reports.the events that unfolded on bloody sunday have cast a long shadow. today, retreading the route, families of victims marched again. in 1972, this demonstration began peacefully. but rioting broke out in the area of derry known as the bogside. the british parachute regiment had come to make arrests, but when it was over, 13 people lay dead. this morning, the first indication of the long awaited news. a decision has been taken to prosecute one former soldier, soldier f, for the murder ofjames wray, and for the murder of william mckinney. these were the men soldier f is alleged to have killed. he was a lance corporal who has always been given anonymity. in the 2010 inquiry into bloody sunday, soldier f said he fired on nail bombers. his evidence was disputed. we have walked a long journey since our fathers and brothers were brutally slaughtered... families of other victims were told there was not enough evidence to charge the remaining paratroopers involved. there cannot be one law for the

emma vardy, bbc news, cookstown.e weekend with the help of three speedy guide dogs. thomas panek, who is blind, was the first to complete the race without the help of human guides. he was led along the 13.1 mile course by three labrador retrievers. waffle, westley and gus, who took it in turns to pace him. he completed the race in just under two hours 21 minutes — and all members of his 14—legged—team received a finisher‘s medal. and we can talk to thomas who is the ceo of guiding eyes for the blind charity. has this ever been done before? not that i know of it, that is the first timei that i know of it, that is the first time i have ever run that distance guided by guide dogs. i rely on the dogs for navigation, and they love to run and i love to run, so it made a whole lot of sense to train guide dogs to help people with vision impairment to be able to run, but new york is a crowded race and a very challenging, iconic race, but it was a whole lot of fun. didn't they do well? and didn't you do well finishing the race

emma vardy, thanks very much. interesting. i've just seen interesting.ws to northern ireland television but he won't give national interviews tonight. i've been speaking with justice minister rory stewart about the vote tomorrow — and he explained why he thought labour should back the vote. all that is happening tomorrow is we are agreeing on the stuff we agree on. they still have all the leverage over the other stuff because we would still have to take through the political declaration through a meaningful vote in parliament and through a withdrawal agreement act. so this is like any kind of disagreement, there is a bit we agree on, just make it simpler, break it down into chunks. labour and the conservatives back the withdrawal agreement, so let's get that down. then they've got all the leverage in there to block things they don't like at the next stage. so is it the government's view that all of this has just become too complex? it was supposed to be sequential, the divorce coming first and then the future relationship next. really, we have got the wh

our ireland correspondent, emma vardy reports.ow a group of young people trying to enter a disco ended in disaster. terrible, just chaos. young ones hysterical, the whole night, ijust cannot believe what has happened. just after 9:30pm emergency services were called to reports of casualties outside the hotel. it was soon declared a major incident. one of the teenagers died at the scene, two died later in hospital. absolutely stunned and shocked. there we have people out enjoying themselves on st patrick's night and it ends up in tragedy. the hotel had been hosting a party to celebrate st patrick's day. police believe a crowd outside had been pushing to get in but are still trying to work out exactly what happened. preliminary investigations show that was a crush towards the front door of this hotel and in the crush people seem to have fallen. we are examining now to see if the people who have fallen are those who are deceased. there was a little struggling going on to get people up off the ground and that might explain also why th

let's speak to emma vardy, our ireland correspondent, instalment for us. at doesn't go far enough. a number of families of victims killed during the troubles refused to meet karen bradley today, and those who did came out saying, look, for us, that trust and confidence in her is gone, and they continue to call for her to resign. 0bviously her is gone, and they continue to call for her to resign. obviously a long way away from here, stormont in northern ireland, back in number ten, downing street, karen bradley does have the confidence of the prime minister theresa may, and at the moment that may well be in part because theresa may cannot afford to lose any loyal cabinet members at such a crucial time of brexit, and therefore karen bradley, you know, this may blow over for her in those terms, but here in northern ireland certainly it has been very damaging for her. of course that is because to say that victims killed by police or the army during the troubles, to say those debts were not crimes, it really plays into the fears of the nationalist community here

as our ireland correspondent, emma vardy, explains, the comments have come at an especially sensitivey. she has been saying her language was wrong and this was not her intention. she says it was deeply insensitive to many of those who have lost loved ones. that's really the key point, because of course there are many victims, campaigners, families of people who were killed because of state action during the troubles, and some of them have come out today and said it's a little too little and too late, she should have really turned around her words much, much sooner. we are expecting to hear from karen bradley herself later on. she has had the backing of senior colleagues at downing street. geoffrey cox, the attorney general, in the commons today. really the key thing for karen bradley is, will she be able to retain the confidence of people in northern ireland. her comments came at a particularly sensitive time, of course, because next week we are awaiting the announcement of whether british army veterans who were involved in bloody sunday, in which 14 people were killed in northern ire