helen catt, bbc news.inister stephen dorrell has joined the liberal democrats. mr dorrell, who served as health secretary injohn major's government, left the conservatives to join change uk earlier this year. writing in the times, he said liberal conservatives and social democrats should "break cover" from their respective parties and join the liberal democrats in a "big tent". a man's been arrested on suspicion of murder after three men were found dead in colchester. police were called to an address on wellesley road yesterday evening — where they found two men dead inside the property and the body of a third man in a car outside. a 32—year—old man from colchester has been arrested. a bbc radioi extra live music event in birmingham, was ended early last night, after a man was attacked with a knife backstage. the rapper, krept, suffered a slash wound before his performance. this morning he tweeted a message thanking supporters and saying he is ‘good and will be back in no time.‘ the bbc said it was saddene

helen catt, bbc news.bc radioi extra live music event in birmingham was ended early last night after a man was attacked with a knife backstage. the rapper krept suffered a slash wound before his performance. this morning he tweeted a message thanking supporters and saying he is "good and will be back in no time". the bbc said it was saddened at what happened and is offering its full support. mental health trusts in england claim that patients are being put at risk by outdated buildings and unsafe wards. the organisation, nhs providers, says mental health facilities largely missed out when the government recently announced new funding for hospitals. the department of health insists that record spending is transforming services. at least five people have been killed in a new round of clashes in the iraqi capital baghdad between anti—government protesters and police. the united nations has called for an end to the "senseless loss of life" as the death toll from five days of violence nears 100. it's the deadli

here's our correspondent helen catt. i hope you're having a productive...ayor of london boris johnson agreed to speak at her events, young tech entrepreneur jennifer arcuri was overjoyed. ready to hang out! he ended up being a star attraction at several. you like hanging out with us, right? she took pa rt hanging out with us, right? she took part ina hanging out with us, right? she took part in a number of trade missions run by city hall and received public funds while he was in post. speaking to itv‘s good morning britain earlier, jennifer arcuri denied their friendship earlier, jennifer arcuri denied theirfriendship had earned her preferential treatment. boris never ever gave me favouritism. never once didi ever gave me favouritism. never once did i ask him for a favour, never once did he write a letter of recommendation for me. she said mr johnson had become a really good friend and that he visited her at her office in herflat in east london five, ten, and handful of times. she refused to answer questions about whether there had been a more intimate rela

helen catt, bbc news.ined the liberal democrats. mr dorrell, who was a conservative mp for 36 years and served as health secretary injohn major's government, had already left the conservatives to join change uk earlier this year. writing in the times, he said liberal conservatives and social democrats should "break cover" and join the liberal democrats in a "big tent". a bbc radio1 extra live music event in birmingham was ended early last night after a man was attacked with a knife backstage. the rapper krept suffered a slash wound before his performance. this morning, he tweeted a message thanking supporters and saying he is "good and will be back in no time". the bbc said it was saddened at what happened and is offering its full support. roman catholic bishops have been gathering at the vatican earlier this morning, for the start of a three—week meeting which will include discussions on whether to allow married men to be ordained as priests. pope francis led a mass this morning to open the meeting, where

helen catt, bbc news, westminster.itical correspondent, vicki young, is in westminster. where does this leave things. she didn't answer the question she was asked. i guess people are interested in borisjohnson‘s love life. she didn't answer about their relationship. but she did admit they we re relationship. but she did admit they were good friends. if you look at the code of conduct. it is about declaring interests, so it could be a picture for borisjohnson. the maybe issue is whether publish funds we re maybe issue is whether publish funds were misused. there have been ongoing investigation and they will run for some time and this is a massive distraction for the prime minister, people talking about his relationships and suspected wrong doing. he denied anything was done wrong and he is trying to close this down, because he has many other things he needs to be looking at. some of his inner circle will hope these investigations don't come out against him, but also it was so long ago, it is not the ministerial code, he

helen catt, westminster how do you leave their tactics?uch pushing what they will be doing in the campaign in the run—up to the general election. so it is looking like labour is more keen to talk, not just by brexit like labour is more keen to talk, notjust by brexit as the conservatives would like to, but more about public services. talking of this radical campaign of change in the nhs is strong ground for labour and one that he would push at most elections and coming back strong in the course of this campaign. returned to the liberal democrats, their policies to stop brexit right away. here's their leader. here's their leaderjo swinson. they have a choice between more than just the two tired old parties. people deserve to hear from a leader who wants to stop brexit. tonightjo swinson was asked by the bbc‘s andrew neil whether the lib dems would go into coalition with labour this is what she had to say. i have been really clear, jeremy corbyn is not going to be put into number ten on the back of liberal democrat votes nor is borisjohnson.

helen catt, bbc news, westminster. between borisjohnson let's talk about the chat between boris johnson and jeremy corbyn. what did you learn about that? boris johnson and jeremy corbyn. what did you learn about that7m doesn't seem to have gotten very far. it was a very rare meeting of the two. they had others with them, as well. they had their advisers with them, and labour have said they have tried to offer to agree on a new timetable to get this bill through, offering a few more days for them to do it. now it seems as if the other side, the government, have not taken them up on it. the problem is boris johnson have not taken them up on it. the problem is borisjohnson has spent the last few months over and over again in public that he will make sure the uk leaves the eu without a deal or with on 31 october. to leave without would seem to be breaking his promise, so the decision he must make is whether he pursues trying to get that deal through and breaking that promise, or whether he uses any delay that is granted by

helen catt in westminster.d ireland be willing to give ground on? the language has been a lot more optimistic today, but the detail of what leo varadkar optimistic today, but the detail of what leo va radkar and optimistic today, but the detail of what leo varadkar and borisjohnson talked about in that meeting earlier has been kept tightly under wraps. they‘re not entirely sure what may have been discussed in terms of being able to give ground on either side. we do know they did focus on those two challenges as you just outlined on customs and consent. and on those issues, the two sides of been quite a long way apart. it is with being cautious around the idea that whatever is being discussed may lead to some sort of major breaks and break through. what it does though is he keeps the show on the road. it keeps both sides talking ahead of the crucial eu summit next week, starting on the 17th of 0ctober. he keeps the stalks going and tomorrow we know that the brexit secretary will meet with the eu negotiator to ta

debate his brexit deal, if they agree to a 12 december election. 0ur uk political correspondent helen catttest move. we have seen him try and get one through the house of commons twice and failed to do so, so his general argument is that this is a parliament thatjust cannot agree on brexit, it cannot agree a way forward, so he needs to start again. but of course, we did see he introduced his withdrawal agreement bill and did get some backing for it to move to the next stage. so arguably he can get it through but his worry is that he cannot get it through entirely in the house of commons in its current makeup. not quite in the form that he would like it. his argument is that this parliament cannot agree so we need a new one. what effect does all of this have on the timetable for brexit and any possible delay? the date still currently set for brexit is a week today, the 31st of october. but it is pretty clear that it is unlikely to happen with a deal, and assuming that the eu grants an extension, as it is thought it will over the next few days, that will mean that brexit day is pushed back s

helen catt is in westminster. let's begin with labour. it can be ha rd to let's begin with labour. definition of taking no deal off the table? absolutely, and it will be crucial certainly open to this point, they've been talking about in terms of that idea of taking a no—deal brexit off the table, which is what the eu granting an extension would effectively do. because at this point in time, the legal position is a no—deal brexit next thursday. but the eu agreeing to any form of extension would stop that. that clip you've just played there seems to be pointing towards this idea that some opposition mps have been talking out ofa opposition mps have been talking out of a trap door to no deal within the withdrawal agreement, which is effectively when you get to the end of the implementation period in december next year, if disagreement is agreed, they think there are no current safeguards to stop us leaving without some sort of agreement or trade deal at the end of next year. hopefully this becomes clearer once we get that extension offer from the clearer once we get that extension of

our correspondent helen catt is in westminsterfor us.idea, it's easy to ask but what on earth is going to happen today? your guess is as good as mine with brexit but we know what is scheduled to happen. today will be the first test of whether boris johnson has actually got the numbers to get his withdrawal deal through parliament. as you said, what is going before parliament today is a piece of legislation which would turn the withdrawal agreement into uk law. the way parliament works is this would need to be passed through the house of commons and the house of lords, through several different stages, before next thursday. that is quite a difficult task. today we are getting a second reading so it needs to pass a vote of mps to progress to the next stage which is called the committee stage, that's where mps would try and change the legislation using amendments. if that follows on from that it would go to another vote of mps on thursday evening and would have to pass that before the house of lords repeat the same process. there are quite

thank you very much, helen catt.le while to put arrangements in place but the first same—sex weddings will ta ke but the first same—sex weddings will take place here, appropriately enough, in the week of valentine‘s day next year, so big celebrations at the lg bt day next year, so big celebrations at the lgbt community yesterday and overnight. abortion has been a bit more controversial, it has been decriminalised in northern ireland, people campaigning against the change in the law save means northern ireland has gone from having the most restrictive abortion laws in the uk to one of the most liberal abortion regimes in europe. what will happen now? the government will put in place plans for abortion services, they have until the end of march next year to do that, so now the focus will turn to exactly, for example, under what circumstances abortion will be available to women in northern ireland and the issue of conscientious objection for people working in the health service who do not want to be involved in abortion

we'll speak to our political correspondent helen catt. theresa may's deal hit the buffers at westminster, and it looks like westminster might be the sticking point again this time. and as you say, the dup, which has ten mps at westminster representing northern irish seats, has issued this statement saying that as things stand we could not support what is being suggested on customs and consent issues, and there is a lack of clarity on vat. most of that relates to borisjohnson's proposals for a place in what was known as the backstop, so this is the backstop arrangement if a free—trade agreement can't be reached, which would mean you wouldn't have to put a hard border on the island of ireland. originally boris johnson had been proposing technical solutions to try and stop having have customs checks. this appears to have customs checks. this appears to have changed in the negotiations to a political solution once again that the dup says it cannot accept. then this idea of consent. what it means bya this idea of consent. what it means by a co

here's our political correspondent helen catt. are you going to get the deal through today? sounding cheaper but the government is now in a race against time. it's gotjust over a week to get its withdrawal agreement bill through both houses of parliament if it is to meet its promise of keeping to the brexit deadline of the 31st of october. it's giving mps just three days to debate the bill, not long enough say some full such an important document that's over 100 pages long. in order for politicians to do theirjob properly, we need to have time. the idea we are going to be bounced as a country out of the eu ina be bounced as a country out of the eu in a few days without politicians being given a chance to look carefully at the basis on which we are making this decision is wrong. of course we don't agree with this. this is an artificial timetable and we don't see why we should play boris johnson's game. we don't see why we should play boris johnson's game. the commons will be asked to agree this timetable, which is unusually short, this evening. if they don't, the government w

our political correspondent helen catt is in westminster to make sense of it all.can do that, you will be doing very well. i would be winning, in that case! the big question, is brexit going to happen on the 31st of october? it is looking increasingly unlikely, it is a week tomorrow. it is still the date in law the uk is set to leave but, at the weekend, a letter was sent by borisjohnson, the weekend, a letter was sent by boris johnson, written the weekend, a letter was sent by borisjohnson, written by parliament, that parliament compelled him to send, asking the eu foran compelled him to send, asking the eu for an extension, to delay that leaving date. the dating outlet was the 31st of january so after last night's defeat for him, when he worked out he would be very unlikely to push the legislation to get the deal ratified in the uk through parliament in time to leave a week tomorrow, he has now said he is going to pause that legislation, stop trying to push it through parliament which means it is now effectively up to the eu, if they will decide to offer an exten

our political correspondent helen catt said that talks are due to resume tomorrow.ssion this morning is about how do we get to the point where the uk and the eu get into intensive negotiations, the type that are needed to get a deal thrashed out ahead of the eu council on the 17th of october and what borisjohnson says in his article this morning is that he believes it is up to the eu to move on this. he says, they need to join us at the negotiation table in the spirit of compromise and cooperation. he uses an analogy of the uk jumping into an island in the middle of a river and now he needs the eu to do the same. what might improve the chances of that is if he goes to brussels armed with proposals that have the support of mps, and he says he believes he has that, to a degree. he says there are mps from every wing of his party that support his proposals from the dup and even some labour mps. shadow attourney general said there was doubt cast on the number of labour mps that might support that this morning. the deal that he is currently proposing, that is not going do

let's speak to our political correspondet helen catt. and the speaker, now we understand in the last hour, they have also decided to stand down. that tally of more than 50 mp5, stand down. that tally of more than 50 mps, nikki morgan, the culture secretary has stated that for the first time in18 secretary has stated that for the first time in 18 years, shall not be standing in receipts and particularly what is interesting about her letter that she has published is that she also cites what she says is the clear impact of herfamily in what she says is the clear impact of her family in the abuse she receives for doing thejob of her family in the abuse she receives for doing the job of a her family in the abuse she receives for doing thejob of a modern mp and says that is only worth it if parliament does what it is supposed to do and the implication of that is at the moment it has not. she mentioned that abuse which has been a topic that we have are particularly among female mps in the last sort of years becoming a real issue. we will see how

we're joined now by our political correspondent, helen catt at westminster. good morning to you.al election... i can't imagine what people are thinking when they wake up people are thinking when they wake up this morning and then, ok, that's next, is it? what are we thinking about this? it looks closer than it has been of late. a lot will depend on what the eu comes back with is the length of the extension. boris johnson suggested if it was pushing back the brexit deadline for several months, he will push for a general election. borisjohnson months, he will push for a general election. boris johnson cannot unilaterally decide to go on. under the fixed—term parliaments act he has to have the support of two thirds of mps in the house of commons. in normal times that wouldn't be a problem getting opposition mps to vote for an election as we never tire of saying we are not in usual times. when borisjohnson has tried twice in the last few months to get an election opposition parties have said no, we won't give you that and the reason we are not going to do that is because we are worri

our political correspondent, helen catt is at westminster.nts it? borisjohnson has tried twice to get an early election through parliament, and on both occasions he has failed. fell short of that magic 434 number, that's two thirds of the mps in the house of commons. is that likely to change on monday? well, for context borisjohnson has 288 conservatives, so you can see the gap that he needs to bridge and as you heard in the piece there it does not seem the opposition parties are particularly minded to vote for it at this stage particularly in the absence of any more detail from the eu on any extension. we also know the dup has not committed to voting for this either. it will take time over the weekend. it does look like he may fall short particularly if labour abstains once again as the did the last two times and it's where the best gas work is in westminster for what they might end up westminster for what they might end up doing on monday. so where does that leave boris johnson? up doing on monday. so where does that leave borisjohnson? it'

in a moment will talk to our political correspondent in westminster, helen catt.r europe correspondent, gavin lee. we heard it from donald tusk, the time is practically up. so we have glimmers of optimism but my goodness, so little time left? glimmers of optimism but my goodness, so little time left7m is. after weeks of pouring scorn and cold water, certainly from this side of the water, onto borisjohnson‘s brexit deal proposal, suddenly, there is this momentum. there is an energy. i was texting with a couple of european commission officials today, there was a sense that this is going to go somewhere. i tell you, before now, there has been a lull, since that where are we going? but now, whilst to small and head donald tusk saying he believes that 40 much, almost insurmountable, but let's see how this plays out over the weekend. —— far too much. we refer in the past, when theresa may had these talks, they went into the so—called tunnel where mobiles were effectively out the window, went in rome, negotiate until some compromises, in theresa may's case she did not. t

and also i'm joined by our political correspondent helen catt.nsistently held the line that the government will be obeying the law but we will be leaving on 31st october and it doesn't seem that it has materially changed this afternoon. a senior downing street source afternoon. a senior downing street source has pointed to what it called a very narrow specific duty concerning the parliament letter requesting a delay which it talked about and said that can be interpreted in different ways. they also said that the act does not prevent the government from doing other things that cause no delay. we talk about communications both public and private, so there is still speculation that downing street has something up its sleeve around this. the former lord chancellor lord falconer has suggested perhaps the submissions are a way to convince the court that it doesn't need to pass any kind of coercive order that would compel borisjohnson to coercive order that would compel boris johnson to sign it coercive order that would compel borisjohnson to sign it or

our political correspondent, helen catt is at westminster.n? he has asked twice and twice he has failed. what are the chances of it having a more successful result on monday? at the moment, they are not looking all that good. for all the reasons you heard john outline of whether different opposition parties are. this is important because of the fixed—term parliaments act which means he has to get two thirds of mps to vote in favour of an election. he needs 434 mp5, that is the manic number. borisjohnson only has 288 conservatives so you see where his problem lies, he has got to pick up mangers —— members of the position to go for this. if labour abstained, as it did in the last two occasions, which is where the guesswork thinks it might go to on monday, vertically in the absence of a decision on any extension from brussels, the detail of a decision, it looks like he will form —— fall a long way short. for all boris johnson the talk of manning up, well, it is labour who holds the power here in granting an election, purely because of the maths

our political correspondent helen catt is in westminster for us. helen, how imminent is a deal?at midnightand promises is was going to end at midnight and then it didn't. the details of the talks are being kept pretty under wraps by both sides but downing street has described the talks which finished after midnight last night as construct, that progress was being made, that they will continue this morning. the message from both sides over the last few days have been pretty consistent that a deal is possible. they can see a pathway to it more work needs to be done. the crucial issue now, though, is the timing was up issue now, though, is the timing was up as you mentioned, tomorrow is the big eu summit which downing street has consistently pointed to as being where a deal may be done. there is also the big parliamentary deadline looming as well. saturday the 19th of october. that is the date in a law that was passed by mps last month that says if borisjohnson hasn't got a deal by that point then he has to ask the eu to delay brexit and delay the process untiljanuary next year. th

let's speak to our political correspondent, helen catt, who's in our london newsroom.his is where the kind of politics really begins, the persuasion to try and get those on the eu side of things to take his proposal seriously. absolutely. in this article borisjohnson calls on the eu tojoin us at article borisjohnson calls on the eu to join us at the negotiating table ina eu to join us at the negotiating table in a spirit of compromise and cooperation. he uses the analogy of the uk having jumped to an island in the uk having jumped to an island in the middle of a river and he wants the middle of a river and he wants the eu to do the same. one way he suggests of increasing the chances of that happening are if he can go to brussels armed with proposals that mps support. he uses this article to suggest that he believes that support is growing. mps from every wing of his party, from the dup and even some labour mps think this is a deal which look like one they can get behind. the question is whether it looks like a deal that the eu can get behind and the nose is here are re

our political correspondent helen catt has been following the day's developments.he prime minister is urging mps to back his withdrawal agreement bill, but along with reassurances, a threat. if parliament refuses to allow brexit to happen and instead, gets its way and decides to delay everything untiljanuary or possibly longer, in those circumstances the government can't continue with this. with great regret i will go directly to the point that the honourable gentleman raises. with great regret the bill will have to be pulled and we will have to go forward, much as the right honourable gentleman might not like it, we will have to go forward to a general election. the government is racing the clock to try to push the bill through both houses of parliament in just over a week so it can keep its pledge to leave the eu on the planned brexit day, next thursday. it gives mps just three days to debate the detail, not long enough say some for such an important document that is over 100 pages long. page after page of what amounts to nothing less then a charter to nothing le

let's speak to our political correspondent, helen catt, who's in westminster now.eremy corbyn sojeremy corbyn has been speaking about this in the last few minutes. what has he had to say, any chance that the labour party would support the prime minister's pushed for an election on 12 december? they are crucial, as you heard laura explained there. boris johnson cannot just call and election. explained there. boris johnson cannotjust call and election. he has to pass a vote in parliament, and two thirds of mps must agree to back one. so getting labour on site is really important, if boris johnson is going to get his election. so what labour and jeremy corbyn has said this evening is what we have heard from them a lot recently, this idea that it wants no deal taken off the table, and we absolutely support a general election. he says that they will then decide tomorrow, the eu will decide whether there is an extension, then labour can decide. and so it is a case of waiting longer to see if labour will back this or not. a similar story we were hearing from the lib dems

our correspondent helen catt has the latest. i hope you're having a productive...o speak at her events, young tech entrepreneur jennifer arcuri was overjoyed. i'm ready to hang out! boris is hanging out! he ended up being a star attraction at several. you like hanging out with us, right? she took part in a number of trade missions run by city hall and received public funds while he was in post. speaking to itv‘s good morning britain earlier, jennifer arcuri denied theirfriendship had earned her preferential treatment. boris never ever gave me favouritism. never once did i ask him for a favour, never once did he write a letter of recommendation for me. he did not know about me asking to go to trips. she said mrjohnson had become a really good friend and that he visited her at her office in her flat in east london five, ten, and handful of times. she refused to answer questions about whether there had been a more intimate relationship. because the press have made me this objectified ex—model pole dancer, i'm really not going to answer that question. so you won't deny

our political correspondent, helen catt, joins us now from westminster.nt? yes, the next few days are absolutely vital in trying to move on these talks to a position where they are in intense negotiations. needed to hammer out a final deal. so far, eu leaders have said what the government has put forward isn't enough to be able to that so we're going to see this diary of activity, more talks with civil servants in brussels. stephen barclay, the brexit secretary touring european capitals and boris johnson brexit secretary touring european capitals and borisjohnson speaking to eu leaders and we are expecting him to say much what he said to the french president yesterday which is that he now believes the eu must match the compromises that he says the uk has made in recent weeks and months, that this is a final opportunity to get a brexit deal but they must compromise to achieve it. as you said, immanuel micron has given the deadline to the end of the week to see if this deal is possible. —— emmanuel macron. why this time? downing street has pointed to this b

helen catt, bbc news, westminster. what is the answer it. i know someone what is the answer it.written by borisjohnson, if they come back and say yes then the extension will go to the end of january, but say yes then the extension will go to the end ofjanuary, butjurors could accept that. they could go to another date, but then parliament would have to fill out all of that. let's discuss it with a conservative mp. you have been trying to urge some of our eu counterparts to veto any extension. how is that going? extremely difficult. as the first—ever polish born and as a fluid public speaker, i've been trying to convince our friends and we re trying to convince our friends and were sought to veto any extension. the overwhelming sentiment of the british people is they want this done they are sick and tired of parliament blocking and obstructing our ability to leave the european union. as you know, the european union. as you know, the european union acts as a cartel and each country is petrified of moving away from the collective will of the european union. what have they said to y

helen catt reports. january, or possibly longer, in no circumstances can the government continue with this. and, with great regret, i must turn directly to the point that the honourable gentleman raises. with great regret, i must say that the bill will have to be called and we will have to go forward... much as the right honourable gentleman may not like it, we will have to go forward to a general election. the government is racing the clock to try to push the bill through both houses of parliament in just over a week, so it can keep its pledge to leave the eu on the planned brexit day next thursday. it gives mps just three days to debate the detail — not long enough, say some, for such an important document that's over a hundred pages long. page after page of what amounts to nothing less than a charter for deregulation and a race to the bottom. a deal and a bill that fails to protect our rights and our natural world, fails to protectjobs and the economy, fails to protect every region and nation in the u

saying that his proposals are picking up support among mps on all sides. 0ur political correspondent helen catt me now. tell us what he has been saying in the newspaper articles. all of the discussion this morning is around how we get to the point where the eu and uk get into intensive negotiations, the thought that i needed to get the deal thrashed out ahead of the eu council on the 17th of october. what borisjohnson says in his article this morning is that he believes it is up to the eu to move on this. he believes they need tojoin us at move on this. he believes they need to join us at the negotiating table in the spirit of compromise and cooperation and he uses the analogy of the uk having jumped to an island in the middle of a river and he needs the eu to do the same. 0ne other thing that he suggests might improve the chances of that happening is if he can go to brussels and with proposals that have the support of mps and he believes he has got back to a degree. he says there are mps from every wing of his party that support his proposals, from the dup, and also he said from some labour mp

saying that his proposals are picking up support among mps on all sides. 0ur political correspondent helen catts with me now. tell us more about what the prime minister has been writing this morning. boris johnson says the eu should join us at the negotiating table ina should join us at the negotiating table in a spirit of compromise and cooperation and he uses this analogy of the uk having jumped to an island in the middle of the river, and now he wants the eu to make the corresponding jump from the other side. 0ne corresponding jump from the other side. one way he suggests in this article that the chances of that might be improved is if he can go to brussels and with proposals that mps support. he had said in this article that he believes that the beginnings of that are there. he believed he had support from mps in every wing of his own party and even the dup and some labour mps are saying this looks like a deal that they could get behind. so what has the european reaction been? initially when these proposals were put to the european union last week, they said that they welcomed the proposals