a big day in terms of a vote in westminster and then these comments from julian smith, the chief whipo. they are, because they point to the difficulties, the weariness, the beginning of the recriminations over brexit on a day which really could bea game brexit on a day which really could be a game changer day, if at the second time of asking mps manage to secure a majority for a very different softer brexit, perhaps staying in some form of customs union, because that would pose huge, huge difficulties for the prime minister notjust because she has been against a customs union, but such a move would possibly split her party. you could have resignations in the cabinet. faced with that, mrs may might decide it's hopeless and she's just may might decide it's hopeless and she'sjust going to may might decide it's hopeless and she's just going to have a general election. then again, anticlimax klaxon... it election. then again, anticlimax klaxon. .. it could election. then again, anticlimax klaxon... it could all be a damp squib because mps might once again failed to reach a majority for any

its mp is the conservative chief whip julian smith.all, just a few days ago he openly criticised cabinet ministers for their ill discipline during the brexit process. we asked his voters what they thought about the prime minister engaging in brexit talks with the labour leaderjeremy corbyn. you know, if they can actually come to some compromise with the deal and actually agree, then i think that's all to the good. disgusting. he's a communist and they should just come out of the eu, just walk away without a deal. well, it's wrong, isn't it? they're supposed to be opposition, aren't they, against each other. and like they say, it doesn't sound a very good... i wouldn't want him to get into power, i think we'd all be in a worse way than they are now, really. but ijust wish they'd decide something, it's like playground, isn't it, really. well, i think it's like desperation, isn't it? i think they're as confused, the whole lot are as confused as me, in the conversation, you know, the whole brexit debate. i think it does seem like so much o

the chief whip, julian smith, has questioned the government's approach to brexit — arguing that it wased to find a majority for any of the plans put to them last week and theresa may's deal was rejected for a third time including by northern ireland's dup — which the government relies upon for support. our message to the prime minister is do what you should have done at the very start and what you promised you would do and that is only sign an agreement which treats northern ireland the same as the rest of the united kingdom. that's what you promised to do, that's the road you promised to do, that's the road you promised to do, that's the road you promised to take and you did not do that and that's why you are in the trouble you are at present and if she doesn't change her mind, we will continue to argue for it. from today, broadband and landline customers will receive compensation automatically when experiencing issues with their providers. under the new rules, households who suffer from delays to installation or repairs, as well as missed appointments, will get five—pounds deducted f

independent jet and i found a close friend of julian assange smith says that wiki leaks chief he knows has not been painted in the media. junot is very robust and strong person physically quite large and mentally but he has been on the most of her overstrained i mean physically he lost a lot of weight mentally he was still the same julian of course but you can see that here he's a man who'd suffered all no we can't for example the embassy used to close down and you could see that he didn't like being alone rattling around the place he hasn't been outside the ecuadorans were in the last year under the regime of merino were monitoring him inside the embassy to an extraordinary degree there were two cameras in every room except the lavatory even the kitchen one also he was gagged he was while speaking german and the other thing is there's a tension right took a tail this is quite difficult to see and julian has expected to be thrown out of the embassy since before christmas he was just waiting for it to have been i but i don't think he expected to be dragged out in this way the way it hap

we cannot cross live to independent journalist and close friend of julian assange vaughan smith mr smith thank you for joining us on the program now we understand that you thora songe inside the embassy just before he was arrested did he have any inkling of what was about to happen. oh yes i mean he julian has expected to be thrown out of the embassy since before christmas he was just waiting for it to happen but i didn't think he expected to be dragged out in this way i was very disappointed to see that i think the way it happened was to patrol him to help portray him as a fugitive rather than allowing him to walk out himself with dignity because what mental state was he in genuinely june is a very robust and strong person physically quite large and mentally but he has been under mostly strain i mean physically he lost a lot of weight mentally he was still the same julian of course but you could see that he's a man who had suffered he on the weekends for example the embassy used to close down and you could see that he didn't like being alone rattling around the place he hasn't been outs

vaughan smith who is a freelance journalist and a personal friend of julian assange and so able to give us some interesting insight there in fact why don't i start with you. even as a supporter i suspect mr assad's knew this is why this day had to come didn't it the ecuadorians after nearly seven years we're probably going to run out of i guess patience might be the word at some stage well i if this came because there was a change of political administration in ecuador there was a new president who had different populaces of the previous one out attempted to get julian to ecuador but we didn't as a country the british didn't allow allow julian to leave the embassy so we you in touch how much were you in touch with with mr us on shit leading up to this friday before last so eight days ago i had to but because you have to book to go and visit him and so i saw about an hour and a half now he'd be expected to be kicked out he was expecting it from before christmas that any day he would be kicked out i think he was planning to walk out i was quite upset i must say to see the way he was dragg

vaughan smith who is a freelance journalist and a personal friend of julian assange and so able to give us some interesting insight there in fact why don't i start with you. even as a supporter i suspect mr assad's knew this is why this day had to come didn't it the ecuadorians after nearly seven years we're probably going to run out of i guess patience might be the word at some stage well i if this came because there was a change of political administration in ecuador there was a new president who had different populaces of the previous one out attempted to get julian to ecuador but we didn't as a country the british didn't allow allow julian to leave the embassy so we you in touch how much were you in touch with with mr us on leading up to this friday before last so eight days ago i had to but because you have to book to go and visit him and so i saw about an hour and a half now he'd be expected to be kicked out he was expecting it from before christmas that any day he would be kicked out i think he was planning to walk out i was quite upset i must say to see the way he was dragged ou

vaughan smith who is a freelance journalist and a personal friend of julian assange and so able to give us some interesting insight there in fact why don't i start with you. even as a supporter i suspect mr is on to this is well this day had to come didn't it the ecuadorians after nearly seven years we're probably going to run out of i guess patience might be the word at some stage. well i if this came because there was a change of political administration in ecuador there was a new president who had different populaces of the previous one had attempted to get julian to ecuador but we didn't as a country the british didn't allow allow julian to leave the embassy so we're in touch how much were you in touch with with mr us on leading up to this friday before last so eight days ago i had to but because you have to book to go and visit him and so i saw about an hour and a half now he'd be expected to be kicked out he was expecting it from before christmas that any day he would be kicked out i think he was planning to walk out i was quite upset i must say to see the way he was dragged out b

julian castro who has raised 1.1 million. hours after kicking off his official 2020 bid mayor pete buttigieg's campaign announced it raised another $1 million. liz smithced in comparison buttigieg raised only $120,000 in the 24 hours after launching his presidential exploratory committee in late january. first quarter fec filings show buttigieg has spent less than $700,000 of the more than 7 million raised. a burn rate of less than 10% compared to about 85% for senator elizabeth warren and mayor pete, by the way, will be our guest on thursday morning. it will be great to see him. >> it will be great to see him again. nick confessore, a lot to digest when you look at the numbers. i am impressed by the burn rate of mayor pete being so low. one of the first bits of advice i got before i launched my campaign was an old washington hand told me hey, kid, here's the secret. raise a lot of money and don't spend any of it. >> mayor pete's number is the convergence of two important trends in politics. the first is viral politics. you can make a campaign out of moments that go viral. you can have a moment and a second and third moment. the second is there is now

is julian smith right, the cabinet destabilising the pm?n for the chief whip, he has an incredibly difficult job in such a difficult parliament so i've got great confidence in him. this is the most ill disciplined cabinet in political history, is this right?|j certainly hope not. thank you. further sign of cabinet tensions emerge this morning with chief secretary liz truss taking a tougher line saying she had no fears of no deal and also suggesting that the idea of a customs union was "incredibly problematic" and she suggested that the best solution was a little bit of nip and tuck with the prime minister's deal and for her to bring it back to the commons yet again. the prime minister's deal remains the most popular option so farand remains the most popular option so far and also the most well thought through option. it's an option that's been worked on for two years. quite a lot of these other ideas have been dreamt up, i'm afraid, on the back of an envelope and won't necessarily pass muster. so, what is downing street doing amongst all th

julian smith has also said the conservatives should have made it clear they would have to accept a softerxit after losing their majority in the 2017 election. his intervention comes as the cabinet is deeply split on the question of whether the uk should be more closely aligned with the eu than envisaged in theresa may's plan. meanwhile, mps are preparing to vote again on possible alternatives to the deal this evening in another round of indicative votes. a series of indicative votes is when mps vote on a series of options designed to test the will of parliament to see what, if anything, could command a majority. in this case, the votes are being used to test support for a range of different brexit outcomes. a customs union with the eu is thought to be the most popular of the ideas under consideration. a customs union is a trade agreement under which two or more countries do not put tariffs on goods coming in from other countries in the union. the countries also decide to set the same tariffs on goods entering from outside the union. so a customs union with the eu would allow businesses to

let's speak now to vaughan smith, a long—time supporter ofjulian assange who last visited him at the ecuadorian embassy on friday. when you saw julianiday, less than a week ago, how was he? she was a very tense time for him because he was expecting to be thrown out. —— heat. as a person, he suffered horribly, especially in the last year where he lost his internet, visiting restrictions have been imposed on him. he has lost his voice, he was gagged so he was not allowed to talk to journalist. two cameras in most rooms, he was entirely monitored. he found it very tough, but he is a robust person physically and mentally, i think he found the solitude particularly difficult. did he have any sense of what he had done, he knew was going to get them into legal trouble? that hacking into a government computer and disseminating national security information from the us government was bound to lead to a difficult situation for him? to be of any difficulties about doing it.|j situation for him? to be of any difficulties about doing it. i would not even say he hacked into a computer, that has to be tested in the courts. he knew that he was prov