let's go and listen to lord fowler.ers receive a request to invite a head of state to invite parliament, they both have two agreed to issue an invitation after consultation. the whole purpose is to seek consensus, ensuring that both houses have the opportunity to consider a request. yesterday in the commons, mr burke broke said he was opposed to the president speaking. i should make it clear i was not consulted about that decision. however, the speaker contacted me this morning. he told me that while he maintained his view on the issue, he was genuinely sorry for failing to consult with me. obviously i accepted that apology. my view is that i will keep an open mind and consider any request from mrtrump to mind and consider any request from mr trump to address parliament if and when it is made. i do not intend to argue the case for or against mr trump's visit. that is not my role as speaker. but allow me to say that i have spent the last 30 years campaigning against prejudice and discrimination, particularly forthe right

the lord's speaker, lord fowler, tells peers he'd keep an "open mind" about any request by us presidentrump to address parliament. i will keep an open mind and consider any request from mr trump. the government announces plans for a million new homes by 2020 as ministers admit england's housing market is ‘broken‘. opposition mps say it will do little to provide genuinely affordable housing. a warning the uk tax burden is set to rise to its highest level for 30 years, despite continuing cuts to public services. a jailed royal marine goes to court to appeal his conviction for murdering an injured afghan insurgent. also... a 10 minute appointment with your gp. how the uk has some of the shortest doctor appointment times in europe. and children as young as ten are feeling the pressure to look good in selfies. sometimes people get more alike than you and you may getjealous. sometimes people get more alike than you and you may get jealouslj sometimes people get more alike than you and you may get jealous. i take about five before i pick one. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the governm

a short while ago, the speaker of the lords, lord fowler responded to the comments made by mr bercowterday in parliament. yesterday the commons john bercow said he was opposed to the president speaking. i should said he was opposed to the president speaking. ishould make said he was opposed to the president speaking. i should make it clear that i was not consulted on that decision or its timing. however the speaker contacted me this morning, he told me while he maintains his view on the issue, he was genuinely sorry forfailing to view on the issue, he was genuinely sorry for failing to consult with me. obviously i accepted that apology. my view is that i will keep an open mind and consider any request for mr trump to address parliament if and when it is made. i do not intend to argue the case for oi’ do not intend to argue the case for or against the visit of mr trump, thatis or against the visit of mr trump, that is not my role as speaker. patrick kidd is the times‘ parliamentary sketch writer, hejoins me from our studio in westminster. i'm sure you're having some fun with this your

now that story moved to the house of lords a little earlier today, when lord's speaker lord fowler gavetoday, when lord's speaker lord fowler gavejohn bercow a little bit ofa fowler gavejohn bercow a little bit of a ticking off, by suggesting it was a breach of protocol. but both speakers should act in consultation and then decide who gets invited to come here when it comes to foreign leaders. he said he had an open mind as to whether donald trump should come here. a number of points of order and were raised in the house of commons about what the speaker had said yesterday. some conservative mps raising their concerns about the fact this had been done. the speaker has an historically impartial role in that seat. but mr bercow stood by his decision. he said he had acted honourably when he said what he did yesterday. thank you for that update. the scottish parliament has voted against plans to leave the european union, though the supreme court has already ruled that the uk government doesn't need to consult the devolved administrations. msps voted by 90 to 3a in favour of a motion put for

and lord fowler said that he wasn't consulted.e it clear that he was opposed to the president speaking. i can say that i wasn't consulted on that decision. although john bercow received rapturous applause from the opposition benches, some on the government side, not always great fans of the speaker, weren't so happy. so was the speaker wrong to express a view shared by many mps and members of the public? there's nothing wrong with that if you're the prime minister, possibly even if you're the monarchy, you know, that is what the leaders of the country are there to do. he's not the leader of the country, though, hisjob is to be a very independent arbiter of proceedings in the house of commons. and the speaker was taken to task by certain sections of the press. so he's been a very good speaker certainly for backbenchers, for journalists too, regularly, almost every day, certainly once or twice a week he will call a minister to the house of lords to answer an urgent question, which is great because that is almost always topical. when

mr bercow‘s counterpart in the house of lords, lord fowler, e the royal marine serving a life sentence against his conviction. alexander blackman, previously known as marine a, is arguing that he was suffering from combat stress at the time of the incident. 0ur defence correspondent, jonathan beale, reports from the royal courts ofjustice. this video, filmed on a helmet camera by one of the marines on the patrol, shows the moment an apache helicopter opens fire and then sergeantrblackmanrandrene— the insurgent who'd been wounded. the court refused an application by the bbc to release the clips of the next moments, when he was dragged across the field and then shot by blackman. in 2013 a military court found alexander blackman, also known as marine a, guilty of murder. but today his wife arrived at court at the start of a fresh appeal to have that sentence quashed and substituted with manslaughter instead. blackman himself listened to the proceedings by video link from the wiltshere prison where he is serving an eight—year sentence. his new defence team argued to a panel ofjudges that h

lord fowler, the lords speaker, says he‘s keeping an open mind on the possibility of mr trump addressingorrespondent chris mason reports. the ultimate accolade on a state visit. the red carpet and the chance to address both houses of parliament. so this is where president trump might have got to stand and now he won‘t. it is the oldest part of parliament, westminster hall, dating back to the 11th century. critics say the speaker‘s remarks went too far. i don‘t think he wants to play politics, but clearly that is how it is being interpreted. he prides himself on being able to speak for the whole house and remaining neutral. i think this statement that he made takes him away from that position and exposes him to the accusation of hypocrisy. i invite you, mr president, to address us. there were, after all, gushing words and the hand of friendship for the president of china, despite criticism of his country‘s human rights record. president xi addressed the royal gallery. but the speaker‘s view of president trump... 0ur opposition to racism and to sexism... good on you, mr speaker, say some m

lord fowler has managed to get the speaker to apologize for it. to both houses. the commons and the lords together. the speaker of the lords has gotten him to apologize for misusing procedure. so maybe it game is back on. but the sooner we are rid of a speaker like this the better. in previous times a speaker who behaved like this would have been dealt with robustly indeed. stuart: thank you very much indeed. thank you, sir. left-hand side of your screen, you just saw vice president pence arrive on capitol hill for the first time ever a deciding vote will be cast by the vice president to tip the scales in favor of the confirmation of the education secretary. more to cover. back in a moment. as after a dvt blood clot,ital i sure had a lot to think about. what about the people i care about? ...including this little girl. and what if this happened again? i was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me? so i asked my doctor. and he recommended eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of

norman fowler takes a different view and says donald trump would be welcome to take an address in the house of lordscommons, i hope the commons would vote to allow the president of the united states to address both houses, and let those members who do not want to meet the president of united states for whatever reason, they do not have to be present. thank you very much. just to let you know, when the speaker came through on the‘s procession at short time ago, he was looking supremely relaxed, not like a man feeling the pressure. he was waving to the schoolchildren in the pond of it, so we will see how he copes if mps get up and start to question hisjudgment. just before we let you go, just another question on events. labour‘s shadow cabinet deciding that the next brexit bill will be a three line whip vote for the labour party? yes, this is significant. labour put down a whole barrage of amendments on the brexit bill. jeremy corbyn told his mps they must back the bill, regardless of what happens to the amendments. that means the bill will most certainly go through, but it also signals to labour folk