nick eardley, bbc news. with me is our political correspondent, nick eardley.e are having a lot of interventions coming through. how damaging is this for theresa may? iain duncan smith is someone who has been critical of the prime minister and her approach. he is going further today saying that the extent of the losses for the conservative party in the local elections mean that the prime minister now needs to stand down. she needs to set at departure date and it needs to be imminent. she is test —— he is not part of the camp that has been clamouring for her to go away the last few weeks, but the election has pushed him over the edgein election has pushed him over the edge in that sense. i spoke to him and hour ago edge in that sense. i spoke to him and hourago and edge in that sense. i spoke to him and hour ago and he has said she is and hour ago and he has said she is a caretaker. she is holding the role for someone else. she should stand down soon or be forced to do so by her party. we know it will not be easy for the party to do that, they have tried before.

nick eardley, bbc news. now on bbc news it's time for the travel show.oming up on this week's programme: the clubbers picking up paintbrushes to help with a hurricane clear up in the caribbean... it's really important to bond with the community and also give back to the community. why neon lights could soon be a thing of the past in hong kong... we are a by—product of east meets west and neon is the essence of this as well. we meet the people piecing back together some of afg hanistan‘s priceless works of art... and i'm in dubai getting a taste of life in the fast lane. oh, my days! we're starting off this week's show on the caribbean island of st martin which, back in september 2017, was hit by one of the most powerful atlantic storms in its history. the hurricane was huge, bringing winds of over 300 kilometres per hour and it left a trail of devastation in its path. but almost two years on, the island is now back and open for business. and this year, one of dance music's biggest annual festivals lent the locals a helping hand to. we sent greg mckenzie

nick eardley, bbc news. a little earlier nick told me more about mr duncan smith's call for the prime minister to stand down. iain duncan smith is someone who has been critical of the prime minister's approach. has been critical of the prime minister's deal. he is going further today saying that the extent of the losses for the conservative party in the local elections mean that the prime minister now needs to announce her departure date and it needs to be imminent. he is not part of the camp that has been clamouring for her to go away the last few weeks, but the local election has pushed him over the edge in that sense. the word he used when i spoke to him about an hour ago was caretaker pm. he thinks the prime minister is now just holding the role for someone else. and that she either needs to announce she is standing down soon or be forced to do so by her party. we know it will not be easy for the party to do that, they have tried before. how many times have we sat here and talked about potential, imminen

nick eardley, bbc news.is still underway in northern ireland's local elections, where the dup and sinn fein have won the largest share of the vote. but it's the smaller parties and independents who have made significant gains. the cross—community alliance party increased their share of the vote to nearly 12%. the greens also increased their number of seats. the former defence secretary gavin williamson has described a government investigation into a leak of information from a high level security meeting as a "shabby and discredited witch hunt". scotland yard said today the leak about the chinese tech firm huawei didn't amount to a criminal offence. mr williamson was sacked after theresa may said there was compelling evidence he was behind it. he has strenuously denied the allegation. 0ur political correspondent chris mason is here. is sounding ever more personal, this? it really is and it is not going away. this is all about the national security council, this forum deep within government that is meant to be

nick eardley, bbc news.ed in the northern irish elections, where the dup and sinn fein have won the largest share of the vote. but it's the smaller parties and independents who have made significant gains. the cross—community alliance party were the biggest winners, largely at the expense of unionist parties, with the greens also making gains. sinn fein‘s number of seats remained static. talks aimed at reviving northern ireland's power sharing administration are due to be held next week — john campbell has more. well, there's no real surprise in that the dup and sinn fein are still the two largest parties. the dup is to the right a little, sinn fein is the biggest national party, so really, the story was that surge by the alliance party, drawing support from catholic and protestants. it mainly had its support in greater belfast, middle—class areas, but here it pushed its appeal far beyond that, for example, it won a seat on derry city council for the first time in a0 years. the leader of that party, says tha

our political correspondent, nick eardley reports.e most unlikely of brexit pairings, but could theresa may and jeremy corbyn unite and agree a compromise deal in the coming days? the prime minister hopes so, recovering after her party was thumped in the local elections. she believes the public now wants politicians to deliver. writing in the mail on sunday, theresa may appealed directly to labour leader jeremy corbyn, saying... "let's listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. let's do a deal." her party's scottish leader believes agreement is within reach. we need to start walking ourselves back to an agreement where we can get the majority of people in the house of commons on board, and i think there is a deal there to be done, i genuinely do. but it takes two to tango. talks with labour will resume on tuesday, but one of its key negotiators is less than impressed with the pm. do you trust the prime minister? no, sorry, not after this weekend, when she's blown the confidence sh

let's speak to our political correspondent nick eardley who joins us correspondent nick eardley who joinshe london newsroom. nick eardley, whojoins us from our london newsroom. it's taken a while to get a proper view of the entire situation. and it's not a good one for the conservatives in particular. it's expected a lot of wounds will have been licked because this is the worst performance by the party in a quarter of a century. 1300 counsellors down on the results from four years ago and that has led to a lot of pressure as you say within the party, a lot of debate about the brexit strategy and at the same time, the labour party didn't have a good night either. at this stage, you would expect them to do really well, given the tall —— tories have beenin well, given the tall —— tories have been in powerfor nine years. if you are hoping this would lead to some sort of epiphany somewhere on brexit, i'm not sure that will happenjust yet brexit, i'm not sure that will happen just yet because the prime minister has made clear she thinks the government now needs to get on with brexit. labour hin

here's our political correspondent nick eardley with a round up of the results so far.ed to take place to a parliament we're supposed to have left, a result which shows the country is still bitterly divided. the big winners, two parties with very different but very clear messages on brexit. nigel farage's accept party topped the poll with almost a third of the vote —— brexit party. the liberal democrats, with their anti—brexit message, had a big night too, coming second across the uk. for the two parties that normally dominate british politics, it was a disaster. conservatives were thumped, finishing fifth with less than 10% of the vote. labour were too punished, finishing third with less tha n too punished, finishing third with less than 15%. that will spark a heated debate about whether it should now get fully behind another referendum. the green vote was up to two, they beat the conservatives into fourth place. ukip were wiped out, and change uk fail to make their mark. in scotland, the snp we re their mark. in scotland, the snp were miles ahead, by almost 40% stoppi

nick eardley, bbc news. now on bbc news, it's time to witness history.qbal presents five extraordinary testimonies from the past, including a fashion industry pioneer from the days of the soviet union. hello, and welcome to witness, with me razia iqbal. i'm here at the british library to guide you through five extraordinary moments in recent history, told to us by the people who were there. we start with an individual who helped create a fashion industry in the soviet union. under communism, clothes and designs were regulated by the state. but slava zaitsev had the urge to break away and create new designs. he became the first soviet designer to start his own haute couture fashion label. translation: what is the point of a fashion designer? it's to give people joy, the joy of connecting with beauty you see. this has been the most important thing in my life. reporter: for the ordinary russian in the street, such styles are a long way off. fabric runs are altered only once in three years. to get a design from drawing to mass production takes two years. sov

nick eardley for at westminster.tack on the 3rd ofjune in the evening. it also showed some key moments in the days and weeks leading up to the attack itself is not as you said, some of the first footage shown today was of rachid redouanein footage shown today was of rachid redouane in a lidl supermarket. he entered the supermarket in east ham and it was there to buy 12 inch ceramic kitchen knives that were used in the attack. he selects the knives and takes them to a self—service checkout and he actually has to be helped by a member of staff to purchase those knives, presumably because there was an age restriction which has to be ove rco m e an age restriction which has to be overcome on the terminal before he is allowed to make the purchase. very clear purchase from that lidl. similar footage very clear purchase from that lidl. similarfootage to this very clear purchase from that lidl. similar footage to this shown in court also which came from rachid redouanein court also which came from rachid redouane in that sam

labour failed to make the gains it had hoped for. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley reports.eking a solution. tories mulling over devastating local election results, trying to find a way to solve the party's troubles. these members are in scotland. there were not any elections here this week but many agree failing to deliver brexit is behind the election drubbing. this former leader has had enough. he believes theresa may has lost her authority and has to go now. we have in a sense a kind of caretaker prime minister at the moment, you could argue a caretaker leader of the labour party but a caretaker prime minister and therefore, i think making fundamental decisions about where we go with this would be a big mistake. the conservatives always knew that voters were likely to give them a bloody nose this week, but the extent, losing 1300 councillors, was worse than they feared. because of that, some are saying their patience has run out. it is not the first time we have heard senior tories calling for theresa may to go. in the past, she has simply ignored their calls but it is a

with me is our political correspondent nick eardley. what are the prospects of getting a deal?nservatives are fairly optimistic. the two sides are not that far apart and the government is likely to move to the labour position. idea might be within side. at one of them urging compromise is the scottish tory leader ruth davidson. she is saying the public is sick of this they want to get it done and that is the message that she is taking away from the local election results. let's have a look at what she said. what we have seen since the brexit vote is the two extremes, the edges are getting louder and louder and the places in the middle are getting quieter. on one side when people are saying this is wrong, let's overturn the result and on the other side, you've got people saying let's not doa you've got people saying let's not do a deal at all. let's just take out do a deal at all. let's just take our chances. and the answer has to be somewhere in the middle. we have to start walking ourselves back to an agreement where we can get the majority of the people in the house of common

as our political correspondent, nick eardley, explained, iain duncan smith is among dozens of tory mpsnhappy with theresa may's negotiations with labour over brexit. there are many in the conservative party furious with the idea that if the prime minister can come to some sort of compromise in the next few days with the labour party or even weeks, they would not sign up to it. if the government move to close to labour's position, many conservative mps will turn their back on it and thatis mps will turn their back on it and that is exactly what iain duncan smith are saying this afternoon and it's absurd for the prime minister, in his words, to be reaching out to labour and if she does, she will lose most skin services. another development today is concerning former defence secretary gavin williamson, many waking up to that picture on twitter with a certain milkshake in hand. bring is up—to—date. milkshake in hand. bring is up-to-date. gavin williamson seems to be spending a lot of time on instagram after he was sacked as defence secretary, posting this picture of a night speaking about

listen to voters and compromise so that brexit could be delivered. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley

nick eardley, bbc news.peak to our chief political correspondent vicki young, who's in the central lobby at parliament. the sand does seem to be shifting dramatically in the last few minutes beneath the prime minister's feet. dramatically in the last few minutes beneath the prime minister's feetli am beneath the prime minister's feet.” am tipping of the people here saying it is all over it she has to go. there is the question of how and when but we are talking about whether it is this week, next week or the week after quite frankly. there are now loyal mps who are saying it has become about the messenger, the any deal that theresa may was trying to sale would not work because she cannot communicate it properly and people have lost confidence in her and they feel that thatis confidence in her and they feel that that is now the problem. so the question is what happens next. there are cabinet ministers particularly unhappy about her offer of holding a vote on the possibility of a second brexit referendum. they

here's our political correspondent nick eardley.very different but very clear messages on brexit. brexit now! nigel farage's brexit party topped the poll, with almost a third of the vote. the reason, of course, is very obvious. we voted to leave in a referendum. we were supposed to do so on march 29, and we haven't. the liberal democrats, with their anti—brexit message, had a big night too, coming second across the uk. every vote for the liberal democrats is a vote to stop brexit. for the two parties that normally dominate british politics, it was a disaster. the conservatives were thumped, finishing fifth, with less than 10% of the vote. three years ago, the country voted to leave. it's three years on and we haven't left. and inevitably therefore, people were going to be drawn in a polarised way to the single—issue pro— or anti—brexit parties. labour were too punished, finishing third with less than 15%. that will spark a heated debate about whether it should now get fully behind another referendum. we're now going to find ourselve

our political correspondent nick eardley told why both sides remain optimistic of agreeing a brexit dealtwo sides aren't that far apart. if the government is prepared to move towards labour's position on the customs union, similar trading rules to the ones we have just now then a deal might be within side. one of those who is urging compromise to get that done is the scottish tory leader ruth davidson. her argument is very similar to the prime minister's that the public is sick of this, they want to get it done and that if the message she has taken away from the local election results in england. let's have a listen to what she said on why that deal could be within reach. what we have seen since the brexit vote is the two extremes, the edges are getting louder and louder and the voices in the middle are getting quieter. on one side when people are saying this is wrong, let's overturn the result and on the other side, you've got people saying let's not do a deal at all. let'sjust crash out. let's just take our chances. and the answer has to be somewhere in the middle. we have to start wal

seen as a ‘coalition of politicians against the people‘ with me is our political correspondent, nick eardleyre about what the prime minister is saying. the conclusion she has made on the local elections is the conservatives did badly because they have not delivered brexit. she is saying to jeremy corbyn that when talks resume on tuesday between the government and the labour party, now is the time to basically get it over the line, come to some sort of compromise so brexit can be delivered and they can get it through parliament. we are not com pletely through parliament. we are not completely sure how close labour are to doing that. there are some in the labour delegation who are extremely sceptical, who think there are still -- is sceptical, who think there are still —— is still a big gulf between the two sides that needs to be sorted. there‘s clearly a push from the prime minister and some the labour leadership to try and work this out, try to come to some sort of compromise. a lot of people saying the prime minister‘s analysis that the prime minister‘s analysis that the rise of the parties

with me is our political correspondent, nick eardley.ting how differently different people are interpreting the results of thursday. some saying it's a sign get on with brexit and others saying put the brakes on it. absolutely. a firm conclusion from the prime minister that this is the latter, a sign from the electorate, certainly to her party, that they are frustrated, that she needs to get on with delivering brexit. jeremy corbyn seems to have drawn a similar conclusion, saying there is an impetus now to get a deal on friday. edging towards perhaps that position. on the other side there are maybe —— mike other labour mps who are furious. they say look at the big winners of the night, the greens and the lib dems, that shows we need to back another referendum and ultimately staying in the eu. the appeal to jeremy corbyn and ultimately staying in the eu. the appeal tojeremy corbyn from theresa may, let's put aside our differences. what does she mean in terms of brexit? these talks have been going on for weeks. they are getting right into

nick eardley, bbc news.mer defence secretary gavin williamson has described an investigation into the national security council leak as a "shabby and discredited witch hunt" — and called for a "proper, full and impartial" assessment of the investigation. it comes after the met police said the leak, about the chinese tech giant huawei, did not amount to a criminal offence. mr williamson was sacked after the prime minister said she had evidence to suggest he was the source of the leak, which is something he denies. our political correspondent chris mason explained what's happened. at one of those meetings, a row ended up in the newspaper. the prime minister was determined to get to the bottom of it. those that those meetings sign the official secrets act, so any link is potentially a criminal matter. as you say, the met police have said what happened didn't amount to a criminal offence. the governor has always denied being the leaker, the governor has always denied being the lea ker, but the governor has alway

were big gains for the lib dems, the greens and many independents. 0ur political correspondent, nick eardleyve us his assessment of the election losses for the conservatives. the scale of the conservative losses was considerably more than many thought. we had heard predictions up to a 1000, it went considerably beyond that to 1300, and i think they are bruised this morning. they are desperate to try and find something that avoids another kicking in the european elections which happen injust three weeks‘ time. the big question for the conservatives is how they find a solution to the brexit impasse. that is what they are blaming for this result, this is what the prime minister said yesterday, and also the labour leadership seems to agree that people are punishing the conservatives and the labour party for failing to deliver on brexit. talks between the two to try to find some solution will continue next week, and this morning we heard from the health secretary about what he thinks needs to happen. i think the prime minister's deal is a better arrangement than a permanent customs union, but i t

our political correspondent nick eardley reports. urgently seeking inspiration, tories mulling over devastating local election results, trying to find a way to solve the party's troubles. these members are in scotland, there we re these members are in scotland, there were not any local elections here this week, but many agree failing to deliver brexit was behind the dropping. ruth davidson says it's time to sort out differences and get a compromise deal done. time to sort out differences and get a compromise deal doneli time to sort out differences and get a compromise deal done. i say to the negotiating teams of our party and labour, who are currently in talks, get brexit sorted, get a deal over the line and let britain move on. can clay some in government are worried about moving too close to the labour position, but the health secretary was urging difference. we need compromise, which often involves looking at the different positions of different groups and coming up with something in between. clearly, i've supported the prime minister's deal, which i think is better, but there are options i

with me is our political correspondent, nick eardley. the dust has settled on the english part of the results, we still have northern ireland to go, what is the mood that has resulted? presumably no one was surprised that the conservatives were defeated. they may have been more surprised by the scale of some of the other results. yes, the scale of the conservative losses was considerably more than many thought. we had heard predictions of up to 1000, up to 1,300. ithink predictions of up to 1000, up to 1,300. i think the conservatives are bruised this morning and desperate to try and find something that avoids another kicking in the european elections which happen in just three weeks. the big question for the conservatives is now how they find a solution to the brexit impasse. that's what they are blaming for this result, that's what we heard the prime ministers say yesterday. and in some senses the labour leadership seems to have agreed that people are punishing the conservatives and labour parties for failing to deliver on brexit. talk

from westminster, here's our political correspondent nick eardley, and a warning that his report containssh photography. not everyone at westminster is panicking just yet. larry the cat doesn't seem to have a care in the world on his morning stroll, but inside it is farfrom business world on his morning stroll, but inside it is far from business as usual. there are big questions about the future of the brexit plan and how long theresa may will be living here. the chief whip has the task of getting a deal through parliament, but after an outpouring of criticism, publication of the brexit bill has been delayed and no date for a vote has been confirmed. we plan to publish the withdrawal bill in the week commencing the 3rd of june, we hope to hold second reading on friday 7th ofjune, at the moment we have not secured agreement of this in the usual channels but we will update the house when we return from recess. labour thinks the plan is dead. the prime minister has yet again put her own political survival ahead of the national interest. it is clear she does not command a majority for her app

our political correspondent nick eardley reports.er months of intense pressure, her husband and top aides watching, theresa may admitted for her, for her brexit plan, it's over.” theresa may admitted for her, for her brexit plan, it's over. i have done everything i can to convince mps to back that deal. sadly, i have not been able to do so. i tried three times. i believe it was right to persevere, even when the odds against success seemed high. but it is now clear to me that it is in the best interests of the country for a new prime minister to lead that effort. so i am today announcing that i will resign as leader of the conservative party and unionist party on friday the 7th ofjune so that a successor can be chosen. she hasn't been able to call the shots for some time, unable to persuade a bitterly divided parliament to back a brexit plan. and after a last throw of the dice this week, the pm concluded she just could not go on. it is, and will always remain, a matter of deep regret to me that i have not been able to deliver brexit.

mps were able to combine to stop the article 50 withdrawal process. 0ur political correspondent nick eardleyhat he has been saying. some of the pressure we have seenin saying. some of the pressure we have seen in the last few weeks over a brexit deal has gone because the can has been kicked down the road potentially into 0ctober. and said much of the focus has been on theresa may's future, not necessarily that of her brexit deal. but sajid javid is raising concerns that if it continues, if the can is kicked down the road until october, we might get to a stage where mps who don't want to leave it with no deal, end up in a position where they think they can force the government's hand and basically say to ministers, you haven't figured anything out with europe, so we want to rethink the whole process and potentially revoke article 50, stop brexit completely. let's listen to what he had to say. what worries me the most is that if we get to october, the end of october then there are people in parliament that, if they think that they need to to try and stop no deal, that they might even try to re

our political correspondent nick eardley is at downing street for us this morning.s will be keenly watching the doorfor this many eyes will be keenly watching the door for this announcement. because of spoken about it for a long time but the day we feel that is going to come. how many times have we stood her in the morning and spoken about pressure on theresa may, angry at her party, on her brexit strategy. this is different. since she allowed that new brexit plan. some of her mps have been furious. people have been saying, we can't do it anymore. perhaps more importantly, members of the government, saying that the plan is not going to work and they now think she has got the message and that at some point today, theresa may will set out a timetable for her departure. some of that anger is quite simply because she is given some belief too much to the labour party, a second referendum being suggested. last night we heard from a couple of mps, both saying they think it's the end. said dominic reeve. we have reached the end of the road. there is a lot of authority to th

well, our political correspondent, nick eardley is at westminster.n the conservatives and labour achieve or tell us that we didn't already know? there has been for some time and expectation at westminster that these talks would fail to come up with the brexit eureka moment were suddenly the labour party and the conservatives could agree and get something through parliament. there we re something through parliament. there were huge issues to overcome. these talks went into remarkable detail and there were some areas where the two sides got fairly close to one another. number ten insists it was willing to compromise on the customs union and move towards labour on things like environmental standards and workers' rights, but labour didn't think the government was going far enough and increasingly in the last few days there was a feeling in the labour party particularly in the leadership that whatever theresa may promised in these talks and whatever came out in any deal wouldn't necessarily be delivered, because increasingly there is talk of brexiteers ta

let's speak now to our political correspondent nick eardley who's in westminster. change the basic fact that they can't agree on anything to do with brexit? an excellent question, and one that many conservatives have been asking today. just chatting to tory mps over the last few hours since that announcement was made, i think there isa announcement was made, i think there is a real sense in the party that whatever happens, the crisis will continue. even if theresa may goes, another leader will face the same arithmetic that the prime minister has come up time and time again. parliament quite dimly can't agree on anything. speaking to one senior tory this afternoon who said that evenif tory this afternoon who said that even if the prime minister's deal was rejected, as everybody is expecting to happen at the start of june with the exception of a few in theresa may's in a circle, they will face the same problem. what do you do? how do you persuade parliament to come up with an alternative? there is a constant warning coming from downing street that if you reject whate

our political correspondent nick eardley is in westminster.the indication so far that the pm will get the support she needs? we will be discussing this throughout the morning. it's not looking good at all, dan. when the pm came out yesterday and offered different things to different groups of people who are unhappy with the way she's been pursuing the brexit process, they pretty much all fell flat on their face. brexiteers in her party are less tha n face. brexiteers in her party are less than happy. some of those who she had been hoping to win overjust saying no, absolutely not, this isn't a deal we can signup to. likewise on the labour side, that offer on a vote as to whether to hold another referendum hasn't gone down particularly well either because there are those labour mps who are saying you haven't gone well enough. the pm will be up in the house of commons this afternoon trying her hardest to make the case for her deal stop the she has written to jeremy corbyn for her deal stop the she has written tojeremy corbyn saying now is the tim

our political correspondent nick eardley is in downing street this morning.re does this leave ms may? on pretty shaky ground. there are a lot of conservatives very unhappy with theresa may's new brexit plan. they were meeting and discussing it in the house of commons yesterday. a number of ministers are not happy with elements of what she is proposing. last night that culminated in the leader of the commons, andrea leadsom, resigning. here is what she has to say... nick, iam here is what she has to say... nick, i am sorry, we have a problem with the technology, we cannot hear you very well. we will come back to you when we have sorted out the sound. we will be back to him shortly. we definitely do want to catch up with nick. we will bring you this story as well. an undercover investigation by the bbc‘s panorama programme has found vulnerable patients being mocked, taunted, and intimidated at a private hospital in county durham. 16 permanent staff have been suspended at whorlton hall hospital and a police investigation is underway. the hospital looks after pat

our political correspondent nick eardley reports. after months of intense pressure, her husband and top aides watching, theresa may admitted for her, and her brexit plan, it's over. i have done everything i can to convince mps to back that deal. sadly, i have not been able to do so. i tried three times. i believe it was right to persevere, even when the odds against success seemed high. but it is now clear to me that it is in the best interests of the country for a new prime minister to lead that effort. so i am today announcing that i will resign as leader of the conservative party and unionist party on friday the 7th ofjune so that a successor can be chosen. she hasn't been able to call the shots for some time, unable to persuade a bitterly divided parliament to back a brexit plan. and after a last throw of the dice this week, the pm concluded shejust could not go on. it is, and will always remain, a matter of deep regret to me that i have not been able to deliver brexit. it will be for my successor to seek a way forward that honou

let's speak now to our political correspondent, nick eardley, whojoins us from our london newsroom. surprising that this bloody nose that has been dealt to both the main parties is now reverberating. absolutely. the conservatives took an absolute hammering yesterday, it is their worst local election result ina is their worst local election result in a quarter of a century. 1,300 councillors lost in that vote on thursday. understandably there is no a lot of questions about what the party does next, to try and regain some of that ground. both the prime minister and the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, who didn't have a great night either, are blaming tentlike. they both think the voters are unhappy that it is not sorted out yet. they are going to resume talks next week to try and find some kind of compromise to get through parliament. you heard david gauke earlier saying he thinks that is now the most likely way the country could get through the brexit process. i have to say, forfrom simple to get that sorted. firstly because many tories are really unhappy with the plan and aren't changi

let's speak now to our political correspondent, nick eardley, whojoins us from our london newsroom.ll the results have been counted. 2a hours on. what do you make of the numbers in the figures? it was an absolute dumping for the conservatives. their worst local election result in a quarter of a century. 1300 counsellors lost yesterday and there are a lot of conservatives who will be licking their wounds this morning trying to figure out how to keep the party together after that. it wasn't a great night for labour either because the party would have been hoping for a potentially hundreds of gains and actually ended up with a net loss. both parties seem to agree the main reason is that oak are fed up the main reason is that oak are fed up with brexit. the prime minister saying, we need to get on with it. jeremy corbyn hinting that's what he thinks but there is still a lot of division within the parties on that issue. within labour itself, there are mps pleading withjeremy corbyn to back another referendum, pointing to back another referendum, pointing to the big gains for parties agai

let's speak to our political correspondent nick eardley at westminster.uture of brexit. i think it's becoming increasingly clearer that we are getting to the end stage of theresa may's time as british prime minister. we always knew that she had planned to stand down if she got the first bit of exit delivered to. what she said today means thatjust over three weeks' time she has to set out with her backbench committee a timetable for her departure. the week she said she's going to do that is the week that her bill comes back to parliament. her fourth attempt to get a brexit plan through parliament and all of the bedding here is that she will lose that vote and the moment she has not won over labour, she has not won over enough conservative mps to be within touching distance of getting out over the line. if that's the case and on the week beginning the 3rd of june she loses the vote on the withdrawal agreement than i think there is an expectation now that is what she will do. what will be happening with the future of breaks in the meantime? it's absently cor

nick eardley is at westminster. what has the reaction to this bean today?people around westminster, they would tell you that boris johnson westminster, they would tell you that borisjohnson is the frontrunner to be the next conservative leader and potentially, inafew conservative leader and potentially, in a few weeks‘ time, our prime minister. so i think it is fair to say at this stage, this is a distraction for someone that would much rather be talking about their campaign to be prime minister. let‘s just remind ourselves exactly what this is about. that £350 million figure that was claimed was sent from the uk to brussels every week was a big part of the referendum campaign. vote to leave used it, various people said it on a different occasions. it has not been disputed that that was said. what is being questioned is whether the use of that figure was misleading and whether using it constitutes misconduct in public office. now, in the last while, we have heard from a source close to borisjohnson saying that this is nothing less than what they call a poli

nick eardley, thank you.ders selling puppies on the black market have been forced to pay back more than £5 million in tax as part of a clampdown on illegal puppy farming. customs officers found fraudsters making huge profits by breeding puppies on a mass scale, with little regard for their welfare. one dealer was charged more than £400,000. police commissioners are calling on prosecutors to withdraw a controversial new form forcing victims of crime, including rape complainants, to hand over their mobile phones or risk their attacker walking free. the association of police and crime commissioners says the policy risks undermining the criminaljustice system. andy moore reports. these are the new consent forms that could be used by the police, asking victims of crime — including rape victims — to allow their mobile phones and other data to be examined. campaigners have described them as a "digital strip search." support from the view that the police have gone too far has come from an unusual source — the police

from westminster, here‘s our political correspondent nick eardley.tains flash photography. not everyone at westminster is panicking just yet. larry the number 10 cat doesn‘t seem to have a care in the world on his morning stroll, but inside, it is far from business as usual. there are big questions about the future of the prime minister‘s brexit plan and how long theresa may will be living here. the chief whip has the task of getting a deal through parliament, but after an outpouring of criticism, publication of the brexit bill has been delayed and no date for a vote has been confirmed. we do plan to publish the withdrawal act bill in the week commencing the 3rd ofjune, we‘d hope to hold second reading on friday 7th ofjune, at the moment, we have not secured agreement this this in the usual channels but we will update the house when we return from recess. labour thinks the plan is dead. the prime minister has yet again put her own political survival ahead of the national interest. it is clear she does not command a majority for her approach to brexit

let's speak now to our political correspondent, nick eardley, whojoins us from our london newsroom.oke to david gauke earlier he was quite resolute that theresa may should remain in thejob, she is the person to take us through bags. you are hearing that message from a numberof cabinet are hearing that message from a number of cabinet ministers over the la st number of cabinet ministers over the last 24—hour is or so, that despite that absolute hammering for the party, their worst local election result in a quarter of a century, that theresa may needs to be the person that steers them over the next few months and tries to deliver breaks its. the prime minister and the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, have been pretty clear that they think briggs was the cause of their pure results. they are going to spend time next week trying to come to some sort of compromise that could get brexit over the line and deliver the withdrawal parts, anyway, of the process. the problem is there is still huge division in both of the parties, so the conservatives still have many who think the prime minister i

let's get more on this, and i'm joined by our political correspondent nick eardley who's in westminsteru very much. it is an important development today because we are in a position for the first time that we know theresa may is about to set out her departure schedule. even if we don't have a date we know that in three weeks' time she will have to set out with the 1922 committee when she tends to stand down. all of the expectation here is at the moment that she will struggle to get the legislation that mps will be voting on that through parliament. if she does not the expectation here is that she will have to go. it's possible she could get it through and hang on longer to when they will take the legislation through parliament. she has got to win over either labour or her own mps. they have not been backing of prime minister plan so far. a vocal critic of the brexit strategy and is this the end of theresa may? you mentioned whether or not she will get the bill through the y eb bill which would ratify and was voted down three times. normally made on tuesday night and would we vote for th

let's get more on all of this from our political correspondent nick eardley, who's in westminsterforastair campbell, iam let's start with alastair campbell, i am struggling to think of someone more aggressively pro—labour than him and he is coming out fighting? he isa him and he is coming out fighting? he is a man who was at the heart of the new labour machine when it was in downing street in the late 90s and the early 2000s, anyone who worked at westminster would know him as the man who came out to bat for tony blair every day, basically, he has been thrown out of the party for admitting on the bbc that he backed the lib dems in the european elections last week, for the simple reason that he is completely in favour of another referendum. he has been explaining what happened in the last how far, let's have a listen. so much i believe i voted in the interests of the labour party.” think it is particularly sad and disappointing that this comes on a day when actually, finally, the labour party seems to be trying to move to what i would define as a sensible position on brexit. and so...