let us go to norman smith, our political editor because we are hearing how the government is responding in terms of how tory mps will be able to vote. they will get a free vote. they would, which is extraordinary in a way, because there are all sorts of amendments time, many of which would seem to

damian grammaticas in brussels and norman smith in westminster, thank you. well, what do voters make of these ever—more extraordinary

our assistant political editor, norman smith, is in westminster. this cabinet meeting this morning, the result seems to be some confidence that she will put her deal forward confidence that she will put her dealforward for a third confidence that she will put her deal forward for a third time sometime this week? the one thing we are told that they apparently did not discuss was mrs may's owner position and future as leader, even though pretty much every tory mp you bump into this morning seems to be talking about nothing else. instead, the focus was on how to get round this looming threat of parliament taking control brexit mps giving themselves the power tonight to hold a series of indicative votes to set out the sort of deal they might back. one choice was for the government to hold its own series of indicative votes in the belief you could arrange them in such a way that it meant parliament did not reach any consensus and then mrs may could turn around and say, i gave you a chance and you failed to reach a consensus and you might as well go with

but, some —— some bbc generalists voiced their approval but with 55 and editor norman smith uploadingced their approval but with ss and editor norman smith uploading a model inconsistent for all aspiring generalists. now, last friday we woke up and use of an atrocity in christchurch new zealand. at least 29 people had been killed and thousands more injured after a gunman opened fire on two mosques in new zealand. men, women, and children were at friday prayers in christchurch when a man walked in and began firing, filming and broadcasting it all live on social media. in the coverage that followed, what was notable by its absence from any of the terms terrorism or terrorist. in relation to the attack. i'm aware that there are bbc guidelines that attempt to refrain from using the term terrorism unless attributing it to someone however terrorism unless attributing it to someone however in this case when it someone however in this case when it so obviously an act of terror, it makes the bbc seem very out of touch and this was devastating you know, live streaming of 50 people being murdere

norman smith.minister going to get the numbers to get a deal through? it is looking pretty tricky, it is like decision time on the high diving board. theresa may has already had two goes at it and it has ended in painful belly flops. does she risk a third? u nless belly flops. does she risk a third? unless there has been some softening in brexiteer opinion figures like jacob rees mogg sounding a bit more wobbly, they are hoping the dup can be brought on board, but there still seems to be this solid block of brexiteer asthma, the redoubtable refuseniks who, if anything, seem more determined to vote against theresa may's deal partly because they do not think she has got anything new to say, and in part because many of them were incandescent with rage at the newspaper article she wrote at the weekend suggesting those voting against her deal were not patriotic, and in part because some feel they are within touching distance of living with no deal. their argument is that if theresa may's deal gets voted

also with me is our assistant political editor, norman smith.ty and tell us what's happening is not quite the opposite today. they will be bitterly disappointed but not 100% surprised. they have watch the process with anxiety, frustration, some anger. some of the responses we are getting just now, there is almost a weary despair to the tone to this. it's gone on forfar too despair to the tone to this. it's gone on for far too long, businesses are sick and tired and they need certainty. the aerospace industry saying that we need to pause now and reset our approach to the situation. we can also look at the value of the pound, the twitchy list indicator, and it had a fairly substantial fall, not massive. but ever since parliament set its guns and heart against no deal, that's been supporting the pound. clearly with this deal not being supported today, you can't take no deal completely off the table. we could be in for a long delay. businesses hate the idea of no deal and they are not massive fa ns of no deal and they are not massive fans of a delay

ok, thank you very much, norman smith. now it‘s time for a look at the weather.rds. if we look at the satellite picture towards the atlantic, we have weather systems waiting all the way from the caribbean. this cloud will continue to bring in wet and windy conditions over the next few days. and certainly for today, very windy again with a mixture of sunny spells and showers. some of these showers moving through in derbyshire. cloud breaking up, to give some sunshine. still fairly strong wind gusts, 35 to 50 mph, particularly for england and east wales. they could be a little higher than that in some spots through the morning. rain came into the south. but then we have sunny spells and showers. and moving into much of scotland and north west england and into wales. quite cloudy across south wales, england and northern ireland, a few spots of rain here and maximum temperatures this afternoon up to nine, 13 degrees. through this evening, we do it all again. because we have got more rain pushing its way in from the west. that will move to or parts overnight tonight.

damian grammaticas in brussels and norman smith in westminster, thank you.ese ever—more extraordinary events taking place in westminster? bradford voted leave in the referendum, and our correspondentjohn maguire has been along to find out if there's more clarity there than from the politica ns about the best way forward. the alhambra theatre has brought comedy, tragedy and farce to the people of bradford for more than a century. now they're gripped by the drama of brexit being played out 200 miles away. we have watched two and half years now of, instead of a government working together to get a united deal with the european union, we've basically watched a parliament fight amongst itself. bradford voted to leave the european union in 2016 with a 54% share, above the level of the uk—wide vote. some here are concerned about the effect on local communities. i have seen in bradford a lot of the kinds of rhetoric around the divisions — you know, leave, remain, some of the unleashing of really, really racist and far—out views that came out, that we saw surface dur

norman smith, assistant political editor. thank you.ng caused by cyclone idai in mozambique, a vast inland sea of over a thousand square miles. hundreds of people have died in the country and the authorities there say 15,000 people are in urgent need of rescue. more have died in neighbouring zimbabwe and malawi and, across the region, millions have been left homeless. from mozambique, anne soy reports. lucky to be alive, but growing desperate by the day. these people may have survived the worst storm ever seen here, but now, they have nothing to eat and nowhere to shelter. cyclone idai swept away almost everything on its path. it created small islands where a city once stood, trapping those who survived it. nearly a week later, relief has started trickling in. south africa has sent its military helicopters to deliver aid. international organisations are also planning more. the uk has sent emergency shelter kits and family tents and more aid is on the way. the british government has set aside £18 million for the relief effort. and here,

our assistant political editor norman smith is here.left parliament square and they are heading past the houses of commons, possibly loud enough for them to be heard inside that building which is where the withdrawal agreement will be voted on in the next hour. it is getting closer, isn‘t it, norman? might she even do it? i think she will follow just short today, but mrs may is inching ever closer to getting a deal through as brexiteers scramble aboard the good ship theresa may. if she fails as she bubbly well, then the pressure will be on mps to agree on something on monday, an alternative agenda after the shambles of last week when i couldn‘t agree on anything. they know they are up against the cost because mrs may is now breathing down their neck. there are moves to try to get everyone to try to agree on and amendment, to get people who support a customs union to support a referendum, and the opposite. so both sides can accept a delay that results in a customs union subject toa results in a customs union subject to a referendum, but

norman smith, thank you.pean parliament in strasbourg this morning, there was a sense of confusion and exasperation at the events here in westminster today. the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, said he was finding it almost impossible to read what is going on. while donald tusk, the head of the european council, urged meps to keep an open mind about giving the uk a long brexit extension and told them not to ignore what he claimed was an "increasing majority" of british people who want to remain in the european union. adam fleming reports from strasbourg. what would you like british mps to do today? we'll see. in this parliament, they'd like the other parliament to make a decision... president juncker, what should british mps do today? hi! ..to end the guessing game about which direction they're going in. translation: if you compared great britain to a sphinx, the sphinx would be an open book by comparison. let's see how that book speaks over the next week or so. the man who chairs th

but, some bbcjournalists voiced their approval with norman smith applauding a model of consistent fornow, last friday we woke up and use of an atrocity in christchurch new zealand. at least 29 people had been killed and thousands more injured

our assistant political editor, norman smith, is outside number 10 this morning.lly when we get complete clarity?|j are these the day is finally when we get complete clarity? i shouldn't think so. i have given up on the idea of getting clarity anytime soon. we will get vote today on taking odile off the table but there is already a tussle over that because many mps are unhappy with the motion mrs may has put down which takes no deal off the table but only up to match the 29th. so a cross— party but only up to match the 29th. so a cross—party group have put down an amendment we would like to site take no deal off the table forever and a day. mrs may will allow a free vote on her motion but she will not allow a free vote on their motion. so there is going to be a row about that. tomorrow we move to potentially delaying article 50 but evenif potentially delaying article 50 but even if that is passed the ball passes to the eu and they will decide how long we can have, what sort of conditions we might have to meet. so clarity i suspect is the one thing that is still go

our assistant politcal editor, norman smith is at downing street for us this morning.otal cabinet meeting which ministers will have to make decisions about mrs may's next steps. one option is of course just to keep battering away with mrs may's deal, trying to wear down the brexiteers and the dup in the hope that they can get the numbers down and there is chance of getting it through. the second option involves a power struggle with parliament because the view in number ten is that tonight, mps are poised to seize control of the brexit process by passing a motion which will enable mps to hold what are called indicative votes. boiled down, these area indicative votes. boiled down, these are a series of votes on the different brexit possibilities. you could have votes on another referendum, you could have votes on no deal or votes on staying in a customs union. you could have votes on labour's brexit deal. the thinking is that parliament would then be able to reach some sort of consensus about what it wanted and that would increase the pressure on mrs may to adopt parlia

let‘s get more on this with our assistant political editor, norman smith.ansport and salaried staff association, which has resulted in a fine of £16,700. that may not see massive in comparison to some of the fines meted out to other major political parties, but it is the largest fine ever imposed on a nonparty campaign group. the criticism of the electoral commission is of poor book—keeping, or failing commission is of poor book—keeping, orfailing to respond commission is of poor book—keeping, or failing to respond to advice and requests from the electoral commission. they are particularly critical of momentum because it is a full—time political campaigning group. in other words, the implication is they should have known better. but i am sure it will be seized on byjeremy corbyn‘s critics to again raise doubts about momentum which has attracted criticism and allegations of being a party within the party. but it is a significant fine, the largest ever imposed on a nonparty political organisation. assess for us how powerful and how influential you think momen

let us go to norman smith, our political editor because we are hearing how the government is responding free vote. they would, which is extraordinary in a way, because there are all sorts of amendments time, many of which would seem to float tory party policy and terms of supporting a second referendum or a customs union, there is even an amendment from the labour party putting forward the labour party's brexit possession, —— referendum position, and it seems the government will have a free vote but the cabinet macro will abstain. it seems that they are trying to avoid many resignations are abstentions, if they cannot vote for what they would like, they will follow the example of the three ministers at the start of the week or resigned over indicative votes. so to forestall that, we have the prospect of the government not issuing any instructions to its mps over what it should do with these amendments. however, would that life was straightforward. it would also seem that the government is also going to try and thwart moves to hold the indicative votes this afternoon by opposing what is

we have our political guru norman smith who this time yesterday reported that mrs may's brexit deal was not dead and would likely be brought back again. you are joking! she had suffered two cataclysmic defeats. how on earth could she bring it back again? my view is that she still thinks that is the best way and the only way really to get any sort of agreement with the eu. what would brenda in bristol say? you arejoking! not what would brenda in bristol say? you are joking! not another one! 0h, yes, brenda. we are heading fora third vote and maybe even a fourth vote. also on the programme today: should you be worrying about gaming addiction? the where things got with my family, the more i went into that online world of gaming and it consumed my life to the point i lost myjob and my consumed my life to the point i lost my job and my family, consumed my life to the point i lost myjob and my family, my home and everything. one of the largest addiction treatment firms in this country addiction treatment firms in this cou ntry tells addiction treatment firms in this country tells us that alth

norman smith was listening to prime minister‘s questions.rds, i take that as an indication it will happen tomorrow or friday. andrea leadsome this morning also said she hoped to get the deal back this week, so we seem get the deal back this week, so we seem to be facing crunch time either tomorrow or friday, and the reason for that is because i think number ten sends momentum is beginning to shift behind the agreement, with signs that some of the big beasts of brexit are coming on board. jacob rees mogg in the daily mail this morning, iain duncan smith in the times. crucial will be this afternoon‘s meeting of the 1922, and that issue is whether theresa may will give mps a clear signal that she will quit and stand down once she will quit and stand down once she gets a deal through. ijust have the feeling that everyone is waiting for mrs may to make that move, and if she does, i think the chances are, we heard from john whittingdale, another brexiteer, if she does then there will be a steady flow of brexiteers behind her, making chances of suc

moment, we can hear from damian grammaticas in brussels, but first, our assistant political editor norman smither. quite an extraordinary session of prime ministers questions. just tell us prime ministers questions. just tell us first of all about the prime minister's real attack on parliament, effectively. honestly, i've been kicking around this place for some time but genuinely i have never seen a prime for some time but genuinely i have never seen a prime minister's questions like that. mrs may sought to present herself as on the side of the public against the recalcitrant parliament, positioning herself or my standing up for ordinary folk against the political establishment, which would never come to terms with the referendum, a parliament which she said had been indulging itself with endless debates over brexit. no point having a long delay, she said. parliament will just carry point having a long delay, she said. parliament willjust carry on contemplating its naval. plenty of people in this place would say, and ona people in this place would say, and on a second, don't blame us, it's you.

earlier, our assistant political editor norman smith gave us this update from the houses of parliamentouses of parliament. notjust on mrs may's deal, but also potentially on moves by senior cross— party m ps to potentially on moves by senior cross—party mps to try and take control of the brexit process and charge a different course by setting aside a day to have indicative votes. what are they? a sickly, brexit option that mps get to vote on one by one, until there is only one left, and that becomes the favoured option of the house. i am joined by conservative mp george freeman, eubank that move?” joined by conservative mp george freeman, eubank that move? i do, i think there is a majority in this house for a brexit deal, just not the prime minister's deal. something has to give, either this deal goes down, and we will have a no till crash out in two weeks, which is unacceptable. somehow we have to find a way to find a cross—party deal. we have to reach out to labour mps in brexit type and voting constituencies. i was struck by a numberof constituencies. i was struck by a number of har

our assistant political editor, norman smith, is in central lobby for us now.l sort of? things look bad for mrs may, you have to say, but perhaps not as bad as might seem at first glance because although parliament has bent over and grabbed hold of the steering wheel, actually navigating a different course is hugely precarious —— lent over. mps have to agree where it is they are going on an agreed brexit outcome given they spent the last two or so years arguing whether they want a second referendum or a customs union or no—deal and even if they can agree on something they have to get the government to do it. that may well involve having to pass their own legislation, never been done before and even if they can do that they have got the eu to agree to what they want to do and then to get them to set aside more time to do all that. and at the same time, brexiteers will be looking on in the hope of team may is that brexiteers may frankly get spooked or the heebie—jeebies when they see parliament beginning to chart a course to a slower parliament beginning to chart

, which has been strongly criticised by some mps in the party. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smithhis post, even though teen corbyn had held the post might go some way to reassure jewish labour held the post might go some way to reassurejewish labour in peace. he has no friend ofjeremy corbyn, he is an old flatmate of tony blair. he was to be given extensive powers to ask for whatever papers and e—mails he wanted, to interview whoever he wanted. but a string ofjewish labour mps have said this morning that they do not think anyone appointed byjeremy corbyn would be sufficiently independent and, more, one suggests the entire complaints procedure should be taken out of the party and given to an independent body. it has got a bit personal, with veteran labour mp dame margaret hodge suggesting that lord falconer bombarded her with phone call to try to get her to apologise when she was temporarily suspended from the labour party for calling jeremy corbyn an anti—semite. i think it all points to the breakdown interest between mr corbyn and jewish labour mps, which may be irreparable. mean

our assistant political editor norman smith is outside number 10 this morning.nd there is another vote later. what's there is another vote later. what's the latest developments from where you are? mrs may is now briefing her cabinet as they try to pick up the pieces after last night's shattering defeat. the thing that strikes me, the signs are that mrs may has not given up on her deal. even though it was another colossal, catastrophic majority against her. she seems convinced that her deal remains the only and best deal available. that means she may indeed try to bring it back for another go. i think the view of those around her is that last night a number of brexiteers, yes, they did come on board, even some of her predominant seemingly die—hard opponents like former brexit secretary david davis, kamath the hour, they voted for the deal. the european research group is a lot more squidgy and soft than some people might think. and people might have to come to terms with the fact that brussels will offer no more concessions. there is no magic new deal they will of

, despite repeated cases of being reported to party officials. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smithf almost parallel controversy in the tory party as the labour party. the labour party engulfed in accusations of anti—semitism, the tory party facing accusations that they are in denial about the extent of islamophobia. baroness warsi joins me now. why do you say that?” islamophobia. baroness warsi joins me now. why do you say that? i have been raising this issue for over three years. i have raised it with three years. i have raised it with three successive chairmen, i wrote to the prime minister about it nearly two years ago. i have submitted a plethora of cases, brought these to the attention of the party, and yet the party continues to be in denial about the extent of the problem. what do they say when you cite cases? that they will deal with cases as they arise, but they have not dealt with members of parliament who retweeted tommy robinson, who made islamophobic comments, who how's it —— who hosted islamophobics in the parliament. they have not dealt with candidates who have made

corbyn described the brexit stalemate as a ‘national crisis.‘ 0ur assistant political editor, norman smithy free braille prime minister questions. —— free braille prime ministers questions. this was a humdinger of a prime ministers question. as she was almost placing herself in the side of the public againstan herself in the side of the public against an awkward parliament, blocking brexit. a bald patch by the prime minister, but we learned that she would absolutely not allow any extension to leadership be owned her. the eu are saying that they are not so keen onjune 30 but may consider may 23. let us discuss this further. kathleen, what did you make of mrs may performance and her page? thisjust seemed of mrs may performance and her page? this just seemed like of mrs may performance and her page? thisjust seemed like another layer of confusion on top. people are saying that the time extension it means it is even calling into question her leadership. she is almost saying that if you want me to be the leader then i would have the extension any longer than june. equally, from my point of view

our assistant political editor, norman smith, is at westminster.mrs may isn't saying here is some cash only if you vote for my deal, that said you would have to be pretty wide—eyed and naive to think this money has absolutely nothing to do with next week's big vote on brexit. of course it has. the hope is it'll make it easierfor it has. the hope is it'll make it easier for those labour mps perhaps already minded to vote for mrs may's deal in leave constituencies, to think life might be betterfor their constituencies once we have left the eu. it is designed to grease the wheels come if you like. privately it is interesting. in public those labour mps have been dismissive, but in private they have said that this is money no longer going to the big cities for regeneration, it is coming to us, coastal towns, market towns, former industrial towns. secondly, it's money going to specific projects. this isn'tjust cash which will disappear into local council budgets, it'll go to things like new university campuses, new railways, and on top of that all of th

let's cross to our assistant political editor, norman smith who is in the houses of parliament. levels of knife crime. not the only factor, but the only factor. number ten has slightly shifted away from mrs may's initial response when she suggested that there was no correlation. more now saying it is a complex situation and there are lots of different factors involved. politically, very difficult for mrs may because she was at the home secretary who oversaw the reduction in police numbers by 21,000, a significant reduction. also, the reduction in the police budget provided by central government, on top of that, we had the changes to stop and search, one of mrs may's most distinctive policies. her conviction that it was actually damaging community relations because far too many black youngsters were being stopped by police. so, ithink many black youngsters were being stopped by police. so, i think knife crime will be at the issue. let's go to the chamber now. i'm reminded of the occasion when anotherformer i'm reminded of the occasion when another former australian prime minister

we can speak to our assistant political editor norman smith. bring us up to date.on and may go on for some time yet because there are some big decisions for ministers to ta ke some big decisions for ministers to take and they are going to have to ta ke take and they are going to have to take them today. if not all the signs are parliament will tonight seek to seize control of the brexit agenda through paving the way known as negative votes. what are they? they are basically a series of votes on the different possible brexit options, everything from leaving without any agreement to a second referendum to some form of customs union, to labour's david brexit‘s deal. the thinking is if mps vote on these options they will be able to come to some sort of consensus about what it is if they are prepared to support. the fear in number ten that could strip authority away from mrs may and for parliament in the driving seat. one thing we understand ministers are looking at is whether the government ought to table its own indicative votes in the hope it would be able to choreog

of all of this with oui’ let's take stock of all of this with our assistant political editor, norman smithinster this morning. a lot of unravelling to do. it is one of those mornings where you have just got to step back and think what on earth is next? and i am not really sure that anyone has gotan am not really sure that anyone has got an answer, actually. one government source said to me this morning, rather wearily, there are no obvious options, and i think that is true. mrs may tried to break the deadlock by in effect offering up her premiership, and all the signs are that has not worked. yes, she has won over some of her critics, but there is still a solid tranche of ha rd core but there is still a solid tranche of hardcore brexiteers who are not for budging, likewise the dup. i would suggest they are almost unbeatable, unreachable, because for than this has become an issue about fundamental political principles. it is about identity, liberty, freedom, sovereignty. it is not about little nips and tucks and a bit of a concession here and a compromise there. it is very hard to see how t

norman smith is in central lobby at the houses of parliament.e who predicted the least orderly sort of brexit probably could not have imagined that on the very day the uk was due to leave the eu, mps would still be voting on a plan? it is a huge day today. all right, it is not the meaningful vote but it is a very important vote for mrs may on it hinges whether she can secure more time to get her brexit deal through. giving her until may 22, the crucial breathing space in which to try and win over those members of the european research group and the dup still holding out against her deal. if she fails, and the odds are she probably will fail, then it opens up the possibility, maybe even probability, that parliament will press for a lengthy delay to brexit. as my colleague ian watson now reports. this was the day when britain was due to leave the european union, but instead, theresa may is trying to break the deadlock over her deal. she used to say no deal is better than a bad deal. today her message to mps is, in effect, half a deal is better tha

let's go to norman smith, who is in westminster.t will do something tomorrow but we are not sure yet, are we? there is some clarity beginning to emerge, i'm glad to say. last night, seeing mrs may was flat on her back after her offer to resign hadn't won over enough brexiteers, this morning she seems to be struggling back into the ring, a bit groggy eyed, and she will have another go, not crucially tomorrow with her big, bad meaningful vote on which her future depends but on a truncated version of it, the withdrawal part of the deal. what does that mean? if she gets the withdrawal agreement through, that means she can bank the extension the eu have offered her until the 22nd of may. in other words, she gets round the danger of us words, she gets round the danger of us leaving on the 12th of april with no deal, but there is another part to it. if she gets the withdrawal agreement, the view amongst her advisers is that it makes the 22nd of may our new final exit date, and the point about that is, it massively cranks up the pressure on

our assistant political editor, norman smith, is with me. where on earth are we now?uestion. sometimes covering brexit you feel a bit like you are hacking your way through an amazonian ra i nfo rest. your way through an amazonian rainforest. you don't know if you're any further forward, you rainforest. you don't know if you're any furtherforward, you can't rainforest. you don't know if you're any further forward, you can't see where you are going and you fear you are going round and round in circles. be that as it may, what we've been told by number ten is, yes, there will be a meaningful vote tomorrow. as of last night the assumption was that would be on mrs may's deal, given the deadlock in the negotiations, the fact mrs may seems to be heading to another resounding defeat, there has been widespread speculation this morning that mrs may might bolt on to a vote on her deal, a sort of wish list of the kind of concessions she wants from the eu. yes, mps could back about, why wouldn't they back these sorts of concessions? and it would also tell you what parliament is wi

all bets are off. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smith, is in the central lobby at the houses, we saw the european research group of brexiteers. some of them have gone on board with mrs may's deal, boris johnson saying he will back it even though it is painful. and we have seen others holding out like bill cash, saying it would be to castrate the freedom of the british people. and we have seen the two groups openly clashing with each other in the chamber. 0n the ulster unionist site, we have seen the leader of the dup, nigel dodds, clashing with sylvia herman, the independent unionists. and on the labour benches, we have seen labour mps in leave supporting constituencies challenging their own front bench over there policy. gareth snell was challenging his front bench over what sort of delay would be a cce pta ble what sort of delay would be acceptable to labour, how long do they want to stay in the eu? the labour party has put forward on numerous occasions what we consider to be an acceptable form of brexit. if the prime minister were to relent on her red lines and accept that

norman smith is at downing street, where the cabinet are due to meet in the next few minutes.ing particularly happy bunch. the indications are that mrs may‘s plan, such as it is at the moment, is pretty much to carry on as she has done so far, in other words, she will keep plugging away promoting her deal as the best deal and the only deal available. now, i guess a lot of people will be somewhat incredulous at that, but she takes the view that there is nothing else on offer. is there going to be another vote on mrs may‘s deal? well, a futile gesture! anyway! she has not taken out that option come at the idea of another vote on mrs may‘s deal, why? she takes the view that if the eu do agree to delay, it will come with a load of conditions which tory mps won‘t make so they might gravitate back towards her deal. it is also argued that a good number of the brexiteers did actually switch last night to back a deal so they take a lot of them, a lot of them take the view that more will come over. and the eu have made it clear nothing else is doing. bundle that together and the hope of

the summit, adding another meeting may be necessary next week. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smithmillbank for us now. that morning. we had heard of the prime minister had not had a deal by now, a democrat approved by now by the house of commons, she would be asking for a longer extension, but thatis asking for a longer extension, but that is not happening? ——or a deal approved by now. it seemed pretty clear m rs approved by now. it seemed pretty clear mrs may would leave the door open to a longer delay. wake up this morning to be told by number 10, no, thatis morning to be told by number 10, no, that is not going to happen, mrs may will not be asking for any delay beyond the 30th ofjune. number 10's positive take on this is mrs may has taken on the concerns of voters fed up taken on the concerns of voters fed up and frustrated with the fact brexit goes on and on and they want it resolved and she said she shares the frustration and believes parliament has to make a decision. it is clear she was facing the threat of a major and i mean major cabinet and backbench explosion if she wen

and here is the bbc‘s norman smith reacting to that...prime minister sent the eu's donald tusk this letter in which she asked for a brexit extension "until 30 june." she went on... and... they are scheduled to happen from may 23. i can't give you a date for when the prime minister will ask parliament to vote on her dealfor a third time. i think we have all given up giving predictions, but it could be as soon as monday. and if you're surprised by the detail of theresa may's request, you're not the only one. yesterday, it was widely briefed that she would ask for a short extension — but with the option of a longer one. that was met with fury by some of her party and once again, she's changed tack. the longer option is gone. this was earlier. the government intends to bring forward proposals for a third meaningful vote. if that vote is passed, the extension will give the house time to consider the withdrawal agreements bill. if not comedy housel have to decide how to proceed. but as prime minister, as prime minister, i am... i am not prepare

correspondent there, adam fleming, but first let's get the latest from our assistant political editor norman smithinster. in the cold light of day, what could theresa may's next move be? i think, in effect, it will be to die the speaker to rule out of order meaningful vote three, because the thinking and government seems to be that all the various options mooted, such as dissolving parliament and then having a fresh parliament or changing parliament in standards orders, so it seems to be to come back with mrs may's deal next week, perhaps with some changes, a delayed process agreed with the eu, and then say to the speaker, here is a deal, there are some changes, we wanted to voted on, what are you going to do? to put it back in the culture of the speaker and hope that he blinks or accepts there have been significant changes to the deal and that it can be voted on. but there is real anger at the speaker's decision, that he is basically siding with remainers to try to bring about a lengthy delay to brexit in the hope of engineering a softer brexit or another referendum. as forjohn bercow himself, th

labour has dismissed her claims as categorically untrue. 0ur assistant political editor norman smithrning. just remind our viewers, jeremy corbyn and, indeed, his office, is supposed to have nothing to do with these investigations into anti—semitism all, indeed, other potentially disciplinary matters. it is a system of checks and balances, but margaret hodge has concerns? it has always been the case that labour has insisted that mr corbyn has been entirely independent and separate to the disciplinary process, it has nothing to do with him. dame margaret beckett net with mr corbyn last week, which she says he repeatedly assured her that was the case that he had nothing to do with the process. since then she has now said she has received e—mails suggesting those close to mr corbyn, his inner circle, have sought to lower the punishments meted out to some of those involved in alleged anti—semitism. 0f some of those involved in alleged anti—semitism. of course, this comes, as we know, there is still rumbling unease in the party over its handling of anti—semitism, with attem pts its handli

labour has dismissed her claims as "categorically untrue". 0ur assistant political norman smith is at that goes on and on, norman, bring us up to date with the latest. the latest twist in this ongoing saga is that mr corbyn and his team are now being accused of in effect meddling in the disciplinary process , effect meddling in the disciplinary process, bearing in mind that team corbyn and the labour party have a lwa ys corbyn and the labour party have always said he has nothing to do with the disciplinary process, it is a hands off business that doesn't involve him. this morning, dame margaret hodge says she has evidence which suggests some of his closest staff have been involved in recent cases and ensuring lesser punishments meted out to those found, one way or another, to have breached the party rules on anti—semitism. more than that, she has raised a big fat? about the idea of appointing lord faulkner as the new overseer of the party disciplinary processes because she says, one, how can he be independent if he is appointed byjeremy corbyn? much better to have someone out with the

of all of this with oui’ let's take stock of all of this with our assistant political editor, norman smithto you. i would like to ask you about the comments from donald tusk, the president of the european council, their stubble, because they will significantly influence what happens here in the uk. did he mean that if mps do not back the deal next week, they will not be a short extension but they could possibly be a long extension, ordid he mean could possibly be a long extension, or did he mean no extension at all and the uk out the eu on the 29th of march? if you look at his public pronouncements, it would seem that he is saying you have got to agree a deal and then we will give you a short extension, and by implication if you do not agree a deal, you are leaving the eu next friday. in private, however, the view in government is that the eu is desperate to avoid no—deal because it would be profoundly disruptive for the eu as well. they take the view if mrs may cannot get a deal through, then there would be an emergency eu summit right at the last moment, maybe thursday, maybe friday, at

let's head to westminster and talk to assistant political editor norman smith, it was a late night lasthat theresa may has come back with, is that enough to overturn the huge 230 vote defeat for a meaningful thought one? it's a huge task to overturn 230 votes in one go, it's a massive, massive ask but clearly theresa may hopes the legal guarantee she secured last night will be enough to reassure her brexiteer critics. what they don't do is they do not remove they don't do is they do not remove the backstop, they do not open the withdrawal agreement, they do not provide an end date. but theresa may believes they do provide sufficient legal assurances to give brexiteers the confidence that we will not be trapped in the backstop indefinitely. in detail they include in arbitration mechanism to enable us in arbitration mechanism to enable us to get out and language to re—insure previous reassurances given by eu leaders are now in legal text and perhaps most importantly a commitment to try to work up alternative arrangements so that by december 2020 the rather than the backstop can be used. t

complaints submitted to the commission, by the jewish labour movement. 0ur assistant political editor norman smithies the com plete represents. i think it underlies the complete breakdown in trust and relations between mr corbin and his staff and jewish members of the labour party. we see that in this dossier which thejewish labour party. we see that in this dossier which the jewish labour movement have submitted to the equalities and human rights commission, containing hundreds of incidences of alleged anti—semitism. we see it in the backlash against the planned appointment of lord bognor as the man to take charge of the complaints procedure. team corbin had hoped lord faulkner had gone some way to douse this raging row because he is no friend of jeremy corbyn, he is a long—standing associate of tony blair. he is being offered significant powers such as demand any papers or e—mails, to interview whoever he wanted. the response ofjewish labour interview whoever he wanted. the response of jewish labour mps interview whoever he wanted. the response ofjewish labour mps is to be did not trust him and

norman smith is at westminster for us, how long will she ask for?pening. 2a hours ago we were told post—cabinet that the prime minister will go for a short delay, but she would keep open the option of a much longer delay. last week we had theresa may and her deputy saying, if we do not get a deal, they will have to be potentially a long delay. this morning we wake up to be told by number ten, no long delay, we will have a short extension untiljune to 30th. what is going on? the short a nswer 30th. what is going on? the short answer is theresa may has buckled in the face of another brexiteer revolt against her. it was clear that the brexiteers in the cabinet and on the back benches were up in arms at the idea of a delay possibly going on for two years because they would regard it as a betrayal of brexit. they have pretty much said as much to theresa may. the pm has backed off in the face of that. but it has pleased no one as far as i can gather. the brexiteers i pleased she has taken a long delay of the table, but they are now saying, that is fine, b

our assistant political editor norman smith is at westminster this morning. see why in the same breath, jean—claude juncker is speaking about sphinxes and the uk, but it is today the day when we are perhaps going to be slightly clearer on what direction the uk might go? slightly clearer, but don't expect today to result in a clear alternative strategy being set out by parliament. it is the start of a pi’ocess parliament. it is the start of a process and quite a convoluted and precarious process. there are 16 amendments that are being put down, covering every conceivable brexit option, and that gives you a sense of the diversity of opinion which has to be corralled into one clear position. that is unlikely to reach a conclusion until monday. meanwhile, we are engaged in a sort of wrestling match between the government and parliament to keep control, with the leader of the, andrea leadsom, saying this morning that he hoped mrs may would be able to bring back a meaningful vote three this week, ie tomorrow or maybe even friday. and bear in mind that even if mps d

and in this picture, tommy smith would win gold and john carlos would win bronze, and an australian by the name of peter norman would take the silver. as you can see, their gloved fists are in the air as a quiet protest against racial inequality the experienced in america, an iconic image. in doing an exhibit like this, sometimes there are juxtapositions you can't anticipate until you lay out the show, and this is a wonderful example of juxtaposition, arthur ashe and carlos and smith. arthur ashe felt exactly the way these gentlemen did about racial inequality in america, but ashe, as i read earlier, he just expressed it in a much different way. it is an interesting juxtaposition, and very relevant, this kind of protest is very relevant to today. we are seeing this with the national flag, so these are issues that linger. we will move from the sports men and women to politics. 1968 was also an election year, a presidential election year, and we have a number of images to illustrate that. but before he could to those images, let's focus on shirley chisholm. she is from new york city, and she is the first african

let's discuss this with our assistant political editor, norman smith. norman, where to begin?t with theresa may's attempt to get mps to vote on her deal for a third time. is that going to happen, do you calculate? i don't think it is, no. this morning i was saying to some people, it doesn't look like we will have the meaningful vote tomorrow. am i fair enough to speculate about that? they said, yes. i do get that meaningful vote three probably won't happen tomorrow because lets be realistic if it doesn't happen tomorrow, theresa may is looking at a defeat because the dup are probably not going to change their position in the space of 2a hours, never mind the principled opposition to the idea of a backstop. the hardliners have locked themselves in a room and chucked away the key so it's a never—never situation for the erg. and we have new voices coming in from dominic rab and his ilk. he seems to be taking a very hard line saying, we need to go back to the eu and get legally binding changes to the backstop and if we don't do that, there will be a no deal. this is what he said.

now we have time to check—in with norman smith.for three years ago. and by the way, there is no point in doing things for a long period, because they will just carry doing things for a long period, because they willjust carry on endless hours, herface, contemplating their labels. prime minister may at the front of indignant public indignation at parliament. those who would say hang ona parliament. those who would say hang on a sec, you were in charge of the negotiations, it is your divided party, you have been running the show, you are the problem here. and you have to ask yourself, does it get mrs may any closer to getting her deal through? i suspect not. i suspect she may get some good headlines from this, but i suspect she is utterly infuriated —— has utterly infuriated many mps, making the possibility of getting her deal through even more remote. more analysis coming up on the news with ben brown. but first it‘s time for a look at the weather with ben rich. it is the spring equinox. some of us have cloud and some of us has suns

let's go to our political editor norman smith. i think we should be wa ry norman smith.o address conservative backbenchers slap bang in the middle of that crucial parliamentary debate on indicative votes on a brexit plan b at five o'clock. that is going to be at five o'clock. that is going to be a high drama pressure point moment, very obviously, because she may well face calls from brexiteers and others to set out a timetable for her departure if she wants to secure their backing. more than that, her tone will be crucial towards backbenchers. does she adopt the same approach as yesterday in the commons where she suggested these indicative votes was unworkable, would not result in anything, that it would, as matthew hancock was repeating this morning, just result in them voting for unicorns. 0n repeating this morning, just result in them voting for unicorns. on top of that, is she going to insist that they stick to some sort of party whip or will she allow a free vote? if she does not allow a free vote, does that trigger more resignations? write in the middle of an alrea