Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC Newsroom Live 20240714

A no deal brexit goes through parliament. Away from politics Hurricane Dorian is expected to bring a deadly storm surge to the us east coast, after causing devastation and at least 20 deaths in the bahamas. The story of how Police Brought down the biggest human slave gang thats ever been caught in the uk. And coming up, scientists start to chip away at the mystery, of why one in 10 people is left handed. Boris johnson will speak directly to the public today, setting out what downing street is describing as the vital choice that faces our country. Thats after mrjohnson suffered his fourth defeat in as many votes in the commons as mps looked to set to keep him in office, but without his working majority. There were two votes last night. First up was the brexit delay bill thats aimed at forcing the pm to ask for an extension beyond the 31 october brexit deadline if a deal has not been agreed with the eu. Opposition mps and tory rebels ensured it passed by 327 votes to 299. Then, as if events in the commons of late havent been strange enough, the government failed to provide tellers for a vote on an amendment to the bill, meaning they lost it by default. That amendment means mps will now debate and vote on the withdrawal agreement. Thats the deal theresa may brought to the house three times, and lost three times, only with some slight additions and concessions made by the former pm in her doomed final bid to get labour mps on board with her plan. Following those defeats borisjohnson then introduced a motion to try and call a snap general election. Under the fixed Term Parliament act, the government needs the support of two thirds of mps to call an election before the five year period set out in law. But labour whipped their mps to abstain, meaning only 298 voted in favour. Jeremy corbyn said his party would only support a general election once the brexit delay bill had become law. Then, there was some suggestion that tory loyalists in the house of lords would attempt to filibuster or talk out the brexit delay bills reading in the second chamber, with more than 100 amendments to vote on, so it could not get royal assent before parliament is prorogued next week. But the conservative chief whip in the lords announced a breakthrough in the early hours after talks with labour. 0ur Political Correspondent chris mason has this report. Im sorry, we dont have that report. We do have our assistant Political Editor, norman smith. I think that could perhaps be the longest introduction i have ever read to a story, norman, which gives you some idea of the conjugated nature of politics right now. Lets begin with borisjohnson. After a bruising couple of days in the commons, what is he left with . Borisjohnson commons, what is he left with . Boris johnson wants a commons, what is he left with . Borisjohnson wants a general election and he wants one quickly. Because he cant govern, he is suffering endless defeats in the commons, he cannot be certain that he is going to be able to deliver on his central pledge to take us out of the eu on october the 31st come what may. He wants a general election but the problem is he doesnt have the numbers to secure one because under the current rules you need two thirds of mps to vote for an early general election. He doesnt have those numbers. He has got a real problem. What he is trying to do now is to shame jeremy problem. What he is trying to do now is to shameJeremy Corbyn into backing an early election so later today when he does a big speech he is going to accuse him of being a coward, of running away of a general election. That was the kind of language we had this morning from the chancellor. Weve been clear that we cannot have another extension. We cannot dither and delay. We have to leave on october the 315t. That uncertainty is also damaging. That has the ability to damage the economy, having that uncertainty, so we need to remove it. But what weve seen from the labour party is a constant change in their policy on brexit. But now, clearly, they have decided that they want to remain, they want to ignore the british people, and theyre trying to frustrate the will of the people from that referendum. We have some breaking news to bring you in the last few seconds because the mp Luciano Burge has announced, andi the mp Luciano Burge has announced, and i think we can see her twitter message, that she hasjoined the liberal democrats. She says the Stronger Party to stop brexit, fight for equality and a fairer country. Luciana berger has been moving around a little bit recently. Not a massive surprise because she jumped to change uk and they split. There has been a trickle of those unaligned, lost mps. Philip lee crossed from the tories to join the liberal democrats, took a moon did and sarah leicester. Quite a few of them starting to shuffle towards the lib dems as the overt force for remain. There is no doubt that brexit is a need to work for them because they have been quite straightforward that they want to reverse brexit. If anyone wants to basically stop brexit, they are a natural home for those people to go to. They have a new leader, jo swinson, who has injected some energy, passion and some colour which, frankly, vince cable was unable to do. We have seen that in the polls as well. The make up of the commons is in a state of flux. You have to factor in those 21 conservative mps who have been booted out, not of the party but they have been told they cannot stand as conservative mps at the next election, whenever that is. It creates huge problems with the arithmetic for Boris Johnson. Massive problems. Some of those tory mps who have been deselected have now said they will stand as independents, compounding the problems for Boris Johnson independents, compounding the problems for borisjohnson in an election. He does have profound difficulties in the commons. He has lost a majority which is why labour is playing hard ball lost a majority which is why labour is playing hardball because they can pretty much determine when the next election is going to be. If you need a two thirds majority, you are probably going to need labour to acquiesce and the signs are they wa nt to acquiesce and the signs are they want to delay any general election until may be after october the 31st because if they calculate then, borisjohnson will have to go to brussels and ask for an extension how humiliating for the man who said we we re how humiliating for the man who said we were leaving, do or die. Thats whatjohn mcdonnell said earlier this morning. In my view, later, rather than sooner. So that could be late october or beyond. So, after the date we all know. Well, one of the arguments. Sorry, after october 31st . Yeah, possibly. But one of the arguments thats been put forward is, borisjohnson says he wants a deal, lets see what he gets at the european council, because then people can judge whether or not the deal is satisfactory or not, or whether they actually do support no deal. So, norman, do you pretty much have unanimity within labour that that would be the best scenario for them to delay the date of the general election . What about the lib dems . If only there was unanimity within labour because there absolutely is not. I thinkJeremy Corbyn and those around him are very nervous about the idea of delaying a general election, fearful that they are going to have people in chicken suits running after them. He has been pressing for a general election almost since he became labour leader so it is difficult for him to say that he doesnt want one now. There is that calculation. There is also the difficulty given that the opposition parties, who have been working well together, look like they are beginning to splinter because the snp seem to be about to break ranks and say, actually, we would like a general election sooner rather than later. Why that matters is there is a way that borisjohnson could table a bill to basically set aside the fixed Term Parliament act which would enable him to trigger an election with a simple majority. So, if he were to do that, with the snp support him in triggering an early general election . That might be a way, if the snp break ranks, that might bea way, if the snp break ranks, that might be a way for borisjohnson to secure an early general election. This is farfrom over secure an early general election. This is far from over but we are now engaged in a huge tug of war about the timing of the general election. On one end is borisjohnson and the other labour, liberal democrats, change uk, deselected tory mps. Wandering around in the middle are the snp and what they do could be pivotal. Thank you very much. I am nowjoined bya thank you very much. I am nowjoined by a professor of politics at the university of strathclyde sojohn curtis who is in glasgow for us. Lets talk about the arithmetic in the commons. Lets talk about the news of Luciana Berger moving to the lib dems. Youve got those 21 conservative mps who have been deselected. You will have heard norman say that what the snp does next is crucial. How could that have an impact on what could unfold next in terms of a general election . Well clearly the addition of Luciana Berger helps the credibility of the liberal democrats and i suspect they will be hoping the other change uk mps will come over to them as well. It looks like we are now heading for election in october or november so they could find themselves without a paddle because change uk is running at zero or 1 in the polls. The position of the independent conservatives, there are some of them who might try but it is going to bea them who might try but it is going to be a tough ask. The truth is at the moment tories do enjoy more popularity than labour. The snp are dominant in scotland and a poll came out had the tories falling back in scotla nd out had the tories falling back in scotland with the snp advancing medical so the tories want to strike while the iron is hot. The liberal democrats are also in a much stronger position than they were two yea rs stronger position than they were two years ago and the tories could expect to lose seats to them. The question is whether or not the conservatives can win enough from labour to compensate for the losses. If you take a nine point lead, probably enough. Probably enough to doa probably enough. Probably enough to do a bit better than they are at the moment. May bejust do a bit better than they are at the moment. May be just enough to get an overall majority but by no means guaranteed. Boris johnson is certainly, in going for the 15th of october election, is not necessarily giving himself an easy task. The crucial battle and the crucial issue is how does the leave vote divide or unite. The reason borisjohnson has a lead in the polls is because in the course of recent weeks a significant proportion of leave brexit voters have switched back to the conservatives. There are still 1296 the conservatives. There are still 12 of them out there and the question is will they stay with nigel farage or will they end up going towards the conservatives . Although nigel farage keeps on saying im willing to deal with the tories, the price of the deal with nigel farage is that borisjohnson has to come out in favour of no deal and that is not his position so i think we could anticipate the brexit party would stand on the 15th of october and there would be a tussle between Boris Johnson october and there would be a tussle between borisjohnson and nigel farage for those leave voters. Nigel farage for those leave voters. Nigel farage will say you cant trust the tories because they are going for a warmed up version of theresa mays brexit. It will be brexit in name only and you have to stand firm and go for it no deal. Borisjohnson will say vote nigel farage and get Jeremy Corbyn and as a result he wont get brexit at all and it is the relative strength of these arguments in leave voters minds which could be crucial. Boris johnson doesnt want an election in late november because in the meantime he is being forced into writing a letter to the open union saying, could we please have an extension . That could be potentially incendiary amongst leave voters and it could scupper his chances of winning a general election. John, you talk about the tussle for leave voters. What about labour . Some of its mps are in leave voting constituencies. To what extent will they be basing their strategy on a need to bring along believers and remain as . Just because they are representing those constituencies doesnt mean that most of them voted leave from that most of them voted leave from that party and most mps are sitting ona labour that party and most mps are sitting on a labour vote which is a majority pro remain vote. One consideration they might want to keep in mind. Lets ta ke they might want to keep in mind. Lets take the last scenario, if the labour party wants to win back the voters, what better way of doing so than undermining the credibility of borisjohnson in the eyes of leave voters . Borisjohnson in the eyes of leave voters . That would be one of the considerations the labour party might want to consider. You have to realise the labour party has two thirds of the remain vote and the reason theyve done that is it has lost around a fifth of its 20 17th vote to the liberal democrats. The labour party finds itself in a serious tussle for the remain vote with the liberal democrats. That potentially gives borisjohnson his opportunity and its whether or not that division of the vote shifts at all during an election campaign. That could be crucial to the outcome. That is something over which mrjohnson will not have much control. Thank you very much. Joining me now is the labour mp for hove, peter kyle. One of your colleagues this morning was talking about boxing clever when it comes to a general election. What is your gut instinct . I dont think we can set a date for it. What we can do is box clever. I dont think we should go to the public for a general election until we have resolved brexit because our job is to solve the countrys problems. If we go back now we are asking the country to solve our politics problems, the problems we cant resolve ourselves. Would it be another referendum by proxy . I dont think so. It would be like the 2017 election where brexit would poison the general election but people would vote on a plethora of different issues and then we return a parliament that isnt capable of delivering the deal of the day. The way forward is to give borisjohnson the space to go and negotiate a deal, bring it back, engage with parliament and then put it back to a confirmatory ballot with the public and the public will have the final say. Then we can move on to the general election about elastic policy, welfare, jobs and Public Services and britains role in the world and then we can move forward asa world and then we can move forward as a country. What if he cant get a deal . There is no sign from the eu that the uk has come forward with the concrete solutions the eu once, especially when it comes to the backstop. That is why borisjohnson wants a general election. He wants opposition parties to get him off the hook because hes promised a great deal and has been full of bluster, been found wanting and now he wants to go to the public and blame parliament and the eu and eve ryo ne blame parliament and the eu and everyone else. Actually what we need in the public needs is for him to get his act together, negotiate a deal and bring back the best he can. If he cant, i believe we need to resolve brexit by having a referendum based on the only deal that has been signed off, a confirmatory ballot on theresa mays deal, which is the only one that has been signed off by the eu and the British Government, and allow the public to have the final say and move forward. We may need a referendum on remain or no deal. I think the public need to be involved at this point. If we go back before we resolve brexit, it would be a plague on all your houses election. I have to say i have sympathy for the public because we will be going to them, not solving their problems but asking them to solve our problems and i would have built simply for the reaction it would evoke. You are not prepared to take a position on whether the election should be before the 31st of october or after that . I will say clearly that the public will punish us if we have a general election for october the 31st. We should in no circumstances have won before this stage of brexit is resolved. We dont know what Boris Johnson is going to do in parliament today, we dont know what he will do on monday. We cant say a date like october 21, november the 20th december the 15th because we know what the Political Landscape is going to be like. That is why we had to agree a principle and that principle should be that we should not have a general election on 12 we are able to resolve this part of brexit because if we do we will be punished for it. Thank you very much for coping with the. I mean, its sometimes very noisy down here but that really ta kes noisy down here but that really takes the biscuit, doesnt it . Thanks for coping without noise in the background. Much of the political wrangling currently happening. Im going to see what that is. It looks like a motorbike. It does sound like a motorbike. Its borisjohnson sound like a motorbike. Its Boris Johnson i sound like a motorbike. Its borisjohnson i suspect he has other things to get on with much of the political wrangling currently happening in the house of commons is as a result of borisjohnsons decision to Prorogue Parliament for five weeks. That decision is being challenged by the legal campaigner gina miller in the high court today. Her application for judicial review will be supported by statements from the former Prime Minister sirjohn major, the shadow attorney general, Shami Chakrabarti as well as lawyers for the scottish and welsh governments. Lets speak to our Legal Correspondent clive coleman. Anita, this case is really about the advice that borisjohnson gave to the queen to Prorogue Parliament. That is at the heart of what we have been hearing about this morning. The case brought by gina miller, whose representative this morning set out her case. He began by setting out that this five week prorogue of parliament, there is no precedent for a suspension of that length of time. The longest one was three weeks and more normally it has been a week. Lord panic said that the case simply as the Prime Ministers advice is and unlawful abuse of power because it breaches the legal principle of parliamentary sovereignty. Why is that, he asked, because the effect of that is to remove the ability of parliament to enact such legislation as it sees fit or issues a Public Policy relating to the arrangements to leave the eu and he said that it effectively shuts parliament down in a period when time is of the essence because of that deadline of leaving on october 31. Lord panic went back to cases from 1611 to illustrate the point that the Prime Minister doesnt have an unfettered discretion to Prorogue Parliament whenever he likes for as long as he likes. Lord panic said that if there was such unfettered discretion, a future pro minister of a more authoritarian state of mind might shut down parliament for six months ora shut down parliament for six months or a year. He said it was an exceptional case because the Prime Minister does have a discretion in seeking the proroguing of parliament. Gina miller needs to show that it is an abuse of power, and manifest undermining of parliamentary sovereignty. Lord panic said that shutting down parliament didnt mean simply that you stop legislation going through that perhaps could prevent a new deal. You stop the working of parliament, you stop ministers being questioned, you stop reports being read, you stop legislative planning for the consequences of a no deal. And he went on further to say the Prime Minister, and he referred to a handwritten note to the pro minister, simply didnt understand the constitutional role of parliament in the next five weeks. The case continues. Thank you very much, clive. We believe that there because we have breaking news to bring you, the pro ministers brotherjojohnson as a nazi is going to step down as an mp. He has sent a message on twitter. You can see it here. Jojohnson has announced he is going to step down as an mp. He isa he is a minister of state for universities and science. Let me just repeat that breaking news in the last few seconds. The Prime Ministers brotherjojohnson the last few seconds. The Prime Ministers brotherjo johnson has announced he is stepping down as an mp. He says it has been an honour to represent his constituency for nine yea rs represent his constituency for nine years but in recent weeks he has been torn between family loyalty and the National Interest. He says it is an unresolvable pension and says it is time for other people to take over his role as minister. It is hugely significant. We have yet to find out what lies behind that decision but it sounds like he has had real difficulties squaring up his principles with what is going on in parliament at the moment. Of course his brother borisjohnson is Prime Minister so a hugely symbolic decision and we will discuss that, get reaction to that for you very soon but right now lets catch up with some other news. Back to the studio with samantha. Hurricane dorian is expected to bring a deadly storm surge to the us east coast, after causing devastation and at least 20 deaths in the bahamas. Along the eastern seaboard, they are battening down the hatches. Dorian is on a collision course with the carolinas and people are being urged to leave. Our message today is, if you are still in an evacuation zone, you still have time to get out. But time to get out is running out, because once wind speeds get up to about a0 or 45 miles an hour, the emergency crews will not be able to come in and get you. In its wake, dorian left a tropical paradise in ruins. The abaco islands of the northern bahamas were torn apart homes flattened, entire communities submerged by one of the most powerful atlantic storms on record. Relief officials are gearing up for a major humanitarian disaster. As the floodwaters recede, the death toll is expected to grow. With the city of charleston, south carolina, now in its path, dorian is expected to bring with it winds of around 120 miles an hour, and a ten foot storm surge that could lead to catastrophic flooding. David willis, bbc news, washington. Long delays were caused on the m6 last night after a lorry carrying 32,000 litres of gin was involved in a crash and begun leaking its cargo on to the carriageway. Whilst the spillage was cleared up, drivers and passengers caught in the traffic took to social media. One lady said it was heartbreaking she didnt have a straw, whilst others asked whether those dealing with the gincident would introduce a sloe lane. At least they could see the funny side. Now time for a look at the weather with simon king. We have some sunshine but a bit more cloud the further west you go with some showers affecting western scotland. Plenty of sunshine. That was the scene this morning in hampshire. Many parts of england and wales will continue with those sunny spells into the afternoon. The risk ofa spells into the afternoon. The risk of a future was in north wales, north west england into the of scotland. The risk of a few showers. The wind is not as strong as yesterday. Still a bit gusty in places. Temperatures in the mid to high teens. Now, tonight, rain will spread through scotland, northern parts of england and north wales. Elsewhere some clear spells into friday morning but it is this reign over northern parts which will move to the south and during friday it may linger across southern areas into the afternoon. Elsewhere some sunny spells developing and temperatures in the mid to high teens. Goodbye for now. Hello this is bbc newsroom live. The headlines number ten says Boris Johnson will speak directly to the public later today, to argue his case for a general election. The Prime Ministers brother, jojohnson, quits as tory mp and minister, saying hes torn between family and National Interest. A late night pact between the government and labour peers in the house of lords to ensure the bill to block a no deal brexit goes through parliament. Away from politics, Hurricane Dorian is expected to bring a deadly storm surge to the us east coast, after causing devastation and at least 20 deaths in the bahamas. And coming up the story of how Police Brought down the biggest human slave gang thats ever been caught in the uk. Sport now, and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, heres gavin. Good morning. The second day of the fourth ashes test is underway the weather is better this morning at old trafford and england have made a breakthrough. Stuart broad taking the wicket of travis head for 19. Steve smith remains at the crease though for australia. Hes had a bit of a let off. Jofra archer unable to hold on to a half chance to catch him off his own bowling. Smith is currently at the crease. Australia going along quite nicely. To new york next, where rafael nadal has made it through to the semi finals of the us open. He beat Diego Schwartzman in straight sets. Remember both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are already out, so it looks like its opening up for nadal to win his 19th grand slam title leaving him just one short of federers record. He plays the italian Matteo Berrettini in the last four. Also opened up in the womenss draw, heres Bianca Andreescu the canadian teenager at the bottom of your screen sealing her place in the last four, she beat elise mertens. Shes only 19, but has won two titles this year, shes up to 15th in the World Rankings and into herfirst grand slam semi final. Jamie murray meanwhile had a busy day at flushing meadows. First he qualified for the semi finals of the mens doubles with british partner neil skupski, then he went one better in the mixed doubles, reaching the final alongside the american bethany mattick sands. There have been some unusual routes to the top of football, tyrone mings can attest to that. The aston villa defender lived in a homeless shelter as a child, and worked as a Mortgage Broker before breaking through as a footballer. He could make his england debut in the next few days as they play a couple of euro 2020 qualifiers. I cant say that whilst i was sitting at my desk cold calling or trying to help people remortgage that playing for england was a real achievable goal but as ive worked with some great coaches and been able to play for some great clubs, everything has kind of culminated together to get me to this point so at different times ive had to reassess my goals go through injuries and stuff like that but it makes it all the more sweeter being sat here right now. And the man who beat anthonyjoshua to take his world titles says he wants more than 15 minutes of fame. Andy ruinunior caused one of the biggest upsets in the history of boxing when he beat joshua in june. The pair have been in saudi arabia, where theyll have their rematch in december. I feel once you cross the bridge and you walk it and you stumble, you have two options, to fail or try a second time. There is always the option to take time and have a warm up option to take time and have a warm up fight, let me have another warm up up fight, let me have another warm upfight up fight, let me have another warm up fight after that, but i want to swim in the deep end. And cj ujah has pulled out of the british squad for the world athletics championships in doha later this month. The 25 year old sprinter helped the 4 by 100m relay team to gold two years ago, but misses out this time around with a back injury. Hes replaced in the sqaud by Harry Aikines aryeetey. In the fourth ashes, the score is 128 180 844 in the fourth ashes, the score is 128 180 844 in the fourth ashes, the score is 128 180 844 188 for in the fourth ashes, the score is 128 180 844 188 for four. You can follow the action live via the bbc sport webiste and app. Thats all the sport for now. Lets go back to westminster. The breaking news that jo lets go back to westminster. The breaking news thatjo johnson, lets go back to westminster. The breaking news thatjojohnson, the Prime Ministers brother, is standing down as minister for state for universities and science. He says he has been torn between family loyalty a nd says he has been torn between family loyalty and the National Interest. He says it is time for others to ta ke he says it is time for others to take on his role. Hugely symbolic and awkward for borisjohnson. Massively. Borisjohnson has suffered a series of blows and this is probably the heaviest one. If you imagine it in your own family to have your nearest and dearest are turning against you and saying i cant accept what youre doing, which is pretty much whatjojohnson is saying, saying he cant stomach it. That has to be deeply wounding. He isa it. That has to be deeply wounding. He is a long standing pro remain activist. He was talking about it being the greatest crisis since the second world war. Jo johnson being the greatest crisis since the second world war. Jojohnson was there with racheljohnson and their father when borisjohnson there with racheljohnson and their father when Boris Johnson got the leadership, the family rallied around even though racheljohnson stood for change uk, another prominent pro european, but it surely tells us how far brexit is ripping apart families, the tory party. We see long established tory mps basically being hounded out the tory party because they take a different view. Deeply, deeply bitter divisions are now breaking out all over the place. In tandem with Boris Johnsons out all over the place. In tandem with borisjohnsons decision to deselect 21 mps who voted against him, like Nicholas Soames, Philip Hammond, and now you have this coming from his own brother. How bruising, how damaging is that going to be for conservatives who think about the values of the conservative party that there was one nation tories who are deeply uneasy about all of this . I dont think you can overstate just how much anger there is on the tory benches about 30 selections and its not confined just to remainers. Many think it is unacceptable that figures like ken clarke, Nicholas Soames should be booted out the party. Its frankly viewed as ridiculous and there is a viewed as ridiculous and there is a view that Boris Johnson is viewed as ridiculous and there is a view that borisjohnson is leading almost a counter revolution in the tory party, sweeping aside all the old, moderate remainers, getting rid of them and refashioning the tory party into a brexit party. It goes further than just the mp5. We learned that ed vaizeys chief of staff who also happens to be on the Management Committee of the local party has now been booted off the Management Committee so it is seeping through the whole party and its hard not to form the impression that Boris Johnson its hard not to form the impression that borisjohnson is basically seeking to transform the whole ethos of the tory party and is breaking apart the broad church philosophy which has by and large held it together with all its tensions and disagreements over europe and its not clear how this will play out because many of those who have been deselected, there was the initial shock. Now i think there is a sense that they are not going to put up with it and we had Philip Hammond saying Boris Johnson faced the fight of his life, carolyn noakes, ed vaizey, they may well stand as independent candidates which means if there is an election, Boris Johnson could have a significant problem on his hands if seats go to these independent toadies. Labour mp ian murray is tweeting evenjo johnson knows his brother cant be trusted to make decisions in the National Interest. How much will this undercut the speech and the appeal that Boris Johnson is this undercut the speech and the appeal that borisjohnson is due to make this afternoon . Doesnt itjust underscore the fact that Boris Johnson is a love or loathe figure . It sort of fits into where we are with politics, such a divided country. You saw at Prime Ministers questions yesterday the sheer animosity towards Boris Johnson from the labour benches and his opponents. Genuinely, yes, people we re opponents. Genuinely, yes, people were critical of theresa may and david cameron. Its different with borisjohnson. People bluntly dont trust him, they dont believe him. And for the Prime Minister its very difficult to operate when you have no trust. People are not willing to accept what you say. So i think it impacts on the way he operates. He energises his supporters like donald trump. His people are on board. But he has lost half of the country and he has lost half of the country and he has lost half of the country and he has gained the other half of the country and you kind of wonder how he puts his Party Together again, how he puts his family together again, darei how he puts his family together again, dare i say . And how he puts the country together again because all the rhetoric, the language, 30 selections, the suspensions of parliament, everything is moving in the country deselections. Parliament, everything is moving in the country deselections. We have seenin the country deselections. We have seen in the last shot while the siena badger moving to the liberal democrats shana berger Luciana Berger. The Prime Minister would not be drawn on what is a good date for the election. He said there should be a deal put to the public in some form of confirmatory vote. How are the labour party otherwise on when and if there should be a general election . Its no secret labour have been divided through the brexit saga and it is painful to see them going through these endless permutations. The momentum is moving pretty heavily in favour of pushing off the election until after october the 3ist election until after october the 31st and although they are saying this is because we dont trust Boris Johnson, they have also reached the calculation that it is massively to their advantage if they can fight a general election when borisjohnson has had to go and ask the eu for an extension, something he has said again and again and again that he will never do. It would be crippling and a labourmp will never do. It would be crippling and a labour mp yesterday said Boris Johnson has said it is do or die, well lets leave him to die. What they mean by that is we believe it until after october the 31st and then he will be the Prime Minister who reneged on his core promise to the country out come watch me. I think labour is moving in that direction. The one game changer is the snp who, im trying to work out what theyre going to do because there are signs you might back Boris Johnson in a general election early, because they think they are on course to clean up in scotland right now. They think it is their moment and they can hoover up in scotland. Ruth davidson is out of the way and they think they can win big time. That would give them the momentum to go for another general election. The problem but i think some of them has clocked have clocked is if they do that, borisjohnson has an election before october the 31st and wins it, there is a very good chance he will take britain out without a deal and they say that is what they wa nt to deal and they say that is what they want to avoid above all so they could buy default rescue Boris Johnson. Definitely something to watch closely. Norman, thank you very much. Boris johnson will speak directly to the public today, setting out what downing street is describing as the vital choice that faces our country. Thats after mrjohnson suffered his fourth defeat in as many votes in the commons as mps looked to set to keep him in office, but without his working majority. There were two votes last night. First up was the brexit delay bill, thats aimed at forcing the pm to ask for an extension beyond the 31st of october brexit deadline if a deal has not been agreed with the eu. Opposition mps and tory rebels ensured it passed by 327 votes to 299. Then, as if events in the commons of late havent been strange enough, the government failed to provide tellers for a vote on an amendment to the bill, meaning they lost it by default. That amendment means mps will now debate and vote on the withdrawal agreement. Thats the deal theresa may brought to the house three times, and lost three times, only with some slight additions and concessions made by the former pm in her doomed final bid to get labour mps on board with her plan. Following those defeats. Borisjohnson then introduced a motion to try and call a snap general election. Under the fixed Term Parliament act, the government needs the support of two thirds of mps to call an election before the five year period set out in law. But labour whipped their mps to abstain, meaning only 298 voted in favour. Jeremy corbyn said his party would only support a general election once the brexit delay bill had become law. Then there was some suggestion that tory loyalists in the house of lords would attempt to filibuster or talk out the brexit delay bills reading in the second chamber, with more than 100 amendments to vote on so it could not get royal assent before parliament is prorogued next week, but the conservative chief whip in the lords announced a breakthrough in the early hours after talks with labour. Our Political Correspondent chris mason has this report. David gauke has tweeted lots of mps had to wrestle with conflicting loyalties in recent weeks, none more so than jo johnson, the loyalties in recent weeks, none more so thanjojohnson, the Prime Ministers brothers decision to stand down. This is a big loss to parliament, the government and the conservative party. Joining me is professor of politics at Queen Marys University in london, tim bale. Thank you for waiting as i took our viewers through that long list of information about what has been going on. Lets get your reaction first of all to that decision byjo johnson to stand down as an mp, the Prime Ministers brother. Its incredibly winding for the Prime Minister if you cant even keep his brother on board, people will say, how can he keep his party on board and how can he convince the electorate its a good idea to pull out of the European Union on the 3ist out of the European Union on the 31st without a deal . Does it suggest a lack of trust or a lack of belief that this government can achieve a deal . We certainly heard from the eu in the last 24 hours or so that they have had nothing concrete in terms of proposals for, say, the backstop, even though the Prime Minister has talked about progress being made, it doesnt seem that there was any evidence. Its been clear from leaks in the newspapers and from what the eu themselves have said that actually it is a sham. There doesnt seem to be much progress at all, paralysis i think is the word that the eu have used and quite frankly, evenif the eu have used and quite frankly, even if Boris Johnson the eu have used and quite frankly, even if borisjohnson were somehow to win an election, if that election does take place on october the 15th, i think the chances of him being able to negotiate something within two weeks and therefore pull out of the nosedive of no deal is very, very slim. Through our political history we have seen Prime Ministers step out in front of number ten or elsewhere in the country with an advance announcement that they are going to speak to the country. Weve had that today about Boris Johnson of the back of these four defeats and with this news of his brother stepping down as an mp, that surely greatly undermines what he wants to do later. Yeah, weve no idea what hes going to say or what hes going to say now. He is in a much more difficult position than his strategist Dominic Cummings would have imagined. I think they did understate the extent to which tory mps would desert him. I think theyve always been planning for an early election but i think you are beginning to get the sense that things are perhaps unravelling a little bit. Our Political Correspondent chris mason has been tweeting that he understands the Prime Ministers going to accuse Jeremy Corbyn of trying to deny the right of the people to have their say in an election and accused the labour leader of a cupboard the insult to democracy for running away from an election a currently insult cowardly insult. From an election a currently insult cowardly insult. Many of those advising Jeremy Corbyn would say wait until the 31st, wait until no deal is literally off the table and then perhaps its time to turn towards an election. It could work but i really dont think that the public are crying out for an election. The opinion polls dont suggest it. I think borisjohnson has a problem there as well. What do you think is going to happen in terms of labour strategy, also what the snp is going to do as norman alluded to in our conversation a few minutes ago . That could be key in assisting Boris Johnson minutes ago . That could be key in assisting borisjohnson to get the earlier election that he seems to wa nt earlier election that he seems to want because the snp think they can do really well in scotland right now but then there is a much Bigger Picture to consider that as well for them. There is and i think they are genuinely against the uk pulling out of the eu at all never mind with no deal and i cant imagine the snp waiting a few weeks thinking waiting a few weeks thinking waiting a few weeks thinking waiting a few weeks will make a difference to the seats they are likely to get in the next election. For labour as well it would surely make sense for them, for Boris Johnson to have to ask for an extension because at that point nigel farage would really come back into the picture and would be able to say on behalf of the brexit party that boris has let you down and you should be voting for us instead of the conservatives and that would really, really be a very big problem for borisjohnson because his whole strategy over the last two months about getting those brexit voters back. Thank you, professor. During the conservative leadership campaign, we saw borisjohnson time and time again talking to members of the conservative party, the voters in those constituency associations, saying that his personality, his style, his technique could make the difference in negotiations with the eu, could drive a deal through, could break the deadlock in the house of commons, setting so much store by his personality and now he finds himself in a very difficult position as our guests have been saying today and this can only be described as a blow from his brother jojohnson who has said he has been torn between family loyalty and the National Interest. It is an unresolvable tension, he says, and therefore the Prime Ministers brother is standing down as an mp. Esther webberjoins me, shes house of lords reporter for the times red box. Will talk about what happened in the house of lords in the small hours in a moment but first of all, i want to get your thoughts on what is happening with jo johnson. Yes, this is obviously a major blow to the Prime Minister and no one really saw this coming, i dont think, given only a few weeks agojojohnson was put into the cabinet in this role. Its a sign, i guess, of how quickly things seem to be unravelling. Just a few weeks later, he feels he cant continue to serve under his own brother. Your word is unravelling, do you think thats whats happening around the Prime Minister . |j do you think thats whats happening around the Prime Minister . I think right now is quite a tight time for the Prime Minister and number ten. He has lost his first few votes in the commons, he didnt get the general election he wanted in that vote last night. However, that doesnt mean its all over. You know, possibly extending article 50, that bill is going to progress this week. Probably his next move will be to try again for a general election and thats kind of his next stop. Lets go back to the small hours of the morning and what happened in the house of lords because there had been i thought that conservative lords would filibuster, would in other words keep talking until there was no time and voting on all these 100 or so amendments until there was no time for the lords to approve the brexit delay bill but that didnt happen so what is your take on why not . It was very interesting to see what happened early this morning. It was about 1 30am when the government offered this concession, saying that they would allow this proposed bill permitting an article 50 extension to make its journey permitting an article 50 extension to make itsjourney through parliament by tomorrow evening, which they previously had been trying to block. Although it appears like a climb down from the government, which it is, it also sets the scene now for them to have another go at bringing forward an election because labour have said that they wouldnt support an election until the bill has passed, so now, after it does pass on friday, the government can say, well, the bill has passed now, lets 90, well, the bill has passed now, lets go, lets have a general election. Thank you, esther webber. Lets catch up with the business news. We will be back in westminster very soon. Very soon. In fact, we might not be crossing to victoria just yet because i have just beenjoined here victoria just yet because i have just been joined here at westminster by Luciana Berger, who in the last short while has announced she is leaving the independent group for change. What is behind your decision to make this move . We find ourselves ina to make this move . We find ourselves in a National Emergency. In that building over the last couple of days, we need to do Everything Possible to make sure when the election comes, the country has something to vote for rather than having to choose between two terrible options ofjohnson versus corbyn. We are the only uk white party that has an unequivocal stance on brexit who is prepared to stand up on brexit who is prepared to stand up the only uk wide party that wa nts to up the only uk wide party that wants to make sure we had a country thatis wants to make sure we had a country that is tolerant. I am delighted to join the liberal democrats underjo swinsons leadership. Are any other mps planning to make the move . Its a big decision for any mp to join a new party. I didnt take it lightly, it took a lot of consideration, but these are extraordinary times and a lot of people have joined the liberal democrats as mps and members in recent weeks and over the last few days, particularly afterjo swinsons election as leader. A number of colleagues have stopped me on the way over here from the labour party i left behind to say well done. On yourjourney to this point, you left labour party, went to change uk and now to the liberal democrats. In any general election, how closely do you think you and the lib dems are going to have to work with labour to stop the conservatives winning . with labour to stop the conservatives winning . I think the two party system in our country is finished. You only have to look at the recent Election Results for the european elections and for the Council Elections to know that there is everything to play for in this next election and i believe that the country next election and i believe that the cou ntry wa nts next election and i believe that the country wants something to vote for. Isaid at country wants something to vote for. I said at the start, its not a case now of choosing between two parties, there is a new system, there is something positive, thats what the country deserves and thats what i am putting my full weight behind. But the strategy will depend on what date the election is. If its before the 31st of october, if Boris Johnson can argue to would be brexit party voters that he is going for brexit, if its after that, it makes it easierfor the brexit, if its after that, it makes it easier for the scenario you are talking about but if its before the 3ist talking about but if its before the 31st of october and there are signs that the conservatives can pull in those brexit party voters, then does there need to be some sort of electoral pact considered between labour and the lib dems in some constituencies . Very important points. I am very clear that we cannot have an election before october 31. We need to see an extension to article 50 because i dont trust this Prime Minister to dont trust this Prime Minister to do anything. Weve already seen over recent days the fact that he is prepared to toy with our rule of law in this country means that we have to have every security in place and we cannot allow for any possibility ofan we cannot allow for any possibility of an election before then and crashing out will have severe consequences for the country. In terms of what might happen at a future election, we already saw the brecon by election where parties came together to offer the electorate one option that is clearly remaining and stopping brexit. I dont include the labour party in that category because they have not been unequivocal in their position and i am clear that our leadership wants to see brexit so there are other parties that i think we come together with the liberal democrats, its certainly not my decision, ive onlyjustjoined, but thatis decision, ive onlyjustjoined, but that is an issue to be considered so that is an issue to be considered so that a raft of choices that the country has one choice in each constituency. Luciana berger, thank you for talking to us today about your decision to move. We appreciate your decision to move. We appreciate your time. Luciana berger, who has left the independent group for change and joined the liberal democrats. Well be back in westminster very shortly but lets ta ke westminster very shortly but lets take a look at the weather first of all. Its not as windy as yesterday. This was the scene in hampshire. A bit more cloud the further north and west you are and with that comes showers, particularly across scotland. A few showers in england, north wales, and the north midlands. Otherwise it is dry and fairly bright with the sunshine, temperatures getting into the mid to high teens, may be 20 celsius in the southeast of england. Rain will move through scotland and Northern Ireland tonight, pushing into Northern England and north wales by friday morning, clear skies either side and temperatures in double figures but the rain across northern parts will move southwards gradually during friday and it will linger on across southern areas into the afternoon but behind it for the north there will be dry weather, sunny spells and a few showers and temperatures again in the mid to high teens. Youre watching bbc newsroom live with Annita Mcveigh in westminster. The headlines at midday. The Prime Ministers brother, jojohnson, quits as tory mp and minister, saying hes torn between family and National Interest. Former labour and change uk mp Luciana Bergerjoins the liberal democrats, saying they are the Strongest Party to stop brexit. No 10 says Boris Johnson will speak directly to the public later today, to argue his case for a general election. Away from politics, Hurricane Dorian is expected to bring a deadly storm surge to the us east coast, after causing devastation and at least 20 deaths in the bahamas. And coming up, scientists start to chip away at the mystery, of why one in 10 people is left handed. Good afternoon. Its already been a busy morning in westminster in the wake of last nights drama in the houses of parliament. In the last hour the Prime Ministers brother, jo johnson, has announced he is resignining both as a minister and as an mp. He tweeted. Meanwhile the former labour mp, Luciana Berger, who was one of those who left the party to set up the independent group, change uk, has this morning announced shes joining the liberal democrats. She also tweeted the news, saying. Boris johnson will speak directly to the public today, setting out what downing street is describing as the vital choice that faces our country. Thats after mrjohnson suffered his fourth defeat in as many votes in the commons as mps voted to rule out a no deal brexit while also denying the Prime Minister a snap general election. Our assistant Political Editor norman smith is here. Festival, jojohnson, that festival, jo johnson, that is festival, jojohnson, that is a big blow to the pro minister, isnt it . Every day something utterly astonishing happened here. This is one of the most astonishing things. This isnt a minor, native, this is jojohnson trying to cut the political legs from under his brother in a very public way because in effect he is saying, i dont really trust my brother. I dont have confidence in what hes doing. I dont think i can carry on as a tory mp. The timing and the fact he has chosen to go public with it in this way is designed to basically put the skids under his brother because if you just think in your own circumstances in a family, if you have a row, if you have a bitter dispute, most families, you keep it within the family. You dont go public in the way thatjojohnson has done unless you really want to create mayhem. Quite clearly, jo johnson is deeply worried about his brother and what hes doing is Prime Minister and where he is leading the country, and the problem for Boris Johnson is that people will think, well, if his brother doesnt trust him, if his brother is so worried about what hes doing that in the National Interest he feels he has to stand down, why on earth should anyone else trust him . This isnt just a personal blow and i imagine it is deeply wounding two Boris Johnson but politically this is a significant moment and very damaging for borisjohnson. If you are short weeks ago his brother was there to see him declared as the new leader of the conservative party so it is going to be very interesting in the speech from borisjohnson be very interesting in the speech from Boris Johnson later to be very interesting in the speech from borisjohnson later to see whether he factors this in, whether he alludes to this at all. I guess most politicians try to keep the personal out of politics and you cant get the two intertwined but here they are into mashed. What does it remind you of . The miliband brothers. These disputes are often irreconcilable and they last for yea rs. Irreconcilable and they last for years. One of my colleagues found an old interview that Boris Johnson gave in 2013. He is asked whether he and his brother are like the miliband brothers and borisjohnson says, absolutely not. We dont do things that way. That is a very left wing thing. Only a socialist could do that to his brother. Only a socialist could regard family ties as being so trivial as to shaft his own brother. Words to come back and bite him. That is exactly what has happened. More broadly, away from this development, and how do you think these things are going to shape up in the coming hours . Things are changing by the hour it seems so we dont want to look too far ahead but after last nights events in parliament, whats next for the pro minister and the opposition parties . Boris johnsons minister and the opposition parties . Borisjohnsons one great hope now isi borisjohnsons one great hope now is i think he manages to trigger a general election. That is his get out ofjail general election. That is his get out of jail free general election. That is his get out ofjail free card. He thinks if he can trigger it and win it, he can ta ke he can trigger it and win it, he can take uk out of the eu deal or no deal, regardless of the legislation. Thats what he needs. Today he is going to try to crank up, goad and shamejeremy going to try to crank up, goad and shame Jeremy Corbyn into going to try to crank up, goad and shameJeremy Corbyn into agreeing to a general election by saying, its cowardly, he is denying the British Public a say. The difficulty he has got is ifJeremy Corbyn simply hangs tough and says, no, im going to ta ke tough and says, no, im going to take my time on this, there is not really much Boris Johnson take my time on this, there is not really much borisjohnson can do. We are engaged in an extraordinary tug of war with Boris Johnson are engaged in an extraordinary tug of war with borisjohnson trying to getan tug of war with borisjohnson trying to get an early election with labour saying, we are going to play this long and late in the belief that if an election is held after october 31, borisjohnson an election is held after october 31, Boris Johnson goes an election is held after october 31, borisjohnson goes into it if he is still leader fatally damaged because he will have failed to deliver his central pledge to take britain out come what may on october 31. Joining us here as well at westminster is the Senior Editor at the economist. Lets begin withjo johnson. A real blow for the Prime Minister . A blow for the pro minister although they have very different views on europe and you have to factor that in because of what norman was saying about family feuds. It is true that they have both had very different views on europe and they have gone even further away from each other, i think, in the last year. Knowing bothjojohnson and think, in the last year. Knowing both jo johnson and Boris Johnson a bit personally is that actually there may not be terrifically bad blood between them personally. A lot of friends of Boris Johnson simply dont agree with what hes doing. You could say it is their preference on brexit. They are prepared to act on brexit. They are prepared to act on it. That is a big difference is that a lot of other people might otherwise have just kept their heads down. Saying, iwouldnt otherwise have just kept their heads down. Saying, i wouldnt be able to look myself in the merit so this is the moment and i must act. It is also true on the other side of the balance sheet. You hear a lot of loyalists of Boris Johnson saying, weve got to stick to this and get to that general election because parliament is trying to thwart us. They have committed to that so they continue down that route. On that note, what are the chances, in your estimation, of Boris Johnson note, what are the chances, in your estimation, of borisjohnson getting that early general election date that early general election date that he wants . I think those chances are falling off for him because he keeps getting these defeats in the commons. That is not the route by which he is going to get it. Of course, there is a point we havent looked at and thatis a point we havent looked at and that is who in labour really wants a later election . A lot of people think november is a much better date, they get an extension. Certainly those close to Jeremy Corbyn who worry about leaving it a bit later also worry about his power and position on brexit, which has been magisterially unclear, how that would hold up over a long period. The heart of labour, close to the leaders team, would like to go early. The only reason they dont wa nt early. The only reason they dont want to do that is the Prime Minister fancies an early election and they cant go with him. We were just talking about the snp because in the last short while they we re because in the last short while they were saying, we are not at one with borisjohnson on the idea of an earlier general election and we are talking to the other parties as well. The truth is they are deeply sensitive. Sorry, we can just see boris sensitive. Sorry, we canjust see borisjohnson outside number ten welcoming binyamin netanyahu, the israeli Prime Minister, to number ten. I think he is due to shake hands with mike spence of the United States. To bea mike spence of the United States. To be a fly on the wall in there. I wonder whether they will be talking about brexit. Sorry, norman. We are talking about the snp. The snp may be pivotal. They have so far held in with the so called Rebel Alliance. The snp now publicly have a rather different position to the other members of the Rebel Alliance. They are much more amenable to an early general election because they think they would hoover up in scotland. However there are discussions going on between the snp and the Rebel Alliance and i think it is not at all impossible that over the course of the next few days they may become much cooler, shall we say, on an early general election because if there is an early general election. He could overturn the legislation if he wins and then we could leave without any deal. They have said clearly the one thing they want to avoid is leaving with no deal. Publicly they are saying, yeah, we wa nt publicly they are saying, yeah, we wantan publicly they are saying, yeah, we want an early general election but privately there is a lot of head scratching. The question that gets asked most by people away from westminster is what do you think is going to happen . That big overriding question . What do you think is going to happen . Please take it in small bite size chunks if you like. It is awfully corrugated. Unless Boris Johnson could somehow force through general election, which seems unlikely given the two thirds majority he needs, the idea of doing him a favour in any guise teams to seems to rankle a lot of people. They would rather make him sweat. An interesting question for Boris Johnson for the number ten team is do they accept. In a way they have made an extension and they said they would never sign up for the extension, they made it do or die. They may say, ok, we accept a temporary extension if i, Boris Johnson, when it it will get cancelled because i have promised to deliver brexit and if the other side get it they can get the extension and other problems that go along with it because who knows what kind of brexit they want, if they want one at all. That is my prediction, but im probably wrong. It would be a brave man or woman who would predict with any degree of certainty what might happen. Thank you, both. Yesterday, the labour mp for birmingham yardleyjess phillips made a impassioned speech in the house of commons where she accused the Prime Minister of playing games. The Prime Minister has stood in front and said, i dont want an election, i dont want an election. This is a game that three men in parliament, in no 10 downing st have come up with to try to game the system so that they win. The people in. My democratic responsibility is to try and do the absolute best for the people in my constituency and at the moment, its not all that clear. We are all a little bit confused. But i am absolutely not going to use them as a chitty in a game for the Prime Minister to achieve the ambition that he has only ever had for himself and never for this country. I am not going to use my constituents as collateral damage. I will give way. Im going to be speaking tojess phillips in a moment. A quick reminder of that news developing a little earlier this morning thatjoe johnson, the Prime Ministers brother has announced he is stepping down as a minister and as an mp. It can only be seen as a blow ahead of the pro ministers address to the public later this afternoon when he is expected to accuseJeremy Corbyn of not giving the people what they want, a general election. The date of the general election will be absolutely crucial. We are going to say goodbye right now and thank you to our viewers on bbc two. Thank you for watching. And labour mp jess philips is here now. We saw you in the commons in that clip just yesterday. Thank you for your time this afternoon. Lets begin withjo your time this afternoon. Lets begin with jo johnson, the your time this afternoon. Lets begin withjojohnson, the obvious place to start because i think whatever side or political persuasion you are, it is an extraordinary moment when a brother says that to his sibling. Absolutely. I come from a big family like them, and it must be incredibly difficult for him to have made this line in the sand which makes it i suppose all the more brave out. I have to say i was a bit shocked when jojohnson have to say i was a bit shocked when jo johnson supported his have to say i was a bit shocked when jojohnson supported his brother. It seems shocking butjo Johnson Jojohnson supported his brother. It seems shocking butjojohnson had left the government to support a peoples vote, for the idea of brexit going back to the people. When he then said he was going to serve in Boris Johnsons then said he was going to serve in borisjohnsons government then said he was going to serve in Boris Johnsons government and support him, i did think that was quite odd and that he would eventually find it too difficult because they do seem so polar opposites on this issue. Lets talk labour, away from the conservatives, and what the best strategy is. Are you supportive of an election after the 31st of october . Iam october . I am supportive of an election when i think that the direct issue that is facing us right now has been sorted. Actually what weve seen over the last three days is parliament finally acting with consensus, getting things through the commons and acting together like adults to govern the country through this period. That cant go on forever and nobody is suggesting it should but until the issue is no deal is completely off the table, until there is a pathway, whether thatis until there is a pathway, whether that is ideal or a second referendum, until that happens im not sure how a general election solves anything. Your colleague peter i spoke to earlier said he wasnt interested in and deal to vote on and that had been put to the people. What if a deal cannot be reached . The thing is, a deal can be reached. Theresa may has reached a deal with the eu 27. What this whole election thing has been about since the beginning is Boris Johnson thing has been about since the beginning is borisjohnson touted around the country when he wanted to be the Prime Minister saying, there is no way i will ever ask for an extension. But that was, im afraid to say, that was a lie because Boris Johnson couldnt promise that. He has been in government for a considerable amount longer than me so he should know how this works. We live in a parliamentary democracy and the executive doesnt have the authority to overrule parliament so thatis authority to overrule parliament so that is the way it works. He lied when he said that. This election is trying to get him out of the spot because he lied. Would you support the amendment that Stephen Kinnock brought before the commons last night which has at its heart theresa mays deal with some changes involved . I totally admire what my colleagues. The labour party yesterday, those members, not the frontbenchers, the pro minister isnt putting forward a deal and whilst i didnt support the deal, the thing that would make me vote for the deal is if there was an agreement that that deal could go back to the people because i think we are so far down from where we voted in the referendum, so much water under the bridge and so much more information. The nation is divided and i dont think we can solve that problem without the people. Jess phillips, thank you so much for coming in to talk to us. The Prime Minister has issued a short statement reacting to the news that his brother has stepped down as a minister and mp. He says that he understands it has been a difficult decision, both as a politician and a brother, and he has thanked him for his service. Borisjohnson thanking his service. Borisjohnson thanking his brotherjojohnson his service. Borisjohnson thanking his brotherjo johnson for his service. Borisjohnson thanking his brotherjojohnson for his service, saying he understands that is brothers decision to stand down asa is brothers decision to stand down as a minister and mp was a difficult decision. Lets see whether he mentions it or not when he makes his speech, when he addresses the public. Lets talk about the snp if some more because the party is facing something of a dilemma, as norman smith has been pointing out to us today. They would love a general election as they feel the conservatives in scotland are on the back foot with Ruth Davidson standing down as leader of the scottish conservatives. They realise a general election sooner rather than later is what borisjohnson wa nts. Than later is what borisjohnson wants. The snp mp Andrew Hendry has taken to twitter to point out the conservative woes this morning. He says. Hejoins us now. Is that the right time now to go for that only a general election . It might be, some argue, the right time for scotland but not the right time for the uk . There is no dilemma. We have been Crystal Clear and we are not going to put at risk the uk crashing out the eu without a deal. That is just not going to happen so we want an election as quickly as possible. Im facing my third election in five yea rs facing my third election in five years and desperate to get out on the streets but we wont put at risk the streets but we wont put at risk the fact that the uk could get dragged out and suffer the consequences of a catastrophic no deal brexit. You were saying that the snp will not support Boris Johnson you were saying that the snp will not support borisjohnson in any effort to get a general election in the middle of october . Borisjohnson isnt entitled to call the shots. He is trying to gain the parliamentary system over the last few weeks and we are not going to assist him to do that. He has no majority, no mandate and hasnt been elected by the people or parliament. He has no right to be there. Even his own brother has quit the government so we are not going to do anything that is going to put a hard no deal brexit on the table. We want to get to an election as soon as possible to get rid of the tories. What does borisjohnson have to do and what apps to happen more broadly for the snp to support a vote for the election . They will be an election and as soon as it is practicalfor us to do they will be an election and as soon as it is practical for us to do that without eight no deal exit from the eu, we will be there to make sure it happens. Boris johnson has eu, we will be there to make sure it happens. Borisjohnson has no right to control the timetable now. He has gambled on everything and we have seen what has happened. It is royal assent for the brexit delay bill not enough . We think we are going to get that at the end of next week after the house of lords last night . If we can guarantee that there is absolutely no chance of the uk leaving the eu on a no deal basis we obviously want to move to an early election as quickly as we can but it doesnt look like that can happen this side of parliament, so we have to just wait and see what happens. If there is an opportunity to do that safely, it is something we will talk with partners about. If that assent is given, is that enough to reassure you . It has to be a situation that guarantees. I cannot be any clearer. It will have to guarantee there is no chance of reversing that and ending up by default with a no deal brexit. So royal assent may not be enough to guarantee that . It may not be enough, no. What steps beyond that . You are looking for an extension and in that space, what are the options . What are the possibilities you think might happen . Do you think some sort of deal might come back for a vote . Could it be theresa mays original deal with some changes to it . What can happen next . We can see what has already been happening in scotland, people looking at the chaos and calamity of westminster, seeing how badly it is serving their needs and seeing rising demand for people having the choice in the future of what kind of country they want to live in, whether they want to be a scotland tied to this right wing brexit situation or do they want the same kind of site is kind of status as other European Countries so i think people have the choice in scotland. Do you think at this point with what has been going on, that anything short of remaining in the eu would be acceptable to the snp . According to the uk governments own figures, every piece of analysis they have brought out, there is no such thing as a good brexit for scotland. Everything has negative economic and social effects for us, right up to the catastrophic yellowhammer report over eight no deal brexit. We must respect what scotla nd no deal brexit. We must respect what scotland voted for, remaining in the eu. Those Council Areas have been ignored by westminster up until now and actually revoke article 50 and bring it back to the people so they can bring it back to the people so they ca n vote bring it back to the people so they can vote again. Right now it is a balancing act, watching what is happening with the other parties, trying to balance the interests of scotland and the uk more broadly. We think it is the best thing for scotla nd we think it is the best thing for scotland to avoid a no deal brexit and we believe it is the same for the other nations of the uk. We are working across parliament, across the benches to make sure there is no chance of a no deal brexit. We wont allow borisjohnson to dictate the terms. Like i say, he has no mandate to do that so we are not going to allow it to happen. Thank you, drew hendry, snp mp. Just to remind you in the last chilwell Prime Minister Boris Johnson to remind you in the last chilwell Prime Minister borisjohnson has paid tribute to the Service Given by his brother, joejohnson, paid tribute to the Service Given by his brother, joe johnson, who paid tribute to the Service Given by his brother, joejohnson, who has announced in the last hour or so that he is stepping down as a minister and that he is stepping down as a ministerand mp, that he is stepping down as a minister and mp, saying that he is stepping down as a ministerand mp, saying it that he is stepping down as a minister and mp, saying it was impossible choice to try to balance his personal and political so undoubtedly a blow for the Prime Minister, hot on the heels of the criticism of his decision to deselect 21 conservative mps, including long standing mps such as Nicholas Soames and kenneth clark. As weve been reporting the former labour mp Luciana Berger has moved to the liberal democrats this morning, we spoke to her a few minutes ago, and she explained why she made the move. We find ourselves at eight moment of National Emergency and we want something that we can vote for rather than choose between the two terrible options of borisjohnson and Jeremy Corbyn. I want to support someone who is prepared to step up on everything when it comes to brexit, who has those values of equality and openness and who wants to make sure that Going Forward we area to make sure that Going Forward we are a country that is tolerant and thatis are a country that is tolerant and that is the liberal democrats. Ijust want i just want to show you some pictures we have had through of the private minister welcoming israeli Prime Minister binyamin netanyahu. He is also meeting the us Vice President mike pence today. Business as usual for the president mike pence today. Business as usualfor the Prime Minister in one sense but absolutely not business as usual in some of the most significant areas of his role. The news of his brother stepping down as an mp, and minister, citing irreconcilable differences over the political direction that his brother is taking. And of course, off the back of another defeat in the house of commons yesterday. That makes four defeats now out of four. The Prime Minister now tries to convince mps and the people that there should be an early general election to try to retake control of the situation. Back here soon but now lets catch up back here soon but now lets catch up with samantha with some of the news. Thanks very much, anita. Other news now and Hurricane Dorian is expected to bring a life threatening storm surge to the us east coast after leaving a trail of destruction in the bahamas, at least 20 people have died. One of the worst hit regions, the abaco islands, have been devastated. Homes, roads and businesses there have been torn apart, as david willis reports. The relief effort is stepping up. The relief effort is stepping up. The devastation he continues for mile after mile, homes and shops, a hospital and the port all damaged or destroyed. Many who were injured in the 200 miles an hour wind and the rapid storm surges are being flown to the capital for treatment. This is what they have again did to the home of Raymond Aitken who with his mother had to run from their car into the house when the storm hit. He also saw his neighbours has lifted up by the wind. My lifted up by the wind. My island, everything is gone. No banks, no stories, no nothing. It will take at least four to five yea rs will take at least four to five years to complete. I dont know how long it will take for the rest of the island but nothing is here. Nothing at all. Just bodies. A british ship is also helping with the relief effort, getting urgently needed supplies, including shelter and hygiene kits, to the tens of thousands of people who now have nothing. The needs are great. From clean water to medicines and generators. But while the situation here is dire, theres better news about the neighbouring island of grand bahama and its major city which also late in the path of the hurricane. As we moved into the freeport areal can report that the flooding has receded and most homes in grand bahama appear to have received minor damage. Freeport, structurally, has done well. For those caught up in this disaster, one of the most dramatic parts has been losing contact with family members and friends. These are the lucky ones, reunited. But there are many people who are missing. And meanwhile, people on the east coast of the United States are bracing themselves as Hurricane Dorian moves into the area. There are warnings of hurricane conditions later today and life threatening storm surges. Now its time for a look at the weather. Thanks, samantha. Not as windy here today in the uk. Still feeling warm in the sunshine with many southern parts likely to stay dry. A bit more cloud in scotland, Northern England and maybe into the north midlands pushing showers eastwards. The cloud breaking up in scotland and Northern Ireland with the best of the sunshine in Northern Ireland and southern england. Temperatures getting up to 20 degrees. For Northern Areas not quite as chilly as yesterday. More rain to come through this evening and overnight. Arriving in the north west of the uk with this rain becoming steadier and heavier. We see that wayne pushing down into Northern England and north wales so not as cold last night. Most wales so not as cold last night. M ost pla ces wales so not as cold last night. Most places remain in double figures. This rain affecting Northern England and north wales will slip southwards, arriving in the afternoon across southern parts of england. Rain light have in this stage. Some showers, particularly across scotland. Some of them heavy. Temperatures around 16 or 18 degrees. Hello, this is bbc newsroom live. The headlines the Prime Ministers brother, jojohnson, quits as tory mp and minister, saying hes torn between family and National Interest. Former labour and change uk mp Luciana Bergerjoins the liberal democrats, saying they are the Strongest Party to stop brexit. We need to do Everything Possible to make sure when the election comes, the country has something to vote for rather than having to choose between two terrible options ofjohnson versus corbyn. Number ten says Boris Johnson will speak directly to the public later today, to argue his case for a general election. Away from politics, Hurricane Dorian is expected to bring a deadly storm surge to the us east coast, after causing devastation and at least 20 deaths in the bahamas. Earlier i spoke to ash sarkar from the independent Left Wing Group novara media and the labour mp for Exeter Ben Bradshaw whose who is in favour of a peoples vote. I asked ash what she thought labours strategy should be for a general election. Labour will never be the perfect remain party purely because while yes, it does have to win back its remainers, it does also have to bring leave voters with it, too, so as well as having a clear policy on brexit which is, i think, going to consolidate around a position which looks more like an unequivocally remain position, there will be a transformative economic remain position, there will be a tra nsformative economic programme. We need a transformative, radical Labour Government and we need to have an unequivocal policy on brexit and im confident yes we can, but i think its very important that we dont fall into the trap that Boris Johnson is trying to lay, notjust for us but for the other opposition parties including the snp which is to agree to have an election before the end of october. No one believes a single word this Prime Minister says so there is nothing to stop him changing the date, there is nothing to stop him repealing the bill we have just passed so we have to make him sit there and sweat in his own juices deliver on his promises, be exposed for all the lies he has told, failed to meet his october 31 deadline, have a general election and have a Labour Government. The Prime Minister is urging parties to back his plan for an early general election but can he force them to . There are several different ways in which a general election could be held. Lets look at the possibilities and when they might take place. The most simple would be for the government to hold a new vote requiring the support of two thirds of mps under the fixed Term Parliament act next week, once the bill to delay brexit has been approved by both houses of parliament and received royal assent. Alternatively, the government could introduce a simple bill possiblyjust one line long to create a new law which would allow an election. Or there could be a motion of no confidence in the government. Lets look at those options in some more detail. Firstly another vote under the fixed Term Parliament act. This would allow the government to set the election date and we know they say they want it to be the 15th of october. But crucially it still requires two thirds of mps to vote for it. And its not clear the opposition parties will do so even after the no deal bill becomes law. What about a new law to allow an election . This could be passed by a simple majority but the bill could be amended by mps along the way. And one thing this might allow them to do is change the election date, pushing into a brexit extension period. Then theres the no confidence motion. One of the more bizarre ideas is that the government could table this in itself. But if it was successful it would be followed by a 14 day period during which another government could be formed. So what if theres no election at all . The government might chose to refuse to send the no deal bill for royal assent. This would create howls of constitutional outrage and undoubtedly end up in the courts. Theres a suggestion borisjohnson could use the uks veto as a member of the eu to block any brexit extension agreed at the summit in october. Or failing that theres the possibility the Prime Minister could just walk away and resign from the job. Each day seems to throw up more questions than answers but we will try to answer some of them now. Welcome to ask this. Well be answering your questions on what might happen next. Joining me is hannah white from the institute of government1. Will prorogation still go ahead . We have been so busy talking about other things for the last couple of days and that is a really good question to get straight first of all. At the moment it will. The Prime Minister went to the queen and asked her to agree to what is called an order in council to see prorogation would happen between monday and thursday next week to say. It is up to the government to decide when in that window it would happen but if it doesnt they would have to go back to the queen and ask for a new order in council. What happens and that depends on what happens and that depends on what happens in the house of commons with regards to the brexit delay bill. Exactly regards to the brexit delay bill. Exa ctly a nd regards to the brexit delay bill. Exactly and it depends what the governments calculation is, whether to have the house sitting because they want to try to get mps to agree to another motion for an early election or whether they want to get parliamentary activity shut down for a period. What is the significance of mps abstaining from the vote on an election versus simply voting against . This is about the motion that was decided yesterday and it was the government asking for an early election. This is an unusual vote in the house of commons because the fixed Term Parliament act says that two thirds of mps, fixed Term Parliament act says that two thirds of mp5, 650 of them makes 234 mp5, and if they abstain. Once the delay bill has been passed i assume there will be an election. If so how quickly could a new government repeal the bill . Assuming a government was elected but wanted to repeal that bill and we have to remember that after past elections and hasnt necessarily been straightforward who takes over after an election, if you have a Hung Parliament that could cause a delay, but equally parliament doesnt come back instantly after an election, you have to have things like mps coming in from their constituencies after the campaign, the speaker has to be elected, mps have to be sworn in. Getting that done before the 19th of october, which is the key date in the bill by which is the key date in the bill by which the Prime Minister has to either get agreement to a new deal in parliament or parliament to agree to leave with no deal, doing all that by the 19th is externally difficult. And thats why weve had all this discussion today about the significance of any date for a general election because if it is an early one, then some critics of borisjohnson early one, then some critics of Boris Johnson feel that if he early one, then some critics of borisjohnson feel that if he was to win, he could try to repeal this brexit delay bill. Yes, which is why his preference would be for the 15th. What would happen with regard to brexit leaving date if borisjohnson resigns today . Theres no sign hes going to do that but an interesting question. Theres no sign hes going to do that but an interesting questionm remains the case that in our law and in the understanding of the eu, we will be leaving the eu on the 31st of october so if he resigned, it would depend on who replaced him as Prime Minister and what government took over. It would be quite a risky strategy for him to design because particularly since 21 conservative mps have had the whip removed, its no longer clear that its the conservatives who are best able to command a majority in the house of commons and that is the criteria, who would take over if the current government resigned . What will all the purged tory mps do now and how will that affect the balance in the event of a general election . Very much picking up on the theme you just introduced. It depends, different mps have said theyre going to do different things. Some of them have said they are going to resign, they are not interested in being members of parliament again. They wouldnt stand again. Dilip hammond has said he would fight legally any challenge. The fight of his life, he said. Indeed, to him being the conservative candidate, and others have said they would stand as independents if the government prevented them standing as conservatives. In terms of how that might affect the balance, we know that some of those mps have been talking about the huge support that they are getting in terms of constituents so if they were to end up constituents so if they were to end up standing as a conservative candidate, if they could still do that or they were to stand independently against a conservative candidate, isnt it a foregone conclusion that the conservative candidate would again win in those constituencies . It depends very much on the constituency and it mayjust mean that in those constituencies the conservative vote is split and whoever was coming up second would come through the middle and when so it could have a definite effect on the overall numbers of the election. Very tricky to call. Your reporting speaks of the 21 mps purged. Can you confirm that they still have right to attend and vote . They are still mps. They dont take the conservative whip and are not counted in the tally of conservative mps. Boris johnson has counted in the tally of conservative mps. Borisjohnson has 21 fewer, possibly 22 after his brother having decided hes not going to want to be an mp, 21 fewer members of the conservative party in parliament. This question brings us full circle to one of the earlier questions. Why is the government not attempting to filibuster the lords processing of the hilary benn bill . Last night, to be clear, filibustering is when you talk about something for so long that there isnt time to vote on it and there was some suggestion that might happen in the house of lords last night but it didnt so in terms of martins question, why is the government not attempting to process the questioning of the hilary benn bill . Yesterday, the lords agreed they would set some deadlines for their consideration of the bill. They are considering it today and tomorrow and its something they dont normally do, they have set themselves a deadline to complete it by 5pm which means the filibustering wont happen. Why have the government agreed to do it . Far be for me to say. Possibly they thought it wouldnt work or dont have control over the lords and thought ultimately the lords would be prepared to use the various mechanisms at their disposal to stop filibustering or possibly because the opposition parties have indicated that they wouldnt support an early election until this bill receives royal assent. There is a lack of clarity about exactly what they mean by that but potentially its on the governments interest for it to receive royal assent because it might mean an early election because although the Prime Minister has said he doesnt want to, many people think he does. Hannah, thank you very much for talking us through those points. Thank you for sending in your questions, i hope we answer them satisfactorily. Another dramatic day here so far at westminster, weve seenjoejohnson, here so far at westminster, weve seen joe johnson, the Prime Ministers brother, stand down as a minister and we seen change uk mp Luciana Berger moved to the liberal democrats. The Prime Minister is due to make a speech later today in which he is thought to appeal for a general election. He is a saying Jeremy Corbyn is running scared of a general election but undoubtedly he is in general election but undoubtedly he isina general election but undoubtedly he is in a very tricky position. That blow from his brother, the feeling of uneasiness within the party both about that and about the decision to deselect 21, many of them are long standing, conservative mps, so the route ahead is by no means clear. Back to the studio from here in westminster. The headlines on bbc news the Prime Ministers brother, jojohnson, quits as tory mp and minister, saying hes torn between family and National Interest. Former labour and change uk mp Luciana Bergerjoins the liberal democrats, saying they are the Strongest Party to stop brexit. Number ten says Boris Johnson will speak directly to the public later today, to argue his case for a general election. A little later the Prime Minister says hes going to speak directly directly to the public at a speech in yorkshire. Well, the Prime Minister will be visiting the offices of the Yorkshire Post later, lets speak to rob parsons, Political Editor of the Yorkshire Post. The Yorkshire Post is the first place i had experience as a journalist. What are you expecting from this visit by the Prime Minister . Youll be in yorkshire later this afternoon to launch officially the recruitment drive for 20,000 Police Officers over the next three years and we are expecting him to stand alongside the home secretary priti patel and police force trainees to start the process of reversing the cuts that we have seen since 2010, since austerity measures started to come in and its interesting that he is coming to West Yorkshire because the police force here is the fourth biggest in the country but it has been badly hit, as many have, by cuts in numbers. It has lost about 600 Police Officers in the last ten yea rs Police Officers in the last ten years so any addition to their ranks would be much welcome. Do you think thatis would be much welcome. Do you think that is why he has chosen leeds as the location for this big speech today . I think partly that but obviously, as you were hearing earlier, a general election is very much and everyones thoughts at the moment and i think yorkshire will be a key Battle Ground in any upcoming election in the north in general. Yorkshire had the majority of towns and cities in this region that voted to leave in the 2016 Eu Referendum and there are quite a few labour mps in this region who might be considered to be vulnerable, places like wakefield and places held by labour mps which are marginal seats here where the conservative Stuart Andrew has a very small majority so i think if the Prime Minister and conservatives are going to make any inroads in any upcoming election, i think yorkshire will be a very key place they are going to want to make progress. When you speak to constituents from those constituencies, is there any frustration at the lack of progress being made given it is three years since the referendum . Yes, its a time honoured refrain that people just want politicians to get on with it and whats going on in parliament seems like a world away from the troubles and concerns that people have in yorkshire. I think there is a sense also that there are a lot of other issues that need to be addressed here and the ongoing brexit deadlock is stopping the government from getting on in the Prime Minister has made pledges on police numbers, the nhs, education andi police numbers, the nhs, education and i think people here are keen that the government whether it is local or national can tackle things like that. If you get the opportunity to ask many questions, what is your number one killer question going to be . what is your number one killer question going to be . I hope we are going to speak to him later today. I think the thing we are really keen to know is whether he is committed to know is whether he is committed to the so called Northern Powerhouse concept conceived by George Osborne and it kind of took a bit of a back seat under theresa mays premiership but its all about in the north and improving transport links and helping the north to compete with london and the southeast and i noticed that in sajid javids spending review, the words Northern Powerhouse didnt escape his lips once but Boris Johnson powerhouse didnt escape his lips once but borisjohnson has made quite a few promises that people in the north might find appealing since he became Prime Minister. You might remember his pledge to create a high speed rail link between leeds and manchester which would cut journey times between 50 minutes down to 30 minutes so im really keen just to down to 30 minutes so im really keenjust to get down to 30 minutes so im really keen just to get a sense of how committed he is to that idea and what he can do for the people of the north. Thank you, rob parsons. We look forward to seeing with the Prime Minister has to say to you in yorkshire. Lets bring you a line were hearing from michael gove is going to confirm soon any changes to the no deal tariff. We havent heard any more than that at the moment but we will bring you more as soon as we get it. Michael gove is suggesting they will be changes to the no deal tariff. Im not sure whether thats about the divorce bill which we know that Boris Johnson about the divorce bill which we know that borisjohnson said he would withhold a significant amount of that 39 billion agreed by theresa may. More information when we get it. Weve been getting reaction today from the conservative party and the chief secretary to the treasury rishi sunak has been speaking to our politcal correspondent iain watson. Lets hear what he had to say Jeremy Corbyn last night voted to wreck the negotiations, to delay brexit until 2020, to hand billions of pounds to brussels if they demand it and stop the british people having their say before brexit is delayed yet again. Jeremy corbyn simply doesnt trust the british people. The Prime Minister does, he believes they should get to decide who is going to go to that european summit on the 17th of october and we know the Prime Minister will get is out of the European Union by the end of october with or without a deal. So how does he plan to do this, a fixed Term Parliament act or a different mechanism like a simple majority . The key question is that we wa nt majority . The key question is that we want to have this election and we have an extraordinary situation of the leader of the opposition. Never mind that for a second, tell me what youre going to do about it. He is blocking it, how are you going to get around it . The key question is why is the leader of the opposition are running scared of an election that just as recently as monday he said he wanted to have . Within an extraordinary situation on the question forJeremy Corbyn is, why are you running scared of letting the british people decide . Some would say borisjohnson isnt respecting the will of parliament because they have told him to negotiate a deal in brussels or asked for an extension. He could just negotiate a deal but i was told bya just negotiate a deal but i was told by a spokesman that it was very constructive negotiations going on with david frost. If constructive negotiations are going on, surely can get surely he can get a deal without the distraction of a general election. The Prime Ministers committed to getting a deal if he can and hes working hard at that but if you take no deal off the table if this bill does, you totally wrecked those negotiations, that removes wrecked those negotiations, that re m oves a re wrecked those negotiations, that removes are leveraged and gives no incentive for the European Union to engage with us properly, thats why this bill is so damaging and we cannot let it happen, we must have a general election to give the british people a choice. Whos going to negotiate for them at the summit, Jeremy Corbyn or borisjohnson . Hong kong chief executive carrie lam has once again said she hopes the withdrawal of the controversial extradition bill will help end more than three months of protests. She was speaking the day after formally withdrawing the bill. Heres what she had to say. So as far as the substance is concerned, there is simply no plan to take forward the bill, in light of the controversy. But since my announcement of a dialogue with society last month, about two weeks ago, we have been meeting a lot of people from different backgrounds, with different political positions. And they gave me this piece of advice, which i now feel was a very pertinent piece of advice, is that if the government wanted to start a dialogue, the government should also take the initiative to provide a basis for the dialogue. But will this be enough to calm tensions or do protestors wa nt more . Heres the bbcs Danny Vincent in hong kong. I think for a very long time, protesters here were asking to hear the word withdrawal. Of course, carrie lam initially said that the bill was suspended. She then went on to say the bill was dead. This was months ago. Now she used the word withdrawal, but many of the protesters that ive spoken to, they feel the situation in hong kong has changed. The word withdrawal, withdrawing this bill might have been enough two or three months ago, but now what these protesters want, especially the young protesters that take to the front lines and are willing to escalate this protest movement, they want universal suffrage. They want political reform in the city. And it seems unlikely that whats been announced yesterday and today will be enough to back these protesters up. Over the past couple of days, the conservative party has seen its majority in the commons wiped out after phillip lee defected to the liberal democrats and then luica na berger also defected. Conservative numbers were then further depleted when 21 mps were fired after voting against the government. Tim muffett has been speaking to their constituents. Here in westminster, people are angry, conventions are being thrown out the window. 21 tory mps were effectively kicked out of the party for defying the government. One of them is stephen hammond, and his constituency is about eight miles away in wimbledon. Stephen hammond was elected in 2005 so for the first time in 14 years, wimbledon doesnt have a conservative mp. It is sad to see people get kicked out of their jobs for what they believe in. I dont like him, i dont like the conservatives, but he voted with his conscience and i think that you have to at a time like this. Its sad not to have somebody who stands for you, yeah, its wrong. Hes not just stunning for himself, he is standing for the people of wimbledon, not just for him himself. So from that point of view, yeah, i think its very wrong to do what he did. They were voting for what he promised. Which was a tory manifesto . Yes. And thats no longer what he represents. No. So we are now seeing something that is quite strange in british politics where the British Government is almost dictating to the people what things should be. Anyone for tennis . Anyone for another election . Bit nerve racking, another election, because i think its a bit all over the place so i would be reluctant. I dont know what would happen. I think wed have another Hung Parliament and people not really knowing whats going on, sojust more confusion, u nfortu nately. Wimbledon common, home to the wombles who famously recycled rubbish. Some feel mps are doing the same. They are not answering straight questions because i know politicians can be routinely accused of that but they really arent, you know. I think the transparency and the honesty has completely gone and this whole brexit debate, how we are still running a country, i dont know. Uncertainty, anger, political stalemate. Mps say theyve never known anything like this and on that point at least, voters agree. Breaking news from jacob rees mogg, the leader of the house of commons. He said mps will have another vote on whether there should be an early election and they will discuss it and debated on monday. More on that as soon as it comes in. A theory on the existence of the loch ness monster remains plausible according to scientists. Teams have carried out a dna investigation in the loch and are due to unveil theirfindings later this morning. Our reporter Iain Macinnes has been down to the waters edge its a mystery which endures just what exactly lies beneath the murky waters of loch ness . And thats what you actually saw . Yes. How big was it . From here to the tail, oh, as big as a bus. The sightings of nessie stretch back hundreds of years but, as yet, no definitive explanation has been found. A team of scientists led by new zealands Otago University has been testing water samples and collecting environmental dna from all forms of life in the loch, including plants, fish and mammals. You basically take a litre or two of water and you filter it out, and in the stuff thats filtered out will be dna. And using that dna, you can then sequence it, and on the basis of the sequence, identify types of organisms that are present in the water. The Scientists Say their research discounts most theories, but details of one which they claim remains plausible will be revealed later, as the search for nessie goes on. And finally, no tonic for drivers caught up in long delays on the m6 last night to hear it was due to a lorry involved in a crash. The lorry had been carrying 32,000 litres of gin. Whilst the spillage was cleared up, drivers and passengers caught in the traffic took to social media. Boris johnson is dealt a major blow as his own brother quits as a government minister and consevative mp, saying hes torn between family and the National Interest. Jo johnsons resignation comes as the Prime Minister prepares to make the case for an early general election, as the chancellor did this morning. Unfortunately, i think weve got to a position where we have to have a general election because we need to let the british people decide. This paralysis in parliament cannot continue. But labour have suggested they might not support an election until theyre certain a further brexit delay has been secured. This plan has been defeated four times now. He hasnt won a vote in parliament yet. Why . Because actually weve been using the light strategy. So now were in that situation where we bring people with us