Transcripts For BBCNEWS Afternoon Live 20240713

Life and i very naively, im american, we dont have that they are. Two big legal changes in Northern Ireland are looming with abortion and same sex marriage becoming legal at midnight. It has prompted stormont to assemble for the first time in three years. Coming up one afternoon live, lizzie with all the sport. Hello, simon. We have squad news for the Rugby World Cup semifinals this weekend, there is good news for england but bad news for wales. 0k, back to you later. And we have the whether with matt taylor. Thanks, simon, half term week for some of you and some of you would appreciate something drier but rain will never be too far away from the forecast and i will tell you where that will be in around half an hours time. Good afternoon from westminster, where borisjohnson will this afternoon try again to get the backing of mps for his brexit deal with the European Union, after he abandoned his bid to secure parliamentary approval during a special sitting on saturday. The government is demanding mps have a straight up and down vote on the agreement. But the decision on whether to allow whats called a meaningful vote, when mps indicate whether they support the deal, will be up to the speaker, john bercow. And its thought he may reject it on the grounds that the motion was already debated on saturday. Later today the government will also bring forward legislation to implement its eu Withdrawal Agreement bill. That would start the Legal Process of the uk leaving the eu. Meanwhile judges at the court of session in edinburgh thats scotlands Supreme Civil Court have delayed a decision on whether the Prime Minister has fully complied with a law requiring him to ask for a brexit extension. So, as the government attempts to unlock this process, heres our Political Correspondent jessica parker. Once more into battle . People may feel like theyve been here before. But ministers, despite the weekends events, seem determined not to be downcast. A meaningless vote we had on saturday instead of a meaningful vote and hopefully we can correct that today. I think we want to see mps being able to respect the result of the referendum as they say they want to do, leave with a good deal at the end of october and we now have that good deal. Whether the vote goes ahead depends on the speaker, john bercow. Never shy of a showdown. Dont look at me and tell me what what or imply that you can. Never short of a surprise. Enjoy your visit to the house. What the government wants to do today is have another go at whats being called its meaningful vote, this is devoted has being called its meaningful vote, this is the vote it has to have on its deal. It wants a clean vote on that question. The question for the speaker is, does that fall foul of the rule commons house which says you cant offer the house the same question twice in one session. Meanwhile, ministers are introducing the legislation needed to actually turn the brexit deal into law. But expect skirmishes ahead over a possible deluge of amendments as mp5 try to push forward their own ideas about what brexit should look like, whether it should even happen at all. I think youre likely to see an amendment seeking to put the whole deal back to the british people because thats actually the way to get brexit done. You are likely to see an amendment saying we should stay in the Customs Union, which would help to solve part of the problem on the border between gb and Northern Ireland. There is of course pressure to deliver on the deal, but some mps say they are not ready to ram through the legislation. This is a huge bill, its likely to be 100 pages. And we all know that rushed law is bad law. But this isntjust any old law, this is the political rewiring of our country, and it has to be done properly. I cant wait for november. Another day and another attempt to unlock this process. Are you still confident we will leave october 31 . Yes, thats what we are working towards, yes. Ministers hoping they are not heading towards another damp squib. Jessica parker, bbc news, westminster. Our Political Correspondent chris mason is with me now. Wejust had three military helicopters going over. I dont know if they know something we dont. Lets talk about what is likely this afternoon because at this stage we seem to think nothing is going to happen. Not for the first time. This afternoon we will hear from the speaker at some stage, potentially around 3 30pm but that could slip. With hisjudgment around 3 30pm but that could slip. With his judgment on whether or not the government can have another crack at what they want to do on saturday, to give ministers a choice on borisjohnsons saturday, to give ministers a choice on Boris Johnsons deal. Saturday, to give ministers a choice on borisjohnsons deal. It looks like the speaker will say no to that because Parliamentary Convention says you cannot vote on the same thing twice. They didnt vote on it on saturday. They did because it was amended so they effectively voted on it with an amendment. If that happens, which is what we think will happen, we will hear from happens, which is what we think will happen, we will hearfrom michael gove, cabinet minister in charge of nodal preparation and he will give a statement as the government says it wa nts to statement as the government says it wants to crank up nodal preparation because a deal hasnt been signed off with parliament. Brexit is imminent currently in law and the eu might not agree to an extension. But then tomorrow will become the next big day, surprise surprise, because the Withdrawal Agreement bill, which is the vehicle that that place has to. Lets just is the vehicle that that place has to. Letsjust stop there. There are two things we are talking about, the meaningful vote, which is the deal we expected something to happen with on saturday, and didnt, and then there is this bill, which is then there is this bill, which is the legislation to allow that. Exactly right. Two Different Things. They are two Different Things and it might be that we dont get a straight up and down to meaningful vote, because that legislation is called the Withdrawal Agreement bill. Later we will get the bill, the paperwork, lots of paperwork for the paperwork, lots of paperwork for the mp5 to digest before they are in there tomorrow discussing it. That bill has to make it through the house of commons and house of lords, and with that the potential that mps, as we are hearing people want to attach amendments, a closer relationship to the eu. Shenanigans, some would call that. Shenanigans, some would call that. Shenanigans that the government may oi shenanigans that the government may or may not be able to overcome. If it can overcome those kind of shenanigans then brexit could still happen or maybe shortly after if there had to be a technical extension to get it sorted, or if they shenanigans, as you describe them, bog the whole thing down, then we are likely to be in a situation where parliament collectively comes to the conclusion and the government does that an election is potentially the only way through. Is there any way the Withdrawal Agreement bill if it is to be voted on tomorrow, could become a deal at the same time . Yes. It is possible that the so called meaningful vote, yet more westminster jargon meaningful vote, yet more westminsterjargon because it makes you want to conclude that every other vote must be completely meaningless, has become a term which is being used because parliament has necessitated that there is a point where parliament offers a straight yes or no verdict on the deal. It is possible to slip into the whole business of the legislation to make brexit happen. If you put it into that process and that looks at the moment the most likely where the government will push ahead with things if the speaker says this afternoon says no to a straightforward yes or no vote on the deal. If you are watching this outside this bubble, any anger you had on saturday, could get a little hotter when you seejohn bercow doing what you expect him to do. And a few conservative brexiteers could be articulating that anger if that is whatjohn bercow decides to do. He will argue that precedent and the nature of the rules of that place mean that he is on the right side of those rules and he has consulted to ensure that he is but absolutely there is a shed load of anger in there is a shed load of anger in there about how he has conducted himself in the role as speaker. Slight slip of the tongue. There is a lively debate going on there now amongst those seeking to replace and because we know he is going soon about how they will conduct themselves in the chair and they make their pitch that they would be mr anonymous make their pitch that they would be mi anonymous versus make their pitch that they would be mr anonymous versus the very sort of prominent role mr bercow has played. Some mps may have been contacted by their constituents after what happened on saturday because to build everybody up to expect something and then get absolutely nothing has raised the stakes here. It has and it is a reminder, we have been hurt so many times in the Brexit Process were collectively the political classes and bluntly, i think, the media as well, we have been part of this, can build things up been part of this, can build things up to this is the crunch point and this is the moment. Who came up with Super Saturday . Well, quite, then it doesnt happen and it is jeopardy postponed and here we are again because we are talking up the prospect that this whole thing today could happen again. Well, you are blaming me. And then we will be back here tomorrow doing the whole thing again. Thats right how that tra nslates again. Thats right how that translates in terms of people snatching a bit of news here and there and seen the ongoing shenanigans in there, people are very conscious of, not least because there is an election coming at some stage and regardless of peoples views on brexit they will want the returning mps to feel the heat in the coming months. Chris mason, thank you very much. Earlier, our europe correspondent, gavin lee gave me this explanation of what the eu will do next. I think the response now Going Forward for the European Union is twofold. Firstly, they are going to get on with the ratification process of voting it throughout the European Parliament on this side. In about two hours michel barnier, chief negotiator for the eu, two hours michel barnier, chief negotiatorfor the eu, will brief the Brexit Steering Committee to work out how it will work and the legislation and the date it is going to be. We expect it will be this week. On this later the European Commission said it doesnt matter it wasnt signed by borisjohnson, it is still seen as an official letter and they will respond accordingly and they will respond accordingly and some senior eu officials have been talking this morning. Angela merkel said they will thoroughly look at what is happening in the uk but also thoroughly discuss this with other leaders, the idea of what sort of extension there could be, the German Foreign minister went further saying if it needs to short extension of the German Government would be welcoming of that and for the french, the french europe minister speaking on radio monte carlo speaking this morning saying that if it comes to it and there is no breakthrough for a deal in the next ten days there will be an emergency eu summit before the 31st of october. Gavin lee there. Judges at scotlands highest civil court have decided to delay a decision in a case which seeks to ensure that the Prime Minister doesnt allow a no deal brexit. The hearing took place at the court of session in edinburgh and our scotland correspondent lorna gordan is there. We keep talking about extensions and here we have one there. Yes, simon, we do. The decision of the court is delayed, to use the legal term the case has been continued. This all focuses on those letters sent by the government on saturday evening, the keyone asking the eu for an extension to the brexit deadline. That is what the original focus of this case was on. It was on a case brought by three campaigners, dale vince, the businessman, jo maugham, qc, joanna cherry, who is an mp and aqc qc, joanna cherry, who is an mp and aocas qc, joanna cherry, who is an mp and a qc as well, saying they wanted to ensure that plans were in place if the Prime Minister tried to frustrate the benn act, didnt apply the law as required by the benn act to ask for that extension to the brexit deadline by saturday. But the Prime Minister of course did ask for that extension but he also sent a letter alongside it saying he still wa nted letter alongside it saying he still wanted brexit to happen by the 31st of october. Lawyers for the government here today said they had no case to answer, that had complied with the law, they wanted the hearing, the case dismissed, campaigners, however, said, yes, the law has been complied with, however, the additional letter was, in the words of their qc aidan oneill here, said earlier, sailing close to the win. Scotlands most senior judge lord colomo, one of the three judges sitting here, said it had been very carefully written, the second letter, but in terms of what happens now, they said the law has been complied with, but they said they wanted to ensure the law is complied with Going Forward. The judges took a very short time to make their decision. Lord carloway said the case should continue until obligations under the law have been complied with in full. In effect what that means is if an extension was granted by the eu then under the law the Prime Minister must accept it. What happens now . We have no date for any further hearing and i think there is a few options on the table Going Forward. The house of commons, the Parliament May of course though this deal through in which case all of this is null and void. But if it is considered that the Prime Minister has broken the law when it comes to accepting any extension offered, then it is possible that the courts may decide to hold the Prime Minister in co nte m pt of to hold the Prime Minister in contempt of court. It is possible they may order the government to accept that extension, or it is possible that they may write a letter on the governments behalf accepting that extension. Those are the options open to the judges Going Forward. But all of that may become redundant if parliament accepts the deal in the meantime. Lots of maybes. Lorna, back to you later, thanks very much. Rain newton smith, chief economist at the cbi is here. When you were watching television on saturday, what was your response to what you saw happening here . I think business will cautiously welcomed the deal on the table. Obviously there is a lot of politics going on at the moment. I think what business wa nts to at the moment. I think what business wants to see avoided is a no deal brexit so if this secures the transition thats really important. The deal on the table provides guarantees for the 4 million citizens, both eu citizens here but also uk citizens abroad, and crucially it avoids a border in Northern Ireland, a land border. Where business wants to see more ambition than what we have on the table at the moment is our whole future relationship with the eu. We are not even there yet. This is often forgotten when Boris Johnson says lets get brexit done, this is the first bit, there is still the discussion about the future relationship to come. Absolutely and we have a huge uphill mountain to climb. We have to think what our access will be for our creative industries, for our manufacturers, for our professional services, and that was one area where the political declaration just isnt ambitious enough, it is pretty silent on our relationship with the eu about how we recognise the mutual recognition of rules that allows us to trade goods and services across borders and we need a much higher level of ambition. The issue of the Customs Union seems to be back very much on the agenda. Is that something you would welcome . We have all the set is being part of a Customs Union is a good idea unless or until another solution comes onto the table but i think we need to be mindful of the wider politics. We do also need a deal that the parliament can approve and that at the end of the day, if we are going to be able to move on to discuss the future relationship, we do need to have a deal that can move through the houses of parliament. How big a factor is brexit fatigue in all of this . Look, we are all exhausted about these discussions but whats important is we dont allow the exhaustion that we are all feeling at the moment mean that we make the wrong decisions. We need to make sure that we secure a future relationship with the eu. As you understand it, the deal that Boris Johnson got last week, is that enough to get us through to the next stage . What we have is a Withdrawal Agreement on the table that can secure transition. Thats absolutely the first step. But then we need to move quickly on to a proper discussion about our future relationship, about that critical political declaration and it needs to have a close alignment of regulation for us to be able to trade in goods and services with our Major Trading partner which the eu will continue to be our Major Trading partner whatever happens on brexit so we need to make sure we have good access and we dont sell short our economy, which would have a cost to jobs around the uk. As the chief economist of the cbi, have you put a cost in terms ofjobs, money, as to what this sort of delay is doing . Delay has an impact. What we doing . Delay has an impact. What we do know actually is a no deal brexit would be hugely damaging to our economy. There is lots of analysis that the treasury and academics have done. People talk around a cost of around 8 of gdp over the long term from a no deal brexit, so that is absolutely what we have got to avoid. Ourfuture relationship absolutely matters and the more trading frictions, the more we diverge from the eu in terms of end Environmental Standards and protections for workers and things that make it easy to trade across borders, that will cost economy over the long term so we have to think about all these issues. Im wondering what your reaction is to the politics of what is going on this afternoon and this afternoon we will probably see john this afternoon and this afternoon we will probably seejohn bercow so he will probably seejohn bercow so he will not give the go ahead for a meaningful vote this afternoon. The shenanigans as some people have described it, is that harming our perception of the politics and the politicians that are trying to get brexit sorted . People can see the uk has a really tough decision on their hands. I dont envy the politicians. They have tough factors to weigh up. What we want to see is the economic evidence determining those decisions, and also we have got to be mindful of our view on the International Stage and we need to make the right decisions notjust for the relationship in the next couple of days but our relationship with the eu and the rest of the world over the next decades. Rain newton smith from the cbi, thank you very much. Nice to talk to you. Thats the situation in westminster. We expectjohn thats the situation in westminster. We expect john bercow thats the situation in westminster. We expectjohn bercow to make that decision around 3pm this afternoon. Thats the timing we have been told for the start of what could be another lively session inside the house of commons. No 10 saying that they want to have that meaningful vote put to parliament again so that the decision be made one way or another. Lets talked of the labour mp ben bradshaw joins another. Lets talked of the labour mp ben bradshawjoins me now. Good to see you. Hello, simon. What is your bet on what we will see this afternoon . John bercow will not allow the further shenanigans from the government, no government has been allowed to bring back the same vote. There was the vote on the amendment. And then the government caved in and accepted the overall thing so the idea we didnt decide anything on saturdays for the birds. But people watching outside on saturday. Thats partly because the commentators didnt explain it very well. We try to explain it, we made the decision on saturday and the government is trying to wriggle out of it and it will not be allowed to because of long standing parliamentary rules so we move on to the substance, we move on to the substance tomorrow of the withdrawal bill and lets see what happens to that, thats what matters. Is there a risk in your eye that the withdrawal bill could be a back door for the brexit deal that Boris Johnson wants to get through . There is always a possibility it might get through and it might get a majority in the house of commons. We havent seen in the house of commons. We havent seen it yet, thats the other extraordinary thing, we have a government asking parliamentarians who are responsible and answerable to our electorate to make the most important decision on our countrys future for generations, the impact of which will last for generations and we havent even seen the bill and we havent even seen the bill and the government has refused to publish an impact statement, it is absolutely extraordinary, and i suspect that mps, whatever their views on brexit, are not going to be bulldozed into making hasty decisionsjust for the bulldozed into making hasty decisions just for the time and convenience of Boris Johnson. What about your constituents . After saturday did you get any e mails from people saying, what another is going on here . A lot of my constituents were on the march. My constituency voted remain, my local parties strongly in favour of remain andi parties strongly in favour of remain and i havent had chance to catch up with my e mails since the weekend but i think you are right in that a lot of people are fed up with this process. But the idea that fatigue or boredom is an excuse for making the wrong decisions about the most important decision we are going to make on the future of our country for generations, it would be very, very dangerous indeed. We need time to study this legislation. Mps need time to work out how it is going to affect and impact their constituents and we will all come to our own judgment as to what we think of the deal, if we want to amend it, and in which way we want to amend it. Your constituency voted to remain, people who voted brexit in the majority three years ago will look and say this is just three years ago will look and say this isjust a ploy three years ago will look and say this is just a ploy to avoid brexit. No, what happened on saturday was an insurance policy, again necessary to stop no deal, because what could have happened on saturdays with the erg, the hard brexiteer right of the tory party voting for the deal and then when it comes to the legislation this week, withdrawing that support meaning we would have crashed out at the end of october. The letwin amendment did nothing else apart from give us another insurance policy, which was u nfortu nately necessary to insurance policy, which was unfortunately necessary to ensure we dont crash out without a deal at the end of october. We are now focusing on the bill itself. That is what has or is matted. It is extraordinary that this Prime Minister who has been in office sincejuly is minister who has been in office since july is only just minister who has been in office sincejuly is onlyjust now, having waited until the last minute to present his proposals to brussels, only just now with present his proposals to brussels, onlyjust now with a week or more to go putting his bill to the house of commons. It is simply not enough time. If there had been a vote on saturday on the deal that Boris Johnson has got, how close do you think it would have been having spoken to people since . |j think it would have been having spoken to people since . I dont think it would have gone through. The majority we had on saturday was the majority we had because there are enough moderate conservatives who, as i say, were very worried that the erg, the hard right of the tory party, would have played games and let the deal go through on saturday only to oppose it and derail it during the legislation which would have meant crashing out. Thats what they want to do, they wa nt to thats what they want to do, they want to crash out and we have to make sure that doesnt happen. Arent you all playing games . From the outside doesnt it all look that way . Certainly not, simon. This is the most important decision our country has had to take for generations. The government has wasted and lost three and a half yea rs wasted and lost three and a half years messing around, not seeking a consensus, johnson waiting until the last minute to propose his things to brussels which he knew brussels couldnt accept and then we get this last minute deal last week. We havent even seen the bill yet. The idea that. We have a responsibility to our constituents to do what we think is in the best interests of them and our country. This matters to future generations. It is difficult for all mp5 but to accuse us it is difficult for all mp5 but to accuse us who it is difficult for all mp5 but to accuse us who are it is difficult for all mp5 but to accuse us who are working very, very hard, we havent even got the chance to study this proposal yet of playing games, this is too important for that. It is more important than anything else i have ever done in my life. Will they refuse the extension . If parliament doesnt pass this bill the eu will grant an extension, they have already made that clear, they dont want to bear responsibility for us crashing out without a deal, they will give us a time to have a general election, or prefera bly time to have a general election, or preferably a referendum, to sort this horrible mess out once and for all. Ben bradshaw, good to see you. Thank you forjoining us. Youre watching afternoon live. Lets get the thoughts of adam fleming in strasbourg where i gouge and they are talking about little else. They are talking about brexit a lot this week because what they we re a lot this week because what they were meant to be talking about isnt happening, that was approving the new European Commission, but has been delayed, so brexit is a bigger deal here than what was supposed to be the biggest deal here. The problem is, though, there is no official ratification of the brexit deal on the uk site because there hasnt been a meaningful vote and the legislation hasnt been approved, as you were just discussing. The European Parliament in strasbourg is not going to do its side of the bargain and approve the deal until all those stages are com plete deal until all those stages are complete in the uk. Which means, it is virtually impossible for meps to approve the deal during their sitting in strasbourg this week, which means the soonest they could do it would be at a special extraordinary Plenary Session of the European Parliament called at the last minute next week, or what is more likely is that they approve it at their next scheduled session, which is the 13th and 14th of november in brussels, which means they would need an extension as well. Adam fleming, thank you very much. The Stormont Assembly has been sitting for the first time in more than two and a half years to debate the liberalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland, legislation passed in westminster means terminations are to be decriminalised and same sex marriage will be legalised from midnight tonight. Our correspondent chris page is at stormont now. It is an historic moment given the last time the place sat and there have been developments today. Thats right, simon. It is more than 1000 days since the devolved power sharing government made of the Democratic Unionist Party and sinn fein collapsed at stormont. This is the first time the assembly has set in two and a half yea rs assembly has set in two and a half years and the setting is over. It was a pretty short session, it was triggered by a petition which was signed by unionist politicians, members of the dup and several politicians from other unionist parties who are opposed to the changes in the law, particularly on abortion. Now, westminster is not the only place where a good Old Fashioned the only place where a good Old Fashioned parliamentary procedure has been key. Those Assembly Members wanted the assembly to debate the abortion law. They wa nted to debate the abortion law. They wanted to debate at the very least emotion that said that stormont was the appropriate place to be making decisions on Northern Irelands abortion regime and not westminster. There is even a plan for a piece of legislation known as a private members bill to be put through the assembly which would have blocked the legislation from westminster from taking effect, so the Northern Irelands abortion regime which is much more strict than the rest of the uk would have taken place after all. But the Assembly Speaker Robert Newton said before any new business could be considered a new speaker would have to be elected. Sinn fein, the biggest irish nationalist party, boycotted the proceedings and the Cross Community Alliance Party so in the end no nationalist assembly memos were the end no nationalist assembly memos were in the chamber to take pa rt memos were in the chamber to take part in the election of the speaker, the sdlp where there briefly but walked out. So with no nationalists taking part a speaker could not be elected so then the business couldnt go ahead, so what the session of the assembly means is not that devolved government comes back. It doesnt mean there is going to be any change in the plan to de liberalise abortion was and legalised same sex marriage as a midnight tonight but for the politicians involved and the anti Abortion Campaign groups who have been at stormont this morning, they say it was a valuable message to send out. Dup leader Arlene Foster spoke during the debate and said as faras foster spoke during the debate and said as far as she is concerned this was a shameful day because it meant Northern Ireland would have one of the most liberal abortion laws in europe and she says the matter isnt over europe and she says the matter isnt over yet as far as her party is concerned. At the moment, what happens at midnight . At midnight, abortion law is changed, it is decriminalised, so the sections of the law which make having an abortion a criminal offence in Northern Ireland will be repealed. Then there will be a duty on the government in london to put in place of Abortion Services. At the moment abortion is only legal in Northern Ireland in cases where there is a serious and permanent risk to a Womans Health so that amounts to a near ban. The new legislation means that that condition of a serious and permanent risk will be removed so abortions will be available to women whose health is at risk and also available in cases where there is severe foetal impairment and in cases where pregnancy has resulted asa cases where pregnancy has resulted as a result of sexual crime. It is down to the government to decide exact to how that plays out and what regulations they put in place to provide Abortion Services and in medical settings here and they have until the end of march next year to come up with that. Same sex marriage will be legalised and in practice what that means is come february next year same sex couples will be allowed to marry here. It is five yea rs allowed to marry here. It is five years since gay marriage was legalised in the rest of the uk, so again, a big social shift for Northern Ireland on two touch tone issues. Chris page at stormont, thank you very much. Youre watching afternoon light. A flight has been diverted to dublin after two cabin crew members were diverted to dublin after two cabin crew members were rendered unconscious by cleaning fluid spillage. The American Airlines flight spillage. The American Airlines flight set to travel from heathrow to philadelphia arrived in dublin a short time ago. Several more on board have complained of burning eyes and itching skin. Medical personnel met the aircraft to evaluate crew members and passengers. Lets speak to our correspondent andy moore. What has happened here . Code the plane landed at dublin just over an code the plane landed at dublin just over an hour ago. It took off from heathrow this morning, flying south of the island of ireland when this emergency developed and the flight crew emergency developed and the flight crew requested permission to divert to dublin. One of the pilots was talking to air traffic control. He said a container had been found in one of the toilets on the plain, left on board by somebody at heathrow, a powerful cleaning fluid. It had spilt and two cabin crew were briefly rendered unconscious, but they are fine now. Some other passengers were they are fine now. Some other passengers were suffering the effects of this are powerful cleaning fluid. The pilot said it was not toxic. The pilot requested that the plane we met at the gate by paramedics when they arrived at dublin. That is what happened. Weve also had a statement from American Airlines. They say that flight 79 from london heathrow to philadelphia diverted to dublin due to an odour caused by spilt cleaning solution. The flight landed safely in dublin at 1 15pm local and taxied to the gate. Medical personnel make the aircraft to evaluate any crewmembers or passengers who may need additional assistance. We havent heard how those passengers are, but hopefully they will recover and none of them will need further medical assistance. Andy moore with the latest on that delayed and diverted flight. Latest on that delayed and diverted flight. Theyve just come out with a chorus of singing in the rain, for obvious reasons. Now the weather. Things will get a bit drier in southern areas this week. Half term for many, and youll probably want the dry weather, but its a bit of a split in the uk at the moment, with High Pressure nudging its way in all the way from the azores. Its still trapped by this low pressure to the north and this one to the south east, providing a split in the weather. While some have got sunshine, like here in Northern Ireland a short while ago, it still quite damp in east anglia and the south east. A great view of suffolk through the window this lunchtime the rain continues, turning right at patchy. Some thicker cloud in yorkshire and the midlands could produce showers. Most of you will get through the afternoon drive. Temperatures around nine to 13 at the very best. Going into this evening and overnight, the drizzle in the south east will continue to clear and most places become dry. With clear skies, it could turn misty. For Northern Ireland, or of a breeze, bringing some rain to the far north of the highlands, and keeping temperatures around ten to 15 Degrees Higher than this morning, whereas further south a chilly start and, some across england and wales, and, some across england and wales, a misty and foggy start to the commute. Slowly and certainly, will brighten up and a better day compared to today. Most places dry, with a bit of sunshine peeking through. Low cloud. And id Northern Ireland, but rain largely limited to the far north of scotland, and it will be a touch milder. Through tonight and into wednesday, the weather front skirting the north west of the uk, another one which is a weaker feature. North west of the uk, another one which is a weakerfeature. Some spots of rain and drizzle possible in the south east. In between, lots of dry weather, some sunshine, but rain becoming assistant in Northern Ireland and western scotland as the breeze picks up. Similar values for thursday. What will happen, especially through the night, some rain to begin with in the northern half of the country, but as this area of low pressure starts to get closer around western scotland and Northern Ireland, widespread gales developing, and in the hebrides you could get 70 mph gusts. A breezy day for all, some showers in england and wales, still cloud lingering in the far south east corner. This is bbc news our latest headlines. The Prime Minister will push for another vote on his brexit deal this afternoon but the speaker of the commons may reject another the speaker has said previously that he will allow the house to find a way to express his voice. I think there is a clear desire from the country, from businesses, from our European Partners that they want to see that happen and people would find it odd if it didnt. The duke and duchess of sussex open up about the pressures of the past year living in the media spotlight. My my british friends said to me, im sure hes great, but you shouldnt do it because the british tabloids will destroy your life, and very naively, im american, we dont have that fair. Is the meeting of stormont for three years breaks up as assembly of us walked out. It means abortion and same sex marriage are likely to become legal at midnight. Sport now on afternoon live with Lizzie Greenwood hughes, and some bad news for wales ahead of the world cup semifinals at the weekend. Yes, theyve lost their forward josh navidi for notjust sundays game against south africa but if they make it through hell miss the final. The back rower, whos mostly been deployed as a number 8 injapan has torn his hamstring. He limped off in the first half of their quarterfinal win over france. Centrejonathan davies though, who missed that game with a knee problem, should be fit for the south africa semi. Hes been very influential, very important for us, so its disappointing for him. So its disappointing for him. So its disappointing for us to have a player ruled out, but, in saying that, these games are so physical and to have only lost one player at this stage is a real positive for us. England on the other hand should have a fully fit squad to to choose from for their semifinal against the reigning champions new zealand on saturday. They had been worried aboutjonny may, who scored two tries in their quarterfinal win over australia. He had a twinge in a hamstring but he is expected to be fine for the match. Jack nowell is also back in contention. Even with all their players available, how can england get the better of the all blacks . Assistant coach neal hatley says its all about making a positive start to their semifinal in yokohama. Weve got certain things we want to do in the first 15, 20 minutes, and we need to get better and focus on what we do. Some sites are solid at set pieces and other sides are more attacking, but they are pretty all round, their set pieces are strong, their transition game is strong, their transition game is strong, and ireland to defend with a lot of intense. Andy murray will represent Great Britain for the first time in three years, at next months new look davis cup finals in madrid. He was instrumental in their triumph in 2015 and is getting back to Something Like his old self after winning the european open yesterday, his first singles title in two and a half years following a second hip operation in january. Also in the squad are dan evans, jamie murray and neal skupski, with either kyle edmund or Cameron Norrie likely to take the last place. As for murray, he says hed reassess his goals after what he describes as a surprise win in belgium. The last few years have been extremely difficult, both me and sta n extremely difficult, both me and stan have had a lot of injury problems in the last couple of years and, yeah, amazing to be back playing against him in a final. England batsmanjason roy says next summers new cricket competition the hundred will be a great watch for spectators. We saw the first draft yesterday as the 8 teams were finalised. Roy had already been selected for the oval invincibles as a so called local icon. The 4 week competition starts nextjuly. As far as we are concerned as players, we are hugely excited about working towards it, finding new formulas on how to play. Its going to bea formulas on how to play. Its going to be a bit difficult to get ahead of anything, because tactics are the things, but we are excited for it. Its a huge tournament on home soil made by some of the best players in the world, so it will be good viewing. New Research Suggests that spikes in air pollution trigger hundreds of heart attacks, strokes and acute asthma attacks in english cities, compared with days when the air is cleaner. A study by Kings College london found that, on high pollution days, there were on average an extra 124 cardiac arrests. London, then birmingham, were the worst affected cities. I am joined by Polly Billington who is the director of uk 100 which is a network of local government leaders. Just explain the group. You represent who exactly . We are a network of local leaders committed to action on climate and clean air, and we asked Kings College to do this research because, forfar too long, people have said its a problem just in london, and its a long term problem for health stop here we have a correlation between high dirty airdays here we have a correlation between high dirty air days in many of our cities and hospital admissions on the kind of things that are linked to air pollution, so its a real issue which is putting pressure on the nhs. People are ending up in hospital with asthma, stroke, and having heart attacks. Its the name is perhaps of some of the cities which will eyebrows, southampton, oxford, bristol, derby and, as you say, a lot of people just think of this as a london problem. A lot of our cities already know they are breaking eu legal limits with their air, and they are trying to do something about it. Our network exists to bring leaders together so they can learn for each other and lobby the government to act on it, but places like oxford you might think of asjust but places like oxford you might think of as just dreaming spires, but if you go you might notice how clog up the roads are. They are introducing a zero emissions zone. Liverpool is giving young people cheaper bus fares. Nottingham has got a workplace parking levy so that we can actually improve the public transport in that city. A lot of local leaders are doing lots, they need a lot more power and resources to tackle this, which Needs National action. When you talk about 124 a day, perhaps it sounds like nothing, if its a friend or relative and its also the cost of looking after those who survive. Yes, quite often when people talk about pollution, they think back to the big smoke in the 19505, when people literally did fall down in the street, and we know there is some scepticism, because you cant see this in the same way as you could see the smog, and people thought, well, it might shorten my life but i can get on with things now, but the reality is that we can now see the correlation between those dirty air days and people being hospitalised, which means people will have to work at doesnt wake up. Think about the consequences for the nhs. Today, the head of nhs england has said it constitutes a health emergency, and its link to climate because, if you tackle this, we can also tackle climate change. What are the solutions for your group . Weve said, although we welcome the new environment bill, we need more strength in it. We want to have World Health Organisation standards ofair. Once World Health Organisation standards of air. Once youve got a standard, it starts to set a trajectory about where youve got to get to, but we also need to make sure that any targets a re also need to make sure that any targets are legally binding and the timetable means that government ministers are held to account, because one of the downsides of leaving the eu is we wont be able to hold the government to account any more on that kind of thing. How do you get there . What is it practically you can do . We need an easier electric Vehicle Infrastructure for a lot of people worried about getting an electric car in case there are not enough charge points. We need £1. 5 billion worth of scrappage scheme to help people who may not be able to afford to get a new car to shift away from their dirty diesel vehicles into something cleaner, or make other options, like getting public transport season ticket passes, where youve got decent public transport. Overall, this means more cities having more opportunities to invest in their public transport, like for example they are trying to do in manchester and liverpool. That will mean more powers, and we know what this place is like. Westminster likes to hold onto power rather than give it away. Thank you forjoining us. The duke of sussex has admitted he and his brother are on different paths amid reports of a rift. In an interview with itv he said they have good days and bad days. In the same interview, the duchess of sussex said her friends warned her not to marry the prince, because the newspapers would as she put it destroy her life. Jon donnison reports. Filmed during their recent trip to africa, this documentary reveals that, despite appearances, the royal couple are at times struggling. Harry says he sees his mother diana in every camera and flash bulb. Every single time i see a camera, every sickle time i hear a click, every single time i see a flash, it takes me straight back. So, in that respect, its the worst reminder of her life as opposed to the best. Meghan says shes been shocked by the level of press intrusion, even though herfriends had warned her before she got married. My british friends said to me, im sure hes great, but you shouldnt do it, because the british tabloids will destroy your life. And i very naively im american, we dont have that there what are you talking about . Prince harry talks about the relationship with his brother. Inevitably, you know, stuff happens, but, look, were brothers well always be brothers. We are certainly on different paths at the moment but i will always be there for him as i know he will be there for me. Prince harry acknowledges he sometimes needs support, saying he still struggles with Mental Health issues. I thought i was out of the woods, and then suddenly it all came back and i suddenly realised, actually, no, this is something that i have to manage. Erm. Look, part of this job, part of anyjob, like everybody, means putting on a brave face. The turnaround from a sunny wedding day a year and a half ago is very sharp. Jon donnison, bbc news. Ina in a moment, well get the Business News, but first the headlines. Youre watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. Borisjohnson will try to get mp5 to vote on his Brexit Agreement but he could be blocked by the commons speaker. Prince harry opens up about struggling in the spotlight amid reports of a rift with his brother. The Stormont Assembly gathers for the first time in three years because at midnight both abortion and same sex marriage become legal. Heres your business headlines on afternoon live. The pound hits 1. 30 against the dollar for First Time Since may as Foreign Exchange markets bet on borisjohnsons deal being passed possibly as soon as this week. Thats after initially falling after markets fell when they resumed trading in asia last night for the First Time Since saturdays vote. Indian police have now shut two call centres and arrested seven people suspected of involvement in a Computer Software scam, which has seen victims lose thousands. This follows a four year investigation. One man in devon told the bbc hed lost £4000 as a result of the fraud. Boeing bosses are holding a second day of meetings after new messages, published late on friday, intensified the crisis surrounding the companys 737 max jet. The exchange, dating back to 2016, suggested the company had known about problems with the Flight Control system years before two fatal crashes. So its the monday after that not so Super Saturday for how have the markets responded . They are watching it very closely indeed, because we are seeing movement almost by the minute when it comes to the currency and stock markets. Well check on the numbers in a moment, because theyve been very volatile, and as we also know, when the count goes up, some stocks fall. There is also movement on the other side of the atlantic, because Donald Trumps economic adviser has just bolstered the trade war optimism. Hes been saying things are looking pretty good now. Also looking pretty good, as ever, lets go over to the new york stock exchange. A busy session kicking off. Lets start with the trade wars, because lots of concerns because more tariffs are due to rise in decemberjust because more tariffs are due to rise in december just ahead because more tariffs are due to rise in decemberjust ahead of christmas. Can that be avoided . Those tariffs are still set to be put in place if an agreement isnt reached. Interestingly, we had had optimism from the lead chinese negotiator over the weekend. He said that substantial progress had been made towards this phase one agreement we have been hearing about and interestingly he said that china is looking at addressing one of washingtons biggest concerns, intellectual property protection. This is what happens when Foreign Companies come to do business in china. There have long been complaints that Foreign Companies have had to share their trade secrets with chinese companies, but apparently progress is being made. This would, the us treasury secretary, steve mnuchin, said there had been low level trade negotiations try to work up an agreement and get the text finalised, so they can show it to the president s next month. And a busy session getting under way in new york, because we also had nudes from an opioid trial. We also had news. The opiate crisis in the us has killed 400,000 americans in the la st has killed 400,000 americans in the last 20 years, and about half have been killed by prescription opioids, the other half from illegal ones like heroin and fentanyl, and prescription opioids were seen as a gateway drug to those. This morning, a settlement has been reached between three of the companies that we re between three of the companies that were distributors, so they bought the medication and sold it on. They we re the medication and sold it on. They were seen as part the medication and sold it on. They were seen as part of the problem. We are hearing that three of those companies have agreed to pay 250 million to two Ohio Companies that we re million to two Ohio Companies that were bringing a lawsuit, trying to recoup some of the losses over the billions they have spent trying to deal with the ohio company, and an Israeli Company will also be paying. This trial was seen as a bellwether to indicate how the rest of the lawsuits, and there are thousands of them being brought across the us, how they will play out, so big news on the opioid crisis. Its not surprising that brexit perhaps isnt playing that large as markets reopen in the us. Lets see how the markets are reacting to whats going on. If we ta ke are reacting to whats going on. If we take a at that number, its a really interesting picture, because we we re really interesting picture, because we were off that 1. 30 on the pound. The shares we have seen falling are those exposed to the value of sterling. Their profits tend to go up sterling. Their profits tend to go up the weaker sterling is. That is overall why you can see the ftse100 is pretty much flat at the moment, but the markets are fairly up and down along with developments in westminster. Well have more Business News later on. You dont smile like that when im in the studio thank you very much. Two men have been arrested in somerset, by Police Investigating alleged racist abuse that caused an fa cup tie to be abandoned on saturday. Haringey boroughs players walked off during the game against yeovil town, saying their goalkeeper had been spat at and hit by an object thrown at him. It comes as the premier league relaunched its no room for racism video, which was shown at every premier League Fixture this weekend. Our sports correspondent, jane dougal, looks at the challenge of combatting racism in the game. In a show of solidarity, both the yeovil fc and haringey borough players came out to stand together. Their fa cup match in north london had been abandoned after haringey players were allegedly racially abused. This footage shows their goalkeeper just before he claims the yeovil fans assaulted him. This was very aggressive. And he was looking at me right in my eyes, and said, youre disgusting, and he spat on me. The haringey manager told his players to walk off the pitch. I looked into my players eyes once they got on the pitch, and i had to make a quick decision. These boys werent ready to continue. Theyve never experienced anything like this whilst playing for me. One week ago, england players didnt leave the pitch in sofia. These were the ugly scenes from the bulgarian crowd as englands black players were subjected to monkey noises and nazi salutes in their euro 2020 qualifier. Even then, england manager Gareth Southgate spoke of racism at a domestic level. Sadly, my players, because of their experiences in our own country, are hardened to racism. And i dont know what that says about our society, but thats the reality. Theres no room for racism. There have been a spate of alleged racist incidents across britain on the very weekend that the premier league relaunched their antiracism video. In the championship, some bristol city fans are alleged to have used racist language in their match against luton town, while in scotland there are allegations of racism at tynecastle in hearts match against rangers. Chanting we are haringey both haringey and yeovil will go into tonights fa cup first round draw. The fa say they are deeply concerned at the situation, but the fact a non league side has taken this stand may now set a precedent for other clubs. Jane dougall, bbc news. Tens of thousands of homes are without power in dallas in texas after a tornado. Footage on social media shows the moment the tornado struck, with the sky lit up like a thunderstorm. Power lines and trees we re thunderstorm. Power lines and trees were brought down, leaving roads littered with debris, while flights we re littered with debris, while flights were cancelled and delayed at regional airports. At westminster, we are awaiting that attempt by borisjohnson we are awaiting that attempt by Boris Johnson and the we are awaiting that attempt by borisjohnson and the government to get through once again the brexit deal with a meaningful vote. It looks unlikely. We are awaiting a decision from the speaker, john bercow, scheduled for about 3 30pm. We will hear from him when bercow, scheduled for about 3 30pm. We will hearfrom him when he makes his decision and, failing that, there is a feeling that there will be an attempt to get Withdrawal Agreement bill through perhaps tomorrow, but after the hopes of saturday, from those expecting to see some saturday, from those expecting to see some sort of decision, today it would appear there is more of the same. Would appear there is more of the same. We will return to the house of commons at 3 30pm. In the meantime, a look at the weather with matty taylor. Its a bit damp in the south east corner at the moment, but elsewhere not a bad start to the weak, especially if you are on half term break. High pressure building in from the mid atla ntic. Break. High pressure building in from the mid atlantic. The strongest bit of it is further away, we are just on the edge, which means there are areas just on the edge, which means there are areas of low pressure, one to the south east, one way to the north. For the majority, a fine afternoon. This was cumbria a short while ago. But in east anglia in the south east, something a bit more like this on the window, grey skies and a dull day. Rain and drizzle ta kes and a dull day. Rain and drizzle takes us through the rest of the afternoon. Some thick clouds drifting through not share through yorkshire, but most places staying dry but not especially warm. Nine to 13 this afternoons highs. For this evening and overnight, Raymond Kristal in the south east corner will eventually start to dissipate. Rain and drizzle in the south east corner. Still cloudy in the finalfor the south east corner. Still cloudy in the final for scotland, with some rain developing, with breezy conditions to the and west. For some in the west of the highlands, we could see temperatures 10 Degrees Higher than yesterday. Eight. Tomorrow, with temperatures in single figures, and there could be misty and foggy moments. That could hamper yourjourney misty and foggy moments. That could hamper your journey to work misty and foggy moments. That could hamper yourjourney to work if misty and foggy moments. That could hamper your journey to work if you are going by car. We will see some sunny spells. Most have a dry day with some sunshine, but more cloud for Northern Ireland, north and west scotland, but the rain limited to the final. Temperatures a future greece higher than today. That breeze strengthens through the night and into wednesday. The weather front has gone road to the west of scotla nd front has gone road to the west of scotland and Northern Ireland, bringing more persistent rain and strong to Gale Force Winds on wednesday. Away from that, some sunny spells once the mist and fog has cleared. Some significant fog in east anglia and the south east, with one or two spots of light rain or drizzle. Wednesday night into thursday, rain for a time across the northern half of the uk, turning showery later. Next, this area of low pressure starts to push in, so western scotland and Northern Ireland will get increasingly windy. We could see winds in excess of 70 miles an hour, which could have an impact on travel plans. Cloudy in the south east and east anglia, clearing through, but some sunshine at times for most and pleasant enough with that sunshine. Hello, youre watching afternoon live im simon mccoy. Today at 3 00. The speaker of the commons, john bercow, is to decide shortly in the next half hour the Prime Minister can put his brexit deal for another vote ministers say he should allow it to get brexit sorted. The speaker has said previously he will allow the house to find a way to express its voice. I think there is a clear desire from the country, from businesses, from our European Partners, that they want to see that happen and i think people would find it odd if it didnt. A source in the Royal Household tells the bbc that Prince William is concerned for his brother after the duke and duchess of sussex open up about the pressures of the past year. My british friend said to me, im sure hes great, im sure hes great, but you shouldnt do it because the british tabloids will destroy your life. And i very naively im american, we dont have that there. The first meeting of stormont for three years breaks up as Assembly Members walk out it means both abortion and same sex marriage look set to become legal in Northern Ireland at midnight. Coming up on afternoon live, all the sport with lizzie. We have scored news for the Rugby World Cup semifinals this weekend. There is good news for england but bad news for wales. More from you later on. And matt taylor has all the weather. Hi, simon. It is half term for some of you and there is some dry weather around but rain will still feature in the forecast. I will tell you where and when in the next half hour. Good afternoon from westminster borisjohnson will this afternoon try again to get the backing of mp5 for his brexit deal with the European Union, after he abandoned his bid to secure parliamentary approval during a special sitting on saturday. The government is demanding mp5 have a straight up and down vote on the agreement. Coming up in around half an hour, the speaker of the house of Commons John Bercow is expected to give his decision on whether to allow whats called a meaningful vote, when mp5 indicate whether they support the deal, can happen. Its thought he may reject it on the grounds that the motion was already debated on saturday. Imemdaitely after that there will be an urgent question in the house of commons from Jeremy Corbyn leader of the opposition on the publication of the Withdrawal Agreement bill turning the deal agreed with the eu into uk law. And hell also ask more about Boris Johnsons unsigned letter to the eu asking for a brexit extension. Then later this afternoon the leader of the house Jacob Rees Mogg will make a statement laying out the order of business in the commons this week this could include a second reading of the Withdrawal Agreement bill. And right after that, michael gove the governments representative responsible for planning for a no deal brexit will speak and we expect he might say that the government is stepping up preparations for a no deal exit. Our Political Correspondentjessica parker has been looking at what the afternoon holds in store. Once more into battle . People may feel like theyve been here before. But ministers, despite the weekends events, seem determined not to be downcast. Are we still leaving on time . A meaningless vote we had on saturday instead of a meaningful vote and hopefully we can correct that today. I think we want to see mp5 being able to respect the result of the referendum as they say they want to do, leave with a good deal at the end of october and we now have that good deal. Hats off, strangers whether the vote goes ahead depends on the speaker, john bercow. Never shy of a showdown. Dont look at me and tell me whats what or imply that you can. Never short of a surprise. Enjoy your visit to the house. What the government wants to do today is have another go at whats being called its meaningful vote, this is the vote it has to have on its deal. It wants a clean vote on that question. The question for the speaker is, does that fall foul of the rule commons house which says you cant offer the house the same question twice in one session. Meanwhile, ministers are introducing the legislation needed to actually turn the brexit deal into law. But expect skirmishes ahead over a possible deluge of amendments as mp5 try to push forward their own ideas about what brexit should look like, whether it should even happen at all. I think youre likely to see an amendment seeking to put this whole deal back to the british people because thats actually the way to get brexit done. You are likely to see an amendment saying we should stay in the Customs Union, that would help to solve part of the problem on the border between gb and Northern Ireland. There is, of course, pressure to deliver on the deal, but some mp5 say they are not ready to ram through the legislation. This is a huge bill, its likely to be 100 pages. And we all know that rushed law is bad law. But this isntjust any old law, this is the political rewiring of our country, and it has to be done properly. I cant wait for november. So, another day, another attempt to unlock this process. Are you still confident we will leave october 31 . Yes, thats what we are working towards, yes. Ministers hoping they are not heading towards another damp squib. Jessica parker, bbc news, westminster. So, lots to unpick our Political Correspondent chris mason is here. First of all we will find out whether this vote will happen or not. We will, good afternoon, simon. Mark francois the conservative brexiteer on his feet in the chamber at the moment, defence questions under way, defence secretary ben wallace facing scrutiny from all sides. At roughly 3 30pm, but as you know these things can be a little on the fluid side, we will hear from the fluid side, we will hear from the speaker, john bercow, who will publicly decide whether or not mp5 will get another crack at this so called meaningful vote, in other words, be able to say yes or no to the borisjohnson proposed brexit deal. What we do know is that government has said that if the speaker says yes, and we dont think he will, but if he was to say yes and any amendments were tabled in the way they were on saturday, then the way they were on saturday, then the government would immediately pull the idea of the vote so it wouldnt happen. We dont expect the speaker to say yes, so what will then happen is we will be waiting for the documents that are going to be published for what is known that Withdrawal Agreement bill, the legislation needed to make brexit happen and when they are published mp5 will be able to scrutinise them and tomorrow be able to debate them in what will technically be known as the second reading of the Withdrawal Agreement bill and it may be, and i know this is where we get into the ludicrous technicalities of parliament, it may be that the so called meaningful vote is bound in within that process so mp5 will be able to either accept or reject the borisjohnson be able to either accept or reject the Boris Johnson plan be able to either accept or reject the borisjohnson plan before we get to the stage where lots of mp5 from all sides will start trying to amend it, to tweak it, to change it, to kill it, to scrutinise it. No 10 says it is determined to get it through today somehow. Yes. In order for them to do that, the speaker is going to happen to say yes to this idea of a meaningful vote. We expect that that wont happen because the argument we think he is likely to deploy is they have had a crack at it already on saturday. Yes, it was amended by sir Oliver Letwins amendment, the former conservative minister saying, hang on a minute you should send a letter to brussels first because we might need a delay if it is not sorted on time. If the avenue was not pursued today they will pursue it tomorrow instead and attach to that, fairly soon, will be the whole panoply of different options that different mp5 would like to see, ranging from not wanting brexit at all to wanting another referendum to wanting a closer relationship with the eu after brexit, for instance a Customs Union, than the one the government is currently articulating. Im getting a lot of stick on twitter after my conversation earlier on when i suggested outside the westminster bubble people might be bemused by what is going on. But there is confusion out there, i think. Im just there is confusion out there, i think. Imjust wondering there is confusion out there, i think. Im just wondering if mp5 inside the building are aware, if they are getting feedback from their constituents over what is going on. They are incredibly aware of that, regardless of their view on brexit. Those who dont like brexit who are seeking to amend the legislation coming down the track, who would love the whole thing to be scrapped, are conscious of how it is perceived by those just are conscious of how it is perceived by thosejust dipping are conscious of how it is perceived by those just dipping into the news now by those just dipping into the news now and again. And of course, one persons shenanigans if you like, mischiefmaking, is another persons scrutiny. But if you take a few steps back and ultimately, yes, lots of people are looking in on all of this and thinking, when are you going to sort it out . One persons definition of sorting it out is delivering it by any means by which on thursday and another persons might be scrapping the whole thing and never hearing the word brexit again. Collectively at westminster, there is a sense from mp5 that they area there is a sense from mp5 that they are a aware of their constituents, regardless of each of their view on brexit, that parliament has to make its mind up on something, whatever its mind up on something, whatever it is it can collectively agree, because up until now it has been very good at opposing stuff rather than actually being able to assemble a majority for anything. Chris, i will be back to you at 3 30pm and we will be back to you at 3 30pm and we will listen tojohn bercow will be back to you at 3 30pm and we will listen to john bercow when will be back to you at 3 30pm and we will listen tojohn bercow when he gets on his feet. Thanks for now. Lets get the thoughts from europe. Earlier i spoke to our correspondent adam fleming, who is in strasbourg. They are talking about brexit a lot this week because what they were meant to be talking about isnt happening, and thats the new European Commission which has been delayed. So brexit is a bigger deal hit than what was supposed to be the biggest deal here. The problem is, though there is no official ratification of the brexit deal on the uk side because there hasnt been a meaningful vote and the legislation hasnt proved, as you we re legislation hasnt proved, as you were just discussing, so the European Parliament in strasbourg is not going to fulfil its side of the bargain and approve the deal until all of those stages are approved in the uk, which is virtually impossible for meps to approve the deal during their sitting in strasbourg this week, which means the soonest they could do it would be ata the soonest they could do it would be at a special extraordinary when a session of the European Parliament next week, or what is more likely is that they approve it at their next session, which is the 13th and 14th of november in brussels, which would mean they would need an extension as well. Slightly strange sound problem there. Not come across that before but apologies for that, we understood what he said. Scotlands highest court has delayed a decision on whether the Prime Minister has fully complied with a law requiring him to ask for a brexit extension. Earlier i spoke to our scotland correspondent lorna gordon who is at the court of session in edinburgh where the hearing took place the decision of the court is delay, to use the legal term, the case has been continued. The focus is on the letter sent by the Prime Minister, by the government come on saturday evening. The key one asking the eu foran evening. The key one asking the eu for an extension to the brexit deadline, that is what the original focus of this case was on. It was a case focus of this case was on. It was a case that was brought by three campaigners, dale vince the businessman, jo maugham, qc, and joanna cherry, who is an mp and a qc as well, and they said they wanted to ensure that plans were in place if the Prime Minister tried to frustrate the benn act, didnt apply the law as required by the benn act to ask for that extension to the brexit deadline by saturday. The Prime Minister did ask for that extension but he also sent a letter alongside it, saying he still wanted brexit to happen by the 31st october. Lawyers for the government here today said they had no case to answer, that they had complied with the law, they wanted the hearing, the law, they wanted the hearing, the case dismissed, campaigners, however, said yes, the law has been complied with. However, that additional letter was, in the words of their qc aidan oneill, here, said it was sailing close to the win. Scotlands most seniorjudge lord ca rloway, win. Scotlands most seniorjudge lord carloway, who is one of the threejudges sitting lord carloway, who is one of the three judges sitting here, lord carloway, who is one of the threejudges sitting here, said it had been carefully written, this second letter, but in terms of what happens now, they said, yes, the law has been complied with in the past, the campaigners said, but they want to ensure the law is complied with looking forward. The judges took a very short time to make very clear their decision. Lord carloway said their decision. Lord carloway said the case should continue until obligations under the law have been complied with in full. In effect what that means is if an extension was granted by the eu then under the law the Prime Minister must extend. We have no date for a further hearing and we have two options on the table, of course, the house of commons, the Parliament May of course, though this deal through, in which case all of this is null and void. But if it is considered that the Prime Minister has broken the law when it comes to any extension offered, then it is possible that the courts may decide to hold the Prime Minister in contempt of court. It is possible they accept that extension. Or it is possible that they may write a letter on the governments behalf accepting that extension. Those are the options open to thejudges extension. Those are the options open to the judges Going Forward. Of course, all of that may become redundant if parliament accepts the deal in the meantime. Lorna gordon in edinburgh who hasnt got hiccups, we have a slight technical problem with some of our replay. But we will sort that out when we come back to you with another report. Just to let you know what is happening in the house of commons, the erg speaker is speaking. Before we expected here from john bercow, there is a debate, he will rule on whether Boris Johnsons there is a debate, he will rule on whether borisjohnsons brexit deal can be voted on this afternoon. The mood music is very much that he will decide against on the rules. We will ta ke decide against on the rules. We will take you to the house of commons for that decision. We will go overjust after 3 30pm to make sure that we do not miss it. Youre watching afternoon live from the bbc news. The bbc understands that Prince William is concerned about his brother, and hopes the duke and duchess of sussex are in his words all right. In an itv documentary, prince harry and meghan spoke frankly about the effects of media intrusion on their lives. Harry admitted he and his brother are on different paths amid reports of a rift, and meghan said herfriends warned her not to marry the prince, because the newspapers would as she put it destroy her life. Jon donnison reports. Filmed during their recent trip to africa, this documentary reveals that, despite appearances, the royal couple are at times struggling. Harry says he sees his mother diana in every camera and flash bulb. Every single time i see a camera, every single time i hear a click, every single time i see a flash, it takes me straight back. So in that respect, its the worst reminder of her life as opposed to the best. Meghan says shes been shocked by the level of press intrusion, even though herfriends had warned her before she got married. My british friend said to me, im sure hes great, but you shouldnt do it, because the british tabloids will destroy your life. And i very naively im american, we dont have that there what are you talking about . Prince harry talks about the relationship with his brother. Inevitably, you know, stuff happens, but, look, were brothers well always be brothers. We are certainly on different paths at the moment but i will always be there for him as i know he will be there for me. Prince harry acknowledges he sometimes needs support, saying he still struggles with Mental Health issues. I thought i was out of the woods, and then suddenly it all came back and i suddenly realised, actually, no, this is something that i have to manage. Erm. Look, part of this job, part of anyjob, like everybody, means putting on a brave face. The turnaround from a sunny wedding day a year and a half ago is very sharp. Jon donnison, bbc news. Youre watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. Borisjohnson will try to get mp5 to vote on his Brexit Agreement but he could be blocked by the commons speaker. Thats by the commons speaker. At 3 30pm. A source in the Royal Household tells the bbc that Prince William is concerned for his brother after the duke and duchess of sussex open up about the pressures of the past year. The first meeting of stormont for three years breaks up as Assembly Members walk out. It means both abortion and same sex marriage look likely to become legal in Northern Ireland at midnight. In the sport, with the world cup semifinals just days away, there is an injury blow for wales. There are forward josh navidi has torn a hamstring and will miss the rest of the tournament. But england expect to be at full strength to take on the all blacks. Jonny may and jack nowell should be fit and ready by saturday, and after his incredible injury comeback, andy murray will represent Great Britain for the first time in three years at next months new look davis cup finals in madrid. Thats the sport. A special sitting of the Stormont Assembly in belfast to consider changes to abortion laws has broken up. The legislation passed at westminster because of the collapse of power sharing will come into force at midnight. The session was closed because a new speaker could not be appointed. Our ireland correspondent chris page told us more, a short while ago. This told us more, a short while ago. Is the first time ti has this is the first time the assembly has sat in two and a half years and the setting is over. It was a short session triggered by a petition signed by unionist politicians, move the members of the dup and several politicians from other unionist parties who are opposed to the changes in the law, particularly on abortion. Westminster isnt the only place this afternoon where good Old Fashioned place this afternoon where good old fa5hioned parliamentary procedure has been key. Those Assembly Members wanted the assembly to debate the abortion law, they wa nted to debate the abortion law, they wanted to debate at the very least emotion which said that stormont was the appropriate place to be making decisions on Northern Irelands abortion regime and not westminster. There is even a plan for a piece of legislation known as a private members bill to be put through the assembly which would have blocked the westminster legislation from taking effect, so the Northern Irelands abortion regime which is more strict than the rest of the uk would have stayed in place after all. But the speaker robin newton said before any new Assembly Business could be considered, a new speaker would have to be elected. Sinn fein, the biggest irish nationalist party, boycotted the proceedings, as did the Cross Community Alliance Party, so in the end no nationalist Assembly Members we re end no nationalist Assembly Members were in the chamber to take part in the election of a speaker, the nationalist sdlp where there briefly but then walked out. With no nationalists taking part in the speaker election a speaker could not be elected so business couldnt go ahead. So what the assembly means is the devolved government doesnt come back, there will be no changes in the plans to liberalise abortion laws and legalise same sex marriage tonight but for those involved who have been here at stormont this morning they say it was a valuable message to send out. Dup leader Arlene Foster spoke out during the debate and set as far as she was concerned it was a shameful day because it meant Northern Ireland would have one of the most liberal abortion laws in europe and she says the matter isnt over as far as her party is concerned. At the moment, what happens at midnight . At midnight, abortion law is changed, it is decriminalised, so the sections of the law which make having an abortion a criminal offence in Northern Ireland will be repealed. Then there will be a duty on the government in london to put in place Abortion Services. At the moment, abortion is only legal in Northern Ireland in cases where there is a serious and permanent risk to a Womans Health amounting toa risk to a Womans Health amounting to a near ban. The new legislation says the condition of the serious permanent risk will be removed so abortions will be available to women whose health is at risk and it will also be available in cases where there is severe foetal impairment and in cases where pregnancy has resulted as the result of sexual crime. It is down to the government to decide exacting how that plays out and what regulations they put in place to provide Abortion Services in medical settings here. They have until the end of march next year to come up with that. Also, same sex marriage will be legalised. In practice what that means is come february next year, same sex couples will be able to marry here. Remember it is five years since gay marriage was legalised in the rest of the uk. So again, big social shift from Northern Ireland in two touch tone issues. Chris page at stormont. Wikileaks founderjulian assange appeared in court this morning as he continues to fight his extradition to the united states. He was jailed for 50 weeks in may, after he jumped bail by going into hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy in london for seven years. Our correspondent Richard Galpin gave us the latest from westminster magistrates court. I think what was most interesting to see wasjulian assange himself in the dock, in the sense that he was looking quite smartly dressed, clean shaven but he seemed to be really quite frail. For example, the districtjudge asked him to give his name and his date of birth and he really struggled to get his words out and appeared not to remember, certainly for a few seconds or so, couldnt remember when he was born. He also went on to say he didnt understand what was going on in the court. So, i think it was a difficult day for him. His appearance seemingly that he is really quite frail. He also went on to complain about conditions in belmarsh prison where he is being held in a medical ward. He clearly does have some Health Issues and there he was saying that he cant think properly, he cant access any of his writing, and we certainly know that hes not been allowed access to a computer. And as for the hearing itself and the process, we understand that despite his defence lawyer arguing that they should be given more time because of what they say is new evidence, allegations that the us had been spying on mr assange and his lawyers when he was in the Ecuadorian Embassy, they are asking for more time but that doesnt seem like that will happen, so the final hearing scheduled for february 24th looks like it will go ahead then. Richard galpin at westminster magistrates court. Pacer trains otherwise known as rail buses they were introduced in the 19805 as a stop gap solution to a lack of rolling stock. But decades later, theyre still being used and Northern Rail says they will continue to be in service for some years yet. Thats prompted calls for passengers who have to use them to get compensation. Danny savage reports. The train leaving platform 12 is from somewhere around 1985. Theyre called pacers they have folding doors like a bus, and arguably they look like a bus on rails. The ride is somewhat lively, and the noise on board can be distracting. Lots of passengers think they are terrible, and highlight a north south divide in transport standards. They are an absolute nightmare. Absolutely freezing during the winter. Ive had one where the windows have been frosted up on the inside, and travelling from doncaster to sheffield, absolutely perishing. I travel from doncaster to kent every week and the trains down there are far superior to the trains up here. Until they get new trains, then i dont see why were paying full fare for shoddy carriages and stuff, and having to stand as well. Shaky, rattly, old buses with train wheels that should never have really been trains. And the idea of people getting compensation, lowerfares, what you think of that . I think its not a very good way of travelling so, yeah, i think people should pay less. Pacers should all be gone by the end of the year, but their retirement has been postponed due to a delay with new rolling stock. So can you sit down and charge your smartphone on one . No phone sockets, nothing. Effectively, you are talking about an old fa5hioned bus carriage on wheels. So political leaders in the north say Northern Rail should reduce the fares for anyone still on one of them next year. We believe this is grounds for us to go to the operators, for them to tell us what package of mitigation they will make for the travelling public. The passengers there have had to put up with so much in the last few months, and this is just another example of how they are being let down. Northern rail is replacing pacers. This train is one of 100 joining the network, but they are not being rolled out quickly enough. So the choice is either stick with these, or insist on their requirement and see dozens of services a day cancelled. Danny savage, bbc news, leeds. Tens of thousands of homes are without power in dallas in texas after a tornado swept through the north of the city. Video footage on social media showed the moment the tornado struck with the sky lit up by a thunderstorm. Power lines and trees were brought down leaving roads littered with debris while flights were cancelled and delayed at regional airports. Coming up we will have another statement from the speaker of the house of commons. John bercow will announce house of commons. John bercow will announce whether he will allow mp5 to vote on the principle of the governments brexit deal today as the government would like. The commons is sitting right now and we expect him to speak sometime after 3 30pm. Chris mason will guide us through that process when we join him injusta through that process when we join him injust a moment. Through that process when we join him injusta moment. But through that process when we join him injust a moment. But before that, lets look at the weather. The forecast from matt taylor now. Blue sky behind you but not behind me. I know but you have some unusual tornado sound effects down there. Im impressed. Blue skies across some parts of the uk, its blue skies across some parts of the uk, its not down there with you at the moment and it will remain grey and gloomy but we have at last seen High Pressure building keeping things largely dry but you will notice the main substantial area of High Pressure away to the south west and we have onlyjust got a Little Finger of it pushing and which is under attack from low pressure to the north and south east. While many parts of the uk today are dry with sunshine, lovely scene in kendal in the last half hour, for others, particularly across the low pressure in the south east, it is rain on the window yet again and it continues through this afternoon. East anglia and the south east remain a bit damp, the rain turning light at a patchy. Pick a cloud from parts of yorkshire down into the midlands, producing the odd shower but away from that it is a dry start to the evening rush hour, some sunny spells, not especially warm, 9 13d. This evening and overnight, we will see this evening and overnight, we will see the south east corner gradually become cloudier. Sorry, become dry and the cloud will break up. Elsewhere, partly clear skies leading to mist and fog patches but with the breeze picking up a drain on the far north of scotland, a much warmer on the far north of scotland, a much warmer night than last night. Temperatures in mid single figures elsewhere, cool start on Tuesday Morning and as ive hinted at come across morning and as ive hinted at come across england and wales with damp ground and clear skies we will see dense patches of fog forming. You may have your morning commute slowed by the presence of the fog but it should clear by the end of the morning and then a good deal in the way of brighter weather across the south compared to today, particularly in east anglia and the south east, some sunny spells elsewhere but loudest in the north west of scotland and Northern Ireland and the rain limited to the far north of scotland. South westerly winds meaning 1315dc. South westerly winds meaning 13 15dc. Those winds move in on thursday morning as the area of low pressure m oves thursday morning as the area of low pressure moves in thursday morning as the area of low pressure moves in bringing rain to scotla nd pressure moves in bringing rain to scotland and Northern Ireland, which will turn persistent later in the day as the breeze picks up. Away from that, some sunny spells and more cloud in east anglia and the south east, and again we could see the return of some drizzle. Like tuesday, temperatures 12 15d. All eyes on the chart for wednesday night into thursday, particularly for parts of western scotland. The rain initially from the weather front but then as the low pressure 5ta rts front but then as the low pressure starts to push its way in during the day on thursday the wind will pick up, widespread gales and later we could see winds around the hebrides, Western Highlands getting up to over 70 mph, impacting travel plans in the area. Further south of that, it is going to be a breezy day but sunshine, one or two showers and staying clouded towards east anglia and the south east. Youre up to date with the latest weather on afternoon life. This is bbc news. Our latest headlines. The speaker of the commons, john bercow, is to decide shortly whether the Prime Minister can put his brexit deal for another vote. Ministers say he should allow it to get brexit sorted. The speaker has said previously that he will allow the house to find a way to express its voice. I think there is a clear desire from the country, from businesses, from our European Partners that they want to see that happen and people would find it odd if it didnt. A source in britains Royal Household tells the bbc that Prince William is concerned for his brother, after the duke and duchess of sussex open up about the pressures of the past year. My british friends said to me, im sure hes great, but you shouldnt do it because the british tabloids will destroy your life, and very naively. Im american, we dont have that there. The first meeting of stormont for three years breaks up as Assembly Members walk out. It means both abortion and same sex marriage look set to become legal in Northern Ireland at midnight. We are keeping an eye on whats going on in the house of commons, and we will take you there when anything happens. Sport now on afternoon live with Lizzie Greenwood hughes. And some bad news for wales ahead of the world cup semifinals at the weekend. Yes, theyve lost their forward josh navidi for notjust sundays game against south africa. If they make it through, hell miss the final. The back rower, whos mostly been deployed as a number eight injapan, has torn his hamstring. He limped off in the first half of their quarterfinal win over france. Centrejonathan davies though, who missed that game with a knee problem, should be fit for the south africa semi. Its its very disappointing for him. Hes been very influential, very important for us. So its disappointing for us to have a player ruled out, but, in saying that, these games are so physical and to have only lost one player at this stage is a real positive for us. England, on the other hand, should have a fully fit squad to choose from for their semifinal against the reigning champions new zealand on saturday. They had been worried aboutjonny may, who scored two tries in their quarterfinal win over australia. He had a twinge in a hamstring but he is expected to be fine for the match. Jack nowell is also back in contention. Now back to westminster. The leader of the house rose on a point of order to announce the governments intention to bring forward a motion today under section 31 b of the European Union withdrawal act 2018. Unfortunately, the point of order did not prove to be a prelude to an emergency business statement on which colleagues could question, probe and scrutinise the leader. Rather, for approximately an hour, 30 points of order were raised by no fewer than 24 colleagues with me, expressing disquiet and consternation that the government intended to require the house to consider again on monday the same matter which it had decided 48 hours earlier on the immediately preceding sitting day. It was my privilege to listen and respond to the views of colleagues. I then undertook to reflect further on what members had said and to give a ruling this afternoon, which i shall now do. There are two issues, one of substance and the other of circumstances, to consider. I shall address each in turn. First, i have tojudge whether the motion address each in turn. First, i have to judge whether the motion tabled under section 13 one b of the 2018 act for debate today is the same in substance as that which was decided on saturday. Page 397 of the erskine may is clear that such a motion may not be brought forward again during that same session. It is equally clear that adjudication of cases is a matter for the chair. I invoked erskine may and ruled on this issue as recently as march the 18th this year. Saturdays motion sought approval for the Withdrawal Agreement, the political declaration on the future relationship to the eu and the uk and the declaration concerning the operation of the democratic consent in Northern Ireland provision. Todays motion seeks approval for the Withdrawal Agreement, the political declaration on the future relationship between the eu and the uk and the declaration concerning the operation of the democratic consent in Northern Ireland provision. It is clear that the motions are, in substance, the same. However, this matter was decided fewer than 49 hours ago. After more than three hours ago. After more than three hours of debate, the house voted by 322 to 306 forcer Oliver Letwins amendment, which stated that, and i quote, this house has considered the matter but withholds approval unless and until implementing legislation is passed, and quote. The second matter for me to consider was whether there had been any change of circumstances which would justify asking the house to reconsider on monday what it had decided on saturday. 0n the face of it, unless an event or development external to the house had interceded, it is hard to see a significant change of circumstances that would warrant a reconsideration on the next sitting day. In this case, a reconsideration preannounced by the leader of the house just under 21 minutes after the result of the division was announced. However, the government might argue, though to date it hasnt put forward any argument or explanation at all, that the change of circumstances is the Prime Ministers application on saturday night for an extension of article 50. This is not persuasive. The application is. Laughter this is not persuasive. The application is part of a process, rather than a significant event in itself. In summary, todays motion is. I itself. In summary, todays motion is. Lam itself. In summary, todays motion is. I am extraordinarily grateful to the honourable gentleman. If he would bear stoically with fortitude, i shall complete my statement. In summary, i shall complete my statement. In summary, todays motion is in substance the same as saturdays motion and the house has decided the matter. Todays circumstances are, in substance, the same as saturdays circumstances stop my ruling is therefore that the motion will not be debated today, as it would be repetitive and disorderly to do so. For the benefit of colleagues not closely familiar with the so called same question convention, which is very strong and dates back to 1604, i will summarise the rationale for it in i will summarise the rationale for itina i will summarise the rationale for it in a sentence. It is a necessary rule to ensure the sensible use of the houses time and proper respect for the decisions that it takes. If it is not legitimate for the motion to be taken today, what is it legitimate for the government to do . The answer is that, as the Prime Minister himself signalled in his point of order on saturday at column 653, and in his letter to members that evening, the government can introduce its eu withdrawal and implementation bill. Indeed, it has done just that, presenting the bill for its First Reading today. I have no doubt that the leader will offer further details of the intended timetable for the bill when he makes a business statement later today. Meanwhile, i hope that this ruling and explanation are helpful to the house. Order. Point of order, sir. Yes, mr peter bone. I entirely follow the logic of your argument, mr speaker, but what did you give to the point that, when we were debating on saturday, nobody knew whether the Prime Minister was going to send a letter or not . And, since that has happened, whilst you are quite correct, sir, to say that the motion is the same, an event outside has dramatically changed it, and, given that the motion on saturday is very clear that final approval cant be done until the deal has gone through in legislation, would it not be, as youve always said, to let the house decide on this matter, notwithstanding the fact that the Previous Mission is clear what actually is going to happen. It would give the country the opportunity to know whether this house approves or disapproves of the Prime Ministers deal. House approves or disapproves of the Prime Ministers deal. |j house approves or disapproves of the Prime Ministers deal. I am grateful to the honourable gentleman for his point of order. My response is as follows. I did not consider in reaching a judgment on this matter whether a letter would be sent. The letter was sent on saturday evening. More widely, however, the question of whether it would be a material consideration for the chair, whether a ministerof consideration for the chair, whether a minister of the crown would obey the law, the honest answer to the honourable gentleman is that that consideration had not entered my mind as pertinent to my reflection on the matter. I note the wider point that the honourable gentleman makes, and point that the honourable gentleman makes, and i respect the fact that it isa makes, and i respect the fact that it is a point of view, and i intend no discourtesy to the honourable gentleman when i say that i think i have made the argument for and explained the rationale behind the judgment that i have made. I am explained the rationale behind the judgment that i have made. Lam not seeking to rubbish the honourable gentleman. I seeking to rubbish the honourable gentleman. Lam seeking to rubbish the honourable gentleman. I am simply. Seeking to rubbish the honourable gentleman. Lam simply. Know, i seeking to rubbish the honourable gentleman. Lam simply. Know, lam not seeking to rubbish the honourable gentleman. I am simply making the point that, having reflected on all the interest and considerations of the house, ive reached the i have reached, and it is important that colleagues hear all parts of it, and the honourable gentleman didnt like part of it, as he has politely explained in his point of order, but he will also have heard me say what is open to the government to do, and the government can introduce its bill, and the government can propose a Programme Motion for it, and the government can proceed with the support of the house between now and the end of the month, as collectively parliament prescribes. And that seems to me to be entirely proper. I will come to other colleagues. Particularly the illustrious chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee for the point of order, kevin brennan. On saturday afternoon, i was the honourable member who raise the issue that the leader of the house shouldnt be making an emergency business statement at that time, rather relying on the device of a point of order to try and change the business today. I described it at the time as low rentjiggery pokery. Today. I described it at the time as low rent jiggery pokery. Isnt today. I described it at the time as low rentjiggery pokery. Isnt it time, mr speaker, that the government, instead of playing games with the business of this house, actually subscribed to the usual practices, informed the opposition of their intentions and, indeed, informed the speak of this house of their intentions in advance so we could all get on with the important business we have to conduct . |j could all get on with the important business we have to conduct . I am grateful to the honourable gentleman. Look, lets focus on the arguments and the issues. As a very long serving member of this house once said, sadly no longer with us, its about politics, not personalities. I dont want to get into the personalities of it. I know that the lead of house disapproves ofjiggery pokery, because that the lead of house disapproves of jiggery pokery, because ive heard him say so in the past, if memory serves me correctly, on march the 26th to 16, he made that very point, deprecating the use of jiggery pokery. I point, deprecating the use of jiggery pokery. I dont point, deprecating the use of jiggerypokery. I dont want point, deprecating the use of jiggery pokery. I dont want to get into that. What i want to say is this, there are president s president s for changes in business being based on points of order, but it isnt the norm, and i dont want to prescribe any improper motive to the leader of the house. His courtesy to me over the years has been and remains unfailing, and i hope i have reciprocated it. He made the judgment he made. There was very little notice that he was going to say what he said, but perhaps that was a product of the circumstances. The honourable gentleman might think the circumstances could have been anticipated and some advance notice might have been helpful, but we were where we were, and i dont complain about having to respond to points of order. The leader didnt stay for all of them, he stayed for some, but i feel certain that he will since have familiarised himself with all of them. We will hear from the leader of the house later and im sure we look forward to that. But order, sir william gash. |j sure we look forward to that. But order, sir william gash. I am most grateful. On the point of order i made a couple of days ago, i made the point that the law of the land is that set out in section one of the withdrawal at 2018, and that quite unequivocally states that the european communities act is repealed on exit day, which is the 31st of october. The benn act has not done anything yet other than in respect of the letter to change the repeal of the letter to change the repeal of the letter to change the repeal of the 1972 act. Therefore i would simply argue, and output it to you, that the question of whether or not is mentioned in your statement that there are issues relating to whether or not law is being obeyed is not an issue this stage in the proceedings. For that reason, i simply say to you, if i may, would it be possible for you to reconsider your decision, because i am afraid that the reality is that the law of the land remains, asi is that the law of the land remains, as i have said, last friday. |j is that the law of the land remains, as i have said, last friday. I am grateful to the honourable gentleman. His experience in these matters and his prowess as a lawyer i readily acknowledge. I hope he wont take it amiss, but if he does it isa wont take it amiss, but if he does it is a regrettable inevitability, when i say that the honourable gentleman has put on the record his understanding of the legal position, and he has said it with crystal clarity this afternoon, as on previous occasions. Other people have a different view about the legal position and the significance of the so called ben act. If memory serves me correctly, i did not dwell in my statement on adherence to the law. I touched on that matter only in response to the point of order from the honourable gentlemen, the memberfor from the honourable gentlemen, the member for wellingborough. I totally understand what the honourable gentleman thinks and why. Moreover, i made clear in the statement the option open to the government, and i reiterated it in response to the honourable member for wellingborough. The amendment, i remind notjust wellingborough. The amendment, i remind not just members wellingborough. The amendment, i remind notjust members but those attending our proceedings, in the name of sir oliver let when oliver letwin, explicitly specified that the legislation should come first. Suddenly to have at the next sitting day a debate on the same matter upon which an explicit conclusion was reached on saturday would seem very unusual, and i have made the judgment i have made. Colleagues, i am stating the obvious but, when you make a judgment on these matters, manifestly some people, if it is controversial, are pleased and other people are displeased. That is in the nature of the responsibility. I have simply sought to discharge my obligations and to do what i believe to be right, and that is what the speaker has to do. Yes, point of order, angela eagle. Thank you, mr speaker. My angela eagle. Thank you, mr speaker. My point of order is about the nature of this power in the chair to prevent parliament being asked to vote again and again and again on the same thing. Surely this is to prevent an over powerful executive attempting to demand. Attempting to. I attempting to demand. Attempting to. I cant quite reach the honourable gentlemans lips, but i think he is saying, if only. But the honourable lady must be heard. Angela eagle. Its an attempt to prevent an executive from browbeating parliament and making certain that it votes again and again and again on the same thing until it gets it right. Surely, this is big, this is an important defence of freedom in our democracy. Surely, mr speaker. Does he agree with me that, when we have a government which is attempting to browbeat parliament set up a parliament versus the people. That this is even more important . The short answer to the honourable lady is yes. I sought colleagues to frame my statement in factual terms, and it was, whether people agree with it or not, closely argued. And i did not go in for adjectival excess on this occasion. It is, however, part of the thinking of the chair that the house should not be continually bombarded with a requirement to consider the same matter over and over and over consider the same matter over and overand overagain. Consider the same matter over and over and over again. And there are people who are concerned about such a prospect, the possibility of being brow beaten, harassed or intimidated. In the context of the much the 18th statement i made to the house, iwas much the 18th statement i made to the house, i was very aware of commentary in the Public Square along the lines of, well, we will bring it back 26 times if necessary until we get the outcome, and that was a factor in myjudgment that a ruling from the chair needed to be given. Absence of speaker intervention on this matter, the same question Convention Since 1920 or thereabouts, is attributable, colleagues, not to the discontinuation of the convention but rather to general compliance with it, and it is for the protection of the house, and we also dont want contradictory and conflicting judgments to be reached in very short order, and what would be shorter order than the next sitting day after the lastjudgment was made . It may not appeal to everybody, but that is the rationale for the perfectly reachable judgment i have made. Order, sir bernard jenkins. I rather imagine that, if you didnt enjoy being bombarded, you didnt enjoy being bombarded, you wouldnt enjoy it so much sitting in that chair, and i note dilemmas you face mean that, on occasion, you will sometimes have to pleased some and not others, but it is becoming remarkable how often you please one lot and not the other lot. I would also. Noise in the house. I would also remark, mr speaker, that you have invade against most unusual things happening in this house which you did not like, and i would say it is most unusual for a speaker so often to prevent the government having debated which the government having debated which the government wish to put before the house, and it has also been one of your mantras, mr speaker, that the house should be permitted to express its view, even when it comes to changing the meaning of standing orders, and yet you have denied the opportunity of the house to express its view on this matter, because this motion, this motion was never voted on on saturday. Shouts out from the house. No, no. Iwant honourable gentleman to be heard, as he must be, fully and without fear or favour, and i know he will allow me the courtesy an uninterrupted response. Sir bernard jenkin. Because this motion was never voted upon, it ceased to exist as soon as it was amended, and i am, i confess, mr speaker, surprised that the reason mr speaker, surprised that the reason for my right honourable friends amendment, the memberfor south dorset, being tabled failed to enter your head, because the reason was there was an anxiety that the law was not going to be complied with and the letter would not be sent, so the circumstances have changed in that respect. And can i just alert that you and the house, mr speaker, to the fact that my committee will be holding a hearing on the role of the speaker . It has to be said, somewhat in the light of the experience of recent months. First of all, let me say i am grateful to the honourable gentleman for his multifaceted point of order, and it was multifaceted. There were several features to it, and thats important. Secondly, i say to the honourable gentleman that i hear what he says that his committee conducting an enquiry into the role of the speaker, and that is absolutely proper, and i think he said something from a secondary position about tomorrow and evidence being taken at witness is being heard, and that is absolutely right. I dont know what he expects me to deduce from that. I dream of seeking to comment adversely, still less to trespass, which it would be improper to seek to do, upon the legitimate autonomy of any select committee on this house, and it is quite proper for his committee to do that. Im entirely untroubled by it and it is a reflection of his conscientiousness that she should undertake such an enquiry. Early, what i would say to the honourable gentleman, and there are people in this chamber who know very well the truth of what i say, with respect to how unfortunate that one side seems to be disadvantaged byjudgments from the chair, let me say to the honourable gentleman, i havent got come off the top of my head, a count of the numberof come off the top of my head, a count of the number of times that i have granted in the past urgent questions and, in some cases, although they we re and, in some cases, although they were less fashionable at the time, emergency debates to people of what was then called a eurosceptic disposition and would now be called a brexiteer disposition, and the honourable gentleman was one of them. And, when i was granting the honourable gentleman and some of his honourable gentleman and some of his honourable and right honourable friends the opportunity to challenge, the question, to probe, to scrutinises, in some cases to expose what they thought were the errors of omission or commission of the government of the day, i dont re call the government of the day, i dont recall the honourable gentleman complaining that i was giving him too many opportunities to make his point, and it wasnt a fair use of the houses time, and it was very unfairon his the houses time, and it was very unfair on his party and it was a violation of the rights of his government. It may be that he was making that point under his breath, but if so i didnt hear it. I remind the honourable gentleman additionally and i think, fourthly, andi additionally and i think, fourthly, and i will make the point because it is an important point, that his honourable friend, the honourable memberfor honourable friend, the honourable member for basildon and billericay, tabled an amendment to the queen speech in 2013 on the case for a referendum on uk membership of the European Union, a most unusual although perfectly proper thing for although perfectly proper thing for a government backbencher to do, and i selected that amendment, and i did so i selected that amendment, and i did so because i thought that it was well supported and there was a compelling case for it to be considered. So what i am saying to the honourable gentleman is that, when he was getting the decisions in his favour, he wasnt grumbling. He is grumbling now because he doesnt like the judgment, but the judgment i have made is an honourable and fairone andi i have made is an honourable and fair one and i am afraid, if the honourable gentleman doesnt like it, there is not much i can do about that. I am trying to do the right thing for the house as a whole, and my last point, yes, my last point to the honourable gentleman is this, it is very important not just for members, and particularly for members, and particularly for members of the house but also for those observing, nothing in what i have said in any way impinges upon the opportunity for the government to secure approval of its deal and the passage of the appropriate legislation by the end of the month. If the government have got the numbers, the government can have their way, and it isnt for the speaker to interfere. The judgment i have made is about the importance of upholding a very long standing and overwhelmingly observed convention of this house. That is what i have done and i make absolutely no apology for it whatsoever. Point of order, caroline flint. Thank you, mr speaker. I am seeking clarification on the implications of the benn act to proceedings over the next week or so. To proceedings over the next week or so. Ican to proceedings over the next week or so. I can put it in writing if that is helpful, and im sorry for not having done so already. The benn act, as the speaker knows, was amended by the amendment put forward by my honourable friend, the member for aberavon, and if you recall in the debate, mr speaker, my honourable friend, the medalfor birkenhead, asked the memberfor Leeds Central why there was no purpose to his bill, to which the latter member of parliament said, we dont want a purpose on this bill, and the implication was to keep it open ended. Clearly, the amendment that was passed by this house included the amendment by my honourable friend the member for aberavon, which stated very clearly that there could be no extension beyond the 31st of october unless it was to secure a deal, so could i have may some clarification from the speaker, or may be in writing tomorrow that, when commitments come forward over the next few days or weeks, only amendments that are pertinent to securing the deal in relation to the essence of that deal, rather than revoking article 54a deal, rather than revoking article 54 a second referendum, will be the ones 54 a second referendum, will be the ones that are taken rather than revoking article 50 or a second referendum, will be the ones that are taken. It isnt for the chair to interpret the act. That doesnt fault a major you are watching afternoon live, and we are continuing our coverage of the house of commons, where the speaker, john bercow, and refused a government request to hold a yes or no vote on its brexit deal. He said emotion had already been brought before mp5 on saturday and he said it would be repetitive and disorderly to debate it again, and we are now watching the point of order and reaction to that decision. We will stay with this and bring you more news later. Wouldnt it be better to save consideration of these matters until the business statement so we can hear from the the business statement so we can hearfrom the leader of the business statement so we can hear from the leader of the house of commons . Speaker that is perfectly possible and for that to be the case a self denying ordinance is required on the part of people who otherwise risk do not wish to raise points of order with me but i know what the honourable gentleman is saying and colleagues will either by dell might be guided by him or not. Point of order, sarah wollaston. Mr speaker, can order, sarah wollaston. Mr speaker, can i make a suggestion that you send a photocopy of erskine may to members of the government . But on a more serious point. Well, it is true. The government keeps on insisting that members of this house should have the opportunity to change their mind. Isnt it time the extent of the same courtesy to the british people . Speaker i know what the honourable lady has said. The second point is a political one to which i will not respond. In relation to erskine may, it is available free online. In relation to the same question convention, i simply make the point that when i pronounced on the same question convention on the 18th of march, one of the early responses came from an honourable member who said, may i say how delighted i am that you have decided to follow precedent, which is something im greatly in favour of. And he is something im greatly in favour of. And he went on to make other supporting points. The person who responded in that way was none other than the right honourable gentleman, the member for north east somerset, the member for north east somerset, the leader of the house. So, the leader of the house was very much with me at that time on the same question convention. I take the same view seven months later. It is for him to explain whether he does. Point of order, sir desmond swayne. However unfashionable it might be, mr speaker, i believe youre quite right, and by the same token it is quite wrong to expect the voters to have to answer the same question a second time. Speaker i have known the right honourable member for new forest west for 22 years. I like him so forest west for 22 years. I like him so much that i dont want to ruin a burgeoning political career, as he is probably only a quarter of the way through his, but one of the great merits of the right honourable gentleman, the member for great merits of the right honourable gentleman, the memberfor new great merits of the right honourable gentleman, the member for new forest west, is that he is a model of consistency, principal and fair mindedness. And brevity point of order, so robert syms. Thank you very much, mr speaker. The meaningful vote process was a process which parliament insisted that the government adhere to, and all the government are trying to do is to stick to a process set out by parliament. And clearly on saturday things were amended. Now we can have a clean vote because i think there isa a clean vote because i think there is a clear appetite among the country, if not this parliament. There are not exactly empty benches here, to try and get a view on what the Prime Ministers deal is about. The fact of the matter is i agree with sir desmond swayne. I think you ruling is probably right, except that we are prone, unlike most of erskine may, to the eu constitution and the eu constitution means that at the moment we leave at the end of this month which leaves a limited time so we will be treated to the spectacle of empty benches in this house as we go home at some point, and may be sitting late sitting at weekends in order to try and get government legislation on the statute book and im not sure the british people will understand that. Speaker i would say to the honourable gentleman, and i apologise to him if ive misunderstood any part of his point, but i am reacting on the hoof. Whether there were the debates today or not, the government requires the passage of the requisite legislation. Therefore, insofaras the right honourable gentleman is concerned about the time required for the legislation, Programme Motion for it, the sitting hours entailed by it, the inconvenience that might flow from it, those considerations would apply whether we had the debate today or not. The issue is, do we make a pragmatic judgment and allow for the breach of a long standing convention, or do we make a principled judgment . And i have made a principled judgment and there is every opportunity for the government, with the support of the house, not only to have its say but to get its way by the end of october, and i dont think i need to add anything to that. It is dependent on parliamentary opinion. I will come to the honourable lady. Point of order, mr crispin blunt. Thank you, mr speaker. I acknowledge we have known each other for over 30 yea rs we have known each other for over 30 years and in many ways are personal and political lives seem to have gone off in very Different Directions in the course of that time and directions in the course of that time and i acknowledge the remarks he made to me on another occasion outside this house last week. But i am one of the members who has formally recorded anxiety about your partiality in the chair and i think the right way to do that is to do it formally. But having done that, like my honourable friend for a new forest west and having noted the na rrow forest west and having noted the narrow terms in which you gave your ruling today, i think those terms are reasonable in you coming to your judgment. However, it is a sufficient change in circumstances, us knowing the response to the letter imposed by the government upon this house to request the extension then for you to reconsider the conclusions you came to today . As the right honourable gentleman will know, repetition is not a novel phenomenon in the house of commons, including when perpetrated by me. I have made the point often and forgive me, that i may tick again, that ive subscribed to the dictum of the late lord whitelaw in these matters, he famously used to say personally i think it is better to cross bridges only when i come to them. It is a hypothetical question. I would have to reflect on it and make a judgment i would have to reflect on it and make ajudgment in i would have to reflect on it and make a judgment in the circumstances of the time. I dont want to fall out with the honourable gentleman, andi out with the honourable gentleman, and i appreciate his courteous opening remarks. He wont be surprised to know that i absolutely defend his right to his opinion and i dont accept his characterisation of my speakership. Ive tried to do the right thing by parliament. Sometimes people like it when it goes their way and sometimes they dont when it doesnt. But that is my honest approach. If he disapproves of it, i am sorry about that, as i have known him a long time, but that, as i have known him a long time, but i will live with that, and i dont mean that in any discourteous or patronising way. I will live with that. It is one verdict and there will be others but ive made the judgment ive made and lets wait and see how events develop. Point of order, harriet baldwin. Thank you, mr speaker, it isa baldwin. Thank you, mr speaker, it is a genuine point of order. My understanding of erskine may is that the repeat question applies to a session of parliament. So the fact we have had a prorogation since the 29th of march might mean that the government, im not saying they would want to do this, they could bring back the same question as they asked the house on the 29th of march, and secondly, would they be able to ask a variant of the motion of the order paper today that included subsections one and three, for example . Im grateful to included subsections one and three, for example . Im gratefulto be honourable lady and it is a genuine point of order and my response to it is as follows. First, when i referred, and i dont mean this in politely, not to the 29th of march, but the 18th of march, i was not referring to a motion on that day, which was indeed in the last session, i was referring to the statement or the ruling i gave at the time on the same question convention. The ruling on the same question convention has notjust survive from one session to another, it has in fact survived for the last 415 years. So i dont think we need trouble ourselves unduly on that matter. Secondly, ivery specifically was making the point that the matter has been treated of as recently as saturday with a very clear decision reached by the house on the amendment to the motion, therefore it would not be appropriate to consider that matter today. Thirdly, when she enquires about whether a different formulation of words or section or subsection would render it open such a motion to a different judgment subsection would render it open such a motion to a differentjudgment on the same question convention, i hope she will understand when i say i cant possibly pronounce upon that until i know the circumstances. I would have to see the particulars and im grateful for the rather vigorous nodding of the head of the right honourable gentleman, the memberfor right honourable gentleman, the member for woking, who at least at that point seems to agree with me. Point of order, mr david tc. Thank you, mr speaker. Inciting your ruling now spoke of the importance of precedent and convention, yet earlier on this year when you allowed a motion that everyone thought was an amendable to be amended, you said, im not in the business of invoking precedent, nor ami business of invoking precedent, nor am i underany business of invoking precedent, nor am i under any obligation to do so, if we were guided only by precedent nothing would ever change. Can you understand in the light of your comments why some people perceive, perhaps incorrectly, that the only consistency one can find in your rulings is that they always seem to favour one side of the argument and never favour one side of the argument and never the government who are trying their best to carry out the mandate given to them by the british people in 2016 . I put to the honourable gentleman, andi in 2016 . I put to the honourable gentleman, and i mean this very sincerely for his point of order, and in particular in the best traditions of the honourable gentlemans parliamentary service, for his explicit direct challenge. I respect that. No whispering behind his hands or muttering into his soup, or anything like that. He his hands or muttering into his soup, oranything like that. He is challenging me directly. I dont agree with him. I think the consistent thread is that i tried to do what i think is right by the house of commons, including buyer, in many cases, minorities, whose voices need to be heard. What i said when i allowed the amendment in the name of the right honourable and learned gentleman, the member for beaconsfield, on, if memory serves me correctly, the 9th ofjanuary this year, was that the will of the house should be tested. It may well be that it had not been the norm for such motions to be amended but i felt the circumstances were different. Very specifically, i sensed that there was a very strong appetite for that amendment amongst several parties in the house and a resistance to it by very much smaller of parties. And i thought the will of the house should be tested. It is true that we are guided not only by precedent. But what i would say to the honourable gentleman is just because what i would say to the honourable gentleman isjust because we are not guided only by precedent doesnt mean that we are not guided at all by precedent. What one has to do is to make a balanced judgment about what best serves the interests of the house. And all i would say to the house. And all i would say to the honourable gentleman is as re ce ntly the honourable gentleman is as recently as saturday, at the insistence of the government, and i think with the support of the house, the house met on saturday to deliberate on this very matter. Simply to allow the matter to be reconsidered two days later and the very next sitting day seems to me to be entirely unreasonable, and nothing that i have said by way of conclusion today flies in the face of contrary expert advice that i have received. I have consulted, i have received. I have consulted, i have ta ken advice, have received. I have consulted, i have taken advice, i have listened to people expert in these matters, andi to people expert in these matters, and i have not been counselled that what i have said today is wrong. I have not been counselled that what i have not been counselled that what i have said today is wrong and i have a very strong have said today is wrong and i have a very strong sense have said today is wrong and i have a very strong sense that there is a pretty wide acceptance that on this matter my judgment, however inconvenient and irksome to some people has the advantage of being procedurally right. Point of order, mr robert halfon. Thank you, mr speaker. I respect yourjudgment and share your love of precedent but given what you have said and given that i have already been a number of votes in this house for a second referendum and voted against, will you apply the same precedent about having repetitive votes when you consider, your deliberations, if amendments are put forward for a second referendum . Amendments are put forward for a second referendum . Im gratefulto the honourable gentleman for what he said, the principle i have enunciated has a wide application, we are in a new session. The same question convention applies to consideration of the same matter in the same session. I very gently say to the right honourable gentleman, that we are in a new session, a point that is so blindingly obvious im sure it will not have escaped the right honourable gentleman who isa very the right honourable gentleman who is a very clever fellow for a moment. Point of order, doctor caroline johnson. Some of my constituents have written to me today concerned that the reason the vote has not been allowed is because the result would go in the governments favour. I have heard that you have given reason for it but on saturday the amendment was brought forward by right honourable memberfor west dorset brought forward by right honourable member for west dorset who has set himself that were the bill to be brought forward now that he would not amend it again and that he would support the governments legislation to come forward. So is there not a sign that actually something has changed since saturday . In answer to that, i dont recall every single word that the right honourable gentleman the member for west dorset has said, although i am familiar with the thrust of his argumentation on these matters. It is a matter of re cord on these matters. It is a matter of record that the right honourable member, the memberfor record that the right honourable member, the member for west dorset, has voted for the Withdrawal Agreement three times and it is a matter of record that he suspects to port for the governments latest deal with the European Union expressed support for the governments latest deal causing him to be in favour of the legislation and he can vote for the legislation and he can vote for the legislation andi and he can vote for the legislation and i expect on the basis of what he said that he will do so by the right honourable gentleman doesnt determine what the judgment is about the same question convention. You could if he were the speaker of the house. If the honourable lady is going to make a belated attempt to persuade the right honourable gentleman to abandon his retirement plans and seek election to the chair, she may have success with him or she may not, i dont know. He doesnt seem to be offering me any encouragement in that matter. But i have made the judgment i have made andi have made the judgment i have made and i think its the rightjudgment to make. Devolder. Her majesty the queen thought she had five weeks to write her queens speech and was given a few days and is waiting intently to know what the response of the house is on the queens speech. Instead the leader of the has put down a motion, which is basically a copycat of the motion of the motion on saturday in breach of erskine may, predictably you have ruled it out of order. Isnt this a discourtesy to her majesty and that the leadership should reconsider his position of his opening comments. Im grateful to be honourable gentleman but we should not get ahead of ourselves and im not accusing the leader of discourtesy. Im not doing so at all. In fact, ive celebrated his unfailing courtesy to me and i think he would acknowledge mine to him. We are going to hear from the leader of the house of lords with the business statement and if the honourable gentleman wants to question the leader of the is on that business statement to express his indignation, i very much doubt any force on earth will stop him doing so. Force on earth will stop him doing so. Order. If that exhausts the appetite and out of colleagues to raise points of order, and im very grateful to colleagues for what they have said and for the courtesy with which they expressed themselves, whether they agree with my ruling or not, we come now to the first of our urgent questions from urgent question, the leader of the oppositionjeremy question, the leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn. Thank you, mr speaker. Id like to ask an urgent question, namely to ask the Prime Minister to make a statement on the publication of the European Union Withdrawal Agreement bill and his letter of the 19th october the European Council seeking an extension to the period provided under article 50. The secretary of state for exiting the European Union, secretary stephen barclay. Mr speaker, notice of the Withdrawal Agreement bill was given to the house on saturday. The bill was handed to the house yesterday as agreed with the house authorities. It will be introduced for First Reading at the start of Main Business today. The publication of the Withdrawal Agreement bill is therefore now being delayed by the leader of the opposition because he has tabled an urgent question requesting the publication of the Withdrawal Agreement bill. Genius. The Withdrawal Agreement bill could not, mr speaker, be finalised until the European Council on thursday 17th october and then follows an historic meeting of this house on saturday 19th october. It has then been introduced on the following sitting day, and as you said just a moment ago mr speaker, in response toa moment ago mr speaker, in response to a point of order, what could be shorter than the next sitting day . The sooner this urgent question and the next urgent question are concluded, the sooner it will be available to members. In respect of the Prime Ministers letter to president tusk of the 19th of october, this was sent in compliance with section one of the benn act. The president of the European Council has accepted the request as valid and indicated he is considering it and consulting with member states. Jeremy corbyn. Thank you, mr speaker. I admire the secretary of state keeping a straight face while he gave that answer, and im very grateful to this urgent question being granted, mr speaker. The Prime Minister has not deigned to grace us with his presence today. But im reassured, mr speaker, that despite his pledge he is not to be found anywhere in a ditch. I would, he is not to be found anywhere in a ditch. Iwould, however, like to welcome the fact that the Prime Minister has sent a letter over the weekend to the eu president donald tusk to comply with the eu withdrawal number two act. Mr speaker, as we have come to expect with this Prime Minister, this has been done with posturing and attempt to distract. But despite having told the British Public over and over again he would never do it, the letter has in fact been sent. The request is not only legally necessa ry request is not only legally necessary and prevents us crashing out of the eu with no deal, but the extension allows this house the space to scrutinise the Prime Ministers brexit deal. I want to pay tribute to all those members who have worked hard to ensure a no deal brexit is ruled out, and i will continue to work across the house to ensure continue to work across the house to ensure that this continues to be the case. Ensure that this continues to be the case. Mr speaker, the European Commission has confirmed today that brussels is now considering the terms of an extension. Can the secretary of state tell the house when he expects any extension to be granted . And, can he categorically rule out the absolutely ridiculous reports yesterday that conservative mp5 are trying to amend the law to jail members of parliament alleged to have colluded with foreign powers . Does he, like me, fearfor the honourable member for shrewsbury and action who is telling everyone who will listen that he is trying to couude who will listen that he is trying to collude with the polish and hungarian governments to veto any possibility of article 50 extensions . Mr speaker, this type of nonsense extensions . Mr speaker, this type of nonsense is doing nobody any good at all. If the Prime Minister wants to get his deal through he should bring forward the Withdrawal Agreement bill for scrutiny. And will he also bring forward an Economic Impact assessment . Which has so far not seen assessment . Which has so far not seen the light of day. And will he allow this house ample time to scrutinise what this deal means to the communities that will represent . Ican the communities that will represent . I can tell the house what has been ditched and it is the honourable gentlemans manifesto, which he has ditched from the commitment he gave to respect the referendum result to one which is now characterised by dither and delay. He questions the letter from the Prime Minister. What the Prime Minister made clear is that we would abide by the law. And what lord pannick has confirmed, amongst many others, is that the Prime Minister has done so. So there is no question as to the commitment from the Prime Minister. But of course from the Prime Minister. But of course he disagrees with the action and it wont surprise any members either of this house, or of the European Council, as to what the position of the Prime Minister is and his commitment to leaving on the 315t and his commitment to leaving on the 31st of october. The honourable gentleman talks about collusion. We in this house, mr speaker, want to couude in this house, mr speaker, want to collude with the British Public to respect the referendum result and to get brexit done. And when he talks about delay, he should answer this question. If he wants a second referendum, we know the shadow brexit secretary wants a second referendum, but if he wants a second referendum, but if he wants a second referendum, how long is that going to take . How long will the primary legislation take . How long will the Electoral Commission requirements take . How long is he going to leave the house in purgatory . He gave a commitment that if we went past 31st of october there would be a general election and yet on the Andrew Marr Programme on sunday the shadow brexit secretary said he wanted further delay in order to have a second referendum. So, when is he going to accept the Prime Ministers challenge . When is he going to have a general election . Or are we going to have come as the shadow brexit secretary said, more dither, more delay and more shirking of his responsibilities . Mr kenneth clarke. Mr speaker, could my right honourable friend to try to ensure the government stops giving this sort of sacred quality to the date of october 31, which is a really rather silly point because it does not relate to the extraordinary lee complicated argument is we are having on this issue, although id be happy if we could have an agreement the Prime Minister has put forward by the 31st but the date wasnt selected by the British Government or the public, it was a compromise between the eu between president macron and rest and was plucked out of the air. So will he agree me that what matters is we get the right Withdrawal Agreement carried with the tenuous majority of the government may have through second reading and third reading so its form is actually settled, and then we can proceed in a way which future generations, if we get it right, or if we get it wrong, will regard as much more important than whether we actually made it for a particular day in october 2019 . The reality is, mr speaker, the date was set by the previous European Council and it isnt a unilateral decision for the Uk Parliament as to whether that date is changed. Previously in this house, the father of the house has said what mattered was avoiding no deal. The Prime Minister has secured a deal that does that. So what matters now is that we end the uncertainty for businesses, the uncertainty for businesses, the uncertainty for businesses, the uncertainty for citizens and actually deliver on the deal the Prime Minister has negotiated. One agreed by the eu 27 as well. And we get brexit done. Mr ian blackford. Thank you, mr speaker, and can i congratulate the leader of the opposition for lodging this question . But of course, its a question . But of course, its a question to the Prime Minister and its a question about the Prime Ministers behaviour. Where is he . Where is the respect the Prime Minister is showing to this house . The Prime Minister is utterly humiliated by his defeat on saturday. A defeat which saw this house reject is unfair, anti democratic deal. A defeat, mr speaker, that has forced the Prime Minister to send a letter to the European Union council requesting a deal. But what if the Prime Minister do . He sent a letter, not on headed paper, and unsigned. Thats pathetic can i ask if the Prime Ministers used to selling unsigned letters in his capacity as Prime Minister, and if so how many . And i wa nt minister, and if so how many . And i want a direct answer to that question. But i think we know the a nswer question. But i think we know the answer because his behaviour lacks dignity. It lacks respect. It is not becoming of any Prime Minister. Once again, the Prime Minister has shown himself to be unworthy of the office he holds. Mr speaker, i have with me a copy of the joint letter sent from the first ministers of scotland and wales to president tusk. Properly addressed with their official letterheads and duly signed. The Prime Minister should take note, thatis Prime Minister should take note, that is a lesson on how to behave because his actions dontjust show disrespect to this house, but to the court in scotland, but to present tusk himself. Despite the Prime Ministers childish games of selling a contrary letter, of course, the snp is pleased to see that the grown ups in the room, namely the European Council, are now considering the extension. An extension that must be secured to protect our interests from the economic oblivion if we were to exit the European Union on a no deal brexit. Mr speaker, i join the European Union on a no deal brexit. Mr speaker, ijoin with the leader of the opposition to express the snps outraged that they have instructed them to publish the withdrawal built without adequate time for debate and scrutiny. Once again, this conservative government showing disregard for democracy withdrawal bill. It is imperative that representatives here are able to do ourjobs and scrutinise the legislation given the magnitude of the implications. So, i say to the Prime Minister through the secretary thats here, if hes not afraid of debate, secure the extension and lets give the time for full scrutiny of the bill. And let me ask this, if he is so sure that the people are with him, will he confirm today that he will seek support for this bill from the Scottish Parliament who must give consent first . The crux of the issue is the Prime Minister has complied with the law but it is a right that along said that he sets out his well known views, and that should not come as a surprise to the honourable gentleman any more than it should to any other member of this house. What is and whether, mr is to have referendums and to ignore the result, which is the position of the right honourable gentleman, notjust the position of the right honourable gentleman, not just in the position of the right honourable gentleman, notjust in terms of the referendum in 2014 but also in terms of the referendum in 2016. After more than 1200 days since the referendum, the one thing i dont think this house has lacked is opportunity to debate the issues contained in the Withdrawal Agreement bill, and the withdrawal bill will be published. It is with the house. In orderfor that debate to happen. So its time for the house to get onto that debate, to back the bill, to get brexit done and to get onto the domestic priorities, record investment in our health service, the extra 20,000 Police Officers we are recruiting and levelling up all parts of the uk as part of strong economic delivery. We will pull away from that debate. Lets bring in our Political Correspondent, chris mason. For those just joining, correspondent, chris mason. For thosejustjoining, explain correspondent, chris mason. For those justjoining, explain whats happened, because no real surprise but the speaker has basically said no toa but the speaker has basically said no to a straight up and down vote this afternoon on borisjohnsons proposals because he said it would be repetitive and disorderly. The last hour can be summed up in one word. The speaker said no to this idea of a boat on borisjohnsons proposed brexit till this afternoon saying it would be disorderly, citing precedents going back 450 yea rs, citing precedents going back 450 years, which is about when we were First Talking about brexit on the tv, saying ultimately it isnt the job of the house of commons to allow folks to go on over and over again on the same matter. His argument is that what was voted on saturday was pretty much what the government wa nted pretty much what the government wanted to bring back this afternoon and therefore it is not in the rules, erskine may, page 397, to allow the votes to happen. For much of the last hour, weve seen lots of conservative mp5 saying, hang on, thats not right, and quite a few frankly accusing him of being biased. His argument is he has been consistent in the rules and in the past hes been gone out of his way to eurosceptics to make their points on the house of commons floor, but you get some on the house of commons floor, but you get some sense, on the house of commons floor, but you get some sense, and weve been reminded of this recently, of the tensions and the anger which simmers in the commons chamber, and quite a bit of it directed straight at the comments speaker. Just explain, the withdrawal bill is going, we think, to appear tonight, and there may be a vote tomorrow. Yes, Withdrawal Agreement bill, and here we disappear into parliamentary language, but that bill is the planned new that is necessary in orderfor brexit to planned new that is necessary in order for brexit to happen. Planned new that is necessary in orderfor brexit to happen. We expect a lot of the documents surrounding that bill, the details to be published to much, and then tomorrow mp5 will get their first chance discuss and debate it, and quite possibly to vote on it, and that might effectively become the so called meaningful vote that we we re so called meaningful vote that we were promised on saturday and that were promised on saturday and that we thought may or may not happen today. What will be interesting then, both tomorrow and in the days to follow, is the extent to which there are attempts to amend it by mp5 across the house who might want a different vision of brexit, might wa nt to a different vision of brexit, might want to stop brexit entirely, might wa nt to want to stop brexit entirely, might want to ensure there is another referendum, and what will be crucial in the next few days is can the government get its way and get us out of the eu by a week on thursday, or soon out of the eu by a week on thursday, or soon after if there needs to be a technical delay, or does this whole Withdrawal Agreement bill get so bogged down in amendments, tweaks, changes, attempts to wreck it that, in the end, parliament collectively concludes that its not going to happen, brexit, on the current timetable, there is another delay and then, in all likelihood, a general election. That Withdrawal Agreement bill, could it in any way be changed to become borisjohnsons brexit deal . Yes, but i think it probably will be. Given that this meaningful vote, a straight up and down vote on the deal, yes or no, was rejected by the this afternoon, and the timeframe is incredibly tight to get out of the eu by a week on thursday, theyll have build in this meaningful vote into some part of the Withdrawal Agreement bill, as this could come as soon as tomorrow. Regardless of the technicalities of how you describe the so called meaningful vote, if at the second reading of this bill, the technical term for the first vote, in all likelihood tomorrow, if that was defeated that would kill the bill, and that would be the end of Boris Johnsons attempts on the current timetable to get us out of the eu with a deal by a week on thursday. Thank you, chris, for that explanation. John bercow has said no toa explanation. John bercow has said no to a vote today. Borisjohnsons travails continue. Our Political Correspondent, jessica parker, has been watching proceedings and has this report. Once more into battle . People may feel like theyve been here before. Here is the man who gets to decide, the speaker, john bercow. Can the government have another go at getting mp5 to give a broad nod to its brexit deal question enjoy your visit to the house. After efforts on saturday didnt quite go according to plan. Order. Iwish saturday didnt quite go according to plan. Order. I wish to make a statement to the house. Cue the verdict, no. Todays motion is, in substance, the same as saturdays, and the house has the matter. Todays circumstances are, in substance, the same as saturdays circumstances. My ruling is therefore that the motion will not be debated today as it would be repetitive and disorderly to do so. Some welcomed the decision, saying the government is trying to browbeat parliament. Making certain that it votes again and again and again on the same thing until it gets it right. Surely, mr speaker, this is an important defence of freedom in our democracy. In turn but others will openly question the judgment. It is becoming remarkable how often you please one lot and not the other. Earlier, this minister argued there was no time to lose. We just need to get on with this. I think many people across the country are just exhausted by this continuing delay. Meanwhile, ministers are introducing the legislation needed to actually turn brexit deal into law, expect skirmishes ahead over a possible deluge of amendments, as mp5 try to push forward their own ideas about what brexit should look like, whether it should even happen at all. I think you are likely to see an at all. I think you are likely to see an amendment seeking to put this whole deal back to the british people, because actually thats the way to get it done. You are likely to see an amendment saying that we should remain in a Customs Union, which would sit to solve part of the problem on the border between gb and Northern Ireland. There is pressure to deliver on the deal, and some may please say they are not ready to ram through the legislation. Some mp5. Through the legislation. Some mps. This is a huge bill, likely to be 100 pages, and rush law is bad law, but this isntjust any old law, but this isntjust any old law, its the political rewiring of our country and it has to be done properly. So another day, another attempt to unlock this process. Are you still confident we will leave in october the 31st . Yes, that is what we are working towards. 0n cue but ministers may feel it was yet anotherdamp squib. Scotlands highest court has delayed a decision on whether the Prime Minister has fully complied with a law requiring him to ask for a brexit extension. Earlier i spoke to our scotland correspondent lorna gordon who is at the court of session in edinburgh where the hearing took place. The decision from the court is delay. To use legal terms, the case has been continued. Of course, this all focuses on those letters sent by the Prime Minister, by the government on saturday evening, that key one, asking the eu for an extension to the brexit deadline. That is what originally, the original focus that is what originally, the originalfocus of this that is what originally, the original focus of this case was on. It was a case that was brought by three campaigners, a businessman, joe morton qc and joanna cherry, an mp and a qc step they said they wa nted mp and a qc step they said they wanted to ensure that plans were in place if the Prime Minister tried to frustrate the benefit or didnt apply frustrate the benefit or didnt apply tried to frustrate the benn act or didnt apply the law as required by the benn act to ask for that extension to the brexit deadline by saturday, but the Prime Minister did ask for that extension also sent a letter alongside it saying he still wanted it to happen by the 31st of october. Lawyers for the government today said they have no case the government today said they have no case to the government today said they have no case to answer, the government today said they have no case to answer, that they had complied with the law, they wanted the hearing of the case dismissed, but campaigners said, yes, the law has been complied with, however, that additional letter was, in their words of their qc, aidan oneill, sailing close to the wind. Scotlands most senior judge sailing close to the wind. Scotlands most seniorjudge said it had been very carefully written, the second letter. But, in terms of what happens now, they said, yes it was complied with, but they want to ensure complied with, but they want to ensure the law is complied with Going Forward. The judges took a very short time to make their decisions up they said the case should continue until obligations under the law have been complied with in full. In effect, that means that, if an extension was granted by the eu, under the law, the Prime Minister must accept it. So what happens now . We have no dates for any further hearing, and i think there are a few options on the table Going Forward. Of course, the house of commons, parliament might vote this deal through, in which case all of this is null and void, but if it is considered that the Prime Minister has broken the law when it comes minister has broken the law when it comes to accepting any extension of it, comes to accepting any extension of it, extension offer, its possible the courts might decide to hold the Prime Minister in contempt of court, its possible they may order the government to accept that extension, or its possible they may write a letter on the governments behalf, accepting that extension. Those are the options open to the judges Going Forward, but of course all of that may become redundant if parliament accepts the deal in the meantime. Punk a matter of lorna gordon in edinburgh. Weve heard what is happening in westminster, but what about in europe . Well, the European Parliaments Brexit Steering Group has decided to advise the parliaments leadership that meps should not approve the brexit deal until it has been fully ratified by the British Parliament. Our brussels correspondent adam fleming spoke with phillipe lamberts mep as he arrived for a meeting of the group. U nless unless the British Parliament can ratify this week, which i understand is rather difficult,. So you will need all of the legislation implemented in the uk . Is ratification, and they understand the so called not so meaningful vote is not a ratification so until i see anything confirming that the uk has ratified, we should not ratify. The eu will ratify in due course, which means eu will ratify in due course, which m ea ns after eu will ratify in due course, which means after British Parliament has. Would you have an extraordinary cannery next week . If its needed, well do it. Click its possible . Why not . Lets get the thoughts from europe our correspondent adam fleming is in strasbourg. Id better ask you a question, adam. Just explain to me what you think is going to happen there, because obviously everybody is awaiting a response obviously everybody is awaiting a response to this letter or letters from the Prime Minister. Sorry, simon. I thought it sounded like you are going to play the pre recorded version of what i said an hour ago that is why i was doing the brexit delay. So there are two separate processes a re delay. So there are two separate processes are here, so delay. So there are two separate processes are here, so the extension process processes are here, so the extension process is a matterfor the European Council of member states. That will either require a special summit of eu leaders if there is going to be a long extension or, if there is a a short one, which they are now calling a technical extension, to tie upa calling a technical extension, to tie up a few loose ends, perhaps that could be done by eu and acid is desperate eu ambassadors or in writing, so there might not need to be an emergency summit. The decision thatis be an emergency summit. The decision that is in the hand of the European Parliament here is the final ratification of the deal, because article 50 says it has to be approved by the European Parliament. They have decided they will be the very last piece of the process and they will only approve the deal once its been fully, fully implemented in the legislation domestically in the uk, which means its going to happen at the last minute, which means happen at the last minute, which means its very unlikely it will happen here in strasbourg, is a planned, regular sitting of the European Parliament, which means theyll properly have to look at having an emergency sitting next week, when parliament wasnt meant to be around, which could happen at the very last minute, which means this will go right down to the wire, the ratification process. May be by this time next week, it will be very clear they will not be enough time to get the deal fully committed in the uk, and that will be yet another reason the uk, and that will be yet another reason why there has to be an extension to the Brexit Process beyond october and 31st. Like the rest of us, no doubt they have been watching events in the last hour or so. Watching events in the last hour or 50. What sort of reaction have you had tojohn 50. What sort of reaction have you had to john bercows 50. What sort of reaction have you had tojohn bercows decision effectively to say no to Boris Johnson trying to get a vote today . I havent spoken to anyone about that specifically because its just happened, but it seems quite inevitable from this morning that this is how the was going to rule, and its also kind of irrelevant if you are thinking along the lines of philippe lamberts, the mep we heard from, because they are saying that approval in the uk isnt a semi meaningful vote, it is all of the stages of the Withdrawal Agreement bill legislation being passed, so that is mp5 are proving it in the second rating to with, the report stage, the committee stage, the amendments, then its going to the amendments, then its going to the house of lords and then coming back to the commons, so all of those stages will have to be gone through before the European Parliament decides it will approve the deal, so thatis decides it will approve the deal, so that is why the timing has become such an issue. What i would say though is that people here are watching to see what sort of amendments tabled because, as far as they are concerned, if mp5 start changing bits of the legislation, thats like reopening the negotiations and changing bits of the deal that was negotiated between the deal that was negotiated between the uk and the eu, and the European Parliament say, well, if you are going to make changes, may be will make some changes, too, which is recipe for absolute chaos. Adam, you are live, arent you . Time is it there . Just prove it. It is quarter to six local time. Korea good, just to six local time. Korea good, just to clear up to six local time. Korea good, just to clearup any to six local time. Korea good, just to clear up any confusion, which was just mine. Good to talk to you, adam. Chris leslie is on his feet in the debate. Will the minister acknowledge that the legal duties on the Prime Minister are not simply about sending an unsigned letter . The reality is that this is parliaments letter which the Prime Minister has sent. He has been clear he will comply with the law, and he has done that, and that is reflected in the comments of figures such as lord pannick, but he is in total he is also entitled to reflect his views, as he has done. Custom chrome can views, as he has done. Custom chrome can i say that lots of my constituents in east yorkshire and North Lincolnshire think that what happened on saturday was a westminster bubble smarty pa nts stitch up to stop us leaving the eu on october the 31st, and you know what, thats exactly what it was. Cani what, thats exactly what it was. Can i say to him, the reason why october 31 so important is because so october 31 so important is because so many people in this country, especially in the north of england, have figured out whats going on in here. There is an attempt to play for time, to delay and delay, with the one and simple aim, which is to overturn the referendum result that people here never accepted and never had any intention of accepting. My honourable friend is absolutely right. The house said that it didnt believe the Prime Minister would get a deal. He did get a deal. They said they wanted a meaningful vote then, when the opportunity is presented to meaningful vote, they make it meaningless. Its time for those vote to stop, for us to get a deal through, and the opportunity to do so through, and the opportunity to do so is to support the Withdrawal Agreement bill that legislates on the deal the Prime Minister has reached. The chancellor has responded to the treasury select committees request of three months ago asking for updated Economic Analysis of the Free Trade Agreement that the government is pursuing. The chancellor has acknowledged that the current Economic Analysis does not correspond studio continuing coverage of this debate is over on Bbc Parliament but, here on bbc news, thats it from afternoon light. Now its time for the Business News. Heres your business headlines on afternoon live. The pound hits 1. 30 against the dollar for the First Time Since may as Foreign Exchange markets bet on borisjohnsons deal being passed, possibly as soon as this week. Thats after initially falling after markets fell when they resumed trading in asia last night for the First Time Since saturdays vote. Indian police have now shut two call centres and arrested seven people suspected of involvement in a Computer Software scam, which has seen victims lose thousands. This follows a four year investigation. One man in devon told the bbc hed lost £4,000 as a result of the fraud. Boeing bosses are holding a second day of meetings after new messages, published late on friday, intensified the crisis surrounding the companys 737 max jet. The exchange, dating back to 2016, suggested the company had known about problems with the Flight Control system years before two fatal crashes. Lets talk about how developments in westminster are being received by business, because of course the deal currently on the table, which has been the source of all of this in the last few days, in effect puts a new border down the irish sea, a customs border, and also has a future trading decision which might mean future trading decision which might m ea n less future trading decision which might mean less alignment with the eu. But what does that mean . Tina mckenzie is chair of the federation of Small Businesses in Northern Ireland. Good afternoon to you. We should say that the economy in Northern Ireland relies very much, doesnt it, on smaller businesses, and frankly, when i look at whats out there in terms of this deal, it seems like more red tape. I think we may have lost tina. But we can instead talk about whats going on with the markets. Jeremy stretch is head of currency strategy at cibc world markets. Hejoins us now. Good to he joins us now. Good to talk to you. I say 1. 30 again but frankly its been another one of those seesaw days, hasnt it . Its been another one of those seesaw days, hasnt it . Yes. As you mentioned, it opened a bit lower when trading started in new zealand last night, and markets were very much on watch to see how much correction we would have after the event on saturday at westminster. We saw a small pull back, but the markets have genuinely been relatively confident over the course of the bulk of the session that the government might get its withdrawal bill through at least on the second reading, when that comes to a vote, and that has led to some hope that the European Union and the uk can ratify a deal to exit the whole process ratify a deal to exit the whole process in the next few weeks. As usual when these things happen with sterling, we see this awkward dance between the ftse100 and the currency. Remind us what happens. When sterling appreciates and get stronger against the us dollar, you invariably find that the ftse100 tends to struggle a bit, because of course tends to struggle a bit, because of course the bulk of those companies in the ftse 100 course the bulk of those companies in the ftse100 have their earnings related from overseas activity, and so related from overseas activity, and so when you have to translate those dollar related to earnings back into a stronger value of sterling, they look a bit lower, so there is often an relationship between the value of sterling if it goes up, the footsie is often under pressure. Hi unilever, one of the companies that has lost ground as a result. But there was a make of medical devices and equipment. Weve seen an exodus, it feels like, from boardrooms of ftse 100 it feels like, from boardrooms of ftse100 companies, and its continuing there. Yes, another chief executive has decided its time to depart, and in this case the ceo has only been in situ since last may, so a very short tenure. There had been signs of the turnaround that was being put in place was bearing some fruit, because we had seen the share price and equity value go up quite smartly, but i think now there is some concern smartly, but i think now there is some concern that this departure will lead to some instability at the top of the company and will be another effort being seen to try and boost shareholder value, perhaps by acquisition, which raises the risk of how the company will perform in the longer run. Santa great to talk to you. Tina mckenzie is chair of the federation of Small Businesses in Northern Ireland. Technical problems earlier, but great to see you back. Well talk about the fact that smaller businesses are the lifeblood of the Northern Irish economy, and we are talking about the kind of full back position the government is outlining, which would mean more rather less red tape. Yes, and its really important for us. On the face of it, looking at this deal, it seems face of it, looking at this deal, it seems like it gives us unfettered access seems like it gives us unfettered access to both of our markets, gb and the republic of ireland, and further afield into europe, but we do need to see the detail of how in practice this might work. We are terribly frustrated by more and more delays at westminster. We are just getting to the end of our tether with how these politicians are managing this process. We have the highest amount of Small Businesses going into bankruptcy, and these politicians need to get their act together and get a deal done or remain. Whatever it is, we need certainty. So you want to see action good to talk to you. Thats all of your Business News for today. Now the weather. For those of you on a half term break, the weather fairly mixed and most of it than it has been. High pressure not Strong Enough to hang around too long, low pressure still close by to the north west and south east. Whilst many of you today have been dry with sunny spells, like we saw earlier in wigan, in the south east and east anglia, close to this area of low pressure, and its been grey and damp in bromley. That rain and drizzle easing off this evening, still a bit damp in east anglia and the south east but most places dry, and a cool evening rush hour stop for this evening and overnight, the rain and drizzle in east anglia and the south east 5ta rts east anglia and the south east starts to fizzle out. Most places will be dry with partly clear skies, strengthening breeze to the north, so strengthening breeze to the north, so the hebrides and Northern Isles will see cloud and outbreaks of rain. Some of the islands, it could be up to 15 degrees warmer than last night. Elsewhere, a cool night, with temperatures down to single figures, so temperatures down to single figures, so they could be some mist and fog around to hamper the Tuesday Morning commute. It could be murky for some across commute. It could be murky for some across the south, but a drier and brighter day in east anglia and the south east with sunny spells. A bit more cloud tomorrow for scotland and Northern Ireland. Whilst the breeze is picking up, the rain will be mainly limited to the far north. Temperatures are generally up on today. On tuesday and wednesday, low pressure still to the north west of us. High pressure this time a bit further south, so dry conditions here, but this weather front could bring cloud and drizzle back to the south east, in particular, more persistent rain spreading in in western scotland and Northern Ireland during the day. Much of england, wales and eastern scotland would have a dry day with variable cloud and sunny spells. For thursday, this area of low pressure on the back edge of these weather fronts brings a white knight to scotla nd fronts brings a white knight to scotland and Northern Ireland. A5 that moves in, the winds start to strengthen. A5 that moves in, the winds start to strengthen. As the day goes on, we could see winds close to 70 mph if not more across the hebrides and Western Highlands. Away from that, a breezy day, sunny spells, a few showers, and temperatures still around 11 to 15. Goodbye for now. Welcome to bbc news, live from westminster. Today at five the speaker of the commons, john bercow, refuses a government request to hold a vote on its brexit deal, saying the question was already put to the house at the weekend. My ruling is therefore that the motion will not be debated today as it would be repetitive and disorderly to do so. I note the dilemmas you face mean that on occasion you will sometimes have to please some and not others, but it is becoming remarkable how often you please one lot and not the other. Well have the latest as mp5 continue to debate the next step for the Prime Ministers brexit deal. Also in todays bbc news at 5. Sources in the Royal Household say