here to do. anjane an jane hill live at westminster where we continue to follow that debate as it emerged dozens of tory mps have signed a letter warning the government not to keep the country in the eu by stealth. i'll also be discussing all of your questions about the bill at half—past. also in the next hour — the crisis in myanmar continues. tens of thousands of muslim rohingya refugees continue fleeing the country to bangladesh after nearly two weeks of violence and — prince george starts his first day at school with a handshake, escorted by his father prince william. his mother is too ill with morning sickness to accompany them. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. one of the most powerful storms on record — hurricane irma — is continuing to devastate parts of the caribbean. it has almost completely destroyed the islands of barbuda and st martin — ten people, including a child, have been killed — and its feared that number will rise. the storm has now moved past puerto rico, where it knocked out power for over a million people. it is currently heading for the dominican republic, and is due to hit cuba tomorrow, and florida in the united states at the weekend. there are fears for the safety of a number of britons in the area — this morning the government announced it was making £12 million available for disaster relief. in a moment we'll be speaking to our correspondents in cuba and in florida, but first with all the latest, here'sjon donnison. hurricane irma — a storm the size of france — has left a trail of destruction. on the tiny island of barbuda, barely a building left untouched. my whole house caved in. it was seven of us, and all we had to do was to pray and call for help. i was frightened. i didn't know this was going to happen to me. last night was the most devastating experience i ever had in my life, and i'm almost 60. me and my family of seven, including an infant of two months, had to shelter in a closet. hundreds of families here now find themselves homeless. my house, i lose my home, i lose my shop, also my vehicle, everything damaged. and right now, i don't have nowhere to go to sleep. we had cars flying over our heads, we had containers, 40 foot containers flying left and right, and the story that you're getting from most of the residents here is that the eye of the storm camejust in time. persons were literally tying themselves to their roots with ropes, to keep them down. barbuda's prime minister said the island was now barely habitable. what i saw was heart—wrenching. i mean, absolutely devastating. i would say that about 95% of the properties will have suffered some level of damage. they would have lost at least a part of their roofs. some have lost the whole roof, some properties have been totally demolished. it is absolutely heart—wrenching. with much of the island's infrastructure destroyed, aid agencies now face the difficult task of getting help to those in need. the damage in barbuda is none like we've ever seen before. we're talking about everything being completely destroyed. its electricity, its roads, its water, its schools, its churches, its supermarkets, shops, everything. there is literally nothing that currently exists in barbuda right now. and imagine the terror of being caught up in this. this is the neighbouring island of st martin, getting hammered. sustained winds of 185 miles an hour. more than 70,000 people live on the low—lying island which is made up of dutch and french territories. the power of irma everywhere to see. shipping containers tossed around like a lego bricks. the authorities here are warning the death toll is likely to rise. and hurricane irma is farfrom finished. these remarkable pictures, taken from the international space station, show it tracking north—west towards the dominican republic and cuba. it's forecast to hit the florida coast at the weekend. irma is farfrom irma is far from finished, and already on the horizon in this brutal hurricane season, hurricanes pose a and katia. a statement from buckingham palace. a statement from buckingham palace. a text message from the queen to the governor general of antigua and barbuda following hurricane irma reads as follows... prince philip andi reads as follows... prince philip and i have been shocked and saddened by reports of the devastation caused by reports of the devastation caused by hurricane irma, thoughts and prayers are with all of those whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed or add firstly affected by this terrible storm. she goes on, please convey my gratitude to mothers of the emergency services and those working on a rescue effort at this very difficult time for you all. let's get the latest on the path of hurricane erma and where it's heading. this is the second most powerful hurricane outside the pacific ocean on record. it's been a brutal storm, it made its first la ndfall brutal storm, it made its first landfall impact around 6pm yesterday across the island of barbuda. now, it's caused catastrophic damage here. indeed, the prime minister, gassed gaston brown, has described barbuda is being barely habitable. terrible scenes across the north—east. with hurricanejoe is a a few days away moving across the same sort of area, it could hamper relief efforts. from there, hurricane irma went further north—west, the second landfall across the island of saint martin. we had quotes from a local councillor, daniel gibbs, who talked about saint martin being 95% of the island destroyed. to the north of saint martin was a thriller which has been hit very hard by the hurricane. the hurricane had moved on into the british virgin islands, again, we've been seeing reports coming out of there, nasty scenes from there. the damage caused by the winds and the storm surge was significant. we were expecting storm surge around 11 foot high in places, which would cause inundation as it worked inland. the latest position of irma, continuing its north—west track. it's quite away from the island of puerto rico and is packed to the north of the dominican republic. the eyeball is away from that enough to take winds offshore but there will be strong winds, localised damage across the north coast of the dominican republic, but not on the scale we seen across the leeward islands. there will be torrential rain there and across while eating. the question is where it's going next. it'll but this storm is heading over towards the turks and caicos islands, that's where it's coming next. about midnight our time, which is about 7pm local time, we're expecting it to make landfall once again. we could well see some big damage here, as the winds are still gusting to around 220 mph, so it is still a very powerful category five hurricane. because the sea is shallow here, the storm surges even bigger. an incredible 20 feet in places. we have to bear in mind these islands are have to bear in mind these islands a re pretty have to bear in mind these islands are pretty low—lying, it isn'tjust winds that will cause catastrophic damage, but also the massive storm surge. from there it's working across the bahamas. eventually it will work towards florida. there's still some uncertainty about where it's going, it could curve to the east side of florida or work across the south florida, come back to the gulf of mexico and into the western side. either way, gulf of mexico and into the western side. eitherway, florida is firmly in the cross hairs and floridians will be looking very nervously at the progress of irma having seen the damage and destruction it has wrought so far. when you talk about storm surge, are you talking about a tsunami ora big storm surge, are you talking about a tsunami or a big wave? the most incredible tsunami i've seen footage of, which we had a look at yesterday, was from typhoon haiyan. you might remember tacloban in the philippines got pretty much wiped off the map. the storm surge from that, a two metre wall of water started as nothing and two buildings as it went through. it can be a massive surge, all of a sudden can't get out of the way and sweeps everything out of its path. i spoke to will grant in the cuban capital havana. he told us tensions we re capital havana. he told us tensions were mounting as the storm makes its way towards the island. because they've seen exactly what irma has done to the eastern caribbean, because they've heard those testimonies we saw injohn‘s report, people know the full power of this vast storm and what it can do to these countries in the caribbean. cubans are getting nervous, trying to take steps to do what they can, stock up on drinking water, fuel for generators, to board up their homes. they think nervousness captures the spirit exactly about what people are feeling at the moment. how is that manifesting itself, what are people able to do? we've already seen quite long queues for a gas station, at supermarkets, basic goods. drinking water is of real concern here. of course, people are trying to secure their homes as best they can. it's worth remembering the country is already economically in a difficult place. it's lived under the us economic embargo for decades. it's also hard for ordinary people to find construction materials with which to board up their homes. it's a difficult outlook. perhaps people here in havana feel they might get lucky with the storm, it may not make it this far. on the eastern tip of the island evacuations are already underway. the queen has sent a message to the governor general of antigua and barbuda. matthew thompson is that the cabinet office where a cobra meeting is taking place, discussing more tactical ways of helping those affected by this. —— practical. more tactical ways of helping those affected by this. -- practical. you might ask, why is a holligan effectively on the other side of the world significant enough to trigger cobra's emergency response committee? a number of the island is concerned, the british virgin islands, the citizens are british passport holders, entitled to consular assistance, it's the responsibility of the british government to care for and protect them. the cobra meeting hasjust ended, details aren't quite forthcoming, though i think we'll hear from the secretary of state for defence, sir michael fallon, in a moment. foreign minister alan duncan gave a statement to the house of commons this morning pledging £12 million as part of the government rapid response mechanism for disaster relief and said the foreign office and department for international develop that were on full alert. we know from the defence secretary the royal fleet auxiliary mounts bay ship is on stand—by in the vicinity and has about a0 royal marines and army engineers on board with access to water transporting and earth moving equipment. we know to reason may have spoken with emmanuel macron, the french president, and has discussed potential joint cooperation with him, potentially involving the dutch government. those are the sorts of things they will have been discussing at this cobra meeting. the details will be forthcoming imminently with some sort of response from the secretary of state for defence, so michael fallon. lee miles from bournemouth university. professor of crisis management. looking at the pictures we are starting to see, there isn't much planning you could make for this, it wiped these islands out. good afternoon, yes. let's be clear, there is quite a lot of planning that take place of course because hurricanes and early warning systems means you can track them quite far out. quite a lot of measures were taken. particularly in the uk overseas territories, there is quite sophisticated disaster management systems a re sophisticated disaster management systems are in place to help that. ferries were sent to some of the islands to evacuate people, british airways flights came in early to ta ke airways flights came in early to take people out, the airport was closed, and the communications and other networks were taken in to measure. this is a category five hurricane. with a sheer size of at least the british and irish islands together. because of that, in practice, the impact is going to be huge. as we know from the united states and texas, harvey, large states would have real trouble handling this, let alone small, vulnerable islands like there are in the caribbean. in reality when we are looking at the island of barbuda, the best form of planning for the hurricane before it arrived was frankly just to get out of there. well yes. there were lots of state m e nts there. well yes. there were lots of statements done. haiti is an yellow alert to deal with this. the advice is always if possible to enact evacuation plans to take people to shelters for example, and large buildings. some of the islands, bear in mind nine of the islands are identical and in some cases there are substantial differences. —— norm of the islands are identical. the danger, the challenge is that a lot of people don't want to leave and wa nt to of people don't want to leave and want to protect their homes, their property. they are used to hurricanes in this part of the world and had an idea they would be able to get through this. there is that some of the population would move all want to stay. it's something we have to respect but at the same time it leads to challenge is about how you protect these people. the main advantage, what we're seeing on cuba, it's becoming abundantly apparent it has become really challenging to stay in your house or place and not seek refuge in shelters and places provided by emergency planners. looking at the pictures we're seeing in barbuda, there isn't much you could do to prepare for this, people have lost their homes. we're talking about an area hit by hurricanes every year. if you were advising people for future hurricanes like this, let's face it, this is the biggest there has ever been, is there a moment you say, frankly this is not an island where people should be living. it's an important point. in the long—term, with climatic change, we knew this hurricane season was going to bea knew this hurricane season was going to be a more proactive one, estimated at 50%, a5% chance larger number of hurricanes, and at least 2-a number of hurricanes, and at least 2—a above category three. what we've got is the predictability coming through in that way. but the real challenge, as you say, is to have the frequency, we're only halfway through hurricane season, it is a high propensity for more to come. some of those have already been tracked. places like barbuda for example, their resilience to dealing with even less hurricanes now is going to be substantially diminished to the point where evacuation may be the only future. in the long—term, climatic change really has questions for us in the uk regarding coastal regions. in the caribbean i think it'll lead to serious questions about what places will be habitable and, to some extent, to what extent we can continue to support people living there long term. thank you for your time, professor lee miles. you're watching bbc news. the headlines this afternoon. hogan irma has caused widespread devastation across the caribbean leaving at least ten people dead. a small island off barbuda is said to be barely habitable and officials warn saint martin is almost destroyed. mps begin their scrutiny of the government main brexit bill aiming to tra nsfer government main brexit bill aiming to transfer eu laws and rules into uk legislation. the crisis in myanmar goes on as tens of thousands of muslim rohingya refugees continue to flee the country after nearly two weeks of violence. premier league clu bs weeks of violence. premier league clubs have voted to amend the summer tra nsfer clubs have voted to amend the summer transfer window from next year, they'll only be able to buy players until 5pm on the thursday before the season starts. they'll still be able to sell players until end of august. other leagues in europe are u naffected other leagues in europe are unaffected by the change. one old crewman says he is disappointed at wayne rooney's drink—driving charge, and he says the player will be dealt with internally at the appropriate time. he'll play for evidence against tottenham on saturday. england bowlers have the opening hand on the opening day of the deciding test against the west indies. the west indies have lost three quick wickets. currently an 88-5. three quick wickets. currently an 88—5. more of those stories just after half past. the uk is taking a step towards brexit today as mps debate the european union withdrawal bill before a vote on monday. the bill before a vote on monday. the bill will see the transfer of thousands of eu laws and regulations into british law. many in a commons including some conservative backbenchers have expressed concerns about the bill. labour says it will vote against it, arguing it is an undemocratic power grab by the government. jane hill is still at westminster. thank you very much, simon, welcome back to westminster, the debate continues all day and there is more on monday. the vote comes on monday evening. we'll be talking a little bit about that letter that has emerged in the last couple of hours, signed by about a0 conservatives, which they say is a warning about not staying in the eu by stealth. we'll talk more about that in the next few minutes. before that in the next few minutes. before that lets get an assessment on the debate, what's happened so far, what it all means. that comes from chris mason. brexit is about bringing powers back to this place. it's what the eu withdrawal bill is all about. secretary david davis. this lunchtime the man responsible for turning it into law told mps it was vital because... it does ensure on the day we leave businesses know where they stand, workers' rights are upheld and consumers remain protected. this bill is vital to ensuring as we leave we do so in an orderly manner. so begins the wrangling in there, in parliament, on delivering brexit. this planned new law intends to change everything by changing nothing, cutting and pasting vast swathes of eu law and turning it into uk law the day after brexit. it'll dominate proceedings here for months to come. sir keir starmer. labour say they will vote against the bill because of the powers it gives the government to change the law with little scrutiny. so much for taking back control. there's no point the secretary of state or the prime minister saying we wouldn't use these powers, take our assurance. if you wouldn't use them, they are unnecessary. if they are unnecessary they shouldn't be put before this house for approval today. this is a debate generating international attention, the start of the biggest change in how we are governed for over a0 years. unprecedented, complicated and a source of many a row still to come. chris mason, bbc news, westminster. let's talk to gerard batten who's joined me in the sunshine at westminster. the ukip mep, hello. this must be a great day for you. another key moment in this progress. it's been a0 months since the referendum, they could have done this the week after but at least they're doing it, better late than never. it's the beginning of the process whereby we start to leave, so process whereby we start to leave, so this bill is overdue, let's hope it gets voted through on monday. you point to the vote on monday, those telling us here today they are not minded to vote for the bill on monday evening express very specific concerns. they are concerned about the henry viii clause, but essentially too much power and a government of the day having the ability to push things through without proper parliamentary scrutiny. are there not genuine concerns? the same people have been consent of the last a0 years when we've given away vast amounts of legislative power to the eu, they we re legislative power to the eu, they were perfectly happy with that. this isn't about changing laws at the moment, this is only about putting under a proper legal basis so parliament can begin the repeal an amendment process, it's a lot of fuss about nothing. what it really is is part of the delaying and impeding tactics the remainers will employ to delay this long enough in the hope to overturn it. it'll be trench warfare to get the point we leave the european union, so the battle in that process has to be one on monday. if you are part of one of the devolved assemblies you won't say it's a fuss about nothing, they've been making their views quite clear standing here today. they have real concerns about what it means for devolution and the powers they should have. there are people with genuine worries. that's for us to sort out in national parliament. they weren't worried about having power transferred to brussels so they could be exercised over scotla nd brussels so they could be exercised over scotland and wales, northern ireland, so i don't know why they would be worried about power is being exercised by our own democratically elected parliament in westminster, where those nations are presented. i think they are worried about things they don't have to be worried about. if it goes through, monday evening, what is your take on what happens next, given we on this deadline of 2019. how do you feel given everything we hear coming out of brussels, how do you feel the negotiations are going? and the brexit spokesman for ukip and if i was doing it i wouldn't be doing it this way, you cannot negotiate out of the eu, i've been at the committee meeting on monday listening to how they will delay and impede. but the government should do is repeal the european communities act 1972 as a first step then say we're longer members of the eu under law, or the legislation is stay in place because it has been transposed into eu law anyway. now we'll tell you how it's going to work. if you ask them how it's going to work, they'll say it can't be done. our government should take the initiative. there is a majority of people over there who don't want to leave anyway, this is why we need a strong prime minister and cabinet which unfortunately we don't have. gerard batten mep, thanks for being with us. let's turn to vicki young, is in central lobby listening to the debate. and the news that emerged about that letter signed by a number of conservatives. a number of conservative mps clearly concerned ministers in their own government may possibly backslide on brexit. some are calling for a more gradual process with a transition period. fears amongst some conservatives it could be a never—ending process. they are very keen to make sure britain in any withdrawal deal is a specified moment where britain does leave the european union completely. todayis leave the european union completely. today is all about making sure that process is a smooth one. david davis the brexit secretary saying you need to bring across all these laws and directives that have come from the european union, put them into british law to make sure people have certainty on the day that we leave. let's speak to the leader of the democratic unionist party. what did you make of what's going on in the chamber? you are keen this brexit process keeps going, get going and continues to do so. many mps see this as a power grab by ministers. and many of those here complaining about the so—called power grab were silent went for a0 years the eu regulations and directives were transposed into uk law with hardly any scrutiny whatsoever. in either the house of commons or house of lords. there is a certain irony now in the new—found concern for parliamentary scrutiny. of course the reality is statutory instruments and secondary legislation have been around for a long time in relation to all sorts of legislation. it is important there is proper parliamentary process and scrutiny, of course it is, but the fundamental point about this piece of legislation is to give effect to the wish of the people who voted in a referendum not long ago to leave the european union. we have to have a situation that when we leave there are no gaps in those laws under the statutes —— and that statutes continue to operate. it's pure common sense. said keir starmer, labour spokesman, says he's never seen labour spokesman, says he's never seen this kind of extent of powers to be handed to the government. seen this kind of extent of powers to be handed to the governmentlj think to be handed to the government.” think that other member of parliament said earlier in the debate in the european communities act of 1972 was the greatest of all tra nsfers act of 1972 was the greatest of all transfers of power without parliamentary scrutiny, when we basically said the eu could make provision and as a result, regulations, don't forget, made by the european union, were automatically part of law of the united kingdom without further ado. i think there is an attempt by some people, not so keir starmer and people, not so keir starmer and people like him, but some people wa nt to people like him, but some people want to use process to derail the whole passage of this act and hope in some way even yet they can repeal the process of brexit. others like so the process of brexit. others like so keir starmer and people on the tory benches are concerned about the parliamentary scrutiny aspect. i'm sure as we go through the next eight, nine, ten weeks of the committee stages of this bill that thoseissues committee stages of this bill that those issues can be looked at in a sensible way and a way forward can be found. one thing is certain, no mp on monday night, when we take a vote on the second reading of the principle of this bill, should vote against it, because to do so is to vote against the wishes of the people as expressed in a referendum a few months ago. as he says, there will be a second day of debate on monday, that is when the vote will come. more from vicki young later, lets talk to another mp who's just come out of the debate to talk to us, caroline lucas, co—leader of the green party. welcome to you. your thoughts first on the mood and the sense in there, what people are saying. you've been listening to an awful lot of it. i think there is a sense from right across the benches that the prime leaders, the people pushing to leave the eu for so long, the extraordinary position they are in of defending a bill which is essentially a wholesale power grab, power away from elected mps, and to the government and an elected officials, it seems extraordinary to see those very people who all through the referendum campaign were saying this is about taking back control. they seem to be at the forefront of saying we're happy to give control to unelected officials who will have the responsibility of intimate in huge amounts of legislation. does that mean you will vote against on monday?” legislation. does that mean you will vote against on monday? i will, partly because of these unprecedented powers being handed over with no scrutiny and accountability. but also because there are big implications of this bill when it comes to environment legislation, for example, nothing foreseen in the bill to make sure the environment legislation brought across from the eu can be enforced in the absence of the european court ofjustice in the absence of the european court of justice and european in the absence of the european court ofjustice and european commission, no enforceability mechanism. you end up no enforceability mechanism. you end up with so—called zombie legislation on the statute book. it's on the books but you can't do anything about it. could it be added at a you could amend the bill to insert architecture, yes,, legal architecture. this is a bill that ta kes architecture. this is a bill that takes the single market out of our arrangements, it's taking away freedom of movement, and the green party has been clear all through this campaign that we are proud to stand up for the gift of freedom of movement, and we believe the country is better off inside the single market rather than outside. we would favour the kind of arrangement that countries like norway have, where they do still get the benefits of they do still get the benefits of the single market and freedom of movement. there are, however, plenty of mps in the building behind us who wa nted of mps in the building behind us who wanted the uk to remain part of the eu but accepted the result of the referendum, even though it is not what their personal preference might be, they say that on monday evening they will vote in favour. because they will vote in favour. because they say that to do otherwise is to create chaos. we are on a deadline to 2019, like us to go on, we have to 2019, like us to go on, we have to a cce pt to 2019, like us to go on, we have to accept the results of the referendum and business has to go on, therefore everybody should vote in favour. they miss guided? anybody who has been watching the debate and government ministers over the past few months, if they think those ministers are in control of this process , ministers are in control of this process, they've got another think coming. chaos is already there. business are crying out for an arrangement that at the very used would mean we are still part of the customs union. better still, would mean we are still part of the customs union. betterstill, part would mean we are still part of the customs union. better still, part of the single market. we should be fighting for those things if we really care about business in this country, communities up and down the country. i'm glad labour has shifted its position so they will be voting against this bill on monday. the focus goes to the conservative rebels, will they have the courage to step up to the plate? caroline lucas, thank you. in the next hour i will be talking to the conservatives and labourand we will be talking to the conservatives and labour and we will discuss some of that. any of your questions about this bill, what it means, send them to us... any of your questions to the two experts who will be with us shortly to go through your questions. studio: it is just after to go through your questions. studio: it isjust after 3:30pm, when do you actually mean?! there's so when do you actually mean?! there's so much to talk about, simon, you know how it is! just say soon, jane! you're watching bbc news. information coming through from puerto rico, the latest on hurricane irma. the governor's office has released the latest figures, saying at least three deaths have occurred in poor to recover because of the hurricane. they say more than 6000 people are rich does, and more than 1 million people are without power. —— are in shelters. they are doing with downed trees, fall and electric poles, reports a 30 foot waves in some parts of the island. they have been speaking to the us president, donald trump, the vice president, mike pence, and the white house chief of staff, john kelly, have already expressed their support and solidarity to this island during the ongoing emergency. let's look at the weather close to home, here is chris fawkes. thanks, simon. the latest on hurricane noes. the latest edition has a way to the north—west of puerto rico. although the damage has been done, things will turn to improve a little bit over the coming hours. however, for the turk and ca icos hours. however, for the turk and caicos islands, particularly the of provincial, that is where it will make landfall in about nine hours. 220 mph gust of wind is, a storm surge 20 foot in height. there will be further catastrophic damage to the turk and caicos islands. weather—wise, it has been a wet day across the north—west of the uk, a band of rain slipping southwards. overnight, the wet weather pushes across northern england, wales, and eventually reaches the midlands and southern counties of england. it breezy, blustery kind of night, with temperatures 11—1ad. as the rain slips southwards, it will be followed by plenty of heavy showers in the north—west. that's how we start the day on friday. the rain heavily, perhaps even thundery at times with some gusto gusty winds. with so many showers on the charts, you've got a high chance of catching one. highs of 1a degrees in the north—west. 18 in london, temperatures slipping away. this is bbc news. the headlines... at least 13 people have died as a result of hurricane irma in the caribbean, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded. the queen says she is shocked and saddened by the devastation. mps are debating plans to transfer thousands of european union laws and regulations into uk law. labour say the bill gives the government too much power. that we are leaving is settled. how we leave is not. this bill invites us we leave is not. this bill invites us to surrender we leave is not. this bill invites us to surrender or we leave is not. this bill invites us to surrender or power and influence over that question to the government and ministers. that would betray everything that we were sent here to do. aid workers in bangladesh say the number of rohingya muslims pouring across the border to escape violence in myanmar continues to rise. and the duke of cambridge has dropped prince george off for his first day at school in south london. his mother, the duchess, was too ill to go with them this morning. time for the sport over at the bbc sports centre. hello, thank you. in the last hour or so, premier league clu bs the last hour or so, premier league clubs have voted in favour of amending the summer transfer window. starting next season and every season there after, premier league clu bs season there after, premier league clubs will only be able to buy players from june up until 5pm on the thursday before the start of the season. they will, however, be able to sell players up until the standard deadline. the decision sets the premier league apart from other leagues in europe, who will be able to operate the transfer market and the end of august. the everton manager ronald koeman says he is very disappointed on wayne rooney's drink—driving charge. rooney is currently out on bail. truman confirmed he will play against totte n ha m confirmed he will play against tottenham on saturday. alexis sanchez will soon be back to his best with arsenal, according to manager arsene wenger. sanchez came close tojoining manager arsene wenger. sanchez came close to joining manchester city on tra nsfer close to joining manchester city on transfer deadline day. but phangiso is focus is now firmly on the gunners. i have no doubt about alex's mind and mentality, people question. i think that he needs to come back to full fitness. he was not at liverpool, it was his first game. and he suffered a negative experience now. but he is strong mentally. hopefully he'll be back very quickly to his best. england's bowlers have the upper hand on the opening day of the third and deciding test against west indies at lord's. the tourists came to bat this morning and struggle. keirin powell the top scorer before he was bowled by ben stokes. james anderson took the two opening wickets of the day. he is one way from becoming the first englishman to take 500 test wickets. a short time ago, the windies were 101—7. roger federer says he is looking forward to a rest after being knocked out of the quarterfinals of the us open. he lost a—1 against one martin gilbert row. although he was suffering from back pain going into the tournament, he says that was not to blame, and he says that was not to blame, and he just he says that was not to blame, and hejust didn't he says that was not to blame, and he just didn't play well.” he says that was not to blame, and he just didn't play well. i knew it was going to be a tough one. i struggle proper tournament to think too far ahead. struggle proper tournament to think too farahead. —— struggle proper tournament to think too far ahead. —— i struggled throughout the tournament. i'm not disappointed, it's been a good run this year already. you know, u nfortu nately i this year already. you know, unfortunately i ran into guys who we re unfortunately i ran into guys who were better on the day. maroh tuilagi's hopes were already slim, but now they are officially over, after he suffered a knee injury in last's premiership opener against bath on sunday. he'll be out for around 12 weeks. it is a real blow, who had been told by coach eddie jones that he had one more chance to prove that he had the right attitude to be an england player. a late rally from new zealand in netball. the score was level at a9—a9 in the final quarter. the silver ferns used the encouragement of the home crowd to go1—0 up the encouragement of the home crowd to go 1—0 up in the three match series. they have a few days to prepare for the second match in napier and three days on sunday. that's all the sport for now. hello, welcome back to westminster, where we are continuing to talk about the debate that is going on in the house of commons behind me. the vote is on monday. of course, the eu repeal bill and a lot of questions have been coming in from you throughout the day. and two people well versed in these matters to go through as many questions as we can. next to me, ruth fox, the director of the hand side society. and professor catherine barnard from uk ina changing professor catherine barnard from uk in a changing europe. thank you very much indeed forjoining us. some of these are very technical. we'll try to simple by where we can. i'm very glad you are answering and not me, this ghost of a heart of why some of this ghost of a heart of why some of this is so complicated. we'll start with an e—mail from does speak to a lot of people that i've been interviewing today and a lot of the concerns that have been expressed about exactly what is going on today. kim is wondering what is today's bill for? is it a power grab, because surely all directives have to be transposed into domestic law anyway, and what about eu regulations and the fbu writes? there's quite a lot to chew over there? but it simply, this bill is absolutely necessary to deliver an brexit at a domestic level. without it, brexit—lite happen, it's that simple. and there are no other ways of actually delivering this. this is the only way that it can be done. the bill does three things. it reveals the european communities act 1972 which took us into the eu. it converts the whole body of eu law into uk law, some of which, as we've already heard, is already part of uk law. others, like regulations, need to be converted into uk law. likewise provisions from the treaty. on the third thing it does, it gives powers to the uk government to change that law post—brexit if we don't like it. ok, ruth, a power grab, that depends which part you are coming from. i've interviewed people today who have called it a paragraph, and some say it is a fuss about nothing, your take on that? paragraph, and some say it is a fuss about nothing, your take on that7m is midway between the two, depending on how ministers choose to use the powers. that is one of the problems for polomat at the moment. the government can't tell mps how they will need to use the powers. the powers they are seeking are quite broad. of course, a minister in the future might use those powers differently. so one of the concerns is, you know, parliament needs to ensure that its got proper scrutiny procedures to avoid the power grab possibility, the theoretical possibility, the theoretical possibility of a power grab. toomua would say there is going to be so grew to me, it is a word she keeps using —— theresa may. we are talking about such a vast amount. people will question, you just can't scrutinise, there aren't enough hours in the day to scrutinise everything that's going to be coming through here? one point worth noting, statutory instruments, these are the secondary they are very familiar to the houses of parliament, there are about 1000 such instruments adopted every year. the trouble is, most of them go through on the nod. there is almost no scrutiny. not since 1979 has the statutory instrument being opposed by parliament to say, we're not having it. there is no real provision, instead of saying yes, or no, it's good or it's bad, there are bits that are good but there are bits that are good but there are bits that are good but there are bits that we don't like, the procedure is frequently. that takes us on procedure is frequently. that takes us on toa procedure is frequently. that takes us on to a text from dennis draper. he says, if this bill goes through on the day and ministers are given the power to amend or repeal statutory instruments, what consultation will be in place to ensure that is interested parties can have their say? it will be to amend or repeal primary legislation. you can being about the legislative process in two ways. the act of parliament are like the bookcase, the framework. statutory instruments or secondary or delegated legislation are often called like the books on the bookcase, where you wa nt the books on the bookcase, where you want to put the operational detail. they are not going to be amended. they are not going to be amended. they what is going to come forward in quite significant volume, 1000, possibly more of them. and the consultation on bos, ministers might consultation on bos, ministers might consult if they've got time on them, but there's no guarantee. —— for consultation on those. because alteration process here in parliament is minimal to nonexistent, and that's part of the problem —— because of patient progress here. a tweet, is the only way to avoid a northern irish hard orderfor the uk way to avoid a northern irish hard order for the uk to way to avoid a northern irish hard orderfor the uk to remain in the single market and the customs union? it's primarily the customs union thatis it's primarily the customs union that is the issue, because the customs union is where you've got the part is charged on goods crossing a frontier. now, yes, it is possible to use electronic technology to try and monitor where these goods are going, to have the customs charges levied while the goods are in transit, done electronically through computer systems. indeed, that already happens in places like felixstowe, which has very large numbers of goods coming in from third countries like china. but we don't have computer systems which are in place to deal with this at the moment. and on the north— south border, the reality is, as the prime minister, david davis discovered on the canadian— us border, you still need feet on the ground checking what's going on, whose crossing, he's been paying what. and also what the health situation is, the health controls on those goods. it's primarily the customs union, and what we see in the uk goverment‘s paper is the attempt to say, we are coming out of the customs union but we wa nt coming out of the customs union but we want something very is another. the trouble is, something very similar doesn't exist anywhere in the world at the moment. somebody else also talking about ireland, but gibraltar as well. a text says, it ha rd gibraltar as well. a text says, it hard border in gibraltar and yet the eu is demanding a soft border in ireland, white? well, i think it's more “— ireland, white? well, i think it's more —— y. there are three big ticket items on the so—called phase one negotiations. the eu said we will negotiate brexit in three phases. the first phase of the three big—ticket items, citizens rights, the brexit bill, as it's called, and thirdly, northern ireland. phase two is transition phase three is the future deal. the eu have said, we can't move from phase one and tell, phase two, until sufficient progress has been made on those big—ticket items. that puts the uk in a difficult position. the uk would say, and i think there is some merit in theirargument, we say, and i think there is some merit in their argument, we can't sort out the northern ireland border until we know what the future deal looks like. and the future deal is a third phaseis like. and the future deal is a third phase is —— issue. it becomes a ticket and egg situation. that is another question we have received about the brexit bill. one of the argument is, how can the uk come up with a finalfigure argument is, how can the uk come up with a final figure that we are going to pay until we know what the final deal is going to be? any future deal will also have some cost attached, and that will feed into the negotiations of the brexit bill going forward. ok, let's move to something slightly different, not specifically about today's parliamentary process. there is a tweet from mk carter, who says, do we know what the cost has been so far of brexit? they say, a 15% drop in the pound, i therefore estimate the cost so far has been in the region of £300 billion. i know that is not what we are debating here today. i'm curious whether you know of anyone who has sat down and work this out. no, it's a tricky one, really. because, yes, the pound has clearly fallen in value, as anyone who has been on holiday this summer will tell you, it is pretty much parity pound for europe on. on the other hand, it makes our exports cheaper. —— pound for europe the moment. there is a benefit at the same time. more interesting and difficult quantify is the cost in terms of the increase in numbers of civil servants who are working on this, by hiring of the civil servants, the amount of time being invested, the actual physical costs of the negotiations in brussels. brussels wants us to pay for all of those costs. so, the costs are in all sorts of little pockets. at the moment, there's no assessment of a global, ongoing, what is the cost of brexit was blocked one of the interesting costs is, what does parliament need in terms of additional resources to scrutinise this properly. in that building behind us, they are considering this in real dcal, and we just don't know at the moment. one quick, final one, i a very quick, it's not, really! is there any chance of reversing brexit, such as by voting in another political party? a very loaded question. could another party coming into power make any difference? theoretically, if we had another election, if the government couldn't sustain itself and we had another election and somehow another party emerge. the first past the post electoral system makes the murders of the new party incredibly difficult. it would depend on the election and the opposition having a clear position going into that election of opposition to brexit. at the moment, that's not where they are. we could debate that point for many hours. let's leave it there. thank you both of you for going through those. ruth fox and provides a kathryn brown. we will be talking many more times in the months ahead —— professor catherine barnard. more from here after apm. back to you, simon. studio: jane, thank you very much. news from our defence chris bond. britain is sending in military council group to help in the aftermath of hurricane irma. —— in military council is. two more helicopters will be sent to the region, hms ocean, a helicopter landing platform, is being sent it from the mediterranean, it could ta ke from the mediterranean, it could take at least two weeks to sales and caribbean. the british fleet auxiliary boat is already in the caribbean and should reach the affected territories later today. alan duncan culling the house of commons that earlier. there has been a cobra meeting, and we will hear more details of what the government action will be after the death in the caribbean and the continued path of hurricanes is magrin. the business news in a few moments. but to bring you the headlines... that is our main story. hurricane irma has caused widespread devastation across the caribbean, leaving at least ten people dead. the small island of barbuda is said to be "barely habitable", and officials warn that saint martin is almost destroyed. mps have begun their scrutiny of the government's main brexit bill, which aims to transfer eu laws and rules into into uk legislation, ahead of a vote on monday. the crisis in myanmar goes on, as tens of thousands of muslim rohingya refugees continue fleeing the country after nearly two weeks of violence in the business news... the european central bank has kept eurozone interest rates and its bond—buying stimulus programme unchanged following its latest meeting. the ecb is currently buying 60 billion euros of bonds a month as part of its quantitative easing programme. a partial reversal in a change affecting personal injury pay—outs has been proposed, marking a victory for insurers, but potentially reducing compensation for accident victims. in march, the government introduced a new formula for calculating compensation payments. the move prompted anger from the insurance industry, and now the government says it change the way the so—called discount rate is calculated. as house—builder bovis reports a profits fall of 31%, it says it will have fixed the problems with its faulty homes by the end of this year. some bovis customers had complained about homes being sold unfinished, and had reported faults in new properties. the firm, which has already set aside more than £10 million for the problem, saw house completions down on the same time last year. good afternoon. the european central bank has raised its expectation of the eurozone economy. it says that the euro block will grow 2.2% — the fastest growth in a decade. but it's still keeping interest rates at unchanged. joining us now... jennifer mckeown, chief european economist, capital economics. thank you forjoining us. jennifer, we've been talking for months about how europe is looking like it's adopting a looser monetary policy — but mario draghi contradicted that today by not scaling back on quantitive easing and keeping rates unchange, why is being so cautious? he left the programme unchanged from now, but that had always been expected, really. the ecb suggested some time ago that it would keep buying assets throughout this year. the big interest is in what it's going to do next year. he did hint that at next month's press conference the ecb is likely to announce that it's going to slow the pace of those purchases. there's probably some normalisation in ecb policy insight. it does feel a delayed, though. because given how the economy is doing in the eurozone, a 2.2% best in a decade, why is he being so cautious? well, it's all about inflation, really. you're right the economy is performing very well, and we at capital economics agree with the ecb's forecast. but core inflation, excluding foretell products like energy and food, is just 1.2% in the eurozone, that is compare to be ecb's target of close to 2%. we saw the euro rise after mario andretti decided not to change anything and keep the status quo. —— mario druggie. what does that mean for us in britain? well, it will mean further depreciation of sterling, probably, against the euro. slightly more expensive holidays, possibly, in europe. the rise is related to the fact that the acb. .. i don't expect it to go on much further. i think it will become clear that other central banks will continue normalising policy too, then things should even after bit and we expect the euro to end a little bit down on where it is now by the end of this year. ok, jennifer, will have to leave it there, thank you for joining us. in other business news.... uk houses rose at their fastest pace this year in august, according to one bank. according to the halifax, a subsidiary of lloyds banking group, house prices increased 1.1% from july — the biggest one—month rise since december, and building on july‘s 0.7% increase. bmw has joined rivals in announcing a big push into electrified vehicles. the german luxury car—maker said that by 2025 it plans 12 all—electric models, and 13 hybrid versions. jlr said every vehicle line launched from 2020 will have an all—electric or hybrid version, the first of which would be the jaguar i—pace, to go on sale in 2018. facebook says it has discovered a russian—funded campaign to promote divisive social and political messages on its network. the company said $100,000 was spent on about 3,000 ads over a two—year period and posted on topics including immigration, race and equal rights. let's have a look at the markets before we go. the ftse in the green, held by tobacco companies and direct line, insurers doing quite well after that announcement from the government announcing changes to the way that compensation is calculated. i'll be back in an hour with some markets. it's a big day for prince george — this morning was his first day at school. he was taken there by prince william. his mother, the duchess of cambridge, couldn't attend, as she's pregnant with her third child and suffering acute morning sickness. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. it is a daunting day for any four—year—old, no matter who you are, and george arrived looking, well, understandably a little nervous for his first day at the new school in south london his parents have chosen for him. dad was there to take his hand and carry his schoolbag, but not mum. she had to remain at kensington palace, suffering from acute pregnancy sickness. each day at thomas's school in battersea starts with a handshake with the teacher. george knew what was required, as did his father. and then it was time for those shiny new school shoes to head for the classroom to find the peg for george cambridge, and to meet the 20 other four—year—olds, boys and girls, who will be in the reception class with him. for william, it may have prompted memories of the day 30 years ago when he was taken by his mother for his first day at school. back then, it was all rather more formal. a boys—only school, complete with a school cap. fast forward 30 years, and george's school offers a broad curriculum with a strong emphasis on sport and human values. it's a choice of school which represents a bit of a break with royal tradition. nothing too radical, of course — it is still private and fee—paying, but it is coeducational, and the school has a strong emphasis on kindness. george will find that ‘be kind' is one of the guiding principles for pupils here, together with courtesy and humility. all useful qualities for a future king. nicholas witchell, bbc news, battersea. let's get a weather update both here and of course in the caribbean. he is chris fawkes. and of course in the caribbean. he is chris fawkes. the and of course in the caribbean. he is chris fawkes. the next and of course in the caribbean. he is chris fawkes. the next plays hurricane irma is headed for is the tag and caicos islands, it will make a direct hit about midnight hour time. weather—wise, we have a lot of cloud showing up on the satellite picture, a slow slide into a more u nsettled picture, a slow slide into a more unsettled spell of weather. this area of rain has affected increasingly northern england and will continue its journey southwards as we continue this evening, patches of rainfora as we continue this evening, patches of rain for a time, and overnight is when the rain band will really start to get a wriggle on. even as the main area of rain works in, behind that there will be plenty of showers. it will be quite a blustery old might. temperatures 10—15d. it would be too cold. a grey old start of the day. in england on friday. —— it will not be too cold. gusty winds. elsewhere, look at all the showers. there are so many of them, you have a high chance of catching one, particularly across the north—west. nowhere will be in being. in between the showers, quite a bit of cloud, limited bright spells, feeling cool in the wind, highs ofjust 1a degrees in glasgow. that's your weather. this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at four. hurricane irma causes widespread destruction across the caribbean, leaving at least thirteen people dead. in the last few minutes, it's been announced that britain will be sending a military taskforce to help in the aftermath. this is the moment irma struck st martin, cutting communications and destroying the airport. parts of the island are unreachable. the extent of the destruction in barbuda is unprecedented. in fact i am of the view that as it stands now the country is barely habitable. mps have begun their scrutiny of the government's main brexit bill, which aims to transfer thousands of pieces of eu regulations into uk law. this bill simply brings eu law into uk law, ensuring that wherever possible the rules and laws are the