to the bbc news at six. britain could pay £18 billion to secure a two—year transitional deal after brexit to smooth our exit from the european union. the prime minister is expected to make the offer in a key speech on brexit in italy tomorrow. in return, theresa may wants continued access to the single market during that time and for britain to be able to negotiate its own trade deals. here's our political correspondent vicki young. has borisjohnson has boris johnson been has borisjohnson been won over? are you and the prime minister agreed on brexit, sir? he denied he was planning on resigning if the cabinet did not go his way but he appears to have signed up to the prime minister's brexit plan. ministers were given half an hour to read the speech theresa may will make tomorrow, which she hopes will reinvigorate talks with the eu. her party is divided over how quickly we break ties with the european union. her task is to find a compromise. so what could the prime minister's brexit offer look like? she is likely to propose a transitional arrangement between the uk and the eu, starting in march 2019 and lasting up to two years. she had expected to signal that britain will continue to pay into the eu during that period, up to 20 billion euros. and she will repeat her demand for a bespoke trade deal after brexit. even ardent brexit campaigners now agree that eu payments should continue for a while. we are leaving a big hole in theirfinances if we just leave. and if the european union is going to deal constructively with us and reach a sensible agreement, then there are reasonable political and diplomatic reasons why we should help them meet their budget commitments, and not create a great deal of disruption. theresa may is said to be planning an open and generous offer to the european union in her speech tomorrow, which worries people like borisjohnson, who thinks the prime minister, as she tries to get a deal, will give away too much ground and too much money. this carefully choreographed exit from cabinet suggests the chancellor and foreign secretary have set aside their differences over brexit, for now. today, in italy, the eu's chief negotiator suggested there could be rapid agreement on a transition period, but repeated that the uk would have to accept eu rules during that time. is cabinet united? very united. a united front at home but tomorrow theresa may must sell her vision to a wider audience. theresa may's vision of what happens next seems to have been signed off by her cabinet and party, no small hurdle to have got over, but this is a negotiation, a compromise. so the eu's reaction to what she says tomorrow is all important. they are likely to be pleased that britain seems to be being more generous about eu payments but there are many outstanding issues, including the thorny issue of the rights of eu citizens. that needs to be resolved before these negotiations can move to the next phase. rescuers are racing against time to free survivors of the earthquake in mexico on tuesday which has killed almost 240 people and injured thousands more. more than 50 people have been pulled out of the crumpled buildings alive. but efforts to rescue a 12—year—old girl from her collapsed school are continuing slowly. they've managed to pass her food and water but still can't free her. the 7.1 quake was the deadliest to hit the country for 32 years. 0ur correspondent aleem maqbool is in mexico city. dos medicos. the rescue efforts are getting all the more desperate in mexico city. volunteers hang on to moments of hope, but in all the confusion, none really know what the ambulances are carrying away. at any sign of life in the rubble, the call goes out for doctors, orfor more soldiers who've been deployed. the focal point now is the school where children and teachers remain trapped. there has been an extremely tense rescue operation unfolding at this primary school, an excruciating wait for parents. the rescuers say they will continue through day and night until every last child is accounted for, and it feels like right now everyone in this nation is waiting for that moment, too. for a time, we were given access to the school yard with rescue workers, right beside the collapsed three—storey building. there was a dramatic moment where it was announced all efforts were now to be focused on a 13—year—old girl they had made contact with. then one of the teachers from the school, who has been waiting here for hours, was called forward and escorted into what remains of the collapsed building, a friendly, familiar voice for the trapped girl to hear. through the night, rescuers worked at the site, but the girl remains trapped, as do many others. it appears someone was rescued, but his condition is unknown. much of the news in the past 2a hours has been bad. it's believed one teacher was the last whose body was recovered. at the school, and rescue operations elsewhere, it's hard to use heavy machinery because of the risk of causing further collapse. "the work is so delicate", says hector mendez, head of one rescue brigade. "we have to do everything by hand or chisel, "with a hammer or handsaw. "if you don't, you could cause something very serious". and those rescue attempts go on far beyond mexico city. in the state of morelos, close to the epicentre of the earthquake, buildings and cars were flattened. with fewer high—rise structures, the area escaped the kind of loss of life suffered in the capital. there are questions being asked about why structures here can't all withstand earthquakes better, when this country is so prone to them, particularly schools. just in mexico city, we have more than 9000 schools, and this is the only one that has these serious damages. of course, many are giving thanks that more schools weren't affected, but that is little comfort for the parents who've suffered and who continue to suffer here. president trump says hurricane maria has totally obliterated the us island territory of puerto rico and destroyed its electrical grid. 3.5 million people are without power after the island was hit yesterday. the islands governor says it may take months to restore the electricity supply completely. the authorities are warning of more flash floods. the hurricane also brought heavy rain and high winds to the dominican republic. a sixth arrest has been made by police investigating last week's attack on a london underground train. a 17—year—old was detained in thornton heath, in south london, just after midnight. the five other people in custody are aged between 18 and 48. 30 people were injured when a homemade bomb partially exploded at parsons green. ryanair is planning to make its pilots change their planned holidays, as it tries to deal with a rota crisis that's already led to the cancellation of 2000 flights. ryanair had offered to give pilots a £12,000 bonus if they gave up some holiday. but the pilots rejected that idea. the company's chief executive michael 0'leary says they're now looking to recruit an extra 500 pilots over the next six months. here's our transport correspondent richard westcott. under fire for thousands of cancelled flights, ryanair‘s boss was not in the most patient mood today. is he feeling the heat? no, we're having a very good year. he is making pilots delay some leave to avoid cutting yet more flights. there is extra money in it for them, there is also evidence some may turn it down. ryanair is split into 86 bases scattered around europe. each has pilot representatives but they rarelyjoin forces, until now. i'm told around half have backed a letter, seen by the bbc, that say, the majority of our colleagues rejected your last memo which offered them a £12,000 bonus to work on days off. they are demanding new contracts and better working conditions instead. that bonus is not the end of the goodies, as michael 0'leary called them, that are being offered to pilots. this is dublin, the home of ryanair. this is one of their biggest bases. pilots here, along with others in london, frankfurt and berlin are being offered an extra 10,000 euros if they help out. but i have seen messages on social media suggesting that pilots here, anyway, don't want to take that money because it's not being offered across the whole company. compared to most people, ryanair pilots have a very well—paid job. so why are they so angry? they are under a lot of pressure. they have their schedules changed quite a lot. they often are overworked, frankly. 0ne sent me his roster today, he has got 45 hours and 50 minutes of flying in one week. that really means you are at work about 60 or 70 hours. ryanair has had quite an effect on the industry and has dragged down conditions for everyone. 0ne union that is not allowed to get involved unless the pilots ask them to says it has never known a situation like it. the reality is that airlines need pilots. there is a shortage of pilots. ryanair clearly are throwing money at this problem. i would suggest to them that they need to fundamentally look at their employment model, rather than sticking a plaster on the problem. angry pilots keep telling me that this is their big chance to get more secure contracts. but michael 0'leary is not the type to back down. if these crews do pull together and take action, it could mean more cancelled flights for passengers. michael ollie re—was on typically forthright form at the annual general meeting behind me, basically saying that if the pilots misbehaving will be the end of the goodies, all of those bonuses. i have been speaking to a lot of ryanair pilots have been speaking to a lot of rya nair pilots over the have been speaking to a lot of ryanair pilots over the last few days, and they seem to see this as their chance. they know the company needs them to get this cancellation crisis, to have no more cancellations. so they are seeing an opportunity to negotiate better contracts. the big question is, can they pull together with one voice, and will they have the guts, and will they take action? 0ur our top story: the plan to break the brexit deadlock, as the prime minister prepares for a speech in italy tomorrow. it could cost £18 billion. still to come: attenborough‘s amazing adventures. we speak to sir david about bringing the natural world to our living rooms. and coming up in sportsday on bbc news: he may be on his bike, but the outgoing president of cycling's governing body, brian cookson, says he leaves with his head held high. it's a powerful drug that's been prescribed for decades to people with epilepsy and bipolar disorder, but women who were told to keep taking sodium valproate during pregnancy were devastated to find that it had harmed their children in the womb, and they're now calling for a public inquiry. it's estimated that around 20,000 children have been left with physical and mental disabilities in the uk. this special report from our health correspondent sophie hutchinson. three—year—old elsie has only just learned to walk. he can't speak or point. he has severe learning difficulties caused by the epilepsy medicine which his mum took while pregnant. sodium valproate has been prescribed since the early 1970s, but women say they are still not being told about the risk. there was nothing mentioned about valproate at all. theyjust said keep on the drug. i wasn't aware of any risk. you can do three things from that one. it wasn't untiljulie's fourth child was born that she was told her pills had harmed three of her children. i think shock at first. numb. and then afterwards is laying in bed and just feeling guilty. her seven—year—old daughter, 11—year—old son and 21—year—old daughter have all been affected. as time went by and i had more children, we saw more paediatricians, we saw gps, we saw midwives, we saw all of these health care professionals. why did it take me to have four children before somebody finally sort of said that child looks like it's got sodium valproate syndrome. valproate medicines are an effective treatment for epilepsy and bipolar disorders, but babies exposed to it in the womb have a 10% risk of physical abnormalities and 30 to 40% risk of autism, learning disabilities and low iq. warning signs about the danger of the drug emerged as early as the 1980s and increased in the ‘90s, but large studies were slow to follow up. it wasn't until 2005 that patient information leaflets included risks of delayed development in children, and only last year warnings were put on the outside of packets. these are some of the faces of the 20,000 children it's estimated have been harmed by sodium valproate in the uk, and the tens of thousands injured across the world. in france, 1,200 families are suing the drug's manufacturer, sanofi. they claim it was aware of the risks and should have warned women. these read files are just some of the cases for the french trials. lawyers say they give an indication of the huge scale of the harm caused by sodium valproate. the lawyer showed mea sodium valproate. the lawyer showed me a sanofi document which lists cases of children born to mothers taking valproate who had developed mental problems. many of them in the uk. you can see uk everywhere. the french government is supporting the legal action and has also put aside around £9 million to compensate the families. but here, parents like emma friedman have given up hope of a day in court. her 18—year—old son andy is severely autistic after being harmed by valproate. in 2010 his case was part of a class action, 100 families tried to sue sanofi but then legal aid was pulled and the case could not go ahead. then legal aid was pulled and the case could not go aheadlj then legal aid was pulled and the case could not go ahead. i believe the children have had justice denied. we need to have a proper inquiry into what went on. why were the warnings ignored with this drug? why wasn't further research done? who was responsible? sanofi declined to comment about the legal cases but said: despite being an effective drug, the valproate natasha tug is only meant to be prescribed to women of child—bearing age as a last resort according to the uk medicines watchdog. it said its kept the drug is under constant review and updated warnings but next week the european medicines watchdog will examine whether those warnings are actually reaching women and protecting children. and the advice if women are concerned about valproate is to consult your doctor. for more information and links to help groups, you can go to the bbc website. an inquest into the death of the moors murderer ian brady has found that he died of natural causes. the 79—year—old was being held at the ashworth secure unit in merseyside when he died in may. the inquest heard that he frequently removed his feeding tube while on hunger strike, but this did not contribute to his death. there was no mention of what has happened to his remains. president trump has announced new sanctions targeting north korea. he said they would affect individuals and companies that trade with pyongyang. earlier the south korean president told the united nations that he didn't want to see the colla pse that he didn't want to see the collapse of north korea. the number of acid attacks in the uk is on the rise and it looks like we'll see record numbers by the end of the year. it's a cruel and painfulform of attack that's no longer just associated with shame or honour attacks. it's now being used by thieves and gangs. adina campbell has this report. some viewers might find some of the images distressing. in a case of mistaken identity, this man was doused with sulphuric acid on his doorstep in cornwall three years ago. the attacks left him with life—changing injuries, including blindness in one eye. but the mental effects arejust as painful. very early on, we made the decision that my son theo should not be near the hospital at all. i did not see him for close to three months. that was my biggest fear, how he would be with me, how he would react to seeing me. my wife pia got him out of the car, and i went up to him and he looked at me and just grabbed my wife, and my heart sank. when i started talking, and he recognised my voice, he knew it was me. the second he knew it was me, he stuck his arms out and gave me the biggest hug in the world. his perpetrator, who was originally given a life sentence, has now had his jail term cut to a minimum of eight years. acid attacks are not new — but there has been a sharp rise, particularly in london, with more than a50 last year, nearly double the number in 2015, according to figures from the metropolitan police. police say they are seeing some links between criminal gangs and the recent increase in corrosive substances. traditionally known to be a weapon of choice in honour attacks around the world, acid is now being used in gang—related violence in the uk. doctors are on the receiving end. the numbers have certainly increased. we did some research a few years ago, we looked at all our chemical assaults, from one to two per year on average. we had admitted 20 cases last year, and we have seen more than that already this year. 0ne high—profile acid attack was here at this nightclub in east london earlier this year. 22 people were hurt, two lost their sight in one eye, and others suffered burns. one of them was 26—year—old sadie wright, who has been having treatment forfacial and head burns. let's see... the physical injuries have healed, but she no longer spends as much time with herfriends. going out was always me and my friends, we love it. so my friends are a bit sad that i don't really go out any more. they don't even ask me, cos i willjust tell them no. for those left with long—lasting disfigurement, it's also a harsh reality, underlining the devastating this use of toxic substances. misuse of toxic substances. you can see a longer version of that story on the bbc website at bbc.co.uk/news. the former conservative mp sir teddy taylor has died at the age of 80. sir teddy opposed the uk's entry into the european union, and was one of a group of tory mps who attempted to frustrate john major's negotiation of the maastrict treaty. sir teddy represented constituencies in glasgow and southend for a0 years, before retiring in 2005. for more than half a century, sir david attenborough has brought to us a world of creatures and cultures that millions of us have never seen before. now to mark the re—publication of his zoo quest book, based on the original 1950s bbc television series, sir david has given an exclusive interview to our arts editor, will gompertz. let me take you back to the mid—1950s... this is the story of a search for a dragon. ..when a young david attenborough took his first tentative steps as a natural and history programme maker. as a natural history programme maker. as he circled us, flicking out his great yellow tongue, savouring the smell of the goat's flesh, he looked almost as though he had walked out of some prehistoric age. gosh, look at that. now here we are, 60 years later at london zoo. in the dragon house, named after the man who has become quite possibly the most respected broadcaster on planet earth. david, the world and television has changed a lot since you first encountered one of those. yes. hugely. yes, when i encountered that, there were two networks in britain only. the bottom of the ferry grated on the white coral sand... i went to bali in 1956. i only saw one other european all the time i was in bali, which was several weeks, a couple of weeks. and we filmed dancing, and it was just marvellous. whoops, look at that! i mean that, that was great fun. it was the first time that that had ever been seen on television. yes. and it took us weeks to get there and get that filmed. and of course the world was new. that's an example of it. i mean people... it wasn't the greatest film ever made, but nobody had ever seen a fat thing before. when i filmed that, there were only a third of the people on the planet. what is the effect, in your eyes, of having three times as many people on the planet? well everything is overcrowded. everything is overcrowded. and it's very difficult. the wilderness is under threat. looking at the oceans, and seeing the mother albatross come back after having scoured the antarctic ocean to feed this chick which she had been away from for weeks, and to bring back food. and she opens her beak and the chick begs the food and out comes what? plastic. yes. that she has found floating on the ocean and has brought back and feeds the chick. that's heartbreaking. heartbreaking, yes. you're 91, so you're not as young as you once were. on a good day, how old do you feel in yourself? about 45 really. yes, i think so, really. and i mean, look, this is luck, isn't it? that is just luck. jack and i set off wildly in pursuit. his luck is our good fortune. there are more programmes to come from this much—loved big beast of the broadcasting jungle. will gompertz, bbc news. let's go back to one of our main stories, the desperate search for survivors in mexico after tuesday's earthquake. 0ur correspondent is in mexico city and it really is a race against time now. yes indeed. we are close to the school everyone has been talking about where pupils are still trapped. there is rolling coverage on some mexican channels of the rescue operation but that has been hampered in recent hours because they are worried about the colla pse because they are worried about the collapse of the building further and so collapse of the building further and so there are very few rescuers in there. the schoolgirl we have been hearing about for hours still hasn't been rescued and there are, as you say, those who are starting to feel that the likelihood of pulling someone that the likelihood of pulling someone alive out of the rubble is becoming less likely. but of course mexico city, people are getting help. more than 230 people have been killed, nearly 2000 injured, but many more have lost their homes because the houses have been demolished or they are in the state of the building behind me — too damaged to live in so people are being given food and clothing. but there is a sense as well of togetherness in mexico city of extreme loss, now they have been able to take account of what has happened over the last week. thank you. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. we are starting off with hurricane maria which obliterated the power networks in puerto rico. the mayor has said it could take up to six months before power supplies are fully restored. it's been just off the coast of the dominican republic close enough to bring gale force winds to the north of the island and next stop, the core of that hurricane passing close to the turks and caicos islands, but close enough to do some damage. from there it spins relatively harmlessly out into the atlantic and the next place it could make landfall is possibly here in the uk in october. today we have had this band of cloud across the uk, rain working in and the sky is brightening up across the west for a time but overnight the rain clears through and we will have dry conditions overnight. it will turn out to be a cool night, chilly in places, with temperatures in the towns and cities between eight and 10 celsius. a band of rain then work since. tomorrow this wet and windy weather will spread to scotland, western parts of england and wales as well, leaving a swathe of central and eastern england with dry weather and eastern england with dry weather and further spells of sunshine. with winds still, coming up from the south. what about the weekend weather prospects? again the weather should be reasonable for many. cloud breaking up with some sunny spells, it will become quite warm with a band of rain working into western areas on sunday. so saturday the best of the two days' weather. and that this is bbc news, the headlines. theresa may is likely to propose a transitional arrangement of up to two years after brexit. rescue workers in mexico city are still trying to reach survivors trapped under the rubble of a school which collapsed during the earthquake on tuesday. 0ne collapsed during the earthquake on tuesday. one is a 12—year—old girl thought to have taken softer and a table. a sixth man has been arrested after the attacks on the tube last week. a 21—year—old man has been released with the police taking no further action. i came —— hurricane area continues to cause devastation in the caribbean.

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