coming up... one mp makes a moving plea for the government here to do more for the syrian people. they should not be strewn in the rubble of eastern ghouta. those bodies should be piled up in this chamber. the lords hear about the worsening obesity crisis among children. five—year—olds are now eating their own body weight in sugar every year. and one mp describes hate crime against sikhs. someone, consumed with so much hatred, tried to pull off the turban of one of my sikh guests as he queued upjust outside our parliament buildings, and shouted, "muslim, go back home!" the russian president has ordered a daily five—hour pause in the syrian government's assault on the rebel—held area of eastern ghouta. at the weekend, a un security council resolution was passed demanding that "all parties cease hostilities without delay for at least 30 consecutive days" to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations of critically ill people. in an urgent question to the foreign secretary, a labour mp did his best to concentrate minds. the men and women of ghouta who lie in pieces, deliberately targeted by assad's russia—enabled bombs. the dead children whose faces are altered by the chlorine gas that choked them. mr speaker, they should not be strewn in the rubble of eastern ghouta. those bodies should be piled up in this chamber and lain at the feet of governments of every single nation which continues to shrug in the face of this horror. john woodcock wondered how effective the un's call for a ceasefire could be because russia was one of its members and russia backed the regime of president assad. the security council is broken while one of its permanent members flouts the basic laws and systems of order it was created to uphold. in these dreadful circumstances, being cowed into inaction by this strangulated body is a greater violation than seeking to act even without its authorisation. there is no military solution that we can impose. i think it is now essential that the russians recognise that just because assad is in possession of half the territory of syria — perhaps 75% of the population of syria — does not mean he has won. he has come nowhere near to a complete military victory. and i do not believe it is within his grasp. when russia breaks the terms of the resolution. when president assad breaks international law and gasses his people again, which they both will, are we going to carry on in this merry dance of warm angry words and stomping our feet, or are, eventually, we in this country going to say enough is enough and actually do something? mr speaker, i always note that when such questions are posed in this house, there is very often a martial cheering or noise of assent from benches on both sides. i have to say that i share that sentiment. i would like to see us to be in a position to do something. not to allow the use of chemical weapons to go unpunished. but ijust remind the house of what happened in 2013 when we did have that choice, when we did have that option and we failed to take it. let us not let the people of syria down again. while i appreciate that it is the view of some in this house that the suffering of eastern ghouta can only be stopped by yet more western military intervention, i believe that would simply prolong and deepen the war. ultimately, we can only end this dreadful conflict and the suffering of all the syrian people through genuine peace talks involving all non—jihadi parties and the agreement of a political solution. the russian defence minister has announced that starting tomorrow there will be a daily humanitarian pause. from nine o'clock in the morning until two o'clock in the afternoon. does the foreign secretary agree with me that limiting the bombing to 19 hours a day as opposed to 24 is going to be of scant comfort to the residents of "hell on earth" as the secretary—general of the united nations described eastern ghouta? what further action is the foreign secretary prepared to take, above that which he has already described to the house, to ensure that russia abides by the terms of the resolution it supported, a humanitarian pause for 30 consecutive days, and ensure that humanitarian aid gets in. because, isn't the reason we are having this discussion today, because in the past the words of the west have failed to have any impact whatsoever? it is absurd for the russians to say they are going to be desisting from bombing for a certain number of hours per day. there needs to be a complete cease—fire. there needs to be an end to the carnage in eastern ghouta. russia needs to be held to account. the russians who are responsible for this will eventually be held to account. borisjohnson. the boss of the company running trains between london and edinburgh has blamed "political uncertainty" for the premature end of its contract. the head of stagecoach told the public accounts committee that the loss of the east coast franchise would cost his company £200 million. stagecoach will lose its franchise within months. the government says it got its numbers wrong. mps wanted to know why. in the last three years, rail revenue growth across the uk has collapsed. and that is to do with the economy. it's to do with political uncertainty. we have had some very terrible, high—profile incidents in places like manchester, which you are clearly all be aware of, and the fundamental changes about people's perception in travel... how does political uncertainty stop somebody getting on a train and going somewhere? the whole economy has... when we bid for this franchise, nobody foresaw two referendums, one in scotland, we didn't foresee the brexit referendum, two general elections, all of these things create... and i can take you to other parts... i think there's a lot of business from a lot of mps travelling up and down from scotland! we are in a very different place. i think it is a baffling excuse, frankly, that two referendums stop people getting on a train. i think it's relevant, i think it's part of the whole wider debate. how? this is what i don't understand. how exactly... in fact, don't worry about that question. i think it's so baffling and such a throwaway comment, it's not even relevant to what we are actually discussing. at what point, mr griffith, did you begin to realise that there was a problem? you weren't going to get the results you were expecting. how did you monitor exactly how this contract was going. and if you had realised earlier that there was a problem, what did you do about it and what steps did you take? because every business can always... because businesses have to. absolutely. i knew about this a few weeks after we got in. a few weeks after you got that franchise? after we started. i knew we had a problem. and what did you do? i've been talking to the department for transport about it for over two years. and what about your internal organisation, did you look at what you are trying to deliver? of course. i think the management team and staff have done an incredible job. delays in track improvement works have been blamed for problems. virgin said its franchise bid was based on promised track improvements. what's happened since is the dates for completing some of those infrastructure enhancements have been delayed. and that's another thing that we have been in discussion with the department about, as well as working with network rail to ensure that the enhancements are delivered. mr warne, how long have you worked in the rail industry? 21, 22 years. have you ever known a rail projects deliver on time? i have, actually. gives us an example. actually, if you take some of the work that network rail have been doing on its roots, some of it has been delivered on time. other elements have not been delivered. but you must acknowledge that there is an awful lot of rail projects, not all of them, but a high percentage, very high percentage, that don't deliver on time. then it got personal. mr griffiths, did you get a bonus payment this year? i don't decide my bonus payment. bonus payments are for shareholders and remuneration committees. i think we can safely assume that in light of what's going on this year, even if they had given me one, and i wouldn't think they would, i wouldn't expect to be taking a bonus this year. so if you were offered a bonus, you will refuse it? yes, i wouldn't take a bonus this year. so would you get offered a bonus as a managing director? sorry? do you get offered a bonus? yes, i do. do you expect to get one? i don't expect to get one, no, this year. would you give it back if it was offered? to have the armed forces this country requires. in orderto maintain our independence, not just our sovereignty but our freedom of action and ability to make our own decisions, rather than be dictated to by circumstances, we need to have highly trained, fully manned and well—equipped armed forces. for a trading island nation, at the cusp for brexit, and turning her face to the world, great britain must turn the tide of decline in defence. none of us want our army to be damaged. we all of us know our personnel, when fully trained and fully committed, can be some of the best in the world. a knowledge which is shared across our nato alliance. but we are getting weaker, and it is unacceptable, that we are getting weaker. if, during the cold war, we helped deter russia by spending 5% of gdp, then if we now have to do it again, we are simply not going to be able to do so by only spending two. our allies also need to make a greater contribution as well. if we are to maintain an independent nuclear deterrent, bolster our conventional forces and build up our war reserves, then we are obviously going to need to spend something much nearer to 3% on defence than two. if we rule the ends, then we must also rule the means. there is no disguising the fact that this country is not spending enough on defence and security of the realm. that's the frank reality of it. that's the truth of it. that's something that has been heard loud and clear. i say this, mr deputy speaker. my advice to the defence minister is to actually use, i'll say it again, for him and the defence secretary, to use the power of the voice of this parliament to go to the prime minister and tell the prime minister that we the elected representatives, by and large, do not think we are spending enough on the defence and security of the country. what i look to in the further comtributions to this debate is some magic formula that'll take our defence ministers, take our defence civil servants, take our national security advisers, and all the rest of them who seem to think that all is well with the world when we are spending a fraction of what we used to spend in percentage terms of gdp when confronted with threats such as we face today, and saying everything is fine and we are on course. we are not on course, we need to change course and the direction we have to go is for a significant uplift to 3% of gdp to be spent on the defence of the united kingdom. we should be careful not to rest on our laurels. i completely agree with the sentiment that we should look at 2% is an absolute minimum on which we should build. it is a start, not an end point. the world is constantly changing, both politically and technologically. it is crucial that our military ca pabilityies military capabilities are funded sufficiently. ensuring we can keep up with those changes and secure our country in any and all circumstances. there is a fundamental problem in the way that this parliament, this government, and governments over many years, have decided to fund defence. it needs to radically change. even if the solution that we think might be helpful is not the perfect solution, something has to give. because this is simply unsustainable. as i have said previously, the minister and his colleagues will have support across the house if the review results in proper investment for our defences and armed forces. but there will be deep disquiet if the review merely results in yet more cuts of the kind that have been widely briefed in the press in recent months. the message has to be clear. if we want to continue playing an influential role on the international stage with the full spectrum capability... if we want to provide the critical security post—brexit trade deals will demand... if we want to remain a leading contributor in the fight against extremism in the middle east and elsewhere, you cannot continue to do this on a defence budget ofjust 2%. 2% is just not enough. so this is a question, madam deputy speaker, notjust for this government, not just for parliamentarians, but for britain. what status, what role, what responsibility do we aspire to play as we seek to trade more widely in a world that is becoming more dangerous? a labour mp has complained that plans to confront hate crime don't adequately consider offences against sikhs. tanmanjeet singh dhesi described a racist incident that took place outside parliament last week. i was disgusted on wednesday night when someone, consumed with so much hatred, tried to pull off the turban of one of my sikh guests as he queued up just outside our apartment buildings and shouted, "muslim, go back home!" mr speaker, it has been brought to the government's attention on previous occasions that the hate crime action plan to properly record and monitor hate crimes completely ignores sikhs. the sikhs regard the turban as a crown on their heads. indeed, mr speaker, when you yourself presided over the launch of the national sikh war memorial campaign, for which i am extremely grateful, you would have ascertained the substantial strength of feeling in the community to have a statue of turbaned sikh soldiers in our capital, because more than 80,000 turbaned individuals died for the freedom of this country, our country. given this considerable context, when giving your advice, perhaps you would be kind enough to impress upon the house authorities and the police to take this matter very seriously, and to bring the assailant to justice. the speaker said the incident was truly appalling and the police were investigating. he said he would write to the victim to express the regret of the whole house. uk millennials are on track to be the most overweight generation since records began, health experts say. based on population trends, more than seven in every ten people born in the early 1980s to the mid—90s will be too fat by the time they reach middle age. in comparison, about half of the "baby boomer" generation, bornjust after the second world war, were fat at that age. five—year—olds are now eating their own bodyweight in sugar every year. obesity is the second largest cause of cancer, and it reduces life expectancy up to ten years. so what is needed is not voluntary action that will that will combat action that will combat the obesity epidemic the country is facing, but what is needed are mandatory reformulation targets for the reduction of added sugar, fat, and calories across all products, as well as common—sense policies directed at early years, which includes oral health initiatives. so can the minister confirm that there will be a more robust, mandatory element in future stages of the national obesity strategy? the noble lady is quite right to highlight the importance of this issue. of course, we saw more research today highlighting not just the prevalence of obesity among younger people, but also the catastrophic health risks that attend from that. what i would say is, when you look at the actions that were in the obesity plan, both the reduction of sugar by 20% by 2020 with a 5% interim target, and the sugar levy, that has led to serious action. 50% of the drinks that would have otherwise been captured have now reduced their formulations, so we have seen action. what we will see in the spring is evidence of whether or not it has had the desired effect. and if it hasn't, we have left all options open to take further action if required. does the minister agree that it would be a good idea to reintroduce domestic science into all schools so that people have a better mechanism for actually preparing and eating more quality foods than fast foods? i can reassure the noble lord that the national curriculum does indeed, and through the psag curriculum and other elements, it does indeed include elements around nutrition and healthy eating, and many schools do offer the kind of classes he is talking about. the health minister. labour has demanded extra funding and resources for the fire service. the call came as mps paid tribute to the members of the emergency services dealing with the aftermath of an explosion in a shop in leicester. the cause of the blast isn't known but it's not thought to be terrorist—related. the home secretary updated the commons on the latest information. five people are now confirmed to have died in an explosion at a shop last night on hinckley road. five others remain in hospital, one with serious injuries. and my thanks to the fire crews who are continuing to search for survivors and the hospital staff who are working tirelessly to save lives. i know i speak on behalf of all of us when i say our thoughts are with the family and friends of those who have died as well as the injured. the number of firefighters has been cut by 11,000 since 2010, and their wages have seen a real terms pay cut. the current level of un—earmarked reserves equates to just three weeks operating costs at the same time as deaths in fires have increased. i would like to ask the minister to reconsider the levels of funding and resourcing for our fire service. whilst there has been praise today for our firefighters, when will the government pay them a fair wage for the courageous work they undertake — when? firefighters go into burning buildings to save lives. they're professional, compassionate heroes who put their lives at risk to save our families. can the minister really look every single one of them in the eye and tell them it's acceptable that they have, in real terms, received a pay cut? the government is determined to make sure that firefighters who do difficult dangerous work, as we have seen today in leicester, get fair pay for their work. it is also very true that over recent years they have been asked to make sacrifices as part of the contribution to getting on top of the deficit we inherited from the party opposite. no one disputes the courageous work firefighters do. we saw it at grenfell and we saw it yesterday in leicester as well. the point is, there are active negotiations going on between those who are responsible, which is employer and employee. central government does not have a role in that process unless we are called in for additional support. she talks about reserves and labour are in denial on this. the fact is that the fire system that claims to be short of cash has increased its reserves by £288 million since 2011. you can only increase by not using the money that you have been given. 0ur question to the fire service is, tell us what you would do with the public's money. nick hurd. more than 90,000 people have signed an online petition calling for britain to ban the export of live farm animals. the government is understood to be considering ending the practice. it will launch a consultation in the spring. currently, live animal exports from britain and europe are controlled by an eu regulation. a labour mp said brexit provided the perfect opportunity for a new law to make the practice illegal. countless animals continue to endure grueling journeys every year. in 2012, a0 sheep had to be euthanised after being crammed into a truck. just last august it was reported that 500 sheep spent four days without any access to food or water while being transported to turkey. many of you will have seen today's story in the times about how more than 5000 veal calves a year are unweaned and discarded by the dairy industry are sent on journeys of more than 135 hours from scotland to spain. let us, mr wilson, make this one of the first great steps as britain takes back control from the european union. because as gandhi once said, the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. we should not be banning live exports because if we do that, we will lose control through the irish border and potentially the animals that we are seeking to improve the welfare of, will end up travelling from southern ireland to spain or france, journeys that are considerably longer than they need to be. what we need to do, is to improve the standards of transport within the united kingdom. and then when they arrive in kent, ready to cross the channel, they must be properly veterinary inspected. it would be great if this was all happening with an improvement in the quality of inspection and the quality of prosecution where necessary. but sadly, there have been major cuts in this area. the government would prefer to see animals slaughtered as near as possible to their point of production. as a trade in meat on the hook as the honourable member for thanet north pointed out, is preferable to trade based on the transport of live animals. and the government is committed to improving the welfare of all animals and shares both british farmers' and the british public's high regard for animal welfare. george eustice. if you're an england rugby fan, you'll be all too aware that things didn't go quite according to plan in saturday's calcutta cup. 0ne scottish mp felt compelled to bring the matter to the attention of his english counterparts, especially as his constituency includes the murrayfield stadium. but how to do it? point of order, mr ian murray. thank you very much, mr speaker. there's a convention in this house when a member of parliament visits someone else's constituencey, that they should write to them to inform them that they have done so. many members of parliament from england may have stayed in, dined, or, indeed, drowned their sorrows in my constituency on saturday after the rugby. now, i don't really want them all to write to me. but i wonder if there was a mechanism to find out who they were so i could write to them to remind them... laughter. to remind them... laughter. to remind them not only of the convention, but to maybe just about gloat about the calcutta success of scotland on saturday? the final score was scotland 25—13 england. i have welsh origins, so i'm not saying anything. and that's all we've got time for. so from me, mandy baker, for now, goodbye. hello there. expect a wintry start to your tuesday morning, whether it's a hard frost or maybe even some snow showers. in fact, the snow showers will be across the north—east of england and down across extreme south and east of england. that's where the met office has issued amber weather warnings. be prepared for the possibility of some disruption first thing on tuesday morning. as much as five to ten centimetres of lying snow not out of the question. those snow showers are likely to continue as we go through the day. driven along by a brisk north—easterly breeze. some of them will push further inland, but sheltered western areas should see fewer showers and more sunshine. nevertheless, it will feel bitterly cold out there with top temperatures around 0—1; degrees. as we move out of tuesday and into wednesday, the weather warnings move that little bit further north. amber weather warnings, be prepared for further disruption affecting the north—east of england and eastern scotland due to some heavy snow and strong blustery winds. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: president trump calls police officers who failed to confront the florida school gunman a "disgrace" and says he would have acted very differently. i really believe you don't know until you are tested. but i really believe i would run in there, even if i didn't have a weapon and i think most of the people in this room would have done that too. russia orders a daily five—hour ceasefire — to allow civilians to leave the besieged syrian enclave of ghouta. snowball fights at the vatican as a huge arctic storm sweeps europe, bringing heavy snowfalls and dangerously low temperatures. and six months after hurricane harvey, we return to houston and meet the people who still haven't moved back home.