now on bbc news it's monday in parliament. hello, and welcome to monday in parliament. coming up: the foreign secretary updates mps on the situation in iran. but labour despairs. withjust one more mistake, or miscalculation before brinkmanship tips over into war. one conservative says enough is enough. when do we decide that actually, the people of iran do not want this organisation any more, and we want to support them? the brexit withdrawal bill reaches the lords, but some peers accuse the government of rushing it through. this is both stupid, — with corrections having to be made later — but also arrogant, with scant regard to our normal democratic method of lawmaking. and a newcomer to the lords makes a powerful maiden speech. across the entirety of the country, saying sometimes very vocally, unequivocably, "we reject the extremism of anti—semitism". but first: the foreign secretary, dominic raab, has demanded a full, transparent and independent inquiry into the shooting down of a ukrainian airliner by iran. iran admitted firing missiles by mistake at the plane that crashed near tehran. all 176 people on board were killed. they were mostly iranians and canadians. four british nationals also died. dominic raab was answering an urgent question in the commons. the regime in tehran is at a cost race. it can slip further and further into political and economic isolation. but there is an alternative, and the regime does have a choice. the diplomatic door remains open, and now is the time for iran to engage in diplomacy and chart a peaceful way forwards. this is the beginning of the opportunity — if iran decides to take it — to co—operate with the international community on the downed ukrainian aircraft. unfortunately a number of britons were involved, but many more iranians. therefore, could my right honourable friend tell the house precisely what discussions have been had about having a proper investigation into the aircraft downing, including the handing over of the flight boxes to a proper international investigation? the canadians are leading some of the work in terms of visas and repatriation bodies. we are working together with them and all those affected, and our wider partners to make sure there is a credible, fair, and transparent investigation. because although we understand that iran has accepted responsibly, we still don't know why it happened or the details of how it happened. and i think the british victims, the canadian victims and iranian victims — but above all the uranian victims — deserve to know the answers to those questions and why this tragedy happened. the shooting down of flight 572 is simply the latest in instances of civilian airliners being shot over war zones by mistake. can i ask my colleagues what more might be done to enable defence forces properly to his english between civilian aircraft —— distinguish. and potential military threat, in order to ensure these are of avoided in the future? ever since donald trump started to walk away from the iranian nuclear deal, we have been on a path to this point. with the strategy of engagement from the so—called moderates in iran now discredited and abandoned, and with the hardliners firmly back charge in iran right now discredited and abandoned, and with the hardliners firmly backing charge into iran and an equally unhappy trigger—happy president in the white house, and with one more mistake or miscalculation until brinkmanship tips over into war. mr speaker, i believe these irresponsible actions are out of sync with the views of the people of iran. once again, they have bravely taken to the streets to vent their fury against this regime, against the failing economy, and against the regime's international adventurism. the foreign secretary will have seen reports of the demonstrations across iran this weekend, illustrating the profound unhappiness amongst the people of iran themselves about the recent actions of their government. can i say to the former secretary, that may in itself be the start of an opportunity to see a shift towards modern policy? —— iran's foreign policy. but if we are to maximise the opportunity, then we would need to engage those in the wider middle east with whom we have good relations, in order to see that shift executed in iran? would he agree with me that reaching out to friends in the region would be a good avenue for making sure that iran not only comes back into the fold and frees its people from this awful territory, but also ends the policy of hostagetaking ? —— tyranny. it has not taken nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe away from her daughter, but for many otherfamilies too. in his conversations with iranian counterparts regarding the detention of uk counterpart, what have they sought regarding the rights of other peaceful protesters across iran who don't have the luxury and diplomatic immunity to protect them? i thank the honourable lady who raises a very important point. the reality is that international norms that reflect and recognise, and call for the safeguarding of peaceful protesting across the board, and we do make those points to our iranian partners. but of course, there is a very clear obligation regarding diplomatic relations in terms of the way ambassadors and diplomatic staff are treated. and it is crucial, not least because if you can't have confidence that your diplomatic staff and missions are respected, you can't engage in the kind of diplomacy that we need to chart a peaceful way forward. at which point do we get the idea that this regime is not really bound on any peaceful nature, not going to give up of its opportunities? nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe is held as a hostage like many others. when do we decide that actually, the people of iran do not want this organisation any more, and we want to support them? there is a real sense now of chaos and emergency in crisis in the region. what assessment has the foreign commonwealth office made of is both in the region and here at home, and what actions are being taken to encounter any dangers? i thank the honourable lady who makes a very important point. the reality is unless we can pursue the path of de—escalation, the risk of war would benefit those terrorist groups. we are obviously keeping the risk assessment under constant review, we don't talk about the operational sides of that. but one of the clear aspects in all of this that we have in common, whether it's with our european partners, american partners, or the iranian government is not to allow the hard—fought gains and hard—won gains against daesh to be lost. tuesday saw the first housing communities and local government questions of the new parliament and the new year. —— monday saw the first housing communities and ministers faced a barrage of questions. with local government in crisis, according to the tory—lead lga, children care up 20%, child protection plans up to 53%, and a staggering 139% increase in serious cases. with a funding gap growing to {3.1 billion by 2025, sticking plasters will not do. this is the best settlement for almost ten years. there's a {2.9 billion increase in local government spending. we will propose to allow increases of up to 2% of adult social care. this a positive set up, which i hope you will support in the weeks ahead. labour also went on the offensive on the issue of planning. the loophole lets developers sidestep building roads and modern—day slum housing. it has been in place forfour years now, so can the secretary of state say whether the number of new affordable homes being built has gone up or down? permitted development rights are up for review. he has a right to say there are some examples of poor practice, and i will be carefully considering the information that we've received before coming forward with proposals. they have led to a large number of net additions that would not otherwise have brought forward. the snp claimed the housing issue couldn't be sorted until government support for right—to—buy was ended. in scotland, we ended the right—to—buy, and prevented the sale of 15,000 homes over a decade. so why can't the minister understand that it is totally senseless that new social housing will flog off interest? nearly 600,000 households are being held to purchase the right—to—buy or help—to—buy. and what have we done? we are making sure that that money from the right—to—buy is actually helping more homes be built. government action on averting a decline in the high street decline also came under the spotlight, prompting this from the minister responsible for local growth. this government is committed to supporting high street and local leaders up and down the country. and we are doing that for a £1 billion future high street fund, which is part of a larger {3.6 billion towns fund. however, as this is the first questions back after the festive season, i wanted to take this opportunity and thanking all the shop workers who worked so hard over the christmas period to enable us to deliver our christmas presents. and particularly if i may, mr speaker, the workers in the rspca shop on bank street, who sold me this very natty tie for only 50p last weekend. many mps raised what they saw as an imbalance in the fairness between rates for online traders and local shops. last time, it received a warmer response from the government, recommendations that we address this fundamental imbalance where amazon paid nearly nothing in turnover rates, and high street shops paid between 2—6%. that needs addressing. will they have a look at the unfairness and how we can rebalance the tax so that digital sales pay more and high street sales pay less? mr speaker, i'm sure the right honourable gentleman wouldn't complain if ijust take this opportunity to wish him happy birthday. i was clear this would be a fundamentally wide—ranging review of business rates — and all arguments, including the argument set out in the report by the select committee chaired in the previous parliament, will be taken into account. so perhaps if he gets a spare moment between blowing out candles, he will read the relevant passage of our manifesto, which is pretty clear at this point. the eu withdrawal agreement bill had an easy ride through the commons last week, thanks to the conservative majority produced by december‘s election. the legislation sets out the arrangements for the coming year when the uk is no longer a member of the eu, but will abide by its rules while negotiating a long—term relationship. this week, it's the turn of the house of lords to debate the legislation. opposition peers will try to amend the bill, with labour calling the government's approach "stupid" and "arrogant". passing this bill will allow us to honour the result of the 2016 referendum, get brexit done, and focus on our other national priorities. my lords, i beg to move that this bill will be now read a second time. before us, we have a very poor bill, and one being rushed through parliament. perhaps understandably rushed, as 31 january is fast approaching. it is notjust being rushed, but rammed through. the government determined to allow no changes whatsoever, even if deficiencies are identified. this is both stupid — as it will mean corrections having to be made later — but also arrogant, with scant regard to our normal democratic method of lawmaking. a bit uncharitable. how can the noble lady say this is being rushed through, when the house of commons didn't take the time to discuss it? what i was saying is that it is being rammed through, because no changes will be contemplated. it was the distinction i was trying — obviously unsuccessfully — to make. lady hayter referred to comments made by the brexit secretary, who happened to be watching the debate in the lords. stephen barclay in the other place warned us, threatened us, not to defy the will of the country. i think that reflects a complete — i hope not deliberate — misunderstanding of our role in a bicameral democracy. the fact that the government has a large majority and has indicated that it has no intension of accepting any changes to the bill whatsoever is no excuse for your lordship's house for failing to scrutinise its detailed provisions. nor from voting to secure changes which is in the interest of individuals in the country or at home, and this is what we think to do. it is, of course, the second withdrawal agreement bill presented to parliament. the first version got its second reading in october, but was superseded by the election. at that point, the government lacked the secure majority and was prepared to make changes to get the bill through. now free from such constraints, it should move all these concessions, however sensible or uncontentious they were. it is because i have the future of your lordship‘s house very much at heart, i very much hope that this bill will not be subject to a great number of amendments. and i very much hope there will be no votes in this house on this bill. it is, however much some of us may regret it, it is the manifest will of the people. and the prime minister has a large majority, to which the noble lord referred to very generously — it is the will of the people that we leave. making his first speech in the lords was a former adviser to theresa may. the deal is in large part theresa's deal. having spent two years by her side as she negotiated it, i felt i should speak in this debate, even if there is a convention for maiden speeches to be uncontroversial. i feel that is impossible to be on this issue, and i tend to offend both sides equally. there are three changes to the previous deal — one partly for the better and, two for the worse, in my opinion. two were the northern ireland protocol. first, the government has gone back to what the eu originally wanted, a northern ireland—only arrangement. the result is the goods will have to undergo customs checks when they can move from great britain to northern ireland, creating a border than our single market. —— within. as for the future relationship, he said the government had gone back to what the eu wanted — a more distant relationship. you're watching monday in parliament with me, mandy baker. and if you're keen to watch this program again — and why wouldn't you be? all editions of the day in parliament are available on the bbc iplayer. at last, the debate on the queen's speech finally began in the commons. it seems ages ago, doesn't it, that her majesty came to parliament in that horse and carriage, but almost straight after we had the christmas recess. and then last week, when you'd normally expect the debate to have begun, we had the brexit withdrawal agreement bill. the theme of tuesday's debate was britain in the world. the foreign secretary said the government's agenda set out a bold new chapter for the country. mr speaker, we are leaving the eu in 18 days‘ time, but without to be the strongest of the european neighbours and allies. we are taking back control of our laws but also expanding our global horizons to grasp the enormous opportunities of free trade. and whilst we will always serve the interests of the small businesses, citizens of this country we also want to reinforce our national mission as a force for good in the world. mr speaker, the uk will leave the eu at the end of this month because the house has passed the withdrawal bill a third reading of the majority of 99. hear, hear! which of course is the strongest signal to the eu and the world about our ambition and resolve as we chart the course ahead. is that clarity of purpose that now gives us the opportunity to be masters of our own destiny and to chart our course in a way which is independent but working very closely with our international partners. we will strive with our european friends to secure the best possible arrangements for our future relationship at the end of 2020. and i say thisjust to reassure every member of the south especially especially —— this house. the newer ones on all sides that our country is in the safest of hands. and has the most foresight of mines. this is what he said in response to my concerns about donald trump, the paris agreement and other issues, and i quote. "with great respect i must say but i think the honourable lady, again, is being far too pessimistic. we were told the nuclear deal with the wrong was going to be junked, but it's now pretty clear the american support that. it supports it! " were told that there were going to be a great love in between the us demonstration and russia. they are now very much in line. as for the climate change i think the honourable lady is once again being too pessimistic. let us wait and see can we've heard mutterings from the right honourable lady, let us see what the american administration actually do. i think she will be pleasantly surprised. as she has been in all other respects. if she were remotely intellectually honest. that, mr speaker, met him deputy speaker is the genius that is in charge of our country. a conservative and enthusiastic supporter of the leave campaign welcomed the emphasis on delivering brexit. we are not little englanders, voters commit want to look beyond the shores of the european union. and indeed many of our greatest opportunities now lie in countries beyond europe. economically within the next ten years it is likely that the five biggest economies in the world will be america, china, brazil, india and indonesia. none of those have trade agreements with the european union, i hope within that time we will have agreements as soon as possible. i believe, having concluded, because i was not always a nationalist, that scotland's interest will be best served as an independent state in the european union. i said that i regret that brexit does not happening, but it is happening. i'm not about battles or tinted windmills. do trust me when i bring my european experience to bear with us. leaving the european union is the easy bit. the what comes next is a quantum shift in complexity and because of the timetable you have set urgency for what comes next. it's my view, others may disagree, but it's my view presently that brexit would leave britain to a global britain poorer in every sense. weaker in every sense, and less secure and less safe in every sense. the snp's alyn smith. if you've been casting your eye over the green benches of the commons, you may have noticed there are quite a few unfamiliar faces. in fact, 140 of them. at the general election in december, there was a large influx of new mps — and each has to give their first or maiden speech. from martyrdom to the magna carta, and the uprising, st albans has a tireless tradition of being at the heart of our country's fights for greater democracy, for greater liberties, and greater freedoms. we believe they should be open and internationalist. we believe we should work with her closest international neighbours to tackle the global climate crisis. we believe in our responsibility to take in those fleeing persecution and war. as st albans has continued to do taking children and families from 1940s london to 21st—century syria. i am honoured to represent my fellow residents here in parliament, and ifully intend to honour our traditions and values during the months and years ahead. hear, hear! as a graduate of english literature him to lead to my constituency has such strong literary connections. charles dickens stayed at the swan in on the high street. and stafford has been home amongst others to the playwright richard sheridan and our former poet laureate dame carol and duffy. i was amused to learn that my predecessors and sister was a lost love ofjane austen. on whom she based her most famous character of mr darcy. it is just over 560 years ago to the day on december 30 1460 that richard neville, duke of york, and his son thomas met their deaths at the battle of wakefield. led by lord clifford, defeated the york guests and would suffer a major reverse months later a site just down the road. wakefield became yet another battlefield almost 200 years later during the english civil war, when the parliamentarian forces for engagement with the royalists, although madame deputy speaker, i now find myself a parliamentarian although i confess to you, to always having sympathized with the cavaliers. imran ahmad khan there. well, newcomers to the house of lords also give maiden speeches. john mann became lord mann after 18 years in the commons. lastjuly, he was appointed by the outgoing prime minister theresa may to head a government inquiry on tackling anti semitism. in north london on election day a jewish couple, elderly, who had voted labour their entire lives, who wept at they went into the police station, who sobbed as a voted, ——polling station. who cried as they left that polling station, i have a roll now on anti—semitism, read the independent and as ever i shall work across party, but i will be no bystander in driving out the stench of intolerance from the party that in 1906 my family helped create in the city of leeds, in the streets around here. staying in the lords, two controversial conservative figures took their seats on tuesday. both left the commons at the election last month, but they're back in parliament to continue ministerialjobs under boris johnson. nicky morgan stood down as mp for loughborough, but she has retained her cabinetjob as secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport in a move which took many at westminster by surprise. she's now lady morgan of cotes. i nicola, baroness morgan of codes do swear by almighty god that it will be faithful in their true allegiance to her majesty queen elizabeth, her heirs and successors according to law so help me god. the last secretary of states to sit in the lords were lord mandelson and lord adonis in gordon brown's government. also taking his place in the lords, was zac goldsmith. he lost his richmond seat to the liberal democrats at the election, but he'll continue to be an environment minister. as an mp he was often highly critical of plans to expand heathrow airport — a decision which the government is expected to have to take later this year. and that ermine brings us to the end of the programme. please join david cornock at the same time tomorrow for tuesday in parliament. but for now from me, mandy baker, goodbye. hello there. storm brendan brought some very stong winds and heavy rain to the north and the west of the uk. primarily for northern ireland and for western scotland. you can see the system here, wound itself up over the atlantic, lots of isobars on the chart, hence gales with gusts up to 80—90 miles an hour,across the north—west corner of the uk. these are severe gale storm force winds and also heavy rain. and the rain has swept its way northwards and eastwards, eventually clearing away from the south—east early on tuesday, lots of showers packing in behind across the north and west, snow till fall over the high ground. watch out for icy patches across the north of the uk to start tuesday morning. less cold the further south that you are. we look to the south—west, the next area of low pressure, moving up to bring another spell of rain and gales as we hear through the course of tuesday. still stays quite blustery across the north of the uk, as storm brendan continues to retreat northwards. there will be some sunshine through the morning but the cloud builds and the rain starts to back into the south and the west, pushes northwards, could be windy across the eastern side of england as well on tuesday. stronger winds perhaps than what we saw on monday. 40—50 mile an hour gusts, 65 plus across some of the headlands in the south—west. in the north it's going to remain quite chilly with these wintry showers, four or five degrees but in the south, 10—13 celsius, it will be quite mild despite the wind and the rain. that system pushes off into the north sea as we head into wednesday, then we are in a run of west, south—westerly blustery winds, with sunshine and showers. will take a time for that weather front to clear away from the south—east through wednesday morning, but eventually it will and then many of us will see some sunshine but it will be quite blustery particularly in the north and west where there will be wintry showers here. a few showers around the irish sea coast as well. you will notice the temperatures down a little bit so it will feel a bit cooler on wednesday but at least many of us will have the sunshine to compensate. it is a short lived wind of fine weather because the next frontal system will move up through the south—west to bring more wet and windy weather for thursday, so the winds could be quite strong. some of the heaviest rain in the north and the west of the country, a bit of sunshine further east but it looks like the clouds will build up as we move through the day. and the rain will be quite heavy in the south—west, in towards wales. again, perhaps a little bit milder in the south, double—figure values here, 7—9 degrees further north. and then it's all changed. to end the week, it looks like high pressure will begin to move in as that low pressure clears away so it will settle down. one thing you will notice, it will turn colder, particularly as we head on into the weekend. a very warm welcome to bbc news. my name's mike embley. our top stories: queen elizabeth backs new 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