parliament. hello there and welcome to the programme. on the day theresa may makes a u—turn and announces she wa nts a makes a u—turn and announces she wants a general election onjune the eight. labour mps condemned the change of heart. what i cannot understand from what is the leader of the house has said today is how any of this makes things clearer. but ministers argue an election is necessary. to provide the clarity and the stability that the entire united kingdom needs. also on this programme, the foreign secretary tells mps the us military response to the chemical attack in syria was necessary and appropriate. and what will brexit mean for the uk's creative industries? but first, it is rare for political secrets not to speu is rare for political secrets not to spell out somewhere. but there was genuine surprise around westminster when journalists were called to downing street and theresa may announced she wanted to hold a general election on june the. announced she wanted to hold a general election onjune the. the hastily assembled reporters could be forgiven for not expecting the prime minister's big news, given that theresa may has repeatedly rejected the idea of going to the country before 2020. in a statement, she explained why she changed her mind and said mps would vote on wednesday on her proposal. under the fixed term parliaments act, two thirds of mps must back for parliament to be dissolved. theresa may set out why she now felt an election was necessary. at this moment of enormous national significance, they should be unity here in westminster. but instead there is division. the country is coming together, but westminster is not. in recent weeks, labour have threatened to vote against the final agreement with the european union. the liberal democrats have said they want to grow the business of government to a standstill. the scottish national party say they will vote against the legislation that formerly repeals british membership of the european union. and elected members of the house of lords have vowed to fight us every house of lords have vowed to fight us every step of the way. she said that jeopardise the work us every step of the way. she said thatjeopardise the work to prepare for brexit and weakened the government's negotiating position in europe. division in westminster will make it harder to get a success out of brexit, and cause uncertainty and instability to the country. so we need a general election and we need one now. because we have, at this moment, a i—off chance to get this done, while the european union agrees its negotiating position, and before the detailed talks began. i have only recently and reluctantly come to this conclusion. since i became prime minister, i have said they should be no election until 2020. but now i have concluded that the only way to guarantee certainty and stability for the years ahead is to hold this election and seek your support for the decisions i must take. theresa may, making her big surprise announcement in downing street. a couple of hours later, their leader of the commons explained to mps what would happen now. he confirmed there would be a 90 minute debate, followed by a vote ona 90 minute debate, followed by a vote on a motion supporting an election. the shadow leader of the house argued the prime minister's announcement broke a promise. this isa announcement broke a promise. this is a massive u—turn. because several occasions, the prime minister has ruled out an early election. she said she was very clear that we would need stability to deal with theissues would need stability to deal with the issues that the country is facing and have that election in 2020. clearly, this government cannot be trusted. i have to say i do not recollect any previous labour prime minister announcing a general election on the floor of the house of commons. and my right honourable friend, this morning, went about things in the time—honoured fashion. what she is putting to the country is the case for this government to go forward on the basis of a clear mandate to provide the clarity and the stability that the entire united kingdom needs. it is not up to the prime minister, but to this house. if there are worries, they will not vote for tomorrow. i agree com pletely vote for tomorrow. i agree completely with my honourable friend. on these benches, we are hearing that this was not the time for these types of things. and the full focus of this government should really be on brexit. this, mr speaker, is one of the most extraordinary u—turns in political history. any fixed in parliament act, this is the biggest waste of ourtime. act, this is the biggest waste of our time. -- in the fixed-term parliament act. the prime minister was not for calling a snap election. perhaps now she says is a political opportunity. the choice to go for an election, now, is hers and hers alone, as it was the choice of a ha rd alone, as it was the choice of a hard brexit. will the leader of the house make time available before the campaign starts to allow us to discuss the party of government's failures? i am astonished that the right honourable gentleman spoke about political opportunism with a straight face. it is... it was a decision that the prime minister alone has to take to put forward the motion tomorrow. but it will be a decision for every member of the house of commons, tomorrow, when we meet to decide whether or not that is approved. can we find time in what is left to have a debate about why she decided to trigger article 50 and then throw the entire planning into doubt by then calling a general election, which will waste at least three months of the precious time we have left to get the best deal for britain? mr speaker, far from throwing things into doubt, what the prime minister's decision has done is to provide, assuming that the people return, the government, and it will be traced to the people to take, that will be the clarity for a mandate behind the prime minister and her government, to deliver a successful negotiation and implemented over the course of a five—year term. —— and implemented over the course of a five—yearterm. —— and it implemented over the course of a five—year term. —— and it will be a decision for the people to take. should the legislation passed tomorrow, we are not voting for a new premise that for two years over brexit, we are voting for a prime minister for a brexit, we are voting for a prime ministerfor a parliament brexit, we are voting for a prime minister for a parliament of five yea rs. minister for a parliament of five years. many of us, many of us are expecting, therefore, that either the current prime minister, or the leader of the labour party will walk through the door on june leader of the labour party will walk through the door onjune the eight. can you encourage me right honourable friend, the prime minister, to go to as many debates with the opposition leader before the date? in calling a snap election, it really the view of the british parliament that this could change the negotiating position as mac if so, is it not living in a land of fantasy? i think that what will be important is that the newly elected in france and in germany will meet a newly re—elected prime minister of the united kingdom. all of them with the confidence that they have mandates from their voters, as they approach those negotiations in a constructive spirit. what i can't understand from what the leader of the house is that todayis what the leader of the house is that today is how any of this makes things clearer, makes us feel more stable, more secure, this... alli ask is how does this look to people outside? and as somebody who came from outside, it looks like political opportunism. david lidington said he hoped people would believe the prime minister was seeking a mandate for carrying through challenging an ambitious negotiations. before that, john mcdonald accused theresa may of breaking promises by the calling of an early election. his attack came at parliamentary questions, where mps had their first chance to react to the news from the chamber. philip hammond defended the decision to back the date, and attacked labour, saying the party remained as fiscally incontinent as ever. mr speaker, as you know, the prime minister has called for a general election. she has broken her commitment to not hold an early election, made only weeks ago. she has blamed brexit, blamed our european neighbours, blamed the parties on these benches, but the real truth is that after seven wasted yea rs real truth is that after seven wasted years under the tories, they have failed to close the deficit. they've added £700 billion to the national debt. a is falling behind prices. 4 million children are growing up in poverty. our schools are in crisis. more people than ever on an nhs waiting list. more elderly people not getting the care they need. will the chancellor used this last opportunity before the election to apologise to the british people for the other failure of this government's economic policies, and for the pain he has inflicted on this country? mr speaker, the honourable gentleman has some brass neck to stand there and accuse us of having failed to eliminate the deficit, when his policy is to add another £500 billion to its overnight. the british people understand very well what is going on coming year. a conservative government, which is maintaining growth, which has unemployment down to record levels, and a steadily closing deficit, and a labour party which remains as fiscally incontinent as ever. and given a chance, would wreck this economy once more. not one word of apology. no contrition whatsoever. from a chancellor who has broken his promises to be british people, and still failing to deliver on a ma nifesto still failing to deliver on a manifesto delivered only 23 months ago. they are entering this election having scheduled £70 billion worth of tax giveaways, for whom? for the superrich and corporations. they are entering the election with £2 billion unaccounted for. or they use this opportunity to put on record that they will rule out raising vat, in contact, and will he commit to legislation to prevent the triple lock. if the tories cannot be straight with the british people, labour will be. mr speaker, the truth is promises made from that side of the house are not worth the paper they are written on. and the vote rs of paper they are written on. and the voters of this country, the pensioners of this country, the workers of this country, understand that very well. and they will give their verdict on labour's promises on during the eight. can we hear who will be the first to go in the manifesto? i am afraid the honourable gentleman will just manifesto? i am afraid the honourable gentleman willjust have to contain himself and ready his money, and he will be able to buy a copy in due course. philip hammond. the us military action in syria was a necessary and appropriate and justified response to an awful crime, the foreign secretary has told the house of commons. boris johnson was giving details to mps on the evidence linking the assad regime with a chemical attack on the idlib province. boris johnson regime with a chemical attack on the idlib province. borisjohnson said the us secretary of state had contacted the british government, asking for political support, but said it would be difficult for britain to say no to a request for practical support in the future. he also updated mps on the situation in north korea. he called on china to use its influence. but he began his statement by paying tribute to britons who died in tragic circumstances in stock old and jerusalem. chris beddington was one of four people who died when a truck was driven into pedestrians. hannah blaydon was stabbed to death in jerusalem on good friday after a senseless attack. our thoughts and prayers are with their families. he laid out what was known about the syrian chemical weapons attack. we know beyond doubt that two aircraft took off from the airfield where we know the chemical weapons are stored. we know they were overhead at 639 when according to wool eyewitness accounts, the attack took place. we know from shell fragments in the crater that not only had sarin been used but the particular chemical signature of sarin being used by the assad raging. we were given advanced notice but in no way did the us asked for help militarily, only politically. advance warning was given to russian military personnel who work are located with the syrian air force at the same base to minimise the risk of casualties. the government believes that the us action was necessary , believes that the us action was necessary, appropriate and justified response to an awful crime. he moved on to north korea. the regime is developing intercontinental —— intercontinental missiles which could deliver a nuclear strike on the mainland united states. these weapons have not yet been fully tested but nobody can be complacent about the potential threat they pose. yesterday, i spoke to my chinese counterpart and they urged him to use paging's unique influence to restrain north korea and to allow a peaceful resolution of this crisis. he ended last week disowned by downing street and ignored by russia and humiliated by the g7. all he can cling on to is this, that the united states state department is still telling him what to say and do and which countries he is allowed to visit. the foreign secretary rightly condemns the nuclear missile programme is being pursued by kim jong—un's regime. i hope you agree like syria this is a crisis that can be resolved through co—ordinated action comedy escalating tensions and negotiations. can he assure us that britain will argue against any unilateral military action taken by the united states and instead urgently backed china's call for the resumption of the 6— party talks. with north korea, the world needs statesmanship. the us airstrikes on the airfield other demonstration of the airfield other demonstration of the unpredictability of the trump administration which many fear will only cause further escalation. in the rush to congratulate, did the uk government consider the repercussions? until now coalition aircraft have operated with relative freedom against daesh in eastern syria. now russia has suspended the accord and the raging will likely activate its extensive air defences. the syrian skies will be much more dangerous for uk pilots while civilians on the ground will suffer even more. could i invite him to put pressure on the united states to try and dial down the public rhetoric? there is an element in which north korea is something like an attention seeking child that happens to belong to somebody else, in this case china. while the united states has proper responsibilities to the other nations, ratcheting up the rhetoric with north korea is probably the wrong way of dealing with them. the chair of the foreign affairs select committee. you are watching tuesday in parliament. fashion industry leaders have told mps the uk's departure from the eu could put hood couture designs at risk of being copied. they explain the current system of rights. that allows at the moment within the ego —— the eu to disclose your design which is quite often done at trade fairs or london fashion week. the eu registration around that sort of covers not only specific design but surface patterns as well which is very important. particularly in terms of the design sector. because this has to be disclosed first within the eu, our deep concern is that post— exiting the eu, those rights will not be recognised and if you disclosed your patterns in london fashion week, they would not be protected. so those copyright issues, particularly in the high—end centre, will need to be protected. that means it is a challenge for london fashion week because everybody wants to be able to protect their design as best as possible. i got my trademarks registered under an possible. i got my trademarks registered underan eu possible. i got my trademarks registered under an eu trademarking. i don't know what that means now. the trademarks, with this eu trademark. it has to be around. it isa trademark. it has to be around. it is a mess. but with every situation like this, there are opportunities. it really requires fresh thinking and innovation from the government and innovation from the government and thinking about how you can do it. 9496 of everything on the and thinking about how you can do it. 94% of everything on the high street is imported. 70% is imported from non—eu sources. bangladesh, for instance, where we bring in £2 billion. if we move from the current access to those markets, the tariff rates on goods will go up 25% because that is the most—favoured—nation because that is the most—favoured— nation tariff rate because that is the most—favoured—nation tariff rate for the wta. -- wto. on most—favoured—nation tariff rate for the wta. —— wto. on top of that, the exchange rate, we could be talking 45% more expensive. it is less the time delay and more the cost implications. those sort of figures apply if you are talking about bangladesh or turkey. you asked the questions about whether brexit would see a resurgence in uk manufacturing. that is an opportunity for us. if you take the manufacturing community within london, 13,000 in ploy is making high—end manufacturing products. over 70% of people are from eu countries. there was a real concern we will lose that level of talent. we need the government to do something around changing the way we can bring in those talented seamstresses and cutters. so they are not seen as seamstresses and cutters. so they are not seen as low seamstresses and cutters. so they are not seen as low value. a lot of these people won't be earning £35,000. but without them, the fantastic creations would not happen. and one mp couldn't pass up the chance of some free fashion advice. final question. for mps in front of you, 650 in the house of commons. how do you rate our fashion sense? there is only one wearing pinstripe. that's why i'm here, to judge you. i have to say, i am very intrigued. the collar and white shirt. that is a very distinct collar. maybe we should get you all in... for me at least, i have measured everyone as they came in. it's a weird nuance. we will move on from that. you public don't want to be that. i looked at the time. that is what you want bigger say. of course. finally, there are a handful of bills that will fall by the wayside theresa may gets her way and a general election is held onjimmy eight. there are a handful more which are likely to have the most controversial parts deleted out of them in order to get them through in some form before this parliament comes to an end. among those is the finance bill which was being debated in the commons for the first time. it deals with some things such as personal tax rates, tax evasion and includes a proposed rise in probate fees. the minister set out the bills ambitions. we are clear our taxes need to be fair, competitive and they must be paid. this finance bill will take the next step in delivering a fairer and more sustainable system, what ——i which can support critical public services and get the country within its means. the government had proposed raising some national insurance rates for the self—employed but with the proposal. so an snp mp wanted to know... where are the £2 billion per annum to replace the nonracing of the contribution, where it is going to come from, if she is so wedded to balancing the books? the chancellor was clear that in the statements we have made about the budget and subsequent decisions, but we are looking to balance the budget is. clearly, if we are going into a general election campaign, will have more say about that. we will lay that out there. when coming to power, the conservatives were committed to balancing the books by 2015. a conservative broken promise. they said it would be pushed back to 2019, 20. another broken promise. instead, by 2020, they plan to be borrowing an eye watering £21.4 billion. since 2010, ten out of the 14, that's ten out of 14 government's budget statements have seen a government's budget statements have seen a forecast in borrowing. this government's record on borrowed in —— borrowing has seen miss target after missed target with constant u pwa rd after missed target with constant upward revisions. that is it from either now that do join me at the same time tomorrow for the highlights of prime minister's questions and that all important debate and vote on theresa may's proposalfor a general debate and vote on theresa may's proposal for a general election on june eight. but now, from the, goodbye. —— from me. hello. spring, thus far, has been marked by pretty settled fare. and i suspect that is going to be the overriding theme of the next few days, with a quiet spell of weather set to continue. not just for the next few days, but right on into the forthcoming weekend. night—time frost will still be a consideration. we have the prospect of a weather front getting into the british isles. the cost will keep debated. further south, under clearer skies, certainly in the suburbs and the countryside. —3 —4 was possible. as the sun gets up, so the boss will soon the sun gets up, so the boss will soon be away. that converts into a glorious start on wednesday. perhaps much of the midlands. when you are starting to run back, about the cloud across southern and eastern parts of scotland. the odd bits and decent rain, not really encouraging. iam decent rain, not really encouraging. i am hopeful that as the day gets going, maybe some of the rain will drift offshore cloudy conditions following on behind. for the south, a bit of sunshine. as we take you from wednesday to thursday, the cost will be largely confined to the south—eastern quarter. still very much the dominant feature but not quite doing it up. the north of the mainland, the northern and western isles could see cloudy conditions. elsewhere, then, high cloud keeping the skies rather hazy. temperatures around about 14, 15 degrees. friday sees a progression of this weather front, and least across the northern half of the british isles. to the south of it, a bit of sunshine. the temperature 14, 15, 16 degrees. a good dealfresher behind temperature 14, 15, 16 degrees. a good deal fresher behind that weather front. it eventually gets that airflow around the top end of the high pressure and down across the high pressure and down across the british isles which gives us a dry prospect the most part during the course of the weekend. take care. a very warm welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: a surprise general election for the uk. the prime minister says it will ensure stability during the brexit talks. the only way to guarantee certainty and stablity for the years ahead is to hold this election and seek your support for the decisions i must take. mrs may will ask mps to support her decision inafew hours but outside parliament views in the country are mixed. not another one? oh, for god's sake, i can't stand this. there is too much politics going on at the moment. also today: we're on the frontline of the battle against the so—called