25/03/2017 BBC Weekend News

Ukip loses its only MP as Douglas Carswell quits

He joined the party after defecting from the Conservatives in 2014.

Now he says he's achieved his main objective.

I went into Ukip and made the switch in order to get us out

Theresa May means Brexit is in safe hands.

Tonight, Nigel Farage said he jumped before he was pushed.

We'll look at what is next for Ukip as a party.

Fresh concerns over security at Westminster as footage shows

Parliament's gates were left unmanned after Wednesday's attack.

The human cost of the battle for Mosul as thousands

And, police investigate as the bodies of two teenagers

are found at the foot of cliffs in north Yorkshire.

The UK Independence Party's only MP, Douglas Carswell, has announced

He said he decided to leave because the party had

achieved its goal of pulling Britain out of the European Union, adding

He will now represent Clacton as an independent MP

but there are calls for him to face a by-election.

Our political correspondent Alex Forsyth reports.

There's been no love lost between Douglas Carswell and some

When he joined the party in 2014 it was a big deal.

I am today leaving the Conservative Party and joining Ukip.

But his relationship with the then leader soon soured.

Differences in policies and personalities and today he quit

Ukip saying the party's job was done now the country had backed Brexit.

If other people want to carry it on, I wish them all the best.

By quitting have you not put the final nail in Ukip's coffin?

I went into Ukip and made the switch in order to get us out

Theresa May means Brexit is in safe hands.

No tears from Nigel Farage, the former party leader said

Douglas Carswell jumped before he was pushed and was

Current leaders who saw him as a cause of division agree.

It really won't make very much difference to us other than drawing

a line under something which has really caused nothing

but sort of heartache for about a year, more than a year.

Douglas was never that comfortable in the party and so I think that

Douglas Carswell is duly elected as a member

of parliament for the said constituency, thank you.

Last time he changed allegiances the Clacton MP made big play

of asking voters for approval out of principle, but not this time.

If I was switching parties, if I was going from Ukip

to the Conservatives, then absolutely I would feel honour

The voters voted for a Ukip MP and now they're

When I was a Conservative and I switched to Ukip I triggered

a by-election, I think I was the first member of parliament

in 26 years to insist upon doing that but I am not changing parties,

In his constituency, some have questioned his decision.

A disgrace really, he was doing well for Ukip.

It's down to him at the end of the day if he wants to do that,

Mr Carswell hasn't ruled out returning to the Tories

but says for now he will be an independent MP.

His parting gift to Ukip - further questions over the party's

Alex Forsyth is in Westminster for us now.

So where does this leave Ukip's future?

Ukip's been plagued by bitter infighting and much has stemmed from

differences between the former leader, Nigel Farage, and his

supporters and Douglas Carswell and his supporters on key issues like

the approach to the EU referendum and immigration. It's not a huge

surprise that Douglas Carswell has left and many think this will be a

chance to draw a line under what's been the cause of much division. He

was the party's only MP. It won't make much difference to their

influence in parliament because that was limited anyway. But it is

important symbolically. Ukip always struggled to turn its popular

support into parliamentary seats. The leader Paul Nuttall recently

failed to win a by-election in Stoke. Now Douglas Carswell has

chosen to quit three days before Theresa May's due to push the button

and start the formal Brexit process. He says that will mean Ukip's job is

done so once again the party is facing the question what does Ukip

stand for now the UK is leaving the EU?

Thank you. A former head of the

Metropolitan Police has called for changes to security there,

following Wednesday's attack. Former Commissioner Lord Blair said

there should be a review One man, arrested in Birmingham,

remains in police custody. Our home affairs correspondent

June Kelly reports. Minutes after the terrorist

attack in the precincts On the ground is constable Keith

Palmer who was stabbed to death. His killer, Khalid Masood,

has been shot by police. Meanwhile, armed officers stationed

here have left the scene to investigate the commotion outside

the gates where Masood's car has The gates, meanwhile, have been left

unguarded and wide open, An understandable error,

according to a former head of Scotland Yard who nevertheless

believes that in future security here will have

to be more stringent. I am absolutely certain

there will be a review now of the kind of outer soft rim,

always behind it is the inner core of armed officers, but PC

Keith Palmer has paid for his life for that soft outer rim

and I think his family, at least, and everybody else,

needs the reassurance The BBC has obtained new footage

of the police response. A fleet of cars carrying

teams of marksmen racing This was shortly after

Khalid Masood's trail of carnage Questions remain unanswered

about his route to radicalisation. He was a violent criminal

before converting to Islam One of his victims who survived

but with serious injuries is Romanian tourist Andrea Cristea

who was hurled into the Thames. She was in London with her partner,

Andrei Burnaz, who was also hurt. In Romania, a friend paid tribute

to the emergency services in London. TRANSLATION: We would especially

like to thank the doctors and nurses, all the medical staff

for everything they're And today at Scotland Yard,

police officers who were part of the emergency response laid

flowers in memory of their colleague There's growing concern

about the fate of civilians in the Iraqi city of Mosul

where government forces are trying to drive out

so-called Islamic State. The United Nations has warned

of a terrible loss of life, and tonight the US-led coalition

said it was behind an airstrike which is believed to have killed

dozens of civilians two weeks ago. Our Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen

is in western Mosul. Thousands of people have arrived,

have walked out of those parts of Mosul still controlled

by Islamic State and it's a big area, in the last couple of days

and they've arrived really with just the clothes they're standing

up in and maybe a few They need food, they need

water, they need shelter. as the one that may be coming,

literally coming down that road, in the next weeks,

from where the black smoke is, which is where the Islamic State

positions are here in Mosul, they are apparently about 800

metres, a kilometre, down that way. The people who have been coming

in have been talking They've talked about air strikes

that have come in in the last days and as well as killing people

from Islamic State, have killed They've complained that

the jihadists have used them as human shields but they have also,

in tears and anger, spoken very bitterly about the effects of air

strikes on civilians. I spoke to multiple witnesses

who said that there are perhaps hundreds of bodies still lying

in the rubble that The bodies of two 17-year-old

boys have been found at the foot of cliffs

at Saltburn near Middlesborough. Cleveland Police have begun

an investigation and say the families of both teenagers

are being supported Peaceful and calm, just

as it was before 7.00pm last night when Cleveland Police received

the first reports of What the police and coastguard

discovered on arrival was far worse, it was the bodies of two

17-year-old boys on a ledge. They were airlifted

to the James Cook Hospital where they were pronounced

dead on arrival. I was walking into town

and there was loads of police and ambulance which I thought

was really unusual for the area, I saw loads of police first

and I wonder is it the right thing A popular walking spot,

tonight those enjoying the area told us of the perilous nature

of the cliff-tops. It does have some very sheer drops

towards the edge but there is plenty of signage up advising to keep clear

away from the cliff edge. But the path does go

very close to it. The teenagers' families are tonight

being supported by Cleveland Police while officers try to establish

exactly how these Linsey Smith, BBC News,

Saltburn-by-the-sea. European Union leaders have marked

the 60th anniversary of the EU's founding treaty with a formal

declaration promising The meeting came as tens

of thousands of people protested in London against Brexit just four

days before the formal process In the last hour, Merseyside Fire

and Rescue say they're dealing with the aftermath of an explosion

on the Wirral that is believed to have been caused

by a suspected gas leak. They say it took place

in the New Ferry area and they also have a special rescue team

on their way. Network Rail say it's

suspended trains in the area. The leader of Northern Ireland's

cross-community Alliance Party, Naomi Long, has told her party

conference that another election would be worse than a waste of time

given Northern Ireland has no budget The East Belfast MLA

was giving her first address as party leader having succeeded

former Justice Minister It's a year since the EU and Turkey

agreed a deal to stem the flow Under the agreement,

all but the most vulnerable people would be returned to Turkey -

on the condition the EU would take more Syrian

refugees from camps there. But legal challenges

and bureaucratic delays have left thousands of people stranded

on Greek islands and the number of migrants arriving

is again on the rise. Paul Adams sent this report

from the Greek island of Keos. A year ago, these

waters fell silent. A deal was struck,

enforcement followed. On Keos the camps are

overflowing once more, a surge of new arrivals joining

those who have been trapped Abdullah arrived here the day

the EU-Turkey deal went into effect. A day earlier and he

could have moved on. But he's been stuck for over a year,

long enough to draw unfavourable Under control Isis maybe

they would kill you any second Here, they let your live

because it's no reason to kill you. But other things, for example,

they kill your hope, The Government-run camp was supposed

to be a model reception centre but secret filming from inside shows

a place migrants call "the cage" where new arrivals are held

for the first few hours. An intimidating first glimpse

of Europe and the start of a long bureaucratic process that seems

designed to halt them People expected to spend here just

a few days are stranded here for months which has impact

on the psychology of people. They don't have the

perception that tomorrow They think that this thing

can go on for years. In January, he learned

that his mother and sister I want safe country for me

because I lose everything, The principle at the heart

of the EU-Turkey deal is that Turkey, just over the water,

is a safe place for refugees The Syrians in particular

dispute that. They say that Turkey

is not safe for them. A Greek court is due

to rule on this soon. You can see more on all of today's

stories on the BBC News channel. And do remember, in just a few hours

the clock's go forward an hour, That's all from me and the team.

Good night. Hello. It's been a cracking start to

the weekend and there is more sunshine on the way