Your morning briefing: What you should know for Tuesday, January 15

PM braced for defeat in crucial Brexit vote

Theresa May is braced for a potentially huge Commons defeat over her Brexit deal after a final appeal for support reportedly failed to win round critics.

On a historic day at Westminster, MPs will later finally deliver their verdict on the Withdrawal Agreement Mrs May agreed with Brussels.

As more than 100 Tory MPs declared their opposition to the plan, there is speculation the result could be one of the heaviest defeats of modern times.

Mrs May said MPs needed to deliver on Brexit while preventing a Labour government, saying: "to do that, we have got to come together.”

Follow the latest developments here.

Met Police murder unit loses quarter of its officers

Scotland Yard's murder investigation unit has lost a quarter of its officers and staff over the past decade, new data shows.

The unit’s overall strength decreased by 26 per cent between 2008 and last year, the figures suggest.

The revelation comes amid a rising tide of violence on London’s streets, with the number of homicides reaching 128 in 2018.

Trump: I do not work for Russia

Donald Trump has denied ever working for Russia, hitting out at the latest reports to scrutinise his relationship with Moscow.

The US leader played down reports from the Washington Post that he had hidden a translation of a meeting with Vladimir Putin.

Asked yesterday if he was working for Russia, Mr Trump said: “It’s a disgrace that you even ask that question… it’s a whole big fat hoax.”

Temperatures to plunge below freezing

A blast of Arctic air is set to bring freezing conditions to the UK after a mild start to the year.

Temperatures are forecast to drop after today, bringing an end to what has been a mild January for most of Britain.

Freezing conditions are predicted, with overnight frosts and the possibility of rain showers turning snowy in some parts.

Temperatures are expected to reach freezing overnight for much of the country from tomorrow and could plunge to minus 5C in parts of Scotland.

Kim and Kanye expecting fourth child

Kim Kardashian-West has confirmed she is expecting her fourth child with her rapper husband Kanye West.

During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, she said reports the couple will welcome another child via surrogate are correct.

She also revealed her fourth child will be a boy.

Kim and Kanye are already parents to daughter North, five, and three-year-old son Saint. The couple welcomed a daughter, Chicago, via surrogate last January.

On this day...

1559: Queen Elizabeth I was crowned.

1759: The British Museum opened in London.

1867: Forty skaters died when the frozen lake in London's Regents Park gave way.

1880: The first telephone directory was published by the London Telephone Company.

1912: The first sickness benefit (10 shillings per week), unemployment benefit (seven shillings) and maternity benefit (30 shillings) were introduced in Britain.

1929: Martin Luther King, American civil rights leader, was born in Atlanta, Georgia.

1963: The BBC ended its ban on mentioning politics, royalty, religion and sex in comedy shows.

1992: The European Commission recognises the independence of Croatia and Slovenia, signalling the end of Yugoslavia as one nation.