Transcripts For BBCNEWS Newsnight 20171030

At westminster male mps feeling they can just lunge at subservient women as of right. Yeah, absolutely, i think again lots of the men who ive had experience with this just thought it was their right to, that it was an entitlement. They didnt even show any remorse afterwards or didnt even, for a second, cross their mind that theyd behaved inappropriately. They govern us. Can we trust mps to govern themselves . Im in barcelona, where things are getting a little surreal. Reports the entire Catalan Cabinet have fled this city for another country, as charges of treason are brought against them by spanish prosecutors. Where is he . I dont know. I cannot confirm where is the president. I think the president s office should say wheres mr president. Hello. Another day of drama in washington, with news of the first charges in the trump russia investigation. Another day this us presidency has been distracted by substantial legal problems. Is the law represented by the special prosecutor Robert Mueller now starting to drift dangerously close to the president himself . There were two bits of bad news for the mr trump one possibly the less serious is that his former Campaign Manager, Paul Manafort and a colleague of his were charged with tax fraud and Money Laundering. Not good, and watch that space. But for now, the second bit of news is perhaps more dangerous as its directly relevant to the thing that really threatens trump his campaigns potential collusion with the russians in trying to bend the course of the us election campaign. A former trump advisor, it emerged today, George Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi about contacts with a russian professor, who he knew was connected to the russian government. Paul manafort is the best known of the characters in the news today. He made himself rich by busying himself in the ukraine helping the pro russian president yanukovich. But he went on to help trump. In fact, to lead his campaign. The charges today all relate to activity before he was working for candidate trump. Money laundering and tax fraud, they are. And all have been fiercely challenged by his lawyer. He was seeking to further democracy and to help ukraine come closer to the United States and the eu. Those activities ended in 2014. Over two years before mr manafort served in the Trump Campaign. The difficulty for the president is that everyone expects there to be more special prosecutors often interpret their brief widely. And these indictments show Robert Mueller is no exception. Its very unlikely that these are the charges that they will face. Prosecutors will often bring a superseding indictment. So they could face twice, three times this number of counts by the time they go to trial. This is just the start, not just for others, but for them. Along with mr manafort, a colleague called richard gates was also charged. But it is the third man that has raised most eyebrows today. 30 year old George Papadopoulos. He is lower down the food chain than manafort. But he was a Foreign Policy adviser and has admitted lying to the fbi about his russian contacts. It turns out he was arrested injuly and has now been co operating with the prosecutor. The white house spokesperson tried to dismiss him as having little to do with the campaign. It was extremely limited. It was a volunteer position. And again no activity was ever done in an official capacity on behalf of the campaign in that regard. The president s spokesperson shrugging the news today off, his lawyer did the same. And of course mr trump himself. Why arent crooked hillary and the dems the focus . He tweeted. But as he likes to remind everybody, she didnt win, and he did. Which perhaps makes him a more interesting subject. Well, weve heard about the central characters in todays drama. Lets talk to the bbc World Affairs correspondent paul wood who has been looking at this for a year now, and in particular mr manaforts activities in ukraine. Start with the news today. What, for you, stuck out as most significant . There are three strands to the russia story money, politics and sex. The sex stuff concerns allegations the russians have blackmail tapes of President Trump. Didnt hear about that today. What we did hear is allegations that Paul Manafort got paid a lot of money when he was working as a political consultant in ukraine, which he then did not declare to the us tax authorities. This is the overarching allegation that russian money in ukrainian politics influenced mr manafort and that turned into influence with President Trump when he was campaigning. This intersects with the political argument, we have a mr papadopoulos, a junior parttime employee of the campaign. He has admitted to having contacts with the russians and lying to the fbi about it. So these two things, money and politics, are converging. Did money lead to political influence and did that lead to collusion with the russians in the election. You have spent some time in ukraine, you have been gathering evidence of what mr manafort was up to there, what have you learned . The bad news for mr manafort started in april 2016, when a page from a ledger belonging to the party of the regions was leaked. Next to mr manaforts name was an amount 12. 12. 5 million. Hes always denied that meant he got paid this money. In ukraine over the past week we were able to meet with people who dealt with the secret internal investigation. They infiltrated an agent in mr manaforts operation. They found and other sources tell them that he was paid 600,000 a month overfour years, 28. 8 million to be precise. That is the funds detailed in one ledger. They believe there are two further ledgers. The sums really in the words of one ukrainian mp to me are staggering. The allegation is you dont just get this from being a political consultant. This is for influence. What do you make of the trump defence today . Their defence is that its all a witch hunt. In mr manaforts case, i spoke to him about this. He said he was trying to bring ukraine closer to the west, closer to the eu. He was getting paid as a political consultant. The idea that he was a russian agent is nonsense. Mr trump has trotted out this witch hunt line quite a lot. He is right there is no evidence yet of a treasonous conspiracy, no evidence of collusion. That intersection between money and politics, the investigators are looking at whether russian money bought trump real estate and they are looking at meetings that mr trumps own son had with russian officials. The same problems that mr manafort is facing. Behind the scenes thats where the investigators are looking to. Let us assess the damage a little more closely. Joining me from washington is Susan Glasser Founding Editor of the political news magazine politico. And from Los Angeles Charlotte laws author and political commentator. Charlotte, lets start with you how serious is this for the president . I dont think its serious at all. Manafort, the so called or alleged financial crimes, began a decade ago. Really they have absolutely nothing to do with President Trump. The papadopoulos situation is nothing as well. He was a volunteer for the campaign. There was a movie recently with richard gere called the rise and fall of the new york fixer, i think this kid, and i say kid because 30 years old, probably naive. He probably wanted to be indispensable to trump. He wanted to be a fixer, where he put together trump with putin. So he would be the big shot and he had an ego about it. He was over the internet talking about trump liking him so much. Thats what its really about. Hes trying to make himself seem bigger than he was really was. Itjust blew up on him because he didnt realise there was something illegal with having to do this activity. Susan, do you think this is serious for the president . Which of these two stories, the papadopoulos one or the other one, which is the more important . Well, looking, the answer is we dont know yet. This is the First Time Since 1974 when the Campaign Manager for Richard Nixon was indicted and charged, that weve had Something Like this in the United States. It is certainly a big deal, when the guy who was the Campaign Chairman for the man who then became the president of the United States is indicted on charges that have to do with influence peddling and that have to do with lying to the us federal government about it, during and after the president ial campaign we had last year. Thats one thing. The pa padopoulos revelations are really the big news in many ways in washington today. Its a total surprise. This is a story nobody knew anything about. It suggests how tightly under wraps this investigation is. It does bring the russia collusion story directly inside the Trump Campaign for the first time. One of the theories about all of this is that this is just the start and the manafort story is going to turn out to be much bigger because theyve got something on him. Now they can start trying to plead with him and get him to cooperate with them to avoid serious jail sentences on the charge thats are currently facing him. If that happens, dont you go step by step towards the white house itself . Well, again. Sorry, susan first. The history of prosecutions suggests that its a very common tactic to bring charges on financial matters or things like that and then to build the bigger case slowly. Some of the testimony thats emerged today, includes a lawyerfor mueller saying at the plea hearing of George Papadopoulos that this was a small part of a very large investigation. Many people here in washington are wondering very much how close to President Trump it does go. I think a lot of people feel it stretches credibility to have the president himself and also his white house spokesperson making such claims from the government podium today about the president having nothing to do with any of this and making it seem as though the Campaign Chairman was barely involved with the campaign. This is the kind of thing his lawyers would never advise him to do, the president , to get in the middle of commenting on this now. Dont you worry that this is just a little step and theres going to be more steps and they will eventually lead to the white house . I dont think so. Because i dont think theres any there, there. It is possible that mueller who has the authority to take this investigation anywhere he wants, he might start investigating the democrats. There was a dossier funded by the democrats and hillary clinton. Its possible there could be indictments across both aisles. This could be the end of the investigation. We dont really know. We will have to wait and see. We will, but susan is it the case that trump supporters, at least for the time being, will say look, this isjust more people trying to obstruct the president from getting on with what he wants to get on with. Just get out of the way and let him be president. Clearly this is what theyre saying. Your other guests seems to have the talking points hand out sheet. I think you have tojudge each piece of this on its own. People make a mistake to be pundits when it comes to an investigation, which we know little to nothing about. Its clear that these are serious charges that have been filed against Paul Manafort. The scale of the funds involved are eye popping. What hes charged with here in the United States is having 18 million in alleged Money Laundering flowing through accounts. An additional 75 million going through what amounted to an effort to secretly lobby the Us Government here in washington on behalf of ukrainian president , and then to cover it up. Those are serious allegations. One of the reasons this investigation started with Paul Manafort, it should be noted. This investigation was already occurring. Then it was wrapped up in the larger probe. So there is a natural logic to it. We should take it for what its worth right now. Hard to believe that the Harvey Weinstein scandal erupted only 25 days ago with a piece in the new york times. It was perhaps inevitable that it would quickly find its way to westminster. Like hollywood, parliament is a male dominated, status obsessed environment, where socialising and work blend into each other. And where ambitious young people offer their labour to the more powerful. Its clear that Sexual Harassment and assault have been far from rare, and shoved under the threadbare carpets of the palace of westminster. 0ddly, one revelation is that parliament has not really offered employees working within its walls, much protection or support. But news of whatsapp groups and sex pest dossiers have led to a rapid reaction. Westminster does not want this to be a new expenses scandal or a return to sleaze. Heres our political editor, nick watt. Very overly sexual banter in the office. Comments about your physical appearance. Your breasts, your body shape, all that type of thing. Groping, lunging, harassment in terms of people asking you for dates and sort of texting you nonstop. Right up to things which probably would cross into more criminal activity as well. Westminster, the riverside royal palace, which has a reputation for protecting its own, is being prised open. Victims of Sexual Harassment now feel able to speak out in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein allegations. And parliament is responding. Let me make it clear. There must be zero tolerance of Sexual Harassment or bullying here at westminster or elsewhere. Whether that involves members or their staff or parliamentary staff or those working on or visiting the estate. The government made clear that mps will have to change their ways. Im well aware that the public rightly expect mps to display the highest standards. And as the Prime Minister outlined in her letter yesterday, there can be no place for harassment, abuse or misconduct in politics. Your age, gender orjob title should have no bearing on the way you are treated in a modern workplace. And nobody is an exception to that. Today did feel like a significant moment. As parliament finally caught up with the 21st century. Mps have traditionally guarded their right to police westminster. The first challenge to that came with the expenses scandal. And now there is Cross Party Consensus on the need for an external process to support victims of Sexual Harassment. But some voices are wondering whether today really will be a seminal moment, if mps accused of inappropriate behaviour are able to remain in the shadows. 0ne tory veteran does believes change is on the way. Ending the role of whips policing complaints about inappropriate behaviour. One of the major roles of whips is intelligence gathering. To try and avoid problems in the first place. Not necessarily blackmail mps, but simply to avoid problems arising if you know what their views are on a number of subjects. That is good whipping. Whether the role of the whips to act as some sort of quasi policeman, particularly if a crime has not been actually committed, that is another question. Every whips office will have a big black file on mps and that will include bad behaviour including Sexual Harassment. And sometimes there has been a feeling that the whips office know there are people doing bad behaviour, whether it is drinking too much or you know being inappropriate. But theyre not actually going to do anything in terms of disciplining those people. But they will use that information to help them when it comes to leveraging them to vote in a certain way or other things. But Michael Fabricant fears a witchhunt. Its not fair, actually, to base things on rumour. There has to be evidence. And there mustnt be witchhunts either. I feel there is a growing witchhunt mentality currently going on weve got to ensure that inappropriate behaviour is stamped out, it is wrong, it is unprofessional. But at the same time we do not want to see individuals who have been blameless being accused of things which maybe they have not really done or maybe at the time everyone was sloshed, i dont know. You sometimes get that and weve got to be very careful we dont get into that situation. Aisha believes this is a deeply serious moment. I have known it from my own experience as i started at the age of 21 in westminster. I was lunged at myself and this happened a number of times through my career. This is not a problem which isjust restricted to one Political Party. It is happening in every single Political Party right now. And i think what people in positions of power, mps, need to know is that actually a lot of women and younger men as well have had enough of it and theyre talking to each other. I think these lists are being compiled across every single party right now. Westminster is a notoriously secretive culture. Pressure from the outside world may at last force change. Assuming no return to the old closed ways. Joining me is Bernard Jenkin chairman of the Constitutional Affairs select committee. And here in the studio Stella Creasey labour mp for walthamstow and the daily telegraphs laura hughes. And nick watt has some late news. The Sun Newspaper reporting that defence secretary Michael Fallon has admitted in improperly touching a female journalist, the radio presenter Julia Hartley brewer. This happened 15 years ago it is important to say and they both considered the matter closed. A spokesman for Michael Fallon said he had apologised when the incident happened 15 years ago and both he and julia now consider it close. A friend of Michael Fallon says there are good friends, he overstepped the mark putting his hand on her knee and she made clear it was unwelcome and he immediately apologised 15 years ago. This came about becausejulia put out a lengthy Statement Today and mentioned the incident, did not mention who the minister was. She did not think it was serious enough. She said i regarded it as mildly amusing. Before getting into the generalities, lets ask about reaction to that particular story. Bernard, weve heard some of the context. What do you think . Having read the comment from julia, making a distinction between what might be proper harassment, she does not consider that this was harassment. She regards it as an inappropriately flirtatious moment and that is the end of it. And let us be clear, the more serious issues that are being discussed are where people have wanted to complain, have felt unable to complain or have complained and legitimate complaints have not been dealt with. That is not in that category. It also tells us that we are in a bit of a media storm where anything is going to generate a headline. However trivial. I do not suggest that is completely trivial but obviously much less than this other stuff. And stella creasy, do you agree with that on this specific case . Im not the person we should be making a judgment on this, we need processes were professionals deal with complaints. And the people involved have the right to say what has happened. This is one problem, this kind of speculation. But julia was not going to complain to anyone and has made clear she would never have done that. I agree that we need professional systems for the we know there are a series of complaints, a series of concerns and we should talk about how to address that instead of individual cases. Laura, you have been working on this for quite some time, before Harvey Weinstein brought it into the public domain. How big the problem is it in westminster and is it a bigger problem in westminster than anywhere else in society customer you need to look a parliament, 650 Small Businesses as it were with no hr department. If you have that in the real world of course you would have a handful of bad employers who acted inappropriately. Ive been looking into mps for a long time and talking to a lot of staff it is a handful, a large handful. 10 . I have worked with some really good mps who have been determined to help expose this. What i have been looking into, it is a serious cases, i have spoken to women who went to the parliamentary authorities and set them i have been sexually assaulted by one of your mps. What are you going to do about it and they were told there is nothing we can do. That is where the scandal is in. The scandal is theres nothing to protect young people. I myself am 25 and i started to look into this because i got to know a lot of researchers and staff and it is notjust Sexual Harassment but also bullying, Unreasonable Expectations because these are very young people. Not just tory men and young females but every gender, every party and in all different angles. We need to be looking at the cases where serious Sexual Assault allegations have been made and not acted upon. To me that is absolutely extraordinary in 2017. Lets turn to mp5, Bernard Howell has parliament allowed this to persist . You dont need Harvey Weinstein case to tell you this is rubbish. It is particularly difficult to regulate parliament because as individuals and as an institution we are sovereign, we have to have particular privileges and immunities to fulfil our constitutional function. And also to. You dont need to grow people. Im not excusing that, im just saying why it is difficult to regulate parliament. But parliament tends to be behind what is happening in other corporations and Public Institutions. Other Public Institutions and dare i say the bbc have had their difficulties with this sort of thing and they are catching up. And we had catching up to do as well. Why did you not raise this . You do not know that we had not raised things. When youre dealing with people who are in positions of power and taking powerful decisions, questions about an imbalance of power, it is all ultimately about professionalism. Yup 650 Small Businesses with no hr function, laura is right. People will not experience of managing people. And not just parliament, it is about the political culture. Many people who work in politics are maybe those who want to go on to positions, whether journalists, researchers, working in think tanks or whatever, the idea was speaking out on someone, any woman or young man who did that would know for the rest of their career that would be associated with them. What is important and what many young people and any age in fact, working for an mp, when you look at putting in a new hr structure and must be independent of parliament. Parliament is suffering. Where you have criminal matters they need to be investigated. But were also talking about a culture, constructive dismissal essentially because it is intolerable for anyone to work in an environment where your bullied or harassed, and actually. I could be sacked for doing that but the only people that can sack you are the people who are appointed you, the voters. So can you sack an mp . There are sanctions against mps which effectively would amount to sacking. We have talked about possibly having recall. That would be an idea. But we have the code of conduct, we would not be having this conversation if that works. But when you say health we called it out before, the committee that id share a submitted evidence to the review of this thing we need a complete rethink because theres a lot in your buck lobbying and financial interests and conflicts of interest. A little bit about principles of public life at the beginning but virtually nothing about how we should discuss that, how we should develop professional competencies as employers. What kind of leaders we should be seeking to develop. But we all know that groping is not acceptable without reading the code of conduct. 0ne worry i had today, Andrea Leadsom talked about victims but nothing about what could happen to the perpetrators. Would you support recall, the voters being told what was happening and given a chance to do that. That is one piece of the armoury that we might deploy. But it is the voters who will appoint you. Theres a huge amount of confusion about values, principles, rules and sanctions. It needs a complete rethink. As there has been a complete rethink in many other walks of life but not in parliament. I think if youre confused about whether it is appropriate to put your hand on someones knee. I think there is an issue as well with constructive dismissal and how to make sure it is a professional working environment. Belatedly sanctions as well and that is what we did not hear today. The rules are confusing because looking at the code of conduct and with respect policy, it covers relationships between house staff. It does not deal with the relationship between an mp and there staff member. And it says that point you might make about an mp might be considered about their personal life. The whips have been the go to people. Youre assaulted by your boss, you go to the whips, who are the most cynical people, so conflicting. Thats why there was push back in our party against so called independent Mediation Service because actually it was proposed that the whips and Party Volunteers should be the mediators, including incidentally somebody from conservative future and look what they turned out to be like. If were going to have an independent Mediation Service the whips cant do it can they . No, the whips cannot do it. We need third party reporting. I want it done by professionals with experience with Sexual Harassment or misogyny. We end on that note. Thank you. Now a lot has been going in westminster and the us, but no one is taking their eye off barcelona. First day back at work in catalonia after the declaration of independence on friday, and the decision of the Spanish Government to take more control over what it sees as a renegade region. Emily is there. Thanks. A real sense of normalcy in the square behind me. Madrid will be breathing a huge sigh of relief tonight. All eyes on how the Central Government would act after its incredibly heavy handed violent approach with the voters last month in the referendum that viewers will remember well. Today, there was little physical sign of interference, but there was one very large threat charges of treason brought against Carles Puigdemont, the sacked catalan president , by spanish prosecutors. Tonight its confirmed he has fled to belgium to seek political asylum. Hes due to give a press conference there tomorrow. We dont know exactly where. Some already fear a diplomatic incident could be brewing between belgium and spain. Here, meanwhile, no ones even attempting to pretend they know what happens now. Were going to be talking to a key member of the Independence Movement on the left in a moment. First this is my attempt to make sense of today. In the silhouettes of barcelonas gothic streets we find ourselves checking every face, every corner, the familiar figure of Carles Puigdemont hasnt been seen for days. The citys a strange twilight zone. No ones sure whos in charge or how its run. The shadowed wing span of madrid hovers over this autonomous region. It may be about to swoop. It hasnt yet. By daylight, were all at the central square, looking for answers to the simplest question who will turn up to work. This is a quiet market square, one huge political conundrum. Behind me the government of catalonia now under the control of the madrid government after they invoked article 155 and on this side the city hall, home to the barcelona mayor who resists article 155. At the moment its still hers. Who knows how that will change over coming days. The deposed president of catalonia set instagram alight first thing, posting this picture of his office with a cheery good day. He tells me he thinks hes inside. He came in, he waved at the people, he says. We find out its not actually true. I ask the Catalan Police guarding the building in the ministers are inside. He tells me he doesnt know. If they dont clear their desks, i ask . We know nothing, he repeats. Were just here to keep the peace. Misinterpretation and misinformation have been at the heart of this whole story. Madrid recently declared it wanted to restore impartiality to the catalan airwaves. So we head to tv 3. Hi, emily. The government funded broadcaster to ask racquel, the main news presenter, if anything has changed. Were under scrutiny but that doesnt force me to do things differently. I keep on being critical, as i try to be every single day, which is complicated under these circumstances. But we dont allow that to stop us to do the job that we have to do. Do you feel there is pressure from puigdemont, from his team, to tell the story in a certain way . Have you come under that pressure politically as a journalist . No. Not my colleagues, i bet this happens on like higher levels i would say, but not here in the newsroom. All politicians try to influence. It would be naive not to accept that. As we talk, we hear news from madrid spains prosecutor has brought charges of sedition and rebellion against the deposed catalan president. Now its up to puigdemonts party to respond. The hastily assembled press conference is a messy affair. Will he gojail . Hes facing charges now . The charges are there, but i think that democracy should be the reference and we cannot accept what is the general attorney is saying. We will face these charges. But of course we will be always with the president , with the members of the parliament and of course with the president of the parliament. She wont tell us where puigdemont is. It soon emerges he, perhaps his entire government, have fled to belgium, where theyve been offered some form of political asylum. Just when you thought things couldnt get any weirder, imagine the implications of this one european country, with its own separatist issues, stepping in to save another european leaderfrom jail by his own Central Government. Deep breaths needed. Mr puigdemont won the heart of separatists when he declared catalonia a state last friday. Mass demonstrations by unionists over the weekend are a timely reminder hes left many others furious. Whats happening here is like puigdemont is a dictator, thats it. Catalonia we were living fine, so why its happening that now . I dont really know why people need to make this to catalonia. I lost a lot of friends, like we talk about politics, its impossible to talk about because they turn aggressive and dont respect the others opinion. Perhaps its only when the streets fall silent again you realise the noise on either side comes from a pretty small minority. Most people, even those proud to call themselves born and bred catalans, simply dont understand why their leader chose this fight right now, when the economic crisis is finally at an end, when catalonia appears to be doing so well. Make no mistake, this may have begun here in barcelona, but its repercussions stretch across the country and the continent itself. Somethings been unleashed, no one quite knows whether it will go back in its cage or seek new pastures to prowl. I guess thats what were going to find out over the coming days, whether that something will actually take root, have momentum or whether well see it quietly fade again to nothing, at least until the Upcoming Elections of december 21. With me now alfred bosc from the republican Pro Independence party, a key voice on the left. Do you think this is a day that madrid can call a success, because actually, no violence, its gone according to plan and the whole Catalan Government, as we understand, is in belgium . For the first time, we must admit that the Spanish Government instead of resorting to violence and repression have had the day in the sense that they can argue that they have a democratic solution or exit to the conflict. Although, of course, as you know, the Catalan Government has been sacked. It was a democratically elected government. Hundreds of people are being sacked. Of course, the memory of the referendum where people were brutalised by the police. Now i think theyve found, probably because somebody pressed them, democratic exit out of this conflict. So do you think that puigdemont has done the right thing by leaving to go to belgium . Or does it seem to you cowardly is he running away from the fight here . Please remind the whole world that theres half of a government thats in belgium and the other half of the Catalan Government thats here in barcelona right now. We saw them this morning going to their offices that was one person here who turned up to work. Thats what we understood. No, the Vice President , i was with the Vice President the whole day. Hes from my party. He went to his office. He went to the party executive. He went to parliament. What is he doing here now, though . Theres nothing for him to run. Hes been sacked. Hes not in charge. What work is he doing . Hes not accepting as a whole. Were not accepting the repressive measures of the government. These people were elected. They were chosen by parliament through these catalan elections. For us those are the only legitimate rulers of catalonia. Today we heard from puigdemonts own party that yes, they will go and fight the elections in december 21. This is a concession to madrid that thats going to be the next step. These are elections called by madrid, right. Its a concession by everybody, because obviously what you say is right. But we also have to admit that rajoy said there would be no elections in the near future. He said at least six months or one year of direct rule by spain and finish whatever was present here in terms of home rule. Do you feel the effects of article 155 now on this city . Yeah. Of course. Like the whole government has been kicked out. In theory, at least, you find people working as usual. But theyve been kicked out. The decree has been signed. Its a tricky situation, where reality doesnt really fit in with all the laws and orders that madrid is giving. Were somewhere in between. Well see how things evolve. Very good of you to join us here. Thanks for your thoughts. This is the building behind me where Carles Puigdemont would ideally be making his press conference speeches from tomorrow. Of course, hes not. The sacked former catalan president is now in belgium. Hes going to be speaking to what we assume will be the worlds press from there. It will be an interesting week ahead. Back to you. Just time to look at the papers. The daily telegraph, we heard from laura hughes there. She was next to me earlier, sex scandal could be worse than expenses is their headline. A picture of manafort, no kevin spacey on the front. And on the times as well. Ministers face being fired in sex pests crack down. Both papers leading on that. Thats all we have time for. Kirstys here tomorrow. Till then, goodnight. We have seen we have seen some we have seen some big we have seen some big swings we have seen some big swings in we have seen some big swings in temperatures over the last few days. A few more in the next few hours as well. Yesterday morning we got to minus five celsius in tulloch bridge but warmer as we look at the weather first the opposition forecast this morning to a low cloud and outbreaks of rain in the rain could be heavy for western scotland. Patchy nature across the east. Low cloud across Northern Ireland and northern england, not a desperately poor visibility, the wind is too brisk for that. Further south, a couple of morning showers across east anglia in south east england did it otherwise a lot of dry and bright weather. The temperature is coming up weather. The temperature is coming up quite nicely because we have south westerly wind wafting across the country. Brings us milder air. Mind you, it will be a wet day for western scotland. The rain is not letting up here and i suspect that could well be simmering returning to wales and possibly north west england as we want through the afternoon and into evening as well. Best of the dry and bright weather across the midlands, as southern counties of england, but a mild day everywhere, really, temperatures reaching 1a degrees. Through tuesday evening gets spooky for a time as halloween trick or treat as head outside. A bit of rain to the north west watch out for. And the rest of the night could be mild with the wind coming from the south and the wind coming from the south and the temper to around eight or nine degrees for england and wales, ten or 11 for scotland. This band of weather will continue to move into western scotland. The rain total is mounting up on the hills there with that rain band stuck there through much of wednesday. Call as the far north west with a few showers moving in. For most of england and wales will be a dry day again with wind coming from the south west again with temperatures ranging around 12 or 15 degrees for most. Through wednesday night the weather front of the conferencing is to the south. But the cooler air following that sewers widodo thursday the sky will brighten up across eastern scotland and the good part of northern england. With those brighter conditions, that is where we have the cool air. In which is or 10 degrees, typically. Further south, double figures but it will be quite cloudy for southern england and southern wales. Through friday, saturday sees rain for a while doing to blustery showers and cold winds see down the north and west. We will see down the north and west. We will see further swings in temperatures over the next few days. Im rico hizon in singapore, the headlines the investigation into alleged links between russia and the Trump Campaign swings into action, with former Campaign Manager Paul Manafort among three men facing criminal charges. Another former aide, George Papadopoulos, admits lying to the fbi about his links to russia. But the white house insists there was no collusion. Weve been saying from day one theres been no evidence of trump russia collusion and nothing in todays indictment changes that at all. Im kasia madera in london. Also in the programme after five troubled years, australias Manus Island Detention Centre for Asylum Seekers is to close. But where will the detainees go