Transcripts For BBCNEWS Beyond 100 Days 20240714

From his role by the 31st october. Also on the programme. The peace talks are off. President trump cancels a secret meeting with the taliban but its the invite to camp david which has lawmakers from both parties crying foul. Theres nothing left say survivors left homeless, as Hurricane Dorian leaves a trail of death and destruction in the bahamas. Hello and welcome. Im Christian Fraser in westminster, Michelle Fleury is in washington. This British Parliament has sat for more days in one session, than any other since the english civil war over 300 years ago. But borisjohnsons decisison to bring it to a close tonight, proroguing it as it is known, is not without controversy. The current brexit deadline looms just 52 days away and after parliament is suspended this evening, the house will not sit again forfive weeks. One of the last pieces of legislation to get royal assent today was the backbench bill, approved last week, which will force the prime minsiter to request another brexit extension. Ministers said today they will abide by the law, but will test it to its limit. The speaker, john bercow, who facilitated that bill and has acquired something approaching cult status for his performances in the chair announced that after 10 years in the job, he will be standing down by the time of the next election. I have concluded that the least disruptive and most democratic course of action would be for me to stand down at the close of business on thursday october the 315t. Lets bring in our chief Political Correspondent vicki young whos in the lobby of the palaces of westminster. Vicki, when i think of mr burke out, he is known for his theatrical sharding of order, order, his departure announcement obviously, no less theatrical. Moved to tears at one point talking about his family. What though is significant about this timing . I think the point about him is, as you say, he is a divisive figure, there are people who look at the changes, the metallization that he has brought to the house of commons, i dont think anyone can dispute that. Things have changed here over the last ten years, whether its about proxy votes for women who have gone on maternity leave, whether its setting up a nursery here in the house of commons. But of course, theres a flip side to that. And there are people who look at him and say he has bent the rules. Although he has tried to give mps a say, try to make sure that the government is held to account, there are some who would look in the last year and say, because of his personal views on brexit, they would say, because he was on the remaining side of the arguments, he has pushed things, and made it very difficult for the government by changing years, decades, centuries of convention. And i think hes going too far, and you can see that very clearly, the house of commons, half of the house of commons applauded, to a standing ovation, not many on the conservative side of the house, because they feel that actually hes gone far too far, and hes gone beyond being an impartial speaker. While many within the tories, as you point out, may be celebrating his departure, what was striking was seeing michael gove paying tribute to mr bercow, was that something that kind of caught you off guard . Well they are friends, we know that, their children go to the same school actually, and so both of them refer to them, sol actually, and so both of them refer to them, so i think some people will look at the changes that have happened here, the way that select committees operates, for example, the committees that hold ministers to accounts, and thats what its all about, really. Its to accounts, and thats what its allabout, really. Its about to accounts, and thats what its all about, really. Its about the government not being able tojust get away with saying whatever they want, and not being able to have to answer questions. So thats the main thing that has changed, really. And the timing, as you say, is significant. Because it means under the timing thatjohn bercow has set out, that this Current Parliament will elect the new speaker, not a new parliament after a general election, whenever that may or may not come. But tonight, very late tonight, mps will vote again on whether there should be another general election early on the 15th of october. They are very likely to reject that, which means speaker be rcow reject that, which means speaker bercow will step down on the slst of october, the day that the uk is due to leave the eu, although now of course, the law has gone through that the Prime Minister must ask for a delay to brexit. Meanwhile, vicki, the Prime Minister has been in dublin today, some fairly robust things from the irish taoiseach, the Prime Minister, live or opt out, and what we got from borisjohnson i thought was a softer tone towards negotiation, that he does want this deal, desperately. Yet, he has said before that he wa nts a yet, he has said before that he wants a deal, that that is his first choice. But he is prepared to go and leave with no deal, and thats why hes ramping up preparations for that, but the tone is definitely different, it follows the resignation of the cabinet minister, amber ride, and others within his government, saying to him, look, you have to make it clear, that you do actually want a deal. If you look at the Current Situation that he is in, you can see why actually a deal becomes may be even more attractive to borisjohnson, because as things stand, the law says that he will have to come on the 19th of october, go to the eu, and ask for a delay to brexit. Something he has said he wont do. He would die in a ditch before doing it. And if you knows if he went to the country during a general election, the problem for him is all those people who voted for brexit, that he was hoping to bring over to his side, well they might thank you have broken your promise. So he doesnt want to do that at any cost. So actually getting a deal could be the one way he gets out of this. 0k, vicki ok, vicki young in the lobby for us. Thank you very much. I think we will see lots of vicki this evening, shall we . Because theres an awful lot going on. Several boats, two emergency debates this evening, and of course that important debate on the election coming up as well. Before we get this rather arcane ceremony that surrounds the prorogation of parliament. So lets show you, can we just, the prorogation of parliament. So lets show you, can wejust, the pictures from the house of commons at the moment. We have michael gove, on his feet, this is a debate at the moment over the governments reasoning for prorogation of parliament. The former attorney general, dominic reed, who brought this emergency order, has been asking for all the e mails, the whatsapp messages, the text messages, that were sent between the pre minister and his tea m between the pre minister and his team in the days running up to the decision to prorogue parliament, and hes also after the details from that Yellow Hammered document. The government preparedness document. What do they know about what no deal would mean that for the uk, and for business and the economy in the uk. And i guess christian. I wasjust going to say, christian, that Yellow Hammer reports, which is the government because my plans to prepare for a no deal, they are looking for signs of how far in advance they were planning this, or what are they hoping to learn . Well, they had some documents from the Yellow Hammered her details back in july, but they have had nothing since. So what they are hoping is that they are going to get, be up the up to date details from the government since of course this weekly planning meeting, that michael gove has been overlooking. What sort of thing are they going to get, regarding his plans, and what it means for the uk. Joining me now is the labour mp for ilford north, wes streeting. Wes, good to have you with us. When we come to the election vote tonight, it is pretty clear, isnt it now, that you are going to vote against that . Yes, labour has been very consistent and clear about this. Of course we wa nt and clear about this. Of course we want to general election, ive lost count of the number of times that Jeremy Corbyn says he wants a general election. But we are not prepared to risk, by accident or design, britain crashing out of the European Union with no deal. Once we are confident that that is off the table, an extension to article 50 has been achieved, then we will be ready and raring to go into that general election. But quite rightly, we put the Country First before our own partisan interests, as have other opposition parties. Yes, when you look at the polls from over the weekend, whereas he will see that actually the conservatives not quite well, the labour party are making no ground at all. So although many here in the westminster bubble think it was a chaotic week last week, there isa was a chaotic week last week, there is a large part of the country who think, good, im glad hes standing up think, good, im glad hes standing up to the parliament. And im glad hes not asking for an extension. Well i think we will have to wait and see how Public Opinion plays out on borisjohnson, he has been less than clear with people about his plans for leaving the European Union. We heard from amber ride, the former member of his own cabinets, that his plan for brexit amounts to one side of it, suspending parliament for five weeks, which is in modern times, unprecedented, to send usa in modern times, unprecedented, to send us a way for a prorogation that long, because he is afraid of scrutiny, and questions. And i think whether its thinking back to the promises he made during the referendum campaign, or indeed the way he is managing his shambles of the government, i think people will look at borisjohnson the government, i think people will look at Boris Johnson as a Prime Minister, and find him wanting. Of course, that also means that the labour party has to step up, and we have to persuade those voters who are not yet convinced that labour is the party for them. That they can place their trust and faith in us to bea place their trust and faith in us to be a better kind of government, and we can look forward to making that case when the election comes, as it inevitably will, because there is no majority here. But we do actually come in practical terms, majority here. But we do actually come in practicalterms, need majority here. But we do actually come in practical terms, need a general election once no deal is off the table. There are going to be people watching this saying, you need a general election, and yet, you are not voting for one right now. Is that because you are nervous Jeremy Corbyn couldnt carry it, couldnt win an election for the labour party . Our position has been absolutely crystal clear, which is about offsetting the risk of no deal. And once we are clear that thatis no deal. And once we are clear that that is off the table, we will vote for a general election, i expect a general election in november, perhaps december, thats undesirable, because of the weather, november will be bad enough, but we are looking at a november general election, and i actually think thats an inevitable necessary desirable, and we will have to go into that election with a cleared position, notjust on brexit, but on the other issues that the country is crying out for us to address, whether its the lack of Police Office rs whether its the lack of Police Officers on the streets, the cuts that are affecting local schools, the lengthy waiting times in the nhs. There are so many other issues that frankly need the governments attention, and after nine years of government cuts, i doubt there are many people out there in the country genuinely believing that the tories are the ones who are going to invest in our public services, and at least one that no deal brexit policy threatens to deliver a no deal recession for our country. 0k, thank you very much indeed for that. Here is doctor catherine helen, senior fellow at. Explained to me how significant it is joining me is dr catherine haddon, senior fellow at the insitute for government. Giving this permit the decision over who his successor will be. It is very significant, because a new government coming and it could it be a majority government, it would give them a lot of ability to whip the votes, organise those votes, and get the speaker that they want to do next. John bercow is very aware of that, but hes probably also aware of what hes done to the role, because by taking such a sort of you know, front of centre role and being so know, front of centre role and being so bold in challenging the government, he is also putting it in danger of government, he is also putting it in dangerof being government, he is also putting it in danger of being politicized. We saw that with the threats of the government that they would try to unseat him, and actually get him out that way at the next general election. Was he, did hejump before he was pushed . Because there were reports today in the newspapers that the conservatives were going to run a candidate against him in buckinghamshire, which they dont traditionally do, do they . Know, thats right. Because the speaker is supposed to be beyond party or the parties agreeing not to run a candidate against them. The last time that did happen was nigel faraj stood against him. But yeah, i think it is possible that he was, he was certainly aware of it. Its possible it was a factor, but he said he made a promise to his family that he was going to step down, and also, he had made promises that he would only stay as speaker for a limited period of time. That had run out. I think it was last year, so he had stayed on for this period, he wanted to make sure that it was somebody experienced in the role for these sort of final parliamentary stages. There probably wont be final part of entry stages to brexit, but certainly up to the period of october 31. He made his feelings quite clear about one of the emergency debate this evening, debating the rule of law, whether Prime Ministers should uphold a bill that has been passed in the house of commons. Can you see a scenario, we just heard from vicky that the government said its going to test as far as it can, can you see any scenario where borisjohnson could get around that bell . |j scenario where borisjohnson could get around that bell . I think at the moment, what they are implying is that they wanted to go to court. You know, how they actually get that to happen, i dont know. But they are probably wanting a court case, because that allows them to explore whether or not those kind of there are limits, or if it binds them as much as they think it does, but it could also delay them having to take the extension anyway. And thatis to take the extension anyway. And that is what i think Opposition Mps will then be really worried about. Is the court case itself going to cause a problem for that, but that is where its political solution. Opposition mps, majority of parliament dont like it, they have to bring a vote of no confidence coming get rid of the Prime Minister that we. So you think there could be a scenario, sort of the 19th of october, if he comes back, and he is going to be forced to go and request that delay, where he probably would have to resign. I think that the thing is, there is two main challenges, one is on the per minister. Can he extend this . Any stomach at . Or does he resign. The other is on the opposition parties, is if other is on the opposition parties, is if he does that, with a take that move and try and oust him . Doctor catherine helen, a lwa ys oust him . Doctor catherine helen, always good to see you. She was going to come with a big coat tonight, we were talking about on social media, i might say if youre going to hang around this evening, it would be quite remiss not to come in the big quote. Ive left one that is the size of your code. Lovely to thank you. Donald trump had invited the taleban to the United States for secret peace talks, on the eve of the 9 11 commemoration. But on saturday the president tweeted that he had cancelled those talks because of another taleban attack in kabul that killed an american soldier. The us had been working towards the withdrawal of more than 5,000 us troops after 18 years of war. But his tweet, President Trump suggested the deal is dead for now. He wrote. Donald trump has faced questions from both sides. Nothwithstanding the sensitivities around the 9 11 commemoration, the telaban have not changed and critics agree they are undeserving of an invitation to camp david. Lets pick this up with retired Brigadier General and Us State Department former assistant secretary, mark kimmitt. Look, we have seen the president taking heat, and i want to read you a tweet from someone from his own party, republican congresswoman, liz cheney, from wyoming, who wrote camp david is where american leaders meant to plan or respond after alqaeda supported by the taliban killed 3000 americans on 9 11. No member of the taliban should set foot there ever. She said the president was right to cancel, but she questioned the meeting taking place in the first place. Whats your position on this . Well first of all, liz cheneys father was inside the situation room the day that 9 11, windows two towers went down. Sol 9 11, windows two towers went down. So i can understand her passion on this. I happen to agree with her. It is one thing to visit north korea, where an american soldier hasnt been killed in over 65 years. Its another thing to meet with the enemy thatis another thing to meet with the enemy that is killing american soldiers, and proud of killing american soldiers to this day. So this notion of the taliban at camp david, particularly on 9 11, i find incredible. Was this really a negotiating withdrawal, rather than a peace deal . Welll negotiating withdrawal, rather than a peace deal . Well i think thats exactly right. There would be no peace inside of afghanistan, the best we can hope for is that both sides agree to number one, a reduction in forces, and number two, i have parted promise from the taliban to prevent terrorists from finding safe haven and sanctuary in afghanistan again. So where. Iam curious, afghanistan again. So where. I am curious, sorry christian, you go ahead. I wasjust going to say, where does that leave the president . Because obviously the talks were about getting the troops withdrawn, now that he is ripped up the peace deal, does that mean there will be any drawdown of troops . Well first of all, i dont think this is ripping up the peace deal. What i think its saying is, get back to the table, and oh, by the way, while thats happening, the taliban should not be killing american soldiers, or afg ha n not be killing american soldiers, or afghan civilians. They need to agree toa afghan civilians. They need to agree to a cease fire. So what hes done is put a couple of conditions on the ground, in orderto is put a couple of conditions on the ground, in order to restart those talks. At the talks are not dead by any stretch of the imagination. Even though you have the taliban coming out and saying there will be more violence against americans in the wake of this cancel meeting. This is a very caustic way of saying, but those are negotiating positions. Im pretty confident that the american soldiers can stand up for themselves. I want to go back to this idea of the sort of diplomacy here. On twitter, someone sort ofjokingly made the point that if Osama Bin Laden had been alive, then President Trump might have sat down with him. Its this idea that he has taken a very unexpected, untraditional path towards Foreign Policy. I mean, do you think thats what he was trying to do here, and that it was just a sort of mistake in an attempt . Well, first of all, if you truly wanted to sit down with the taliban, he may have wanted to have some sort of camp david accords with the taliban, which would have been significant for his Foreign Policy agenda, but i think it rings hollow, and its, i dont think he understood the optics of what would have happened, somehow, the americans embracing a towel announcing peace at camp david, particularly when the taliban generals are still killing americans on the ground. We have to leave it there, but thank so much for coming in today. A christian, what was striking was the reaction we saw, obviously we touched there on republican reaction in his own party, but there were also democrats, president ial hopeful, amy saying that donald trump is trying to turn this into some kind of game show. I suppose they are asking themselves why the administration called themselves so politically flat footed, because of the end of the day, 9 11, the commemoration is ona the day, 9 11, the commemoration is on a monday, the taliban and being invited to the United States for the first time at the weekend, to camp david, legitimising the group really, that they dont really deserve to be legitimised. They havent really changed what they are all about. And i think listening to people talk about this meeting, and being so caught off guard, exactly because of those optics. It is this idea that are we witnessing the showman president , who comes from this background of deal making, whos hoping to have a big win, and yet, so far, at least in Foreign Policy terms, those big winds have proven elusive. Ya. 18 years, and trillions of dollars spent, i suppose they have to look at something. Yeah. Officials in the bahamas have defended their response to Hurricane Dorian, saying they are getting to grips the fallout from the disaster. At least 43 people are known to have died so far. Aid agencies say tens of thousands of residents in the worst hit areas still have no access to food or clean water. The death toll is likely to rise as hundreds, possibly thousands, of people are still missing. Aleem maqbool reports now from abaco islands one of the worst hit areas. With little left to stay for after the hurricane, theres a clamor now to get off this devastated island. The airstrips opened on abaco, and though the planes keep coming, theyjust cant match demand. Theres not enough. Theres nothing to do, so. All you can do is try. Marsh harbor close by though, is now just and obliterated and empty town. People who were here during the hurricane say, those shipping containers were lifted up by the winds and the powerful tidal surges, and smashed into peoples homes, and pushed further and further back. And the stories of loss and of those who are missing are everywhere. Around here was the home of ebma francoise, we were going to accompany him back to the spot for the first time, but when we got to the edge of the town, he froze. You dont want to go there . No. Why dont you want to go there . Because you see how i smell . You see how it is. You could smell, you dont know what you smell there. It looks like something, people are still in there i know, so there are plenty of people dead. Plenty people dead. Among the ghosts here for ebma is that of his girlfriend, lisa. Her body was found, but the stench ebma talks of, suggests many still havent been. Eva survived with her children, but three of her cousins are still missing. Shes reluctant to fly out to the bahamian capital, nassau. They tell people to go nassau, i dont know nothing about nassau. Because i aint got no family in nassau there, because my kids need to go to school. I aint got nothing, i lost all my things. I aint got nothing in my life. It is the poorest who have been affected most by the hurricane, mainly from abacos haitian community. Many of them and feel the prospects are bleak, whether they stay or go. Aleem maqbool, bbc news, on the abaco islands of the bahamas. Desperate times, we are onlyjust beginning to hear some of the personal stories there of those affected by Hurricane Dorian. Christian, here in the us, College Football is a big deal. Kinda like your premier league i suppose. So when a teacher from florida asked her 11th graders thats children aged around 9 to wear shirts from their favourite college one student picked the univeristy of tennesse. But this pupil didnt have an official strip so went a step further and improvised the branding with this orange tshirt. But later his teacher found him crying after girls at lunch had laughed and made fun of his t shirt. Not nice. But if theres a lesson to be learned here bullies never come up trumps. For as you can see in this tweet. The university of tennesses official shop is now selling shirts with the boys design on. Their website has crashed due to the high demand for the shirts and a portion of the profits will be going to an anti bullying charity. Alls well that ends well. Isnt that good . I like that a lot. Improvisation, and he did the right thing, came in, and they are sending the money to a bullying charity. Right, letsjust the money to a bullying charity. Right, lets just show you the picture in the house of commons which im looking at here, so you can see they have just broken up for debate. This is for a vote i should say, this is the debate on, getting the government to release the reasonings for prorogation tonight, we expect it to go against the government, because of course the government doesnt have a working majority, but we will bring you the result of that boat, this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. Coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news, after borisjohnsons visit to ireland, were live in dublin to get the view of the irish senator who chairs their brexit committee. And the first day of ba pilots 2 day strike sees the cancellation good evening. For many of us, its been a disappointing start to the week, quite a lot of cloud and rain around at times, although, it did start to weaken off a little, as it pushed its way steadily eastward through the day. But in the last few hours, some of those showers down to the southwest have really turned quite heavy, with rumbles of thunder mixed in there. So the best of any afternoon brightness that was to be found in Northern Ireland as the rain band cleared its way eastwards, a little bit of sunshine came through. That means clear skies over the next few hours, and overnight tonight. And temperatures are likely to fall away. The rain will start to ease, but with all that moisture around, we could see some overnight mist and autumn fog forming first thing for tomorrow morning. So it is going to be a relatively quiet start, overnight lows of 7 10d, but a murky one in a few places. Some of that fog, for instance, close to the midlands could be quite slow to clear away. It will eventually lift, the cloud should thin and break, we should see a day with some sunshine coming through. Although, out to the west, already the winds will strengthen, and rain starts to arrive into Northern Ireland and western scotland. But ahead of it, with a little more sunshine, a little more warmth, heights of 19 degrees. Highs of 19 degrees. Now, this area of low pressure than is going to bring some wet and windy weather across scotland and Northern Ireland through tuesday night wednesday. It is the remnants of what was Hurricane Dorian. By then, just a week affair, a band of cloud, as a pushes its way by then, just a weak affair, a band of cloud, as a pushes its way steadily south and east across england and wales with outbreaks of showery rain. Behind it, a bright and breezy affair for many, top temperatures of 15 21 celsius. Now that weather front will start to ease away wednesday evening, and once it does so, we will see another front pushing in from the atlantic. Now this is going to bring more of a south westerly flow, and a bit more heat and humidity with it as well. It will bring some rain, but across much of england and wales, we will see some russet tones developing, those temperatures are back up slightly above the average for at the time of year. So some rain for Northern Ireland, western scotland, and northwest england, but temperatures could peek into the mid 20s into the southeast corner. That will be quite pleasant for the middle part of september. As we move out of thursday, it looks likely that the rest of the week then well get a little bit warm and dryer after that wet and windy start. Take care. This is beyond 100 days. With me Michelle Fleury in washington, Christian Fraser is at college green. Our top stories. Emergency debates on brexit and a vote on a snap election its a busy last day in the British Parliament before it shuts down for 5 weeks. In dublin, the irish Prime Minister warns borisjohnson that there is no such thing as a clean, no deal brexit. Coming up in the next half hour. Almost all of British Airways flights are grounded as pilots walk out over pay as part of their two day strike. And a lesson for all of us in how to get out of something we dont want to do. As you join us, mps in the house of commons have been voting on a motion calling for the publicaton of the so called yellowhammer documents. Yes, those are the governments plans for a no deal brexit, some details of which had been leaked but which the governemt was refusing to publish. Lets talk to conservative mp bob seely that vote is just coming in at the moment and i cannot hear the results because its off camera but we will get that result for you. Lets speak to bob who is in the lobby for me. Lets just talk a little bit about the speaker first of all, your reaction to the conservative side. It was stand aside by the october the 31st but of course giving this problem meant the option to choose his successor. Parliament. I have mixed feelings about this speaker, i think he was quite good for backbenchers, i dont think he tried to open up parliament, and i think the role and having the Education Centre was really important. On the other hand, i noticed that only one set of the house stood up to applaud, and whether he likes it or not he became a partisan figure especially over his dealings with brexit. How history willjudge and we will have to see but i think there was a definite opinion that he favoured one side over the other and i think for a speaker thats really reg retta ble. I think for a speaker thats really regrettable. While we were talking we get the result for the reasoning and also for this request for the documents relating to the government preparedness for no deal and it was approved. Strictly speaking, the government would have to produce those documents but with prorogue tonight the government sees a way it can get around to that, would you say . Governments should always make the law of the government needs to have impartial advice which is honest and clear and actually government has a very long tradition of not making Civil Servants advice necessarily public to the members of the house of the comments because they must get that advice. Now members who vote for they must be careful for what they wish for. Does this mean you will be complying with the law and making those documents public at some point . Im sure the government will obey the law and not do anything else. Its up to the government how it wishes to proceed now. The important thing is that we need to deliver on the mandate of the british people, people are losing trust and faith and we saw that in the elections of the European Parliament earlier this year. We need to deliver by the 31st and get on with it. I want a deal. Once of the that looks after my island better but to do that i must have a functioning government with a domestic agenda and im fed up at the game playing that has come from the game playing that has come from the remain side in seeking to manipulate parliament to somehow nullify the votes of the 2016 mandate. Michael gove just said the government is committed to sharing as much as of operation Yellow Hammer as it as much as of operation Yellow Hammeras it can as much as of operation Yellow Hammer as it can and will publish a revised version of the document but said it was none Impact Assessment or likely scenario, so i think hes trying to intimate that because of what they put in place of the last few weeks things have moved on somewhat. I think they have moved on massively in one of the disappointing things about the last government when they said no deal is better than a bad deal was com pletely better than a bad deal was completely clear when boris came to power that actually we had not been planning for all scenarios. We are now planning seriously for no deal in case it happens. I voted for a deal three times. The reason were in this mess is because one of the Major Political parties led to their electorate. The Labour Party Said that they would honour and respect the results of the referendum. Its on page 2a of the manifesto and they have not done so. Thats where we are facing a potential no deal exit. I wanted deal, i voted for and most of all we have to keep faith with the british people and respect democracy, we cannot decide which votes respect and which ones we dont. Need to get back to governing and deliver and all the things we have here. People would say the same is true about legislation. Have here. People would say the same is true about legislationlj have here. People would say the same is true about legislation. I do understand the point youre making and it is important and obviously large part of the election, but a lot of people would say the same is true about legislation. You cannot pick and choose which laws you will abide by we have a scenario now be the leader of the opposition has called an emergency debate on the rule of law. As if the Prime Minister is not bound by the rule of law. The leader of the opposition is never going to grandstand, is he . Leader of the opposition has two sort his own party out and we have members of his own party resigning of the anti semitic mess that hes got his Political Party in. Not sure i would take much of whatJeremy Corbyn does a seriously, and i think come the next election the british people will not take them seriously either. This is the party that said he would respect the referendum result and has not done so. Thank you so much forjoining us as we learned that mps will have to hand over the documents behind their no deal planning. Meanwhile the uk has not yet spelled out how it intends to get around the backstop but if the eu is to agree to any alternative there is one members approval that matters more than any other ireland. Well today borisjohnson travelled to dublin where he met for the First Time Since becoming Prime Minister with the irish leader leo varadkar. Mrjohnson said that a no deal brexit would be a failure of statecraft and said he was still hopeful of a successful renegotiation. While mr varadkar agreed that a deal was still possible, the irish t shock warned that current promises from the uk government wouldnt cut it as an alternative to the backstop. We cannot do and will not do, and i know you understand this is agree to the replacement of legal guarantee with a promise. Our businesses need long term certainty and people of this island north and south it to know their livelihoods and sense of identity would not be put at risk as a consequence of brexit. Lets speak now to Neale Richmond an irish fine gael senator who chairs the irish senates brexit committee. Hejoins us from dublin. Looking back there, watching Boris Johnson and leo side by side you saw the differences on show. Absolutely. Two very different individuals and very much hope that after this mornings meeting it will continue to develop a close working relationship regardless of this issue of any sort of personality differences. Its vitally important that they develop a good working relationship that we seen that in the past with David Cameron and indeed with theresa may we have had multiple phone calls between the leaders its great to see them meet in person now. What you think about the suggestion that is bubbling around about Northern Ireland and being in Northern Ireland only backstop that will be breaking the logjam we find ourselves in and does that supper that would go down well with your city . We have to remember the backstop as originally drafted only applied to Northern Ireland and the Customs Union with the eu. That was rejected by the British Government and theresa may password to be changed to eight uk white customs agreement. Something we would be open to but that suggestion we need to come from the British Government quite soon. You would understand, senator, that there would be a risk that paramilitaries might attack and insulation because they dont want a united ireland. Might attack and insulation because they dont want a united irelandm isa they dont want a united irelandm is a big difference. Its quite clear to is a big difference. Its quite clearto remember is a big difference. Its quite clear to remember that regardless of what backstop bid Northern Ireland or the current one we have its an insurance policy and a last ditch scenario that we hope will never come into place, but by having it we would be able to negotiate a new trade customs and deal between the eu and uk as a whole. If that deal was not able to be flushed out we would come of course, be able to alternative arrangements but none have been prevented. The backstop as is and as was originally drafted is no threat to the community. Has all the threat of checks and balances and puts the medicaid advantage over us on and puts the medicaid advantage over us on the south. Im slightly bemused that you say you have no alternatives because the alternative arrangements commissions supplied you with a document with 250 pages of alternative arrangements that could be discussed. I wonder why the British Government and Irish Government, various parties in Northern Ireland and are able to get around a table as they deal with the good friday agreement and discuss some of those alternative arrangements. No real point doing this through brussels if the three sides cannot agree a way forward. Theres many things there. Its a private entity and is not the British Government and id match them in my role as chairman of the committee and that document, even though it is lengthy is full of holes. Talks about nonexistent technology in a system that would require ireland to leave the Common Market completely unacceptable. Secondly and most importantly this is not a bilateral discussion. We are the European Union. Our negotiator is the eu. We had no proposals by the British Government but ultimately the Withdrawal Agreement as is with the backstop provides us with those real assurances. People say rip out the backstop and come up with an alternative simply dont appreciate the very serious nature of life on this island with very fragile piece and how we need that insurance policy to keep the border open to protect that agreement. Very good points there. Im joined now by shanker singham, a trade expert who chairs the Technical Panel of the alternative arrangements commission. Quite right, and pointing out that you are not the government. Youre an Advisory Group to the government. He also flags up some of his concerns and says the report you put to them it was full of holes and the system, dissident all ireland system forfood system, dissident all ireland system for food and agriculture, it would mean that ireland would have to leave the Common Market will stop this is not a bilateral discussion he says, we are the European Union and hes not, its not us that will leave the Common Market. Just to pick up on some of the things he said, we did with him earlier on in the year injuly when our report came out. First of all, as he knows, theres no technology in his report that has not been invented yet. These are things that are done procedurally all over the world. And we have basically suggested things that include things like a programme with preclearance checks away from the border, what we are trying to do is ensure that there is no physical infrastructure on the border and no checks and controls the border. The reality is that the only real concerns people have expressed are, a its more expensive for small traders, we suggest a fund to get them customs ready as they go forward , them customs ready as they go forward, that there would be an increase in smuggling, so we suggested national targeting sensors and working with the Irish Government to do more in market checks and effect you dont solve smuggling with intervention anyway. It is intelligence led in all of those things. Theres the issue of it being in the eu, uk discussion and not in ireland discussion. The problem is everyone in the European Union cink what does ireland think of this . And in ireland they are saying which is the eu think of this . No we will get a deal is if, as you suggested, the irish in the British Government get together around a table and start thrashing out what these arrangement are so that they can be presented to the eu asa that they can be presented to the eu as a solution. I can already feel people e mailing in and saying we have been here theres no arrangements that work across the border as big as this across the world. The point is that the eu and the strasburg agreement before the vote ca m e the strasburg agreement before the vote came back for a third go over they did say we are committed to alternative arrangements. They have committed to engaging in this process. The parties have agreed there will be alternative arrangements in the backstop on the as an insurance policy. Its either an insurance policy in which case there is possible arrangements and weve got 23 of the worlds leading customs. If there was no deal and it would not put a hard border in ireland would they have to use some of the solutions that you put forward anyway . Was only three things that can happen if there no deal. Importer in ireland which would be terrible. A between ireland and the eu 26 which would be catastrophic for the irish economy, or alternative arrangements that we have suggested. If you look at the language of the things they are suggesting if theres no deal, it looks very much like our restorative arrangements. It begs the question if you can do in the case of no deal what can we notjust start discussing this now, because we will have to come up with an alternative arrangement at some stage of the future anyway. Thank you very much for talking to us. British Airways Pilots are on strike for two days in a dispute over pay and conditions. Hundreds of flights were cancelled on monday affecting an estimated 145,000 passengers. The Company Offered an 11. 5 pay rise, over three years, but pilots say they want a share of the companys yearly profits. Theyve threatened another strike on the 27th of september. Our transport correspondent tom burridge gave me the latest from heathrow. A rough couple of years for British Airways, Security Breach and technology problems. How damaging is it for a company like British Airways . The chief executive today has pretty much admitted that they will take a massive financial hit today and tomorrow while £40 million in the region of each day it will cost the airline. Also the reputation damaged, you cannot quantify that. We have spoken to saying they are thinking long and ha rd saying they are thinking long and hard about booking ba in the future. Although they said they spent the last couple of weeks to rebook people on alternative airlines you are getting criticised for not booking onto other airlines and also getting criticised for some passengers for not doing enough to step up to the plate and make sure that passengers dont lose out because a lot of passengers have. When you thing about flying you dont think of anything more miserable than being told the airline you have booked with is cancelling all flights. What sort of recourses to people have . Is there any idea of what alternatives are out there but what compensation they can expect . They have been calm setting passengers, have been other booking them often alternative dates for the strike is finished, but that means people have been losing days of holiday orjust refunding them outright for the flights, so in a way a lot of people will not be massively out of pocket. I think it has gone from a really long running dispute over pay and whether or not pilots should actually have a deal that means they share in the profits of the company, because they are really in a fate healthy financial position, for ten years there were losing money and today, last year have made more than around £2 billion more than a prophet. The dispute over the last room for hours has become more about it, its also about the commercial model. Ive been speaking to pilots today that said not only have there not been happy but the deal they are getting even though they get quite a decent salary compared to most people, they are also unhappy about the direction of travel of British Airways. They become more of a no frills airline, you go on board and dont get a drink, or e mail unless you pay for it. Thats the model and its been very successful. The pilots dont like it. They want to go back to that big brand traditional model. Nets were the two sides disagree knowingly about pay put the general commercial model that British Airways has come to today. Hearing more and more about the corporate responsibility. We will have to leave it there for now. Thanks for the latest. This is costing British Airways £50 million a day. Thats parking aircraft and passengers in hotels, another 50 million today at their is not just hotels, another 50 million today at their is notjust that but the knock on effect. Wouldnt itjust be easier to do a deal with the pilots . Goes to the point that tom was making. That there is a more existential question about what kind of responsibilities and relationships have with their staff . Increasingly his discussion happening beyond just ba the pilots when a Profit Sharing deal, its, do companies in the board room suites need to take into account things just beyond returns to shareholders . A fit of their profits. 50 million today. Thats a lot. Still make money in the First Quarter so we will see what happens next. This is beyond 100 days. Still to come, well be live outside the Supreme Court in washington as an investigation begins into whether tech firms have too much power. A man who lost his sight in one eye after an acid attack over 20 years ago has been the first nhs patient to undergo pioneering surgery to restore his vision. Oscar duke reports. Ican i can only see the blob of light. James has been blind to his right eye since he was 18. I was walking home from the cinema one night when i was approached bankable of teenagers and they tapped me on the shoulder, and as i turned around the spray to liquid in my face. Her work at the next morning to find i no longer had proper vision in the right eye any more. Never imagined he would ever get his site back until last year. When he was offered a new stem cell treatment to repair the scar tissue in his eye. What we do is we could take a small biopsy of one to two mm from the healthy eye and remove the scar tissue from the blind i and repopulated with the stem cell transplant. This procedure has taken 20 years to develop, and james was the first nhs patient to receive it. 14 months after his operation, and the stem cell transplant has been successful. James can now have the final part of his treatment. He was given a new, healthy cornea from an id owner. Its all gone really well. Hes about to discover if his site been restored. Im just taking the membrane dressing away. How was it . Can you see this. Yeah. I mean, i can see. I can see can you see this. Yeah. I mean, i can see. I can see everyone in can you see this. Yeah. I mean, i can see. I can see everyone in the room. Ican can see. I can see everyone in the room. I can see can see. I can see everyone in the room. I can see you. Can see. I can see everyone in the room. I can see you. Not only has his site been restored, but he has also got the colour of his eye back. What are you most looking forward to being able to see now . Something that my daughter had made something earlier this year it has your wish on and said i wish my daddys i will get better soon. And i will be able to tell her. Her wish came true, yeah. We will be talking shortly about tech firms using their sheer size and power to stifle the competition and harm consumers in the us . Thats the question the Justice Department and attorney generals from a number of different states will be looking to answer as they launch a major new investigaton today. In the past tobacco giants and big pharma have been taken to task by state watchdogs now its the turn of Silicon Valley following years of federal inaction. The bbcs Samira Hussein is outside the Supreme Court in washington for us. It seems like a day does not go by when we dont see something about another investigation into these big tech companies. What is happening today. We seen a coalition of some 50 state attorneys generals and were talking about republican and democrats to investigate googles practises. They are saying this is an initial investigation to try and get at whether or not they are using their dominance to stifle any more competition. And remember, this is that another investigation that has been announced in a couple of weeks for as you rightly pointed out we fret a lot of these. In fact just for as you rightly pointed out we fret a lot of these. In factjust on friday we heard that the state attorney general of new york along with from other states is launching an investigation into facebook into their anti competitive practises. Theres just a lot more pressure being put on big tech by various levels of government. Notjust at the state level but the ongoing investigations by the department of justice and federal trade commission. How much power do they have . Could it break up some of these companies . Thats a question that will certainly put to the state attorneys general at this press conference and they were reluctant to say what kind of action they would take against these companies. There were very quick to say, christian, that they are acting independently of what is happening at the federal level. See you did get a sense that there was some of that kind of frustration that you did not see the federal government acting. They have imposed some fines on different tech companies, we seen a 5 on different tech companies, we seen a 5 million fine post on facebook just recently we saw hundred 70 million fine imposed on youtube, owned by google. That has not been seen as very strong. Owned by google. That has not been seen as very strong. Everything about these companies and how much money they make, in the billions, those kinds of fines very small. Thank you very much indeed. Michelle, weve all been in situations wed rather not be. And i must admit, that after a week of standing here until midnight, sometimes i wonder whether i should get better at making excuses. Perhaps you could learn a thing or two from this pitbull, elyse they could check by turning on the tv where you are. Perhaps you could learn a thing or two from this pitbull, who pretends to faint when his owner tries to clip his nails. As you can see he is ignoring his owner, who is ready to go in for the chop until she finally takes his front paw when the oscar worthy performance kicks in. That is so good i love the very slow fade. I think it will be a few mps doing that. If you get to the other side at midnight tonight there will bea side at midnight tonight there will be a fear the conservative mps doing that. Let me show you the pictures. On his feet at the moment. Just remind you if you are staying with us through the course of the evening, and i hope you are, were into an emergency debate that was brought by Jeremy Corbyn. And whether the Prime Minister and government should oblige by the rule of law. Talking about the bill that was passed by backbench mps last week that would force the Prime Minister go back to brussels and request a delay. Today we are free from government ministers saying that they will abide by the law but will test it to its limits. We heard from him at the top of the bargain that saying that she fully expects the government will force it through the courts. Perhaps to keep the opposition and powers that be in brussels on their feet. We will keep watching that but for me and michelle thank you very much for watching. Same time tomorrow. Good evening. For many of us its been a disappointing start to the work week with a lot of Claddagh Ring around at times. Although it did start to weaken off a little as it pushed its way steadily eastwards. Down to the southwest the current quite heavy with rumbles of thunder mixed in. The best of any afternoon brightness, thats to be found into Northern Ireland as the rain cleared its way. Little bit of sunshine cleared through. That means clear skies over the next few hours, and overnight tonight. And temperatures are likely to fall away. The rain will start to ease, but with all that moisture around, we could see some overnight mist and autumn fog forming first thing for tomorrow morning. So it is going to be a relatively quiet start, overnight lows of 7 10d, but a murky one in a few places. Some of that fog, for instance, close to the midlands could be quite slow to clear away. It will eventually lift, the cloud should thin and break, we should see a day with some sunshine coming through. Although, out to the west, already the winds will strengthen, and rain starts to arrive into Northern Ireland and western scotland. But ahead of it, with a little more sunshine, a little more warmth, highs of 19 degrees. Now, this area of low pressure than is going to bring some wet and windy weather across scotland and Northern Ireland through tuesday night wednesday. It is the remnants of what was Hurricane Dorian. By then, just a weak affair, a band of cloud, as a pushes its way steadily south and east across england and wales with outbreaks of showery rain. Behind it, a bright and breezy affair for many, top temperatures of 15 21 celsius. Now that weather front will start to ease away wednesday evening, and once it does so, we will see another front pushing in from the atlantic. Now this is going to bring more of a south westerly flow, and a bit more heat and humidity with it as well. It will bring some rain, but across much of england and wales, we will see some russet tones developing, those temperatures are back up slightly above the average for at the time of year. So some rain for Northern Ireland, western scotland, and northwest england, but temperatures could peek into the mid 20s into the southeast corner. That will be quite pleasant for the middle part of september. As we move out of thursday, it looks likely that the rest of the week then well get a little bit warm and dryer after that wet and windy start. Take care. Im Christian Fraser at westminster, where mps are set to vote again later this evening on borisjohnsons plan for a snap general election to break the brexit deadlock. Todays other political developments. The Prime Minister holds talks in dublin with his irish counterpart and insists he wanted to avoid a no deal brexit. An emotionalfarewell from the speaker of the house of commons, john bercow, as he announces hell step down at the end of october. This has been let me put it explicitly the greatest privilege and honour of my professional life, for which i will be eternally grateful