Transcripts For BBCNEWS Beyond 100 Days 20240714

Also on the programme. Borisjohnson offered a qualified acknowledgement that tempers need to come down in parliament after being accused by mps of using divisive language. I do think its important that in the house of commons, i should be able to talk about the surrender bill, the surrender act in the way that i did. And i take my toy balls to stoke on trent the city which supported leave by the highest margin to see if the sentiment remains the same. Tory all over . You will be glad of that ball, youve only got one another. Will let me have another go then. For me sister. He is what about protecting the valid . 0h, protecting the valid . Oh, no. Hello and welcome. I am Christian Fraser in stoke on trent this evening, Michelle Fleury is in washington. It has been an ugly few days in british politics. The brexit stalemate reduced the Westminster Parliament to a bear pit last night, compromise looks ever more unlikely, in london and in brussels. We do tend to report it from a westminster perspective, but how does it look to the rest of the country. Tonight we have come to the potteries, to stoke on trent. Traditionally a labour constituency where in 2016, 69 of the people voted to leave. And we are also going to focus tonight, on the politics here in washington. The impeachment fight is now well and truly on. Today we have had gripping testimony from the acting director of National Intelligence. Joseph maguire was called before congress to give evidence on the whistle blower report in which the president stands accused of using his office to dig up dirt on his democratic opponent joe biden, during a phone call with ukraines leader vlodymr zelensky. Its a charge he flatly denies. The bbcs north america editor jon sopel was watching. Joseph maguire is a man who spent his career living in the shadows, not any more. The evidence that the acting director of National Intelligence is giving today could have a critical bearing on the future of Donald Trumps presidency, following that contested call with the ukrainian leader. Donald trump, who met Vladimir Zelensky at the un yesterday insists that the call was perfect. Even though, he blatantly asks the ukrainian leader to investigate his main Democratic Political rival, joe biden. But today, whistle blowers letter was made public, and his allegations are damning. He says. And he goes on, white house officials told me they were directed according to white house officials i spoke with, this wasnt the first time under this administration that a president ial transcript was placed into this code word level system, and so to the evidence. Would you agree that the whistle blower complaint alleges serious wrongdoing by the president of United States . The first question seems to mr maguire discomfort. The whistle blower complaint involved the allegation of that, but it is not for me in the Intelligence Community to decide how the president conducts foreign policy. The white house has sought to undermine the credibility of the whistle blower. The intelligence chief though, was noticeably not going there. I think the whistle blower did the right thing. I think he followed the law every step of the way. The complaint states that the white house tried to lock down all records of the call. And democrats are seizing on the whistle blowers letter. This is a cover up. Donald trumps anger and perhaps anxiety over this is evident. This morning. At a News Conference last night, donald trump was unusually downbeat, almost morose. And now its clear why, the allegations in the letter could not be more serious. Jon sopel, bbc news. And a short time ago President Trump landed back in washington and had this to say. What these guys are doing, democrats are doing to this country is a disgrace and it shouldnt be allowed, there should be a way of stopping it, may be legally through the courts, but they are going to tie up our country. For republican reaction to todays hearing we spoke to congressman buddy carter from georgia right before coming on air. You have had a chance to see the whistle blower complaint now, i was curious what your thoughts are, do you still believe there is nothing to see here . Well, i think the whole indication is the first page, where the whistle blower says that indication is the first page, where the whistle blower says that he was not witness first hand the whistle blower says that he was not witness first hand to all of the events, and i think that tells you there that the report itself is based on innuendos, on second hand information. So you know, im still not seeing what evidently the people oii not seeing what evidently the people on the other side of the hour see. But isnt that the purpose of an inquiry, to get to the bottom of this, and if the allegation that it is being made is true, isnt that problematic . Well, lets talk about whats being proposed by the democrats that its true. I dont think its true at all, i think that if you look at the transcript, which the president released, i thank you will see that it flows like you would expect a conversation between two World Leaders to flow. There was never where the president of the United States instigated a talk about doing a favour for him. 0r United States instigated a talk about doing a favour for him. Or for the country. The conversation starts out with look, the United States has done this for you, we have done that for you. Europe has not done anything for you. They are not coming to the rescue for you like the United States is, and then they get into more discussion. Sol really dont see that at all. But i mean it, you do have the president , and he is not denying best, asking a foreign leader to help him look into a political rival, and the other question is, if there is nothing to hide, then why try and sort of withhold the release of this report . Well, lets put it in perspective, 0k . The discussion is based around all of the corruption taking place in the ukraine. The president of the United States questions about the russian debacle that got started supposedly in the ukraine, and he has every right, we expect for him to be asking that question of the ukrainian president. And after that, they get to talking about more corruption. So again, if you look at the way the transcript, the conversation between the two World Leaders flows, i think it flows perfectly well with what they were to be discussing. One of the things in the complaint that caught my eye was this item on page three about the administration trying to lock down the details of this phone conversation in a separate electronic device. What do you make of that . Well, again, you know, thats getting pretty much into the weeds, and at this point, thats going to be left up to those who scrutinise that report. And i dont know exactly what they were talking about at that point, but i can assure you , about at that point, but i can assure you, that again, whatever it is, im not seeing a smoking gun. Im not seeing any quid pro quo, im not seeing those things. Im not seeing them in the transcripts, im not seeing them in the whistle blower not seeing them in the whistle blower is not seeing them in the whistle blower is reported. Sol think all of this is much ado about nothing. Lets face it, the democrats still have not accepted the fact that donald] trump is the president of the United States. They wanted to impeach them since they woii. Wanted to impeach them since they won. They wanted to do it with the russian investigation, they wanted to do it with his taxes, they wanted to do it with his taxes, they wanted to do it with his taxes, they wanted to do it with everything. Now they get this opportunity, and even before the transcript is released, the speaker of the house says yes, we are going to do it. Again, its nothing more than democrats wanting to get rid of donald] trump. Congress and carter, thank you for joining us in what has been an extraordinary week. Thank you. In about half an hour from now, in about half an hourfrom now, we will have a democratic view. In the British Parliament today there was an urgent question from labour mp ]ess phillips on the language used in last nights brexit debate. There is growing cross party concern that the tone of politics in westminster, is hardening divisions in the country. Indeed, one of the leading lawyers involved in the fight against boris]ohnsons prorogation of parliament, said today he has received Death Threats and is being urged by police to wear a stab vest. The speaker of the house, ]ohn bercow begged mps on all sides to calm the toxic political culture. Heres some of that debate the use of language yesterday and over the past few weeks, such as the surrender bill, such as invoking the work, such as talking about betrayal and treachery, it has clearly been tested and workshoped, and worked up, and it is entirely designed to inflame hatred and division. Hear, hear. Boris]ohnson chose not to attend the debate. Instead he was addressing his backbench mps at a meeting of the 1922 committee. Where reportedly, he told mps that his language, that use of the term surrender bill, is cutting through. Speaking to the bbc, he acknowledged that tempers did need to come down in the commons but continued to defend his right to use certain terms and words. The attorney general has called this a turkey parliament, i totally deplore any threats to anybody, particularly female mps, and a lot of work has been done to stop that and to give people the security that they need. But i do think its important that the house of commons, i should be able to talk about the surrender bill and of the surrender act in the way that i did. So what do the what do voters make of it all here in stoke. We are going to speak to our panel in a second. But i want to introduce you to an old colleague rowan bridge, who used to produce me at out sister station 5 live many years ago hes been reporting for them all week as part of our we are stoke on trent series. And you are not an outsider, you have not been parachuting, you are actually a stogie. Lament not quite born, but definitely bread. My childhood is basically stoke on trent. I live in stoke on trent. Well make it which is why youre here standing next to me. So tell me about the history of this place, and why it matters to what we are going to or from our panel and all the people instilled this evening . Sol from our panel and all the people instilled this evening . So i think what you have to understand is what made this place and how that shaped views here now. So beneath your feet are what made this place. Its call and its clay. Its the pottery industry, and its mining. You, theres a traditional bottle count, which is where they used to fire the pottery, because this is all old pottery, because this is all old pottery factory sites, and that is what built stoke on trent. Those traditional industries. But it also made it quite an insular place, because pottery wasjust stoke on trent. So that helps shape the character of the place. And it has lots of positive qualities. A great sense of community, people do not leave, but it also makes it quite an insular sort of play. So we start ina quite an insular sort of play. So we start in a town it like mind like burnley, where we had a traditional cotton industry, old industry thats going away, and people feel a little bit left behind, a little bit. I think so. And that is why the roots of voting is so overwhelmingly for brexit. We met that is one of the big drivers of it. So notjust the collapse of traditional industry. So 80 of the jobs that used to exist in pottery in the 805 and stoke on trent are not there now. The biggest single employer is about 365, largely call centres and online job5. 365, largely call centres and online jobs. And what you have to understand is also the austerity of the last few years, the public 5ector the last few years, the Public Sector is another big employer in the area. That has been squeezed. And it has been a long standing traditional labour area, and people sort of felt taken for granted, and forgotten about by westminster, and i think that brexit but was a chance for people to kind of kick back and say we feel left behind. We feel left out. Labour through and through . Meant traditionally. When and if that election comes some of the surrounding states, i think there are a lot of labour mp5 that are very worried about whether they will hold their seats. You know, when i was here as a kid 30 years ago, this place was, stoke was labour through and through, now, one of the mp5 is conservative, and the conservatives are part of the ruling group on the city council. Almost unheard of in 30 years of. Yeah, we will look how people are thinking in the moment. I have to tell you, michelle, when i bumped into rowan today, came up with this bag. It came up with this bag, right . And he gave me one of these, what are these . That is a local delicacy. That is. At staffordshi re delicacy. That is. At staffordshire 0ak cake, isnt it . Its one of those bags. It might be nostalgic. Youre not doing it. A kind of looks like an english crepe to me. Its a sort of savoury crepe, is that . And what do you put with that . Cheese, bacon, roll it up, with that . Cheese, bacon, roll it up, warm, with that . Cheese, bacon, roll it up, warm, you cant beat that. May be able take a moment of it later, rowan, lovely to see it. Thank you for being with us. If there were a snap election, this would be considered one of the conservative partys target seats. So has there been any shift in mood since the referendum, and which way might they vote. I have been finding out. So this is all going to be highly unscientific, but if there is a snap election, than the ball is going to be in the court of constituencies like stoke on trent. Can you see what we are doing here . So, there is a ball for each party from england and wales. Blue for the conservatives will stop ready for labour. Yellow for the liberal democrats, and black for the brexit party. Why on earth they couldnt get any bigger balls than this . I dont know, but such is the 100 days budget. However, iam dont know, but such is the 100 days budget. However, i am very proud of oui budget. However, i am very proud of our receptacles, which have the emblem of the football club, stoke city on the front. And what they have to do is put a ball in the pot of the respective party. Go on then. I think it would have to be liberal democrats, i voted i think it would have to be liberal democrats, ivoted remain. You voted remain . I voted remain, andl you voted remain . I voted remain, and i am still remain. I think we should stay for the best of the country. Charlie good. Is that the way you voted . Charlie good. Is that the way you voted . No. So thats a new decision . Absolutely. Did you vote remain in 2016 . Yes, remain. You voted labour in 2017 . |j remain. You voted labour in 2017 . I did. And are you a brexit supporter . |j am. You are convinced by the Brexit Process . You are convinced by the Brexit Process . Clement i am, but it does make different categories, because obviously what they said it in the beginning. Why the brexit party . |j beginning. Why the brexit party . I dont really know. Are you a brexit supporter . Not really, mate. Im not big into politics, whatsoever. Soi politics, whatsoever. So i have you chosen nigel faraj . |j do like him, hes a bit of a. So i have you chosen nigel faraj . |j do like him, hes a bit ofa. To me. Weve only got one another. Well let me have another go then. What about protecting the ballot . Oh, no. I dont think i will vote again. You will make you dont thank you will vote again . Whats the point . You dont do what they say, do they . Hello . Could you take part in my pole . No . You are still here. Why the lib dems . I dont know, because ijust dont think any of the lib dems . I dont know, because i just dont think any of them the lib dems . I dont know, because ijust dont think any of them know what they are doing at the moment. Writes, what is it about boris ]ohnson . Writes, what is it about Boris Johnson . He speaks his mind from you. Did you vote that way last time . Yup. Did you vote brexit . Remain. So you are happy with]eremy corbyn . Not really, ive kind of lost faith in all of it, really. I dont have a homeless ball. Limit because there are a lot of people who feel politically homeless, who dont identify with any of those at the moment. So you are missing one. You wouldnt change a boat . No. Did you vote brexit . I did. Are you convinced by labour . No. But you are sticking with them . will always stick with them. The brexit party . Dont eat it its not a sweet . Put it in my pile wears a . Over here. Is that the way you voted . Yes idid, yeah. You did . I cant do it by denying out you did . I cant do it by denying our democracy, its absolutely. So we have done about an hour, really interesting mix of voices. A lot of people who didnt think they had any choice in the next election, there is apathy out there. But after an hour, this is what weve got. Labour in with 33. The conservatives 29. Nothing for the liberal democrats, in a constituency that voted 69 for brexit, and still no pick up for the brexit party. Ukip in 2017 down here with nine. Yeah, interesting, what about the woman who nearly swallowed when . No health and safety here today. 0k let me introduce you to our panel this evening. We have got tony kinsella, ceo of lucideon, an advanced Materials Technology company, ]oe bagnall who is a cabinet maker, leoni kambo, a student at keele university, and clare white, a Charity Worker from north staffordshire. Welcome to you all. Thank you for being with us. Tony, let me start with you, because you run a very successful business. You do trading with the us, with the middle east, but you have some business with europe, so if a us trade deal came at the expense of a deal with the European Union, and took away our access, full access to the single market, what would that mean to your business . Actually, it wouldjust increase what we are already doing. It would increase what youre doing . It would increase what youre doing . It would increase what youre doing . It would increase what were doing to him and help us to engage even more with the United States, its a big part of our technology play. Its a great technology. And we are drawn into it, because it has industries that we relate to. And of course, all the focus at the moment is being brexit ready. Are you ready for brexit . The effo rts are you ready for brexit . The efforts are out there, are you ready for brexit . We are ready for brexit, we have dealt with are issues of being a notified body, and we have been able to support the construction industry, still a notified body, so we are sorted. Did you find a comfortable . Not particularly, it takes a bit of thought and ingenuity. More staff . More staff, we have not had to hire more staff for brexit, weve just added more staff because weve just added more staff because we are growing with our successful business. Ok. Leonie, you are quite interesting, because you are one of oui interesting, because you are one of our panel that doesnt really know who to vote for at the moment. Yeah, i think thats the case with a lot of students, to be fair. Actually, with a lot of people. I think theres quite a sense of political homelessness in the country, you know, in general. We have had three disastrous years of light, like a deal now, we are going to negotiate now, we might do no deal. And its like where are we going . And i think people have lost faith in the government. I think thats actually quite, i think to say that quite competently, there is definitely a loss of faith in the government right now. It says here that you might think about voting for the liberal democrats, but youre slightly put off by the policy they unveiled last week in brighton to cancel article 50, and vote altogether. Yeah, ithought cancel article 50, and vote altogether. Yeah, i thought that that was quite extreme to kind of go ahead and say, you know, we will revoke article 50, and i think. Manifesto gives the lib dems, sets the more apart from the labour party of course, and gives them a little bit of attention, but i think leaving the European Union is the right decision. I think it wasjust done a far too quickly emma it. I think thats whats been the detriment to what we see the situation that we have now. ]oe, you told me that you felt politically engaged in 2016, he got quite interested in politics. Very much so. But not so much sense, you have not voted since . Thats correct. I voted for the referendum leave, voted to leave, and then it was wild so the next wobbling in parliament for three and half years. What did you make of it last night . It was shocking. To save the surrender bill is bad link which, its not bad language, surrender is not a bad word. So thats interesting, he said to the conservative mps that this message is cutting through, that he is getting through to the voters. And he is getting through to you. Absolutely, absolutely. Article 50 pa rt absolutely, absolutely. Article 50 part two gives the eu powers of extension, that is surrendering our power to the European Union. Thats not acceptable at all. 0k, claire, you are a labour supporter. Lam. You supporter. I am. You make are you not busting foran i am. You make are you not busting for an election . I think the point is in going back to the language from i think we are being manipulated constantly by language. I think, i think its horrifying what we are being forced into, because people are so keen to cling onto a decision, which like you, i can understand many of the reasons why people in stoke voted for that decision, they wanted to be listened to commander think they should be listened to. But, thats Prime Minister is untrustworthy on every single level. And i think we have to follow the line that weve got, which is to force the extension, because we have absolutely no guarantee that he wont just crash us guarantee that he wont just crash us out. What about labours policy which they decided last week, there was some criticism that it didnt really cut through, that its confused. That they are still straddling the fence . I think its a unifying position. I think its a difficult position, and i think its easy for people to see, to want something simple. Andl people to see, to want something simple. And i think we ran the risk la st simple. And i think we ran the risk last week, like the lib dems did, of coming up with something very simplistic, and just saying rights, we will back remained from i think that wouldve been the wrong thing to do. I think the come i was glad that members backed the position that members backed the position that we took at conference, because there is a lot of pressure within there is a lot of pressure within the labour party to go down the remaining routes, but if we do that, we are losing peoples trust, and i think there is a positive version of brexit. I also, think there is a positive version of brexit. Ialso, you know, i didnt agree with the referendum for quite agree with the referendum for quite a while, but i think now, now that we can see the detail, i think its fairas we can see the detail, i think its fair as well, the point about the referendum that it was too soon, we are voting on no detail whatsoever. Now, i think weve got an option that, virtually the only business person in the whole country who believes this would. Thats not true, is a . Limit there isa thats not true, is a . Limit there is a very, very small amount. A lot of small and medium sized businesses who dont want the red tape from brussels. A lot of very Large Businesses as well. We met there are businesses who dont want there are businesses who dont want the cost in the concern. I guess the real point is the instability that this is already causing, which is, you know, a lot to do with the uncertainty as well. But also, people. Are dreading. 0k, let me ask you this, we have three brexiters. Are you a brexiteer . Three brexiters, one remainer, have any of you changed your mind . Absolutely not. Imean, again, your mind . Absolutely not. I mean, again, ithink it your mind . Absolutely not. I mean, again, i think it wasjust oii i mean, again, i think it wasjust on poorly. Thats kind of my sense. I dont think it was necessarily or with the wrong decision from i think it wasjust so with the wrong decision from i think it was just so carried out absolutely, theyve made a mess of it all. And i think they shouldve tried to take control of the situation. When i can think weve all made a mess. You will make you think we can all agree. Three years down the road, the uncertainty is caused by the lack of action. The situation was. But will an election starlet . think it well. I dont agree with another referendum. Lets get an election, and get it decided. Stay with us, very interesting interviews, thank you for being with us. This is beyond 100 days from the bbc. Coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news we take a look at how the latest impeachment drama is playing out with the voters in the swing state of pennsylvania. And amid the calls for calm in westminster we hearfrom one labour mp here in stoke about the abuse shes experienced. Thats still to come. Good evening. Its been another showery day, and the rain and showers this week have more than made up for the dry start to september, but we have more to come. We are watching this massive cloud brewing up in the atlantic. Thats the next very significant rainmaker, but even ahead of that, this area of low pressure is going to throw more showers our way in the next 2a hours. But the system as we head towards the weekend is going to bring with it the risk of some gales as well, they will coincide with a full moon, and therefore high tide, so we could have coastal flooding, as well as other flooding with as much as 100 150 mm of rain coming some parts way. So its a very showery picture out there through the rest of the evening. 0vernight, we tend to ease back a little bit to the coastline, but again, they gather force towards the end of the night close to that area of low pressure. I think the notable thing about tonight it will be cooler, cooler for northern ireland, cooler for scotland, most definitely as the winds are ligher here, there could be mist and shallow fog towards towards morning. And then the rush hour sees some heavier showers, lengthier spells of rain torrential downpours, gusty winds near the showers, but otherwise, the light regime of winds in the north means the showers will be slow moving, whilst further south, they should push through more quickly. Of course there will be some sunshine in between the showers, it will feel pleasant enough outside the wind and the showers, but it will be a cooler day, compared with today, compared with recent days. Temperatures just a degree or two down. Now that one area of low pressure moves out into the north sea, and as we go through saturday, we watch that next rainmaker coming in, its got some tropical air mixed in amongst it, hence the concern that we will see an awful lot of rain coming our way this weekend. Initially, its showery, and those showers ease somewhat during the day on saturday ahead of that developing area of low pressure. As well as rain coming into the southern and Western Areas as we go through the afternoon, a strengthening wind. So through saturday night, the potential for some gales, even severe gales, and with the full moon, the high tides, some potential coastal flooding as well. And a look, itjust drags its heels, then moves out of the north sea, and then behind it, we get a strong northerly wind hitting the east coast through sunday and into the start of monday. So really wet start for many of us sunday, it does look set to ease a little and perhaps for northern scotland, we escape the worst of the rain anyway, but some uncertainty on its positioning. What we will find is that northerly wind coming in behind will make it feel really quite chilly in comparison. And has the potentialfor gales or severe Gale Force Winds by then down the north sea coasts. The warnings are on the website. Bye bye. This is beyond 100 days. With me, Michelle Fleury in washington, Christian Fraser is in stoke on trent. Our top stories the Us Government releases the letter of a whistle blower claiming that President Trump used his power to solicit the interference of a foreign country in the 2020 us election. The impeachment drama continues we find out what are voters making of it in one of the key swing states. Coming up in the next half hour Boris Johnson tells the bbc that tempers need to come down in parliament. The Prime Minister has been accused by mps of inflaming division in britain by his use of language during heated exchanges last night. Christian has spent the day in stoke on trent well hear from his panel of voters what they think of the scenes in the commons last night. The Us Government has published the complaint of a whistle blower alleging that President Trump used his power to solicit the interference of a foreign country in the 2020 us election. The still unidentified Intelligence Officer filed the 9 page document regarding President Trumps behaviour while on a phone call this summer with ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky. It reads, i am deeply concerned that the actions described below constitute a serious or flagrant problem, abuse, or violation of law or executive order that does not include differences of opinion concerning Public Policy matters, consistent with the definition of an urgent concern. Just minutes after the whistleblowers report was made public President Trump took to twitter in all caps. Well, im joined now by our north america editor]on sopel an extraordinary couple of days, going through this complaint, one of the things that jumped going through this complaint, one of the things thatjumped out at me is this idea of a lockdown by the white house when it came to this phone call. What we learnt, the whistle blower call. What we learnt, the whistle blower it call. What we learnt, the whistle blower it has alleged he was told by numerous people working in the white house, that this call turned to donald trump seeking advantage in the 2020 election. Donald trump did not phrase it like that when he spoke yesterday but the other thing that is striking, there is normally a protocol without you deal with conversations with foreign readers, they go into a computer server. Cabinet officials have access to that transcript. Do not happen, immediately white house lawyers said this has to be put on a different server and what the whistle blower alleges was that this was a server that was not about things that were delicate out of national security, they were politically delicate and that is why they have to be dealt with in that way. This whistleblower, the identity of that person is not yet known. We dont know if it is a he or she, what details are starting to emerge. We think it is ap because the acting director of National Intelligence is the word using evidence giving evidence. According to the new york times, he isa memberof according to the new york times, he is a member of the cia, analyst, potentially with a good deal of knowledge about ukraine, and that would fit in with some of the other things that have gone on around this. There will be a lot of focus on who this person is. Donald apparently railed against the person who was the whistle blower and those person who gave him the nation, and talked about it being treasonous and we should go back to the old way of treating spies, which, of course, was to execute them. The parallels ofa was to execute them. The parallels of a Boris Johnson was to execute them. The parallels of a boris]ohnson and donald trump, neither backing down when it comes to their language. They are both doubling down and intensifying their attacks. This is no surrender politics. Thank you very much. Well, in the last half hour we heard from the republicans and now for the democrats. I spoke to congresswoman]an shakowsky on capitol hill. We finally have the whistle blower complaint. What stood out from it to you . I am holding the unclassified version of this complaint which makes it very clear that from multiple sources, that the president of the United States used his power to solicit help, to influence, from a foreign nation, the outcome of the 2020 election in his favour. This is clearly an impeachable offence. And as of last night, there were 218, thats the magic number, we have a majority to get something passed, in the United States house of representatives. People who said they believed that the president has done an impeachable offence and they are in favour of impeachment, so we are at an interesting moment. There is a hearing going on from the director of National Intelligence about the whistle blower report and you know, we will see how it proceeds from there. You clearly believe that there is enough here to move forward with the impeachment proceedings, but the fact that the complaint says that the whistle blower was not a direct witness to most of the events described, does that essentially weaken your case . The whistle blower himself said that though he was not a witness directly of the conversation, that there were many other people who were. But the other evidence, that there was clearly a problem with this conversation, is that the administration tried to lockdown that information and transfer it from a server that might be available to many people to a server unavailable. In other words, they tried to block any access to the conversation itself because there were clearly people who immediately saw that this was a problem. It is unusual for the Inspector General to raise issues of such great concern and so, i think that the evidence is be really clear that this was problematic. I want to pick up on a point you just made about locking down the phone calls on another electronic device. Does that raise the prospect that perhaps there are other conversations that might be of interest to you . Oh, i think there is no question about it. Conversations, for example, with Vladimir Putin in russia, and there were many of those. I dont know where they are or if there is any access to those but i think there is definite concern about conversations that he may have had with other foreign leaders and i think, in particular, Vladimir Putin, here you know the president of the United States has great admiration for and does talk to frequently, so, whether or not we will be able to access those, i dont know. Congresswoman scha koskwy, thank you so much for taking the time to give your reaction to this whistle blower complaint today. Thank you so much. I have got a burning question. What is different about this impeachment enquiry . Because for months on end there have been inquiries in the justice committee, in the house, in the intelligence committee, various other committees. What is different about this . Well we were just talking about this a month ago. One of the things that struck us both is the speed in which things are moving. If you think back to last week, if you had said nancy pelosi and the House Democrats would move forward in this way, you would have doubted that. Now, here we are. There is no doubt that not only is the enquiry moving forward but you are starting to see democrat strategy taking shape as they begin to focus more and more on what has happened between the president and ukraine, youre going to hear a lot more i suspect about this, in part because the democrats believe this is something they can explain to the people, the idea that the president sought help from a foreign leader when it comes to this idea of dirt ona when it comes to this idea of dirt on a political rival. That is a clear task. As for the republican response, i think it is best summed up response, i think it is best summed up with this old adage. The best form of defence is attack. It is the case with american politics just now. Donald trump seldom needs an invitation to treat if you barbs at his rivals. To eat a couple of barbs at his rivals. Right now the stakes are high with just over a year to go until the next president ial election. So how is this latest impeachment drama playing out with the voters in one of the key swing states pennsylvania . James cook went to find out. Donald trumps route to the white house ran through the midwest. His promise to make the rust belt shine again was critical in 2016. And how pennsylvanians feel about the president now could determine his chances for re election. So, what do voters here make of mr trump asking ukraines leader to investigate his potential opponent . I dont like the idea that trump is asking or, like, trying to get someone else to investigate joe biden. That doesnt seem right. Him being the president , he has permissions and, kind of, can get away with Different Things that, you know, you or i wouldnt be able to get away with. I mean, i dont know the actual laws behind it. It just seems not straightforward or appropriate of a public official. At the heart of this affair is the us relationship with ukraine. And in the heart of pittsburghs big ukrainian community, these voters sound pretty devoted to President Trump. I just think it was probably a normal political conversation and i dont think there was any malicious intent behind it, and thats my opinion. What is your feeling about why the democrats are now doing what they are doing . I think its foolish and its just another attempt on the part of the democrats to put our country through more pain and turmoil, because they lost the last election. For many voters there are more pressing concerns. These americans say the big issues at stake next year will be immigration and the economy. He is pushing entrepreneurship as well as individuality, so, is donald trump my number one pick . Probably not. But hes in office so im with him all the way because im american. As you know, he makes it very hard for, how should i say it, the coloured folks, hispanics, african americans. Ok, but. When we say make it harder, meaning some of the laws and policies that he is coming outwith, tearing families apart. I think were getting four more years. So. Thisll be the year i go out and vote. And the focus here is the election rather than impeachment. An air of scandal fatigue may help the president , although who knows what is coming down the track . Well, donald trump really should have a one way ticket to re election. The economy is growing, unemployment has been falling and wages have been rising at last, and in normal times that is what americans think about when they decide how to vote. The thing is, these are farfrom normal times in us politics. Fascinating, those swing states. Lets return now to stoke on trent and our very un scientific poll of voters in a Shopping Centre earlier today, did not exactly bode well for the brexit party. You might have thought that an area which voted by 69 to leave the European Union would be Fertile Ground for them, but in my exercise this lunchtime, only nine people would commit to voting for them at the next election. Tariq mahmood is the Brexit Party Candidate for stoke central and is here with me now. Does that surprise you that you only got nine of our 77 votes . Not, i do not think it is a fair reflection of the true picture. I, along with other candidates, have been canvassing with street stalls, door knocking and clearly, the position is there is a very strong brexit boat out there and i believe that people are fed up of the tea Party Structure and we offer a third alternative. We want to change politics for good. You might be reflective of many other people because you were originally labour, and you think about your policies and you think about your policies and a labour way, and yet you feel closer to the brexit party. Why . was always very eurosceptic from a very early age and for me, the labour party let the people of stoke on trent down and generally, evenif stoke on trent down and generally, even if we look at the party conference, there is still no clear sta nce conference, there is still no clear stance as to whether certain groups within the labour party, we shall say, if you want remain you vote labour party, and then there is a group of individuals who say, we may agree to a rehash of the theresa may agreement so, for me there is clear understanding. I felt there was not a clear road map for stoke on trent. There was no grand design or grand direction for stoke on trent. We are right in the centre of middle england. The infrastructure is good. An hourand 30 england. The infrastructure is good. An hour and 30 minutes to london but in terms of investment, the labour party has failed the city. What i really noticed today, i was going to ask you, well, isnt there a danger at the brexit party splits the vote. If breaks it matters to you, you might hand it on a plate to labour by splitting the brexit vote. But what i notice, labour voters cannot bring themselves to vote for the conservatives, there is too much history and baggage, but they will vote for the brexit party. Absolutely, we offer a real alternative because we have people from the left and right within our party, and more importantly, the position as of 2015, ukip came second. There is clearly a strong brexit and with the leadership of nigel farage, and my own thoughts stoke on trent will be a target seat for the brexit party. There will be a lot of work in the forthcoming days. Thank you for coming along this evening. We are going to hear from the labour mp as well. This is beyond 100 days. Still to come. We hear about the toxic language used in parliament ive been speaking the local labout mp here in stoke on trent shes received Death Threats. Theres been another fall in the number of children across england receiving routine vaccinations according to latest figures from the nhs. Our Health Editor hugh pym has the story. There wasnt a care in the world for children at this place this afternoon, but for their parents there is plenty to think about. One key decision is whether to get their children vaccinated. I am 100 for vaccinations. I believe that putting the Childs Health and happiness is always more important. What do you think is behind the falling vaccination rate . Probably social media has a lot to do with it. A lot of people post on social media, and they believe what other mothers say so if you have a mum with a big following group on instagram and she says she is against it, unfortunately a lot of people will follow that. There was a fall in uptake on the first mmr dose last year in all but one of the english regions. The only place that remained unchanged was the north east, with the highest level of coverage at 94. 5 . London was the worst with just eight out of ten receiving the inoculation. 0ur message is very clear, particularly for parents taking their children back to school this autumn, make sure they have had the vaccinations they are due because these diseases can be very unpleasant and can even lead to death, so its important people get all the vaccinations they are eligible for. Measles is a severe illness that can cause severe complications, and Public Health experts have said the latest fall in vaccinations is very worrying. They have called for more resources to get the positive message across with parents. These boys have had their vaccinations. The question now is whether parents of those who havent had jabs should be told it is compulsory if their children are to be allowed into school. Health Authorities Say that would be a step too far at this stage but ministers havent ruled it out. Hugh pym, bbc news. Should mps be held to greater account for aggressive language and what are the consequences if it goes unchecked . These are questions being asked today following heated exchanges in the house of commons on wednesday. Ruth smeeth is the labour mp for stoke on trent north, and i spoke to her a little earlier as she arrived back in the city after that debate in parliament. I think what we have seen in the last 48 hours is the culmination of what has been building and building and building, and not just for the last three years but for much longer. Politicians have not been thinking about their language and it is very aggressive language anyway. We fight election campaigns, you know, we have armies of supporters. We use very aggressive language and i say that as someone who is on the defence select committee, but what we have seen in the last 48 hours is uniquely come from the Prime Minister, about to surrender, traitor, betrayal. These are words that do have consequences. Our previous Prime Ministers were aware of their impact. Boris]ohnson is a brand new Prime Minister, yet to win a vote. Lam sure he is very, very angry personally at the moment and what we saw was a complete disdain of his parliamentary colleagues and remember, in that chamber, he is one amongst equals. He is not our leader in the way it would be with trump in america, so his behaviour has meant that, you know, im quite clear someone is going to end up getting hurt because of the abuse that is starting to become normal on our streets. You are a labour mp. Lam. You are a jewish mp and you have had a lot of abuse yourself, really bad abuse. Yeah. And some in your party would say you have not had enough protection from your own leader. Yeah. So, it is a bit hypocritical to start pointing fingers at boris]ohnson. What do Party Leaders have to do . Oh, im just as critical of my own leadership as i am of the Prime Minister. This is a cross party issue where we are now struggling to deal with the consequences of it. I think actually what Jeremy Corbyn proposed yesterday which was all political Party Leaders coming together to agree how were going to engage in public discourse, is incredibly important, because we have responsibilities. We have responsibilities to the country and those we represent, to make this not febrile, to make this not toxic. To actually be normal human beings which most of us are. You have had Death Threats . I have had Death Threats. I mean, i got elected for the first time four years ago. This is not what i thought my four years were going to be. But i have been quite clear all the way through that someone who threatens me, my life or anything else, they dont get to win because the overwhelming majority of people in this countryjust want the world to move on. Theyjust want to look after their families and their communities, and that is what i have got a responsibility to deliver. On that note, you are one of the 25 labour mps for a deal. After last night, could you still find a compromise with this Prime Minister . I am less inclined to want to do anything that would be seen to help this Prime Minister, especially after his disgusting comments about ]o cox. Having said that, brexit isnt about boris]ohnson, it isnt about me, it is about my constituents lives and the reason why i want to vote for a deal is exactly the same today as it was yesterday, but ill be doing so on my own terms to make sure my constituents get what they need. Sad to hear about these Death Threats mps are receiving. No mp should be put through that. 0k, let me introduce you to our panel this evening. We have got tony kinsella, ceo of lucideon, an advanced Materials Technology company, ]oe bagnall who is a cabinet maker, leoni kambo, a student at keele university, and clare white, a Charity Worker from north staffordshire. Welcome back to you all. I want to pick up on some of the things that our brexit guest was talking about. He talked about the enormous potential of this area has. Would brexit deliver that potential . Yeah, i certainly think it would. This place has been famous for 200 years for transforming materials. It is notjust ceramics for transforming materials. It is not just ceramics body history but things like aerospace, energy delivery, all of the things we heard this week from the United Nations about new energy and actually saving the planet. They can be delivered with ceramics and we need to be unleashed. I was just with ceramics and we need to be unleashed. I wasjust looking at the polls today in the newspapers. How is it possible with everything being said about Boris Johnson, is it possible with everything being said about boris]ohnson, when they talk about who they would want as Prime Minister, he is on 41 . ]o swinson is on 21 . Jeremy clement is on 18 . Boris johnson has quite a unique flair about him. We do not see a lot of politicians about him. He is very flamboyant. I think when he became Prime Minister, hejoked about]eremy he became Prime Minister, hejoked about Jeremy Corbyn, and he became Prime Minister, hejoked about]eremy corbyn, and i dont think we have seen that before. There is a sense of urgency. He is saying no deal brexit is clean cut and is going to get things done. I think people are looking for a clear solution and that is unfortunately boris]ohnson. Solution and that is unfortunately Boris Johnson. Does it frustrate you that a lot of our coverage of brexit is still london centric . Do we miss something by not coming to places like stoke on trent . Something by not coming to places like stokeontrent . Yeah, i dont think people understand the reasoning and nuances behind the vote. I would disagree with the brexit voter in every sense, but the potential of stoke has never been lost. 0ne potential of stoke has never been lost. One of the things people have not appreciated about the eu is how much funding has come because it has not been candles democratically. To lose all of that is to throw the baby out of the bath water. You are destroying things when we could have had something that allowed us to trade with our world and continues the regulatory agreements, the economic partnerships, that we had. We didnt have to destroy that, we dont have to destroy that. Does it frustrate you that there is a well versed well rehearsed idea of what a brexit voters like you is. Yes, and it is insulting most of the time. I have been called a racist and stupid and dim witted and all sorts of things. It is not difficult to read a ballot paper at all. There are enough, they say the leaf campaign lied, so did the remain campaign. Politicians lie, that is a fact of life. I can still beat a ballot paperand life. I can still beat a ballot paper and know howl life. I can still beat a ballot paper and know how i want to vote, as did 17. 4 million people. paper and know how i want to vote, as did 17. 4 million people. I wish we could talk more. Which party did you vote for it last time . Tory. Tory brexit party. Pick one. At the moment tory. I would vote lib dems. Labour. That was an interesting fa ct, labour. That was an interesting fact, those whose parents voted labour could not switch. That might have an implication for those conservative target seats. Thank you, it has been talking to you, see you, it has been talking to you, see you next week. Good evening. Its been another showery day, and the rain and showers this week have more than made up for the dry start to september, but we have more to come. We are watching this massive cloud brewing up in the atlantic. Thats the next very significant rainmaker, but even ahead of that, this area of low pressure is going to throw more showers our way in the next 24 hours. But the system as we head towards the weekend is going to bring with it the risk of some gales as well, they will coincide with a full moon, and therefore high tide, so we could have coastal flooding, as well as other flooding with as much as 100 150 mm of rain coming some parts way. So its a very showery picture out there through the rest of the evening. 0vernight, we tend to ease back a little bit to the coastline, but again, they gather force towards the end of the night close to that area of low pressure. I think the notable thing about tonight it will be cooler, cooler for northern ireland, cooler for scotland, most definitely as the winds are ligher here, there could be mist and shallow fog towards morning. And then the rush hour sees some heavier showers, lengthier spells of rain torrential downpours, gusty winds near the showers, but otherwise, the light regime of winds in the north means the showers will be slow moving, whilst further south, they should push through more quickly. Of course there will be some sunshine in between the showers, it will feel pleasant enough outside the wind and the showers, but it will be a cooler day, compared with today, compared with recent days. Temperatures just a degree or two down. Now that one area of low pressure moves out into the north sea, and as we go through saturday, we watch that next rainmaker coming in, its got some tropical air mixed in amongst it, hence the concern that we will see an awful lot of rain coming our way this weekend. Initially, its showery, and those showers ease somewhat during the day on saturday ahead of that developing area of low pressure. As well as rain coming into the southern and Western Areas as we go through the afternoon, a strengthening wind. So through saturday night, the potential for some gales, even severe gales, and with the full moon, the high tides, some potential coastal flooding as well. And a look, itjust drags its heels, then moves out of the north sea, and then behind it, we get a strong northerly wind hitting the east coast through sunday and into the start of monday. So really wet start for many of us sunday, it does look set to ease a little and perhaps for northern scotland, we escape the worst of the rain anyway, but some uncertainty on its positioning. What we will find is that northerly wind coming in behind will make it feel really quite chilly in comparison. And has the potential for gales or severe Gale Force Winds by then down the north sea coasts. The warnings are on the website. Bye bye. This is bbc news. The headlines. The Prime Minister has defended his language as dozens of mps demand an apology from him after furious exchanges in the commons i totally deplore any threats to anybody, particularly a female mp. The Prime Ministers language is encouraging people to behave in a disgraceful and abusive manner and i have witnessed it myself on the streets of this country. The rows comes as a man is arrested for allegedly verbally abusing staff at Mpjess Phillips Constituency Office she says staff had to be locked inside whilst he shouted and smacked Constituency Office President Trumps top intelligence official faces congress after a whistleblower claims the white house tried to cover up details of a phone call between donald trump