Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20240713

In central paris. Campaigners have lost a legal battle against the governments handling of the rise in womens state pension age. Scotland becomes the first nation in the uk to make it a criminal offence for parents to smack their children. Good evening, welcome to bbc news. Borisjohnsons new brexit plan is already facing some tough opposition both in parliament and the eu. The Prime Minister told mps hes compromising but that didnt wash with opposition parties. And both the irish Prime Minister and the European Council president say hes not done enough. So what exactly is his brexit offer . The main changes relate to Northern Ireland, it would stay in the eu Single Market for all goods, and that would mean accepting its rules and standards. But Northern Ireland would leave the Customs Union, and that would result in new customs checks. And all of this would depend on a future vote by the Northern Ireland assembly, which is currently suspended. Heres our deputy political editorjohn pienaar and his report does contain some flash photography. Boris johnsons looking serious, and no wonder. Can you get a deal, Prime Minister . Truth is, he doesnt know. But his plan, today tone down the fighting talk in the commons. Croaking order. Statement the Prime Minister. The speaker wasnt attacking him for once sore throat. But today, the pms message, ive compromised, now its your turn. We have made a genuine attempt to bridge the chasm to reconcile the apparently irreconcilable and to go the extra mile as time runs short. Still the same warning, though britain would leave with no deal if it had to. If our european neighbours choose not to show a corresponding willingness to reach a deal, then we shall have to leave on 31 october without an agreement. And on the eu side today, a deal looked farfrom certain. Not a no from the irish leader on a visit to stockholm, but he wasnt convinced. The proposals that have been put forward by the uk are certainly welcome in the sense that we now have written proposals that we can engage on, but they do fall short in a number of aspects. He wouldnt back borisjohnsons offer to give the Northern Ireland assembly including the eurosceptic dup a veto on his brexit plan. No one party not my party, not sinn fein, not the dup should be in a position to veto what will be the will of the majority in Northern Ireland or ireland. There are plenty of doubts to overcome. The european parliaments Brexit Steering Group said mrjohnsons plan breached agreed principles. We are very sceptical about these proposals because mainly it is repackaging the old proposals that have already been discussed. Boris johnsons offer was never likely to be bought by the eu as it stands. The Prime Ministers about to take his case to european leaders, hoping theyll compromise in the end rather than face the disruption of a no deal brexit. If there is a deal, and thats still a big if, the Prime Minister could get it through parliament, though not without a fight and not without help from labour mps prepared to defy their leader and vote alongside him. Deal or no deal. Certainly nothing the pm says or does seems at all likely to get Jeremy Corbyn onside. No labour mp could support such a reckless deal. Theyll be used as a springboard. Used as a springboard to attack rights and standards in this country. Hard maybe for theresa may to hear her brexit deal rubbished and then watch brexit tories and conservative outcasts praising her successors efforts. Can i urge the Prime Minister to go to his eu colleagues with some confidence and to tell them that there is every likelihood, if not certainty, that this proposition will command the support of the house of commons. Can i welcome very much the pragmatic approach and the demeanour that my honourable friend has taken today and look to our european neighbours, and i might say the leader of the opposition to respond in kind. Inside downing street, the diarys full diplomatic talks, meetings with sceptical mps. The Prime Minister can say hes optimistic. That doesnt guarantee a happy ending. John pienaar, bbc news, westminster. Our correspondent chris page in dublin told us more about the response from both sides of the irish border. Well, Irish Government ministers here in dublin have expressed skepticism, some pretty strong reservations, but also some hope that the new proposals from britain might provide a basis of looking at a way forward through the brexit process. Ireland really has two main objections to what is currently on the table firstly, they dont like the idea at all of there being any customs checks anywhere on the island of ireland. They say that would disrupt the all island economy and it wouldnt be acceptable to them. Also it would be bad for cooperation between Northern Ireland and the republic, which is an important part of the good friday agreement. The other issue they have is the potential for the Northern Ireland assembly, the devolved assembly at storment, to have a say in setting trade rules. Because of the assemblys Cross Community voting rules, that means that a majority of unionists and nationalists need to be in favour of a contentious motion in order to pass. Here in dublin, the Democratic Unionist Party could block any new arrangements designed to keep the border open. In the last few hours, weve had two stinging attacks on the Irish Government from the dup. The dup leader, Arlene Foster, referred to comments made by the irish deputy Prime Minister in the Irish Parliament today when what he said what was on the table was the final was the final offer, then we were heading for no deal. Ms foster said that his comments had been intransigent, obstructionist, and deeply unhelpful. The dups westminster leader, nigel dodd, also accused the irish Prime Minister and mr cooney of making outrageous and intransigent comments. So reconciling the two positions between the Irish Government and the dup the party who prop up the conservative minority government in westminster has always been one of the major challenges throughout the brexit negotiations. And those two very strong positions stated once more this afternoon show that there is still a major distance left to travel. Earlier, the leader of the dup, Arlene Foster, accused the Irish Government of making a no deal brexit more likely. It is very clear to me that the Irish Government are not interested in having an alternative to the backstop and it also underlines, and actually exposes the fact that the backstop was a trap. They never had any intention of allowing us to leave the backstop and that is what has been shown today by this rigid adherence to the backstop particularly when you listen to the irish Prime Ministers remarks. So is that the end of this particular proposal . Well, you know, i hope other european leaders will prevail upon the Irish Government, because they think the European Union wants to get a sensible deal, certainly as regards to proposals that the Prime Minister has put forward. There is support in the house of commons to get those proposals through, people have recognised that there is a reasonable way forward, and i hope that other leaders will prevail upon the Irish Government. But it is so disappointing tonight to hear that reaction coming out of dublin, because that is a way forward. It is a reasonable way to leave, and what is going to happen if theyre not accepted is there is going to be no deal. In the irish Prime Minister is going to be responsible and go down in history as the man who instituted a hard border on the island of ireland. We can talk now to the labour peer and former Northern Ireland secretary, peter hain. Welcome. What is latest with dust wrong with this latest proposal . Pretty much everything. Can i start on commenting on Arlene Foster, the x first minister of irelands comments . This is not acceptable. If she continues supporting this proposal from this she continues supporting this proposalfrom this ill she continues supporting this proposal from this illjudged proposal from this illjudged proposal from this illjudged proposal from boris proposal from this illjudged proposalfrom borisjohnson, proposal from this illjudged proposal from Boris Johnson, what will result is a sabotage of the good friday agreement. It is not dublins fault, it is not brusselss fault. The rules of the European Union and the rules of the World Trade Organisation will require, from the proposals that boris has put forward an Arlene Foster is supporting, will require a hard border on the irish side. So even if the British Government doesnt impose and the Prime Minister has promised not to do that, hard borders of the old inflammatory kind during the troubles on the british side, the british will be required, not because they want to, not because brussels is keen to do it. They dont want to do it any more than anyone else is because they know how inflammatory it would be. But because wto rules and the European Unions rules requires the it European Unions rules requires the it would be the land border, the only land border of the customs front here with the uk. It has to be controlled, otherwise it is an open borderfor controlled, otherwise it is an open border for smuggling controlled, otherwise it is an open borderfor smuggling and criminality, and people trafficking and all the rest. But parliament isnt saying there should be no customs checks, they are saying there would be no customs checks at this particular geographical physical line. They could all be done mostly electronically without the need for physical checks away from that very sensitive part of the country. Its never worked before. I think this is all smoke and mirrors, because if there are centres for clearing goods and presumably livestock, as well, across the border, then those will inevitably be targeted by the Catholic Nationalist Community through civil disobedience of the kind we saw 4050 disobedience of the kind we saw 40 50 years ago. And it will be targeted by extreme paramilitaries. All the conflicts in divisions will come to mind. The other thing that is unacceptable is that this proposal by the Prime Minister is rejected by almost every party in ireland except for the dup, who are in alliance with a propping up theresa may. They have come from a minority they are the biggest party, yes, and they are entitled for their views to be expressed. But ina minority for their views to be expressed. But in a minority in irelands politics, and they run a minority cited favouring brexit because Northern Ireland voted to remain a. But what is the alternative . Parliament has voted time and again against that Withdrawal Agreement that theresa may brokered. You are now saying, and a lot of opposition parties are saying they dont like what is on the table now. We have until 19 october to get this sorted. What is your alternative idea . The alternative to keep Northern Ireland and the republic of ireland in the same Customs Union and Single Market trading relationship as they enjoy it now. For how long . And has been responsible for an invisible border. There is a household in the newspapers the other day where a woman comes out the gate, she turns left and shes in the republic. She turns right and shes in Northern Ireland. People cross every day to go to school both ways, to go to Health Centres and hospitals both ways. To all intents and purposes, the border is the same as between lancaster and yorkshire. What is the solution you ask me . The solution is to have the same customs relationship and trading relationships. But Boris Johnson relationship and trading relationships. But borisjohnson and the hard right brexiteers are pushing him on, and they wont have that. Effectively this proposal is to win the support of the Jacob Rees Mogg European Research group types on the hard right of the conservative party, and the dup on the hard right of Northern Irelands politics. How long would that exist . Because the idea has always been ruled out that you treat Northern Ireland separately from the rest of the uk. That is also massively important to people in Northern Ireland, that they are treated the same as the rest of the country. That is important to the unionist and that is important to the unionist a nd protesta nt that is important to the unionist and protestant communities, and they are entitled to have that protected in advance. The difficulty here is that Northern Ireland and britain joined the eu at the same time. Weve been in the same customs arrangements, weve been in the same trading the Single Market. All the time, and the last 50 years in the european structures. Now we are proposing to make a break from european structures. Now we are proposing to make a breakfrom it. The sensible thing to have didnt done, and borisjohnson could do it, is to keep Northern Ireland and the eu in the same desk uk in the same trading arrangements. The problem is that unless you do that, unless you have matching arrangements on both sides, then you get precisely into this insoluble problem of wanting an open border, because that is what guarantees the peace and order new life and Economic Prosperity ordinary life in Northern Ireland. Everybody says they want that. But if you want it, you have to wheel the means. And what they are doing the Prime Minister is doing, is putting it on a turntable and proposing a proposal that will mean returning to the hard border, even though he says that is not what he wa nts. Though he says that is not what he wants. Dont just take though he says that is not what he wants. Dontjust take my word for it, take the word, for example, of lady sylvia herman, the independent mp, who spoke strongly in the house of commons against it, and other voices. The dup are a minority in Northern Ireland on this, and they must not be allowed to dictate to the British Government. They should be listened to and respected along with everyone else, but not dictated to because we are going down a road that will and the good friday agreement and reignite conflicts and division. Thank you very much for joining us this evening. Its a pleasure, thank you. So lets get an overview of all of those reactions from across the eu from our brussels correspondent, damian grammaticas. Well, i think the key thing weve seen today is the eu coalescing around a response to the uk offer. It is summed up by donald tusk, who said they stand behind ireland and are unconvinced by the uk. And from jean claude juncker, who has spoken to the irish Prime Minister he has come out and said that some things have to change in the uk offer for it to be accepted. First of all, the effective veto given to the Northern Ireland assembly, the democratic unionists they say that is not a stable platform on which to build a deal, that would have to be changed. And also, the customs arrangements. The eu needs a workable solution, and it doesnt see in this a workable solution. Now that element has to change, as well. The uks chief negotiator is here and will be having meetings tomorrow. I think critical thing will be how those develop. Does the eu see in that room to continue negotiations . Otherwise, its saying it doesnt see a solution in whats being presented by borisjohnson. A man wielding a knife has killed four staff at the Police Headquarters in paris. The attacker was also an employee and was shot dead by officers. The incident came a day after police went on strike across france to draw attention to growing pressures on the police, including increasing violence against staff. Lucy williamson reports. The threat today came with a familiar face a police it worker and colleague of 20 years who walked into Police Headquarters and killed four people with a knife. He was shot dead by an officer who then was seen sinking to his knees and crying. An investigation has been launched but there is no explanation, yet, as to why a 45 year old it worker, whod worked for decades with no sign of trouble, should attack his colleagues like this. Translation Police Officers are working with the prosecutor to conduct the investigation and find the truth. At the same time, our staff is stricken and heartbroken by what happened here, right inside the Police Headquarters. Police here say that years of terrorist attacks, violent protests and public assault have left them struggling to cope. The blow today was different an attack by one of their own. Yesterday, thousands of police marched through paris, angry at low morale and a rising suicide rate in the force. Protecting france has taken its toll, they say. How much harder to protect the safest place in paris from someone they already know . Lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. Anne Elisabeth Moutet is a paris based journalist and political commentator, shejoins me now. Thank you very much forjoining us this evening. How important do you believe the context of the last few daysis believe the context of the last few days is for this attack . |j believe the context of the last few days is for this attack . I think actually, the context is pretty important. I think this incident is really unrelated to the general stress within the police. You must remember that yesterday saw the Largest Police demonstration in paris in the last 20 years. By far you had about 25,000 policemen demonstrating in the street, co nsta bles demonstrating in the street, constables and inspectors all classes and ranks came together. There have been 52 suicides of policemen since january, and they feel that their situation has become unbearable. They are not considered, they have to withstand more and more violence and do nothing, the yellow vest demonstrations created a situation in which they had to work 18 hour days for several days at a stretch. And they are not even being paid for the over time, they are owed over time for sometimes over a year. That was the attack perpetrated by somebody who cracked under pressure . No, this is and it specialist. He was doing support at an office, it is now known he was not radicalised, he married his wife ina not radicalised, he married his wife in a nonreligious ceremony. I think people saw him as a kind of a geek, and it didnt help that he could not hear. He spoke perfectly as if he could, but you had to bejust in front of him. So that was someone enclosed in his own neurosis. But to the policemen that have been feeling the policemen that have been feeling the pressure all these months and yea rs, the pressure all these months and years, this is part of it. They are ina years, this is part of it. They are in a situation, a worse situation and where if it was a corporation, they could sue for harassment. And thatis they could sue for harassment. And that is not very good. So what are the answers and ideas being put forward by the politicians improve the lot of the police . 0h, politicians have got commissions. Right now we have not heard a terribly good home secretary, a former socialist mp who joined president macron earlier. He was not a specialist of the police, hes not terribly respected by his troops. The previous secretary was very much liked as a home secretary, even though his background was not in policing, but he worked extremely ha rd policing, but he worked extremely hard and kept in touch with the base. And of course he ended up as not so much a popular president , but an incredibly popular home secretary amongst his troops. So theres a feeling that not enough or paying attention. There was a moment last december, about six weeks into the yellow vest protest, these were very tough protests. And there was a feeling from all parts that the police would actuallyjoin forces with the yellow vests. You could find some of them saying that they we re find some of them saying that they were all together. Badly considered, and there had been images where you could see yellow vests interposing themselves between aunt eva and a small rank of police trying to withstand this and t5. There was a yellow vest viewed democrat leader who was gravely hurt by a rubber bullet, losing his eye. Immediately they started talking about police brutality, but in fact i was told, looking in hindsight at the people who had been following this close up under the cabinet level that this prevented a junction that could have let democrat. Thank you very much for joining let democrat. Thank you very much forjoining us. Thank you. Sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, heres adam. There could be another gold for Great Britain at the world athletics championships in doha this evening. Katerina Johnson Thompson leads the way in the heptathlon. Johnson thompson already had an overnight lead after the first four events, and she has now extended her lead over nearest rival nafi thiam to 216 points with a personal best of 6. 77 metres in the long jump. The javelin and 800 metres still to come. She is putting in the performance of her life. A huge chance to become britains second gold medallist of these games. Dina asher smith, of course, was the first last night, World Champion in the 200 metres. Shes been given her gold medal. That goes with her silver she won in the 100 metres. There are five british sides in action in the Europa League this evening three of those games have already finished. Wolves left it very late in istanbul where they scored a 93rd minute winner against besiktas. Willy boly with the only goal of the game to secure his sides first points in the competition this season. There was late drama in switzerland too where young boys also scored in the final minute to beat rangers 2 1. Steven gerrards side had taken the lead in that match. It finished 3 0 in the netherlands where Manchester United were held to a 0 0 draw by az alkmaar. The third from joe willock in the last few moments. It finished 0 0 in the netherlands where Manchester United were held to a 0 0 draw by az alkmaar. Ole gunnar solskajaers side failed to register a single shot on target. Celtic have just taken the lead against the romanian side. Tammy abraham looks to have committed his future to england. The cheslea striker is eligible for nigeria through his father, but hes been called up by Gareth Southgate for this months euro qualifiers against the Czech Republic and bulgaria. Abraham, whos 22, scored in the Champions League against lille last night. He won two england caps two years ago against brazil and germany, but they were friendlies so he could still have played for nigeria. His chelsea teamate Fikayo Tomori has his first call up. I dont think it is ethically right just to give a play or a cap to make sure that they cant play for somebody else. So the two boys that are in the squad this time i wont guarantee that they will get on the pitch. But they have both been a pa rt pitch. But they have both been a part of ourjunior system right the way through. To the Rugby World Cup then, where ireland got the win they needed, beating russia 35 nil following their shock defeat to japan. Also a big win for fiji against georgia today, that was in wales pool, england are the next of the home nations to play, their toughest match yet, against argentina. On saturday, eddiejones has picked his strongest 15 for that one, owen farrell returns as captain from inside centre, george ford at fly half. One change to team that started the tournament against tonga, in the second row with george kruis coming in for Courtney Lawes the first part of the draft for crickets new look tournament the hundred has taken place eight teams getting to pick the england players they want in their side when the competition begins next summer. Eoin morgan and Heather Knight signed up to london franchise london spirit. Jonny bairstow is with welsh fire. Interestingly, leeds based northern superchargers picked ben stokes ahead of local yorkshires joe root. The england captain will feature for trent rockets instead. Thats all the sport for now. Ill have more for you in sportsday at 10. 30pm. Adam, thank you. Campaigners who claim changes to the pension age discriminated against millions of women born in the 1950s have lost a significant legal battle. Judges ruled there was no discrimination on the grounds of sex as the law didnt treat women any differently than men, rather it corrected a historic discrimination against men. After the ruling, this statement was read out outside the high court on behalf of the claimants. The aim of this arduous Legal Process has been to rectify a substantial and far reaching injustice which has impacted unfairly upon at least 3 million women, causing them lasting and untold damage. The hardship caused by this situation has become increasingly recognised by the wider public over the last decade. Sadly, today that injustice remains. Our reporter nina nanji is here. Tell us how we got here. While this has been a very long running dispute, and its about the way the government have handled the rise in women state pension age. The threshold has gone from 60 to 65, in line with men. Next year it will go up line with men. Next year it will go up to 66. Now campaigners argue this is unfairand up to 66. Now campaigners argue this is unfair and discriminatory, and they say thats because women havent had enough time to adjust to the changes. And they said that that created unnecessary financial hardship, specifically for women born in the 1950s. So today, the justices have dismissed that com pletely justices have dismissed that completely out of hand. In fact they turned on its head, saying that men we re turned on its head, saying that men were discriminated against, and thats because historically men have had to retire later than women. So this is officially very disappointing for all the campaigners outside the court, and the justices also said there was no legal requirement for the government to have given any more notice about these changes. What is the reaction was that we heard some of it there, but theres lavishly more. Im surprised that the department for work and pensions welcome the decision. They said the changes they we re decision. They said the changes they were put forward were never unlawful and never meant to be discriminatory, so they were pleased with the outcome. But campaigners we re very with the outcome. But campaigners were very disappointed, and despondent as we heard there. They really expected to win this, so this decision came as a blow. The question moves on to what happens next . There is a possibility of an appeal that could happen, as well as some public protests as they try to raise awareness of this issue. But also the possibility of lobbying of mps, campaigners could put pressure on mps in a general election which could help assist any case of financial hardship. Thank you very much. Lets get more on this now with joanne welch, whos the founder and Campaign Director of the back to 60 campaign group. Thank you very much forjoining us. What was your reaction to todays ruling . Did you see it coming . Our reaction is its a dismissal, not a knockout. The defendantss arguments at the last prior hearing all their arguments were dismissed and all our arguments were accepted. So we havent lost at all. And by the way, can i just we havent lost at all. And by the way, can ijust add something . Men campaigned for women of pension age to go back to 60, and was successful obviously, because the agent was 60. So men are on site, actually, and we are finding that more and more men are finding that more and more men are coming behind this campaign, saying my wife is in this situation. Thank you for everything you are doing. Situation. Thank you for everything you are doing. Are we if we believe in equality that men and women should be treated the same, surely women should be allowed to retire at the same age as men and get the full pension . The court said they dont believe this is discriminatory. What is your grounds for saying it is . 1950s women faced lifelong inequities. There is the maternity we never had maternity leave, we dont have occupational pensions. There is a gender gap, a pay pensions. There is a gender gap, a pay 9313 pensions. There is a gender gap, a pay gap. Its like a mind of the 93p pay gap. Its like a mind of the gap. Men never faced pay gap. Its like a mind of the gap. Men neverfaced those inequities. Women looked after 50s women, they look after children, grandchildren and the elderly, and they paid a penalty for that, a financial penalty. Because they invariably worked part time, so when they were eligible for occupational pensions, they couldnt afford them, which wasnt until the 1980s. Men have not faced the inequities that dashed 50s men have not faced the inequities in 50s women have faced. So what is your next move then . If the courts arent perhaps in a way for you to win what you are seeking . There are many options open to us. There are many options open to us. The lobbying route, the legal route, and so many supporters are coming behind us this afternoon. We are getting messages saying, this is a disgrace. We want to do this for you, we want to do that for you. Please meet with us. And we are developing a strategy based on we will be meeting with the legal team and the claimants again, and we will be making decisions about what we will be doing. How likely is it then that its politicians in parliament who will be able to create the changes that you are seeking, rather than the courts . Well, this afternoon, sir nicholas soames, vince cable, edmund ed miliband signed on. So what is that saying, come on, we are supporting you . We are very encouraged. Thank you very much for talking to us this evening. My much for talking to us this evening. My pleasure. Now its time for a look at the weather with darren bett. Hello there, although we are seeing some stronger winds and some rain rain pushing eastwards across the uk overnight, it is mainly Western Areas that will see the strongest of the winds, even those in Northern Ireland would tend to ease down with the strongest of the winds edging more towards the southwest of england and wales later in the night. A lot of cloud around, you could still some areas of rain quite wet actually Northern Ireland to northwest england in north wales and much milder than it has been for the past few nights. It will be a windy day towards the Far Southwest of england and wales, gusts of over 60 miles an hour, nothing that unusual for the time of year. The rain further north will edge its way for the south and tend to fade away to a certain extent and the storm is weakening all the while. So the winds are becoming later, later, most places will be dry in the afternoon and a little bit of sunshine and those temperatures higher than we had today. Into the start of the weekend, many eastern areas will have a dry day on saturday, not a great deal of sunshine, out to the west, a few pockets ahead of the rain band easing its way into Northern Ireland, the wind is picking up as well and those temperatures are ahead of that 1a to 16 celsius. Hello this is bbc news. The headlines. The Prime Minister tells mps hes made a genuine attempt we have made a genuine attempt to bridge the chasm to try to repair the reconcilable and go the extra mile. In brussels the European Council president said he was still unconvinced by the uk plans and his doubts were echoed by Irish Government. We now have written proposals that we can engage on but they do fall short in a number of aspects. A man with a knife is shot dead after killing four Police Officers including a woman at their headquarters in central paris. Campaigners lose a legal battle against the governments handling of the rise in womens state pension age. Returning to our main story the European Commission says further work is needed on the brexit proposals put forward by borisjohnson which would see Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic operating under different customs regimes. The irish Prime Minister, leo varadkar, said the plan fell short in a number of aspects. But the dup leader, Arlene Foster, said the proposal would not be amended and has accused the Irish Government of making a no deal brexit more likely. They said today that the discussions that have been held so far show that the Irish Government have no intention of the backstop being a temporary measure. Is she correct . |j temporary measure. Is she correct . do not think she is right, but she does have a point that if the Irish Government is to take it down immediately, it would indicate that ireland is not engaging that honestly with the British Governments proposals and i think pa rt governments proposals and i think part of the problem on the irish side is that there is a sense here that this is all a preamble to an election and the british are not really in the negotiation mode and more in lectionary mode. And if the backstop is a temporary measure to satisfy the du p and their supporters . It is going to be difficult to get any agreement with all of the various different red and am not entirely sure if there is an agreement that can be made that will deliver on the redlines. The Prime Ministers Withdrawal Agreement really does postpones will be a more permanent deal and the only thing that really would deliver on all of the irish and eu demands and possibly all of the uk demands would be to have a full border down the irish sea, but that would obviously mean the break up of the union which would understandably be opposed by not just the would understandably be opposed by notjust the Democratic Unionist Party, but many communities Northern Ireland. How more workable is to propose that borisjohnson put forward that the whole of ireland remains in the island of ireland, but Northern Ireland comes out of the Customs Union . It is difficult to see how workable that is, there can be ways of using, doing customs checks that are not necessarily going to be that intrusive and it should enable you to still drive across the board without noticing that you have effectively driven across the border. Dockets to be possible but i think part of the problem with the proposal that Boris Johnson is made is that there will bea johnson is made is that there will be a vote every four years and that vote, if it is up and running, it could probably give the Unionist Community vetoed it ended and there is no guarantee for the Irish Government, that is a problem. It will probably lead to difficulties three of the two communities would be coming up to these votes and if it was not in existence, there could bea it was not in existence, there could be a referendum and there could be a border pole and it would not be good for relationships and Northern Ireland. What is the political foresight then because a lot of these problems could be overcome the backstop would be a necessary which of the re trade in place. Yes, and thatis of the re trade in place. Yes, and that is why they do not feel the need to concede to the borisjohnson proposals of the moment, partly because we are expecting an election in the uk and also because the uk needs a trade deal probably more than the rest of europe needs this trade deal and once that trade deal, given the case of a new to brexit, that trade be allowed to be reopened and we can then reopen those issues about the border and Free Movement within these islands. Thank you very much for your time this evening. Donald trump has openly asked another foreign country, china, to find incriminating evidence against his democratic rival, joe biden. Mr trump is facing impeachment over a similar request to ukraine. The chairman of the Us House Intelligence Committee said the president s demand was a fundamental breach of his oath of office. Our washington correspondent Gary Odonoghue can tell us more. How did this revelation on china come to light . It came to light as he stood by his helicopter. It is not the first time he has mentioned china, he has done it a few times in connection with joe china, he has done it a few times in connection withjoe biden, this is the first time you said it is time for china to investigate. Essentially relating to a deal back in 2013 wherejoe biden went on an official trip to china, took his son with them and his son was involved ina with them and his son was involved in a private equity fund that was being set up, which was approved ten days later. The president believes that they made millions and millions from this whole deal, they denied that there was any impropriety at all and there really has not been any sort of evidence, from evidence that there was any impropriety since then. But the president effectively repeating the thing that hes being impeached for by the democrats, so he is going down the same route with ukraine, but with china here. And now, may be a way of normalising what he did in the first place on that ukraine call saying that he is what to do with another country as well, and the open, if you like. But it isa well, and the open, if you like. But it is a pretty high Risk Strategy andi it is a pretty high Risk Strategy and i would just give that would just give the democrats more ammunition to interfere in foreign elections like this and. Victims and relatives of fifty eight People Killed in a mass shooting in las vegas two years ago have won a settlement of up to eight hundred Million Dollars from the hotel chain, mgm resorts international. It owns the mandalay bay hotel, from where a gunman opened fire on a Country Music festival in 2017. It remains the single deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual in us history. The hotel group mgm resorts previously filed a lawsuit against the victims. Scotland has become the first nation in the uk to make it a criminal offence for parents to smack their children. Across the rest of the uk parents are still allowed to use whats called reasonable physical force. Sweden was the first country in the world to outlaw smacking in 1979. By 2015 ireland had joined several other countries who also had a ban. But it remains a controversial issue even in scotland, with critics arguing that the changes risk criminalising some parents. Our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon, reports the debate around smacking has generated a lot of noise over the years. In scotland, it is now against the law. But what do those attending this preschool group in glasgow think of the fact that smacking is no longer allowed . You wouldnt get away with hitting an adult, so why should you do that to a child . I think that with a smacking ban. I feel its quite restricting for parents and i feel that. | dont think theres any need. At the moment, parents and carers are allowed to use reasonable physical force to discipline their children. This bill will mean that smacking a child will become illegal here in scotland, no matter what the circumstances. It will give children the same protection as adults. In 2002, an attempt to ban smacking in scotland proved so controversial it had to be abandoned. Not this time round, though. Campaigners believe it will make a real difference in protecting children. What this law does is it makes it clear that physical punishment is not acceptable. And it is symbolic as much as anything. This is a message to society and a message to our children to say that your rights are really important and that you do not deserve to be physically punished. Opponents of the legislation voted through at holyrood believe it is an intervention too far. It is slightly dangerous, i think. We already have laws in this country that outlaw beating your child. What this law does is criminalise the slightest smack, so if you smack a child on the hand like that, that will be a criminal offence. This has been described as an historic vote. And the children equal protection from assault scotland bill is passed. It is expected to be a year until the law in scotland comes into force, sending the message that violence against children is never acceptable. A High Court Ruling on abortion in belfast is being described by campaigners as a turning point for women. The case was brought by sarah ewart who was denied a termination even though doctors had said her unborn child would be unable to survive after birth. Todays ruling said that was a breach of the uks human rights commitments. Our ireland correspondent emma vardy has the story. Sarah ewart became the public face of a debate about a deeply personal issue. Six years ago she travelled to london from her home in Northern Ireland to have an abortion. Her unborn baby had a condition that meant the child couldnt survive outside the womb. Its not something that i ever would have ever even dreamt of. Id rather have the memory of seeing it move on screen and hearing a heartbeat. Than see the end. She allowed her experience to be filmed because she believed Northern Irelands near total ban on abortion was wrong. Today, Belfast High Court ruled that Northern Irelands abortion laws had led to a breach of her human rights. Its a massive relief that weve actually heard today the judges recognise that we did have the standing and that my human rights were breached. Whats a few more days waiting on this to come through . But there remain strongly supported anti abortion campaigns in Northern Ireland, where many believe an unborn childs right to life should be protected. For the people of Northern Ireland, its a very sad day for the future unborn children with special needs when a court would make a decision to deny the very personhood and deny the right to life of unborn children here. And marking the strength of feeling, thousands marched on stormont recently to protest against legislation passed by westminster, which means the law on terminations is set to be relaxed later this month. The change will come in if Northern Irelands devolved government at stormont which collapsed two and a half years ago isnt restored in the next few weeks. Women in Northern Ireland have been able to access free abortions by travelling to england since 2017. Although the laws set to change in 18 days time, its likely Services Wont be set up locally until the spring. At the moment more than 1,000 women a year for a multitude of reasons leave Northern Ireland to seek an abortion elsewhere. Todays ruling is another mark of the change taking place in what was a very socially conservative Northern Ireland. Access to abortion remains one of the most divisive issues here, but its now on the brink of change, decades after the rest of the uk. The headlines on bbc news. Borisjohnsons new brexit plan is already running into opposition both in parliament and in the eu four employees killed at the Police Headquarters in central paris the killer is shot dead. Campaigners lose legal battle against the governments handling of the rise in womens state pension age. Suffering a bleed on the brain in february, and unable to breathe on her own. Doctors in london blue pills in her best interest to withdraw life support, a medical correspondent reports. On the ventilator and tube fed since february, she is middle only minimally conscious, but this could bea minimally conscious, but this could be a reflex action for her parents, it isa be a reflex action for her parents, it is a sign of recovery. A huge relief for the family when the high court refused permission to allow life support to be withdrawn and approved transfer to a hospital in italy. Our beautiful daughter tafida is not dying. We are continuously seeing small but important signs that she is gradually improving. The entire experience of having to fight for our daughters life over the last three months has been exhausting and dramatic for all of my family members and were glad that it is now finally over. The judge said there was no hope of tafida being cured or her condition improving substantially, so he had to consider whether further treatment was futile. Mrjustice macdonald said this is a very finely balanced case. Although tafida is minimally aware and totally reliant on others, she is medically stable and not in any pain. He said, given, for the parents, tafidas sanctity of life was of the utmost importance, he was satisfied that Life Sustaining treatment should continue. Good morning, tafida. Tafida will not get any novel treatment in italy, but doctors there will insert a breathing tube in her windpipe to make Long Term Care easier. This little girl isnt suffering and that the treatment that she is receiving it may not be benefiting her, but it isnt a burden to her and, in addition, travelling to italy wont be burdensome for her, and that her condition is stable, she could live for another ten to 20 years and, ultimately, perhaps, even be cared for at home. This was tafida before her sudden brain injury a bright and lively girl. Her parents, described by thejudge as committed muslims, believe tafida would wish to live, no matter how poorly her condition. They hope to transfer to italy as soon as possible, although barts nhs trust is considering an appeal. Reports of rape, Sexual Assault and harassment at uk universities have tripled in the past three years. Thats the finding of a bbc invesigation. It also revealed that many institutions are failing to act on official guidelines designed to address the problem. But universities insist they are making progress as our education editor bra nwen jeffreys reports. Sexual violence leaves invisible scars. Louisa was traumatised by rape after a student party. Were protecting her identity. I was just constantly on edge, constantly frightened that he was going to burst through my bedroom door, or he was going to try and find me. Only 33 universities have specialist investigators, trained to understand the impact of Sexual Assault. Instead, louisa faced intrusive questions on camera. Of course, they needed to know what happened. But they didnt actually need to know the really intimate details i wasjust beginning to like, heal slightly from, and thatjust completely broke that down again. Some universities are working hard on prevention and making it easier for students to report. We would expect numbers to go up at the beginning. Because really what thats showing is that students feel safe to report, and that theyre taking the opportunity to report. Three years ago, universities promised change. In a series of guidelines, they said theyd change the culture on campus and support victims better. But our investigation shows that, while some universities are doing a lot, others have barely begun to take it seriously. We have to have accountability for universities. So we need to have legal obligations now, on universities, that mean they have to adhere to these baseline criteria. Otherwise, we just cant seem to get any kind of consistency. Universities say theyre making progress. But student campaigners argue not enough, not fast enough. Suffering a bleed on the brain in february, the winner of the Royal Institute of british architects most prestigious award, the Riba Stirling prize, will be announced on tuesday. There are six nominations for britains best new building 2019 which include a railway station, an opera house and a property made entirely of cork. All week we have been taking a closer look at each of the nominated buildings, and today we are looking at the goldsmith street project, which at first glance just looks like a simple series of terrace blocks arranged in four lines. But its actually a very special estate, as its the first ever scheme of Council Housing to be nominated for a riba architecture prize. Norwich council commissioned the project which is being hailed as a pioneering example of sustainable social housing for the future. Music. As a council we have been interested in building new social housing for quite a long time. Properties that we have here are all built to passive house standards so that has really lowered the energy bill. Houses have to be very wholly insulated and airtight, really simple things like you cannot have a letterbox on the front door so we have had to kind of find places for letterboxes. But more significant than that it is a fabulous place for people to live so even if you are in a single flat, you have a balcony, you have a family, you have a little bit of outdoor space, and there is communal space as well. For me one of the most successful aspects are the social issues, we were very keen to ensure that front doors face the front doors, so Something Like a traditional street is very good for that. To make it last car oriented, so there are many more places for people to just walk or children to scoot without having to cross a road. We carved out these play spaces where everyone can have access to said the children can play securely, overlooked by their parents are there as a social aspect to this scheme that i think is really successful. People walk in and they are kind of impressed as if you built this, i didnt choose the brickwork or the front door, you know but it is clear that someone has and someone did care that i liked my home and that means a lot to me that someone puts the effort to say lets try Something Different and it does not feel like i am renting a house, ifeel like i own a house which is really nice. You can find out more about all of the nominated, buildings on the bbc arts website and watch this years Riba Stirling prize live here on the bbc news channel next tuesday evening from 8. 30. Now its time for a look at the weather with darren bett. Hello there. Storm lorenzo is heading slowly into the uk but it is not having much of an impact for many parts of the uk. Always when youre out towards Western Areas near the coast, had some rain earlier on here. In cornwall it looked very dark for a while. In Northern Ireland, it is here we have the strongest winds this evening with gusts of around 50, 60 mph. There is the centre of the storm, the deep area of low pressure earlier on. It was kept towards the west for a while but the strongest winds across western parts of ireland, which is why the storm was named by the irish service. In that area of low pressure is heading towards Northern Ireland, the wind to be strong for a while and then the east out of the night is the storm weakens but will keep some rain going. Further south and into the subtlest of england and wales, this is where will have the strongest winds later. Gusts of 60 mph, nothing that unusual for this time of the year. A lot of cloud, rain overnight, a lot milder it is been for the past couple of nights. The winds are easing down for many places, still windy across the Far Southwest of england and wales and the rain though start the day with will edge its way further south and ease of many places actually becoming dry in the afternoon with cloud breaking a little bit and allowing some sunshine and temperatures perhaps to be a bit higher than they were today. So the weather calming down a bit as the day down a bit as the day goes on on friday is that storm weakens as we head into the weekend, chilly start for northeastern scotland. Many eastern parts of the uk likely to be dry on saturday, not a great deal of sunshine, for the west one or two pockets of rain before the main rain band comes into Northern Ireland and when start to pick up a little bit. Ahead of that, temperatures of 1a to 16 degrees, that rain band coming in from the west will stagger its way further across england and wales and then it grinds to a halt, the main weight of the rain driving down the light of those fronts into Continental Europe and by sunday morning it may well be dry with some sunshine for Northern Ireland, much of wales in the southwest of england. Cloud elsewhere, outbreaks of rain, easing from the north but staying quite well in the afternoon towards the south east of england and for many, temperatures no great shakes. Unless youve got the sunshine towards the west where 17 and in the southwest should feel quite pleasant. More areas of low pressure coming in next week from the atlantic and that means we are going to find more wind and rain, wettest and windiest weather likely to be in the northwest. Hello, im ros atkins, this is outside source. The eu and its members have been reacting to borisjohnsons brexit plans. We now have written proposals that we can engage on. But they do fall short in a number of aspects. The status of the irish border remains the biggest issue. Borisjohnson says his proposals go the extra mile but theyre not enough for uks opposition parties. What we have before us is a rehashed version of previously rejected proposals. If there was any doubt donald trump wanted other countries to targetjoe biden, he said said this today. China should start an investigation into the bidens. Trump is already facing an impeachment inquiry for asking ukraine to do the same in a phone call in the summer