Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At Ten 20240713

Parliament on saturday and it also is unclear if he has the support of his allies in the dup or indeed many of his allies on his own backbenches. And as the clock ticks towards the brexit deadline of october 31st, the eu says theres no reason for any further delay. There is not an argument for further delay. It has to be done now. Also on the programme tonight more violent clashes on the syria turkey border today, but tonight turkey has suspended its offensive, after talks with the us Vice President. Knife crime hits a record high more than a4,000 offences in a year we report on efforts by schools to tackle the problem. Violence on the underground, as frustrated passengers drag Extinction Rebellion protestors off the roof of a tube train. And coming up on sportsday on bbc news another medal for Great Britain at the european track cycling championships. This time a gold in the womens team pursuit. Good evening from brussels, from the european summit, where borisjohnson declared earlier today that hed struck a new Brexit Agreement with the European Union a great new deal in his words, that takes back control. But, crucially, the deal still needs the approval of both the uk and european parliaments. And at westminster there is mounting uncertainty about the likelihood of mps giving their approval when they meet in emergency session on saturday. Northern irelands dup whose support borisjohnson needs have already rejected it. And labour says this deal is much worse for the uk than the one negotiated by theresa may. The deal says that if the uk leaves on 31st of october, it will pay around £33 billion to the eu in a so called divorce bill. It says eu and uk citizens will retain their residency and Social Security rights. And it says there will be a period until at least the end of december 2020 where the uk will still abide by the eus rules to give time to negotiate new trading arrangements. But there is still deep concern in some quarters about the impact of the deal on Northern Ireland, especially among members of the democratic unionist party. Our first report tonight on the deal itself is from our Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg. At speed, tucked under his arm in the red folder, perhaps the way borisjohnson the red folder, perhaps the way Boris Johnson can take the red folder, perhaps the way borisjohnson can take us out of the eu ina borisjohnson can take us out of the eu in a matter of weeks. This is a great dealfor our eu in a matter of weeks. This is a great deal for our country, for the uk andi great deal for our country, for the uk and i also believe it is a good dealfor uk and i also believe it is a good deal for our friends uk and i also believe it is a good dealfor ourfriends in uk and i also believe it is a good deal for our friends in the uk and i also believe it is a good dealfor ourfriends in the eu. And what it means is that we in the uk can come out of the eu as one United Kingdom. It has not always been an easy experience for the uk. Now is the moment for our parliamentarians to come together and get this thing done. Why are you confident this can get through parliament when it doesnt seem to be the case at home and what on earth will you do if it falls on saturday . There is a good case for mps across the house of commons to express the democratic will of the people, as we pledged many times to do, and to get brexit done. Easier said than done. This afternoon it looked like he couldnt believe it. How are you file something only how are you feeling. Not even a hundred days into Boris Johnsons feeling. Not even a hundred days into borisjohnsons time in office and part one of his biggestjob is complete. We have a deal. Words borisjohnson complete. We have a deal. Words Boris Johnson might not complete. We have a deal. Words borisjohnson might not have thought he would hear. But many mps will deplore the deal and it is not totally different to the one agreed by the former Prime Minister, theresa may, who used to walk this red carpet. But eu leaders did step that the backstop, the border guarantee for Northern Ireland, had to go. There was enough political will in the end, so there was a way. As things stand we have a Draft Agreement between the eu and the British Government and also creates a unique solution for Northern Ireland, recognising the unique history and geography of Northern Ireland and ensures there is no hard border. Lets rejoice in which a deal has been found. But the numbers are tight in parliament. Fit falls on saturday, what then . People are in favour of brexit or against it, doesnt matter, it is if we have a deal. What happens if it doesnt pass parliament . Im not in charge. That is the job of boris. Do you believe it will . I hope it will. Im convinced it will. But it has to. it doesnt . There will be no prorogation. No delay . Even if the dealfalls. Not if prorogation. No delay . Even if the deal falls. Not if the opposition has anything to do wit. We believe the deal is heading britain in a deregulated society and as it stands, we cant support the deal and will oppose it in parliament. Reaching a new deal, solving the political connumdrums with brussels isa political connumdrums with brussels is a big achievement. The eu has moved in ways thatjust a couple of ways ago they swore would never happen. But to reach there, Boris Johnson has of course had to compromise too. So he runs smack into the very next problem because deal that works for this town might not work for parliament, where there isa not work for parliament, where there is a vital vote in two days time. Mps who fear the consequences of the deal are talking, plotting perhaps to block it. Not least Boris Johnsons supposed unionist allies. To avoid trying to get an extension he has been too eager to get a deal at any cost. And the fact of the matter is if he held his nerve he would have got better concessions that kept the integrity of the United Kingdom. Other brexiteers dangling their supports. Im reserving my position, i want to read what is in it, we were told that certain concerns were being met in the agreement and ijust want to make sure that that is the case. The parties who want to stay in the eu will Work Together to stop it happening. He has managed to negotiate something that is worse for our economy than what theresa may had put forward. We are talking about an act of economic vandalism that would be worse for the economy than the financial crash. It is hard to imagine a deal that could be worse for scotland. It takes scotland out of the eu and the Single Market and the customs union, all against our will. If his political enemies win, westminster will try to send borisjohnson packing straight back to brussels to ask for a delay. What would happen then . Is this is the end of a road for a deal. If the deal doesnt pass parliament, is this as far as the eu is prepared to go. Is this the final deal . Visibly, not something they wa nt to deal . Visibly, not something they want to contemplate. Dont ask a question that doesnt arise, the negotiator said. But one that might soon be true. Not what borisjohnson or his apparent new friends want to think about tonight, but they may all want to enjoy this while it lasts. Our europe editor katya adlerjoins me now. Im wondering today what your take is on the fact that they have agreed this deal, theyre relieved about that, and yet how nervous are they about what is going on at westminster in two days and do they have a plan in case that is not going according to plan . |j have a plan in case that is not going according to plan . I thought the body language was interesting. If you look at borisjohnson the body language was interesting. If you look at Boris Johnson with the eu leaders, there was a lot of back slapping and it belies the fact that under neath the eu leaders have sceptical when the Prime Minister said to them, ive got the numbers in parliament to pass this deal. We have got a whiff of that from michel barnier, he said the Prime Minister says he has the numbers and we must believe him. But believe him they dont really. Up their sleeve is the possibility of another brexit extension. Eu leaders were coy about that, they want to keep the pressure up that, they want to keep the pressure up on mps to really focus their minds. But if this deal, like theresa mays deal, agreed with eu leaders, fails to get through the house of commons and if there were a request from the uk for another extension, these eu leaders after three years of Brexit Process, two brexit deals, are not going to turn around and say no to the uk if this extension would be for a general election, a second referendum or a referendum on this deal. Thank you. Now that borisjohnson has agreed a deal here in brussels, all eyes will be on westminster where mps will gather on a saturday for the first time in nearly a0 years to consider the agreement hes achieved. Everyone seems to agree that the result in the commons is expected to be close. Our deputy Political Editorjohn pienaar has been examining the detail. Well a plan that pleased everyone was never going to happen. Boris johnson calls this one an excellent deal. For remainers it is the worst yesterday, taking mainland britain out of eu trading block and allows the uk to strike deals. For the dup the uk to strike deals. For the dup the stick point has been how to keep Northern Ireland inside the trade deals and avoiding customs checks that could inflame old tensions. The dup doesnt like it, but the plan is foran dup doesnt like it, but the plan is for an east west border, all north south border would be duty free. But the dup hates the deal. Why . Well ta ke the dup hates the deal. Why . Well take a the dup hates the deal. Why . Well takea car, the dup hates the deal. Why . Well take a car, customs would need to know if it is for sale in Northern Ireland. No taxes to pay. Or if it is heading for the republic and into the eu. Because if some components came from outside the eu, there could be taxes to pay to brussels. With Northern Ireland being treated differently, the deal accepts the need for agreement from its politicians. A majority vote at the still suspended Stormont Assembly could decide to tear up the plan and let Northern Ireland be treated the same as the rest of the uk. The dup think it is better to have a majority of both them and nationalists, which would allow them to have a veto. So what is next . Can borisjohnson win the vote. The struggle moves to westminster, where the numbers must make Boris Johnsons head spin. To win a vote he needs 320 vote. If the dup wont back him, some of his 287 tories would rebel too. So the Prime Minister needs votes from labour mps and some former tory independents. There is another big complication, remain parties like the liberal democrats and the snp could join mps on both sides in a big push for another brexit referendum. Ifjeremy corbyn tells labour to back a so called peoples vote it could make the governments job a lot harder. John pienaar reporting there. As weve reported so many times over the past few years, one of the main brexit challenges has been agreeing the future of the border between Northern Ireland and the republic. Our ireland correspondent emma vardy has spent the day in belfast to gauge how perceptions of identity have been a powerfulfactor. Like a patchwork quilt, belfast is imprinted with reminders of Northern Irelands dual identity. While nationalists have fought for closer ties to the eu, unionist politicians have pulled the other way. Todays deal divides these communities again. I think its ridiculous that the Unionist Community is holding everybody to ransom. Theyjust dont think of anybody but themselves. Anything catholics like, they automatically are against it it doesnt matter what it is. In unionist areas of the city, its viewed very differently. For those who identify as british, the arrangements for trade in the brexit deal strike at something deeper a fear that closer alignment with ireland and the eu undermines Northern Irelands very place in the United Kingdom itself. Nice to meet you. Its at the back of their minds. No matter what it looks like, theres always that fear the enemies are to the south of them, the enemies are to the east of them, the enemies are right at the heart of the Northern Ireland assembly. And when you live in that, its almost like a permanent paranoia when you live with that all the time, you tend not to see rainbows, you just see thunder. The new deal could end three years of uncertainty for Northern Irelands businesses. Companies have often found themselves caught in the middle amidst the bitter political divide. I am proud to be british, but im running a business. John mccann runs one of many farming and Food Companies that believe if this brexit deal fails, their supply chain will no longer work. My staff are demoralised, we cant plan for the future. The dup argue theyre digging in very hard against this deal to protect business for Northern Ireland. The dup, erm, are certainly not helping us. The brexit deal requires Northern Ireland to stay in sync with some eu rules to avoid checks on the border. It gave stormont a vote on whether these arrangements should continue. But the assembly hasnt sat for more than two and a half years, since power sharing collapsed a symbol itself of Northern Irelands irreconcilable divides. Emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. Some Business Leaders have expressed their guarded relief at news of a deal and the response of the Financial Markets has been broadly positive. Our economics editor faisal islam is at the annual International Monetary fund meeting in washington. Lets talk about business reaction and reaction in the Financial Markets to the news, what is your assessment of that . In a place like this with finance ministers and bankers, theres a sense of relief that one of the clouds on the World Economy be lifting, but the economic destination implied by the papers signed in brussels is importantly different from the direction of travel we saw a year ago and that is because Boris Johnson travel we saw a year ago and that is because borisjohnson wants the full freedom to sign trade deals with the likes of the us but that has an implication in terms of a more distant relationship with the eu and that has consequences for manufacturers for example, they had been promised that Car Manufacturers that rely on no checks on the origin of their parts, well, that has now gone from this deal. When you add up frictions like that the last time the treasury did the numbers, there was an implied hit to the economy of 34 was an implied hit to the economy of 3 4 over a decade or so from a deal like this. The chancellor said tonight that he wont be running those numbers again ahead of the vote on saturday but that is exactly the reassurance that those Opposition Mps might require. So, relief, yes, but a big trade off, too. Thanks forjoining us. Our Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg joins me now. We have to say that borisjohnson achieve something that lots of people thought was frankly a pie in the sky. No question about that, whether you love the idea of leaving the eu or whether you are watching who still thinks it is a big mistake for the country to make, Boris Johnson has got a deal with the eu, conventional wisdom in brussels and the conventional wisdom amongst many people in westminster and at home was that it couldnt be done, but he has done it. He has had to compromise but also the eu has given way. Boris johnson compromise but also the eu has given way. Borisjohnson has made a political career by surprising people, even by seeming aggressive and taking risks in order to do so, has achieved something that many people said was impossible, and that matters and of course what happens next matters to everybody. You might be pleased to date, and proud of what he has done, but in a couple of days time that could change . That is right, the Brexit Process has been nothing if not a moment of highs and lows and round we go round the same kind of psychodrama again. In 48 hours borisjohnson will ask mps to back this or not and we know, we have talked about it so many times, there are plenty of people in parliament who have concerns about the deal he had struck but also people in parliament who want to stop this happening altogether. He does not have long to try to get a majority of people to approve this deal. The numbers right now seemed so tight that it would be foolish to make a prediction on this, but we can say with certainty is that in the next couple of days number ten is going to throw everything at trying to get the steel through the house of commons. If that doesnt happen who knows what will happen, we might be back here before too long. To get the deal through the house of commons. Laura, thanks for joining us. And after all that, if there are still things youd like to know about on the new deal or brexit in general ahead of that big day in parliament on saturday, you can go to bbc. Co. Uk news and navigate to the section called new brexit deal your questions answered. It covers a huge amount of ground and it should answer questions. That is it from the summit for now. Now back to sophie for the days other main stories. Turkey has agreed to a temporary halt in its offensive against kurdish fighters in north east syria. The deal came after talks between turkeys president erdogan and the us Vice President , mike pence. Turkey says it will pause its advance for five days to allow Kurdish Forces to retreat from a 20 mile zone on the syrian side of the border. President trump, whos been widely accused of giving the green light for the offensive, described it as an amazing outcome. Our middle east editorjeremy bowen reports from ankara. The meeting did not start well, dark stares, cold handshakes. The United States and turkey are supposed to be allies but it didnt look like that. After more than five hours of talks, Vice President mike pence emerged backed by the us secretary of state with a hint of a smile. Today, the United States and turkey have agreed to a ceasefire in syria. But the war in syria has a way of wrecking ceasefires. The war has morphed into another shape these last ten days or so. It still chews up life and spits it out. A generation of syrians has grown up amongst casualties and death. If this agreement holds it is only limited in scope. The turks, who will pause the operation for 120 hours, insist they were not intimidated by trumps threats. Instead, they say, the deal delivers what they want. This is not a ceasefire, said the foreign minister, we are taking a break so the terrorists can leave the security zone. The americans will also destroy their heavy weapons and positions. 300,000 civilians approximately have been displaced by the fighting, and their leader has said his side will accept the agreement. It is too soon for these families to go home but it might also be too soon for kurdish fighters to want to put down their weapons. Many blame President Trump for creating the crisis. But he sees proof of what he sees as his strategic brilliance. Millions of people are not going to have to kill them and vice versa, this was going to be a war with lots of other groups, this was notjust going to be turkey against the kurds, a lot of other groups were coming in. But it is still fluid and fragile and u nsta ble it is still fluid and fragile and unstable in North Eastern syria. These were supporters of Bashar Al Assad celebrating the return of the regimes troops to their streets, they are back on land they had to leave in 2012 because of this crisis. At present there may be no guarantee of peace. President trump and his critics will go on arguing about his responsibility for the crisis but what is certain is that the events of the last ten days or so have permanently changed the strategic map of syria. That will have consequences for the way the war eventually ends and for what happens to syrian civilians. The fighting was supposed to stop just before dusk but it is unlikely to go easily from here. The deal looks good for the americans and the turks, but for the kurds, not so sure, some groups say they have heard nothing about it so far. That means uncertainty and confusion and thatis means uncertainty and confusion and that is dangerous but lets see if they can get through those first 120 hours before we start making conclusions about where this is going to go. Studio jeremy bowen, thanks forjoining us. Knife crime in england and wales has risen sharply in a year and has reached a record high. Recorded knife crime over the twelve months tojune was up 7 but the number of people who died because of knife crime has actually fallen. Our home editor mark easton has been looking at efforts to try and tackle the problem. Hello, baby, and how are you . Might the softness of a baby be an antidote to the sharpness of a knife . Roots of empathy is one of 22 projects to win government funding to see if they might reduce youth violence. Do you think hes feeling happy, roxanne . For one hour a week across a school year, children will bond with a baby, watch it grow, build an attachment. Already used in 11 countries, theres evidence this approach can develop empathy, making children less vulnerable to the knife crime epidemic. In kent, police are using a more traditional response to knife crime and so called county lines drugs gangs, arming all of their front line officers with tasers. But the chief constable says force alone cannot solve the problem. We arrested a 14 year old, a 13 year old and a 12 year old who were involved in county line criminality. Safeguarding them and moving them away from a life of crime is more important than charging them and putting them through a court. The story of Violent Crime in england and wales over the past 40 years is of a significant rise, peaking in the mid 90s and then falling by 70 . In fact, todays figures show your chances of being a victim of violence are now lower than at any time since records began. However, police data tells a different story with knife crime over the last decade. A fall in recorded incidents from 2010, but then rising again a few years later now higher than ever. The stabbing of ben kinsella in islington in 2008 led his family to create a centre dedicated to his memory. The haunting pictures of his final moments touched the nation then, and still shock now. An awful tragedy like bens death forces the issue of knife crime onto the front pages, politicians feel they have to respond, and resources are pumped into some kind of action. But then, the issue fades from daily news, and the energy and the money starts to run out, too. Living in a notorious area, i think its something thats quite on my mind and my parentss mind, as well. It stops me from doing many things in my house and going out. Community youth work like this project in east london is constantly struggling to retain funding. Youthjustice board budgets for preventative work have more than halved in the last decade. Are you watching to see what his reaction to this is . Start young and stand by them, thats the answer. But the impact and the credit may belong to a future generation. Mark easton, bbc news. In 1972 Jean Mcconville a widowed mother of 10 was taken from her home in west belfast by masked ira members and murdered. It was one of the most notorious incidents of the troubles. Her children ended up in care. Today a former senior republican figure was cleared of involvement in her murder. Ivor bell is the only person ever to be charged over the killing of mrs mcconville. Chris page reports. The murder ofJean Mcconville has come to symbolise the brutality of the troubles. She was one of the victims known as the disappeared, because they were killed and secretly buried. The ira wrongly accused mrs mcconville of giving information to soldiers. These are some of her ten children, who were orphaned when she was abducted from her home, driven away, and shot dead. The children, they miss their mummy. Do they say anything about her at all . Its the same. Its always the same. They want their mummy back. And then they go up to bed and start to cry for their mummy. This man, ivor bell, is the only person whos ever been charged in relation to the murder. He didnt face a full criminal case because of his ill health. Instead, theres been a process called a trial of the facts to decide whether the allegations were true. But today, the judge directed the jury to clear mr bell. Mrs mcconvilles family said theyd lost hope ofjustice. The only way we will ever get any justice is if someone comes forward and turns around and says it was them that murdered Jean Mcconville. And that is not going to happen. That is the reality of it. The case was based on taped interviews ivor bell was said to have given to an oral history project at Boston College in the us, but the judge said the material couldnt be relied on as evidence. The tapes also featured a claim that the former sinn fein leader, gerry adams, had said mrs mcconville should be shot and her body hidden. Mr adams was called to be a witness. He strongly denied any involvement in the killing, or being in the ira. Jean mcconvilles remains were found on a beach, 31 years after her violent death. For her children, the decades of despair are continuing. Chris page, bbc news, belfast. There was violence on the London Underground this morning, as Extinction Rebellion protestors climbed onto the roof of a tube train. Frustrated passengers trying to get to work began dragging them off. Eight protesters were arrested. David shukman reports. How long are you standing up there for cos ive got to go to work . Early Morning in east london, and a protest by Extinction Rebellion starts to backfire. A tube train is held up, and frustration at the delays turns to anger. Some in the crowd suddenly turn on the activists. Others intervene to protect them. A photographer with the group is pulled to the ground. The atmosphere is becoming ugly. With the train at a standstill, patience snaps, and someone grabs one of the protesters and pulls him off. Some try to attack him, others defend him