Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20240713

Exactly what this queens speech shows. Scotlands first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, sets out her plans for another independence referendum and warns Boris Johnson not to block the will of the scottish people. Calls on the ministry of defence to do more to tackle racism in the armed forces. Record temperatures in australia fuel unprecedented fires more than 100 fires are burning in New South Wales alone, the countrys most populous state. Its so easy to leave me. And meow get ready for the for some mean comments about the new film cats. It was just nine weeks ago that we had a queens speech. The difference this time is that borisjohnson now has a massive majority in parliament and the power to make things happen. The speech, written by the government, covered everything from hospital car parking to a review of foreign policy, all of it billed as an Ambitious Programme to deliver the peoples priorities. So what are they . Top of the list take the uk out of the eu by the end of january. Increases to the nhs budget in england will be enshrined in law. There was a confirmation of the Campaign Pledge to ensure longer sentences for violent offenders, but also a major review of the criminaljustice system. In a minute, well look at some of those pledges and see if they add up, but first heres our political editor, laura kuenssberg, on a queens speech and what it says about the johnson premiership. Even the crown it gets its very own rolls royce. The trappings of westminsters great royal occasion. A moment to savour for the new government. Its certainly a feast. A time of agony for the opposition. So, im going to ask this policeman to let me through, but not you trumpets play. The trumpets blast their usual note, the ritual summoning mps to hear the monarch. The same as ever. But the reminders of the past ought not to hide the reality that history has just been made. The defeated leader of the opposition seemed too angry to exchange a hello with this all powerful Prime Minister, whose number one job is to take us out of the European Union. My governments priority is to deliver the united kingdoms departure from the European Union on the 31st of january. My ministers will bring forward legislation to ensure the united kingdoms exit on that date, and to make the most of the opportunities that this brings for all the people of the united kingdom. But then what . The wrangle of difficult trade talks, of course. And extra cash for the Health Service put into law. For the first time, the national Health Services multi year funding settlement, agreed earlier this year, will be enshrined in law. Tougher sentencing, a cut to Business Rates, a new immigration system just some of the long list of work ahead. But after a torrid few years, listen to this bland sounding announcement. A constitution, democracy and Rights Commission will be established. Might his government be tempted to use their huge majority to overhaul how this whole place works . Maybe. This will not be a safety first government willing to dare, determine to plan notjust for five years, but for a decade. This is not a programme for one year or one parliament. It is a blueprint for the future of britain. Just imagine. Cheering. Just imagine where this country could be in ten years time. And after the dither, after the delay, after the deadlock, after the paralysis and the platitudes, the time has come for change and the time has come for action and it is action that the british people will get from this gracious speech, this most gracious speech, and i commend it to the house. Cheering. Raucous tory benches. Misery on the other side. Thank you, mr speaker. What the government is actually proposing is woefully inadequate for the scale of the problems that this country faces. As this government ploughs ahead with its programme of gimmicks and false promises, we will be holding them to account every step of the way and campaigning inside and outside parliament and across this country for the real change that this government sadly will not deliver but that our country so desperately needs. Laughter. Derision at the other side. Brewing tension with the snp too. Now scotland must have a chance to choose its own future one shackled to the brexit destruction imposed by westminster, or one with hope, with opportunity and ambition. An independent scotland, in the European Union. Yet with a majority of 80, borisjohnson need not lose much sleep over getting his way in this place, at least most of the time. He need not worry day to day about keeping his place, his authority. But thats not the same as turning his chance into a success. Making the most of this next few years is something that really counts. The pressures on the Prime Minister to prove to voters who backed him that they were right. Far from packing up, this is a government thats only getting going. Today may not be the limit of its ambitions butjust the start. Laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. Lets speak to our political correspondent, jessica parker. Jessica, this was well trailed because of the general Election Campaign and tory manifesto. Were there any surprises . I dont think so, because a lot of what was in the ma nifesto so, because a lot of what was in the manifesto was in the queens speech and it wasnt long ago that we had another queens speech, where some of the outline of these bills appeared. What is clear is Boris Johnson is again trying to reinforce a message to those voters who backed him at the general election, so putting, for example, into law this commitment for nhs spending. Some of it commitment for nhs spending. Some of it some will dismiss it as a gimmick, because it will be up to the government of the day as to what they want to spend on the nhs, and perhaps the same goes for enshrining in law that the transition period cant be extended beyond the end of december 2020, but i think what borisjohnson is trying to do as pa rt borisjohnson is trying to do as part of this queens speech is to send the message he is going to deliver on brexit and then try and move on to other domestic priorities. The test will be for those voters who backed him, as well as those who didnt, will they feel the benefit of extra money in things like the nhs . With the nhs pledge, enshrining it in law, and doing the same about the transition, i suppose thatis same about the transition, i suppose that is about trying to restore trust in the conservatives and politics in general to stop how big a problem is it for the government, which has this huge majority, that the opposition seems likely to spent a lot of the time consumed by its own problems, not just a lot of the time consumed by its own problems, notjust labour, which will be choosing a new leader, and the lib dems who do not have a leader at all . I think the government would not see that as a problem for them, but you are right, looking at the opposition benches today, while the tory benches were delighted by what they heard, clearly very pleased with their swollen numbers, the opposition members looked like a different picture, the labour mp is very quiet, even asjeremy corbyn stood up quiet, even asjeremy corbyn stood up to give his speech, and you are right, they are about to enter a leadership contest. Tonight, the second candidate to officially declare has emerged, clive lewis, shadow treasury minister, possibly seen a somebody more to the left of the party. He has talked about trying to extend democratisation of the party. He follows the declaration of emily thornberry, shadow foreign secretary, although i am sure we will see a number of other candidates coming forward, and then the lib dems will be looking for a new leader as well. My sense with the lib dems, because they have acting leaders in the shape of ed davey and tsao brinson, i do not think they are in a rush, and i think they are in a rush, and i think they are in a rush, and i think the lib dems are still in a period of mourning after their leader, jo swinson, lost her seat. I do not think they are in a rush, but there will be pressure on those opposition benches to try and hold this government to account, and of course the snp will be making their voice heard pointing to making this election very successful in scotland and making the case for that second independence referendum they so badly want. Last friday, outside number ten, borisjohnson spoke about the one time labour voters whod switched to the tories and today he pledged, once again, to repay their trust. So what do those voters expect from the new government and think of todays announcements . Our special correspondent ed thomas has been to leigh in Greater Manchester a conservative gain at the election. Change. Like when the last lancashire pit had closed in 1970. Or when the Railway Station at lee shut 50 years ago. And then last week, when many here turned from labour, electing the first ever conservative mp, a northern town, changing its mind. Mike has been a jeweller for three years. We also have the money shop thats closed down a bit further down. He has seen the decline of the high street. He says he voted conservative last week for the first time because of a belief in borisjohnson. Just getting people back out on the high street shopping, helping the average person, helping Small Businesses to thrive. In the first half of this year, 98 shops opened and 173 closed across the north east of england. An increase of almost 30 compared to the same period last year. For mike, todays pledge from the government to cut Business Rates is crucial. Without it, could you potentially go out of business . Yes, definitely, definitely. It has been a real worry for us. The nhs dominated the queens speech. A loud government commitment for extra funding. At this gp surgery, this doctor is facing increasing demand. The problem is really acute, there are a lot of winter pressures. Shortage of gps, it means gps on the ground have to do more work. Are you relieved looking at the queens speech today . Im a positive person so im trying to look at the bigger picture. There is immense pressure. In two years, the number of requests for elderly social care to Wigan Council increased from 5300 to 7520. That is around a 40 increase compared to the average increase in england of 4. 5 . Borisjohnsons pitch now is to help towns like leigh, that have gone from red to blue. It will be unbelievable if he can do it. But its whether or not that happens. Im so glad that we actually voted conservative for a change. A change . But theyve been in power the last nine years. Not in leigh they havent. The story of leigh has being told across the country. Many here now expect change and something to show for the vote. We can cross to our westminster studio and speak to the newly elected labour mp fleur anderson. She won the seat of putney at the election, labours only gained. Welcome to bbc news. How has the first day been for you . Its been a disappointing one, even by our standards. As a labour mp, you would expect me to be critical of the queens speech, but i really dont see any ambition. Its a huge trade off to get brexit done and to move forward to make a change in britain, but i dont see what that change will be, so i was disappointed to hear the speech and i dont know what five years will bring, but we are definitely putting the conservative party on notice. But the reality at westminster is you dont have the numbers, even with the other opposition parties, to do much about it unless there we re to do much about it unless there were to be big rebellions on the conservative side. I appreciate you area conservative side. I appreciate you are a new mp, but how do you think the party can most productively use these early months of a new government . It is about exposing what the conservatives are saying as opposed to what they are doing, so i heard all that talk about how ambitious this is and then you look under the surface and see a lack of ambition, so talking about tackling social care but with no plan on how to do that and talking about cross party to do that and talking about cross party consensus. There is a section on crime but nothing about bringing back Youth Services and tackling the causes of crime that we have in our communities, nothing on bringing back police. So there is a lot underneath this that the party can do to expose and to pressure the government to actually take the action, to make the change it is promising to take. Putney had been a labour seat, it was won by tony blairs landslide in 97 and held for the subsequent two elections and then held by justine the subsequent two elections and then held byjustine greening for then held byjustine greening for the conservatives, who retired at this election, and you have won it back for labour. How do you explain the contrast between winning back a seat like putney in london and the apparent, well, very visible loss of seats and apparent loss of confidence in labour in some areas that had once been heartlands . Putneyis that had once been heartlands . Putney is not a heartland labour seat, but you won it. At the big city constituencies, you racked up big majorities, but in other seats you lost seats. It was an unusual campaign, andi you lost seats. It was an unusual campaign, and i cant talk about other areas, but we signed up a huge number of people that hadnt voted before but wanted to have their say, and they can see how marginal the seat was, so their vote really counted. We have a lot of people on Council Estates that hadnt voted for labour before but traditionally would do, so maybe they have come back to labour. Justine greening stepping aside was a big part of that as well. She was a very independent thinking conservative mp, andi independent thinking conservative mp, and i hope to be a very hard working mp, and i hope to be a very ha rd working labour mp, and i hope to be a very hard working labour mp, as she was, but also taking those labour values. As to what happens elsewhere, trust was a major issue for this campaign, and it came up on the doorstop over time, soi and it came up on the doorstop over time, so i am humbled that people have decided to put their trust in me as an mp and, across the country, i think they couldnt put trust in labour. I appreciate your point about being focused on your campaign, andi about being focused on your campaign, and i shouldnt think you spent much time outside putney for the campaign, but clive lewis has announced in the guardian tonight will be running for leadership, and he has written, when trying to persuade voters about radicalism, you often have the legacy of the 20005 you often have the legacy of the 2000s thrown back in our face, persuading voters we understand their frustration, when they are disappointed since the 90s with the way that labour has conducted itself, will be the first step. Was that your experience, that this was about disappointment with labour when it was in government, rather than in opposition . I had more comments on the doorstep about labour when it was in power in the 70s that the 2000s, which were successful in terms of bringing sure start, reducing child poverty, and those things we need to focus on now, but i didnt see it coming out here. So i didnt have many comments about when we were in power, only positive comments about that, but there is some kind of legacy about labour not being trusted with the economy that we really have to fix. So we had a great, costed budget, which we could have delivered many of the things people care about, but i dont think they believed we would do that, so that is a big challenge for the Labour Party Going ahead, and its one we will have to hold the government to account on as well, because they havent really said in this queens speech what they are going to deliver in terms of numbers and how much they will actually put into the nhs, and i think a lot of people across the country dont know whether to trust them or not. They have put their trust in Boris Johnson them or not. They have put their trust in borisjohnson but he is very much on notice. There is a lot of talk about people lending their vote, and many people in putney lent me their vote, and clearly many more have lent borisjohnson their vote, but whether he can deliver is, i would say, very questionable. Briefly, what would you hope would come out of this leadership election for labour . What would you like to see in the process . Like to see us coming back together with a great deal of positivity and hope, and we had that in our campaign in putney. We saw that people could see a Different Society and a way government could answer the problems of housing, social care, schools and the environment. So id like to see us the environment. So id like to see us able to talk about those things other than it being a negative campaign, and setting up together how we will win in the future. We need to choose somebody who we know will appeal to people across the country and lead our party for the opposition time as well, and how we will be effective in opposition, but with a view to winning in future. Congratulations on your win, good luck in thejob, and thank congratulations on your win, good luck in the job, and thank you for being with us. The headlines on bbc news. The queen has opened a new session of Parliament Brexit and the nhs are at the heart of the new governments legislative agenda. Scotlands first minister, Nicola Sturgeon has set out her plans for another independence referendum and has warned borisjohnson not to block the will of the scottish people. The watchdog that oversees complaints in the armed forces has called on the ministry of defence to do more to tackle racism. Sport now, and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. We understand mikel arteta has said his goodbyes at Manchester City where hes been assistant coach under Pep Guardiola for the past three years. Its because hes widely expected to be announced as the arsenal manager tomorrow. Arsenal were scheduled to have their Pre Match Press Conference ahead of saturdays match against everton today, but thats been postponed until tomorrow. When we are expecting arteta to be confirmed as the new boss at the emirates. Well, caretaker manager Duncan Ferguson will be in the everton dugout for the game against arsenal. Ferguson has been in temporary charge for the past three matches, overseeing a win against chelsea at goodison, a draw at Manchester United and a defeat on penalties against leicester in the carabao cup this week. The club continue to be linked with former napoli and chelsea boss carlo ancelotti. Macclesfield town have been deducted six points after pleading guilty to numerous efl charges. These include non payment of salaries and the non fulfilment of a league two match against Crewe Alexandra on december 7th. A further four point sanction has been suspended. The punishment means macclesfield drop from 15th to 22nd in league two. Now to rugby union. And scotland captain, greig laidlaw, has announced his retirement from the International Game after nine years and 76 caps. He led the National Team 39 times, more than anyone else. The 34 year old scrum half made his last appearance for scotland in the Rugby World Cup defeat to japan in october. He ends his International Career second only to Chris Patterson on the all time points list for scotland, with 714. Was for scotland, with 714. An exceptional leader. He ls an was an exceptional leader. He let in an Old Fashioned way, you wont mind me saying that, but that works for scotla nd me saying that, but that works for scotland and the environment he was m, scotland and the environment he was in, buti scotland and the environment he was in, but i wouldnt say that he was deficient in that area. Sometimes if you focus on one area you would say his leadership set him apart from but he was very fit, his Decision Making was impeccable, his application was great, so his leadership will probably be the main thing he is remembered before, but Everything Else is at a high level as well. The leeds rhinos and england scrum half, rob burrow, has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease. The 37 year old won eight grand finals, three world Club Challenges and two challenge cups in 17 years with the super league side. Burrow, who retired back in 2017, is now the head coach for the clubs reserve team. When i went in the room and he told me, you know, i have it, i had a bit ofa me, you know, i have it, i had a bit of a shock. I didnt have any prep for being told i had something with nokia. With no cure. But it happened. Englands world cup winning captain, eoin morgan, has landed an ipl contract worth more than half a million pounds. Hell bejoining the kolkata knight riders. Jason roy, chris woakes and sam curran have all earned six figure contracts. Kolkata also spent £1. 7 million on australian fast bowler pat cummins, making him the most expensive overseas player in ipl history. 0nly yuvraj singh twice and Gautam Gambhir have previously gone for more. Cummins is currently the number one test bowler in the world. The double 0lympic boxing champion, nicola adams says shes now looking to turn her hand to acting. She announced her retirement from the sport last month, after fears that she may lose her sight. It was tough at first just to make the decision, but now i am quite happy. The decision, but now i am quite happy i the decision, but now i am quite happy. I have achieved a lot of great things, becoming a double 0lympic great things, becoming a double olympic champion, becoming a World Champion is a professional boxer as well, and i am happy with that, i am content. Ive come out of boxing at the top of my game so, and i look back, i would the top of my game so, and i look back, iwould be the top of my game so, and i look back, i would be like, you know what, ive done really well, i cant complain. You can see more of that interview later in the hour on bbc news. Ill have more for you in sportsday at half past ten. The watchdog that oversees complaints in the armed forces has called on the ministry of defence to do more to tackle racism. The independent Service Complaints 0mbudsman, Nicola Williams, has warned that racist incidents in the military are happening with increasing and depressing frequency. 0ur defence correspondent, jonathan beale, has been talking to one former soldier. Theres my grandfather, World War Two and his medals. Mark de kretser has strong ties to the military. His father, who came from sri lanka, joined the raf. Mark himself was a soldier and did tours of iraq and afghanistan. But it wasnt combat that caused his post traumatic stress, it was racism. I never asked to be called black, buddha. It got to the point where i wasnt worried about how i performed at work. I was worried about what was going to be said to me next. Its not the image the army wants. Recent recruitment ads have highlighted its diversity and its desire to do more. But heres the problem ethnic minorities make up just 7 of the armed forces. But they account for nearly 40 of complaints about bullying, harassment and discrimination. Now, the ombudsman overseeing the complaint system is calling on the forces to do more to root out racism. I think racism is prevalent in the armed forces, whether or not you describe it as institutionally racist or there are racist incidents which are occurring with increasing and depressing frequency, the issue needs to be tackled. If i tell you something you were doing was wrong, i expect you to buy in, accept that and change. The mod insists it is tackling the issue, including diversity training, like this. The army also has a unit to deal with what it calls unacceptable behaviours. The fact that the army has invested in a team of six and hopefully a team thats going to get bigger, shows that the army takes all of these issues seriously, and its notjust about racism and sexism, its about all unacceptable behaviours. But it didnt stop mark from suffering racist abuse. It has broke me. Iwas. Really quite a strong character. And now. Im a mouse, now. The mod has now paid mark compensation, but hell never forgive the army he once loved. Jonathan beale, bbc news. Joining me in the studio is ahmed al nahhas, who is a partner and head of the military group at bolton burdon kemp. I suppose the fact you have a military group is an indication of how frequent these cases have sadly been. Is the case weve just heard about typical of those cases, in terms of the experience . about typical of those cases, in terms of the experience . I think sadly it is. There is a spectrum of the types of behaviour, and it can go into extremes where there are assaults also, but mark is a typical one. How much of it is a product, you would say, of what used to call canteen culture, in other words, enclosed groups often spending a lot of time with each other, often in High Pressure activities, sometimes being unaware of the impact of their behaviour, not it as it is experienced the victim . behaviour, not it as it is experienced the victim . I think thats definitely a feature, and the problem is the energy the mod might interpret these incidents as banter, but even it recognises that kind of banter is totally unacceptable. In marks case, it was ina unacceptable. In marks case, it was in a High Pressure environment, but you would argue, even in a High Pressure environment, this kind language is completely inappropriate. In terms of how the mod has responded to the cases it has had, presumably quite a large number it has had to settle, often the settlement have been done on a no admission of blame basis. That is often how these things are resolved. Is that the kind of thing that has happened thus far, and are you worried it has an effect on the mods attitude . Worried it has an effect on the mods attitude . That is a very important feature. They will often wa nt to important feature. They will often want to settle cases and they will sometimes seek to gag claimants as well, and i think the claimants leave feeling unsatisfied with that kind of attitude. Perhaps some engagement early on and some apology for the behaviour would encourage them and perhaps save money and time. In terms of the ombudsmans concerns, you have clearly dealt with a lot of cases over the years that she has been in office. What strikes you most about her decision to speak in this way . strikes you most about her decision to speak in this way . I am very encouraged by Nicola William is coming forward and discussing this. The reality, i think, coming forward and discussing this. The reality, ithink, is coming forward and discussing this. The reality, i think, is that, during her tenure, she has made many very effective recommendations. But the real problem is that the ministry of defence, as far as i can see, has been ignoring those recommendations, so i am not surprised that, after a few years in office, she is raising her hand and saying, iam office, she is raising her hand and saying, i am sorry, this is a problem, it has to be dealt with. Saying, i am sorry, this is a problem, it has to be dealt withm isa time problem, it has to be dealt withm is a time when the ministry has been struggling to meet its recruitment targets, persistently failing to do so, ata targets, persistently failing to do so, at a time when there is further talk of reform and change to the armed forces, a time when the threats the armed forces are dealing with are becoming multifarious and varied, state actors, groups like Islamic State and all those other things people have talked about in recent years. How important in that context is it, do you think, if it is possible to set aside the moral question, how important is it, in their own self interest, that they tackle this . Its essential. The way that Service Personnel act with one another, their fabric of their being, is according to certain standards, and Service Personnel ta ke standards, and Service Personnel take that very seriously, and if we dont get that right they will never Work Together and be an effective fighting force. This kind of behaviour so is derision and is very divisive, so i would like to think that a lot of high ranking top brass in the military would agree with me. Thank you very much for coming in. We asked the ministry of defence to respond to the 0mbudsmans comments. They sent us this statement. Now its time for a look at the weather with nick miller. Hello. Its a wet evening and night out for many of us, but one spell of rain pushing through Northern Ireland and scotland and another coming on into england and wales as we get deeper into the night. A little bit of a gap between the two, but yet more heavy rain for the south, where the ground is saturated, and we are already seeing some flooding, so that isnt going to help. No frost for friday morning, but there could be some fog patches in Northern Ireland, which could be slow to clear. The next batch of rain might fringe into easternmost areas of scotland through the day. Elsewhere into scotland, once the shower is clear from the west, it looks dry, and for Northern Ireland as well, a bit of hazy brightness. It might brighten up hazy brightness. It might brighten up in wales and south west england, but still looking quite soggy parts of the midlands and Northern England in the afternoon. Not as windy as the past few days, but temperatures down, and across the board we were in double figures today, whereas those temperatures confide to southern areas. Hello, this is bbc news. The headlines. More than thirty bills have been announced, with seven covering the uks depature from the eu. A cash injection for the nhs is to be made law there were also promises of safer streets with the recuitment of more Police Officers and tougher action on the most dangerous criminals. Scotlands first minister, Nicola Sturgeon has set out her plans for another independence referendum and has warned borisjohnson not to block the will of the scottish people. New figures reveal the worst ever performance at accident and emergency units in welsh hospitals. Less than 75 of patients were seen within four hours in november. The watchdog that oversees complaints in the armed forces has called on the ministry of defence to do more to tackle racism. Lets return to politics now. In a pared back ceremony, the queens speech has put brexit and the nhs at the heart of the new governments legislative agenda. Though few doubt the Prime Ministers ambition in this queens speech. But what about the detail . Jeremy corbyn called it a programme of false promises. Weve asked our seniorjournalists to give us their view starting with our Health Editor hugh pym. After all the election pledges on the nhs, the conservative government has now set out its immediate priorities. One of them as legislation to underpin a promise to spend nearly £34 billion a year more in cash terms on the nhs in england by 2023. The message to voters seems to be, if youre doubtful, well heres a law to ensure we do it. Whats more, the average annual real terms increase is 3. 4 above recent years, but still a little way short of the historic long run nhs average. Then theres social care, so important for the Health Service. Theres nothing beyond the plan to have cross party talks on long term funding solutions. Detailed policies seem some way off. The public are worried about Violent Crime and terrorism. The governments response is more police, more stop and search, longer sentences and more prison places. They want to sound uncompromising and tough, but dig a bit deeper into the policies announced today and it seems that ministers also want to keep their options open. Announcing a Royal Commission into the whole criminaljustice system for england and wales suggests they accept the system simply isnt working properly atthe moment, reflected perhaps in a series of recent scandals. A review like this will take time. Ministers will be hoping it defuses crime as an issue and provides political protection when things inevitably go wrong. Can the government afford this . Well, its new plans are relatively modest perhaps a sign of how bare the chancellors cupboard is getting. On top of the plans for public services, there is an extra £85 per year for workers in the form of National Insurance changes, and there are some concessions to the high street too in the form of Business Rates, but only for a year and only to the tune of £320 million, just 1 of the annual bill all companies face. All of these plans together cost about £7 billion. And the companies are going to face most of this bill in the form of a council cut to Corporation Tax but the government might find itself struggling to balance the books in three years on day to day spending as it hopes, given the scale of its pledges. Nhs accident and emergency units in wales have recorded their worst ever performance. Less than 75 percent of patients were seen within four hours in november . Well short of the 95 per cent target. Its significantly worse than those for hospitals in england and scotland but better than Northern Ireland. Scotlands first minister says the case for a new independence referendum is now unarguable. Nicola sturgeon has published a document calling on the westminster government to transfer the powers to make it possible. It comes after the snp won 48 of the 59 seats in scotland at the general election. Borisjohnson has repeatedly made clear his opposition to such a move. 0ur scotland editor sarah smith reports. Bagpipes play. When should scottish voters get another say on whether they want to live in an independent country . That choice should be up to scotland, says Nicola Sturgeon. Good morning. Buoyed by her victory in last weeks election. I accept that the case for independence is yet to be won, but the election last week put beyond any reasonable argument our mandate to offer people in scotland that choice. If the Prime Minister refuses to transfer the powers you want, you could be stuck in a constitutional stand off for five years before you could have a referendum. Well, lets say that. Thats not my intention because i also know that the more a tory government seeks to block the will of the scottish people, the more they show complete and utter contempt for scottish democracy, the more support for independence will rise. This paper makes the case for the power to hold another vote to be transferred to scotland and a copy has today been sent to Boris Johnson. Nicola sturgeon knows the Prime Minister doesnt even need to read this document before hell issue a flat no to the idea of another independence referendum. But what shes hoping is the longer westminster refuse to allow that vote, the more she thinks that will increase support for scottish independence. Borisjohnson is clearly prepared to take that risk. Mr speaker, i think it was Nicola Sturgeon herself who said that the referendum in 2014 was a once in a generation event. And i dont know about you, mr speaker, but i feel that the Scottish Nationalist Party should concentrate more on delivering on the domestic priorities of the people of scotland and rather less on breaking up our united kingdom. Even the dogs in the street know there will be another referendum claimed scotlands first minister, but theres no reason to believe westminster will agree to one any time soon. We could be stuck in this never end um for years to come. Donald trump has become only the third us president to be impeached. Last night, the house of representatives voted to send him for trial in the senate next month. Impeachment means the president has been charged with high crimes and misdemeanors. The democrats who control the house of representatives forced that move. Senate, 67 of votes required. Its the senate that will actually try the president , but since its controlled by the republicans hes likely to stay in office. With the latest from washington heres our north america editorjon sopel on an historic night, donald trump chose to be nowhere near washington. He is 600 miles north in battle creek, and never more ready to do battle. As hes taking to the podium, in a perfect split screen moment, the votes are being counted in the house of representatives that will impeach him. Article one is adopted. But look at that death stare the democratic speaker gives her own members as they started to cheer. Solemnity, not crowing was the order of the day. Back in michigan, donald trump was given a note about the vote and was ready to unload on the democrats. This partisan impeachment is a political suicide march for the democrat party. Have you seen my polls in the last four weeks . Cheering. After last nights vote, the fate of the now impeached president will be decided in the senate at a trial that almost certainly wont convict donald trump. But when it begins, how many witnesses are called, who and how long the trial lasts is still hotly contested. And there was a taste of the battles that lie ahead in the Senate Earlier today. Over the last 12 weeks, House Democrats have conducted the most rushed, least thorough and most unfair impeachment enquiry in modern history. Leader mcconnells 30 minute partisan stemwinder contained hardly a single defence of the president of the United States on the merits. Almost none defended President Trump because they cant. The impeachment articles have to be handed to the senate, but the democratic speaker is refusing to do so until she receives assurances about how the trial will be conducted. The partisan gridlock continues. In the last hour, donald trump has been giving his reaction at the oval 0ffice. I dont feel like im being impeached because it is a hoax, a set up, a horrible thing they did, they had a small majority and they took that majority in the forest people they said, i watched her out there saying, oh, no. They dont wa nt to there saying, oh, no. They dont want to talk to anybody, they put the arm on everybody and try to get many people to do it they wanted to do. They didnt want to vote that way, but does not feel to me like impeachment. Last night, i said way, but does not feel to me like impeachment. Last night, isaid it. We had a great time, the room was packed, thousands of people couldnt get in. A section that is the 50 50 section in terms of democrat and republican. We had everybody was voting for trump, everyone was. Michigan is an important state in the put back tremendous months of business is up there, they were thinking about it, i actually said it. It does not feel like impeachment. It is a phoney deal in the cheap and the word impeachment. Its an ugly word, but the cheap impeachment. That should never again happen to another president and i think youll see some very interesting things happening over the coming few days and weeks. But all i look at, you have the greatest economy in the history of our country, we have never done so well. 0ur military being rebuilt, you look at the tax cuts, the regulation cuts, the regulation levels that no one is seen. We are protecting our second amendment, we are doing things that no one is ever done before, no one is ever seen. We have the strongest economy in the history of our country. In our country is doing well. The other thing that i really saw from yesterday is that i think you people have been covering politics for a long time. You have never seen a republican party, zero negative votes, zero. That has not happened almost ever. Because the republicans are not necessarily known for that. We have better policy, they want open borders, the democrats, they want sanctuary cities, a lot of bad things, a lot of things have. We are doing tremendously on health care, the individual mandate, we wanted the supreme court. We won yesterday. The individual mandate is now gone. That is tremendous savings. We take ca re of that is tremendous savings. We take care of pre existing conditions, they are not going to be up to do that. We are doing things that no one is ever done before in our country has ever done better, so we are country has ever done better, so we a re really country has ever done better, so we are really happy about that were really ha p py are really happy about that were really happy to have jeff are really happy about that were really happy to havejeff on board and in 2020, based on the polls i just saw, it pulled him out in usa today where am beating every candidate by a lot. Not that usa todayis candidate by a lot. Not that usa today is a friend of mine, because they are not. And it was me against they are not. And it was me against the top candidates on the other side andi the top candidates on the other side and i am beating everybody by a lot and i am beating everybody by a lot andi and i am beating everybody by a lot and i think that is where we are going. We have the best economy in history and if you remember the famous quote, its all about the economy. I didnt believe it is all about the economy, but the economy is big thing. You have a 401 k where people are up 90 and even more percent, they like mike and we are going to have a good time. Thank you all very much. Thank you very much. A man who murdered his baby son and tried to kill his partner has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years. Denis beytula, whos 27, stabbed his three week old son andrei and the baby s mother Andreea Stefan at their flat in wallsend on tyneside. In court beytula was described as a control freak. Fiona trott reports. No tears, no hysteria. Not what youd expect from a man whod just murdered his baby. Hed stabbed his partner too. Why have you got blood on you . I killed her. Right, put your arms up for me. Amazingly, his partner andreea survived the attack. She was stabbed six times. Today she made this statement while denis made me a victim, i made myself a survivor. But Denis Beytula made her a victim throughout their relationship, a victim of coercive control. A very different life to the one portrayed on social media. He manipulated who she would interact with. He restricted her use of the telephone, social media. He even tried to influence how, where and who she worked with. And when andrei came along and all of the care and attention that he needed as a brand new baby boy, he saw that as a threat. When passing sentence, judge paul sloan qc told Denis Beytula, you murdered andrei in the presence of his mother in a home which should have provided a place of sanctuary. It was an abuse of power and an abuse of trust. That power was taken away today when he was handed a life sentence. His former partner says no sentence is enough. A six year old boy who was left fighting for his life after being thrown from a viewing platform at the tate modern art gallery in london has started to speak again. The french boy, is also regaining some sensation in his arms and legs. In an online post, his family said his speech was still very stilted but called it wonderful progress. He was attacked in august by 18 year old jonty bravery who has admitted attempted murder and is awaiting sentencing. A woman who lost herjob after tweeting that men cannot change their biological sex has lost an employment tribunal. Maya forstater was sacked after a series of tweets questioning government plans to allow people to self identify their gender. But a judge said her belief that there are only two biological sexes was not worthy of respect in a democratic society. devon and Cornwall Police have declared a Major Incident after severe flooding in the area. Water has made its way into around 50 properties in hayle in cornwall. There are flood warnings in place across other parts of england mainly in the south and south west. The record breaking heatwave in australia shows no sign of letting up. The average temperature nationally has reached 41. 9 degrees celsius thats 107. 4 fahrenheit. A week long state of emergency has been declared in New South Wales, where more than a hundred bushfires continue to burn out of control. Two firefighters have been seriously hurt after their fire engine was reportedly engulfed by flames. Phil mercer reports from the Blue Mountains north of sydney. Choking smoke, intense heat and raging bush fires. Its been another brutal day in australia. The battle to protect life and property seems never ending, but despite a mammoth firefighting effort more houses have been lost. A seven day state of emergency in New South Wales is giving fire authorities additional powers to cope with dozens of blazes, many of which are burning out of control. The biggest concern for us over the next few days is the unpredictability, with extreme wind conditions, extreme hot temperatures. We have a good idea, a good sense of where the most concerning areas are, but again, when youve got those turbulent wind conditions, embers and spot fires can occur very unpredictably. Military helicopters have joined a huge emergency effort thats being stretched to the limit. 0n the front line, crews, many of them volunteers, have confronted the sheer ferocity of the flames. Three firefighters were injured, two of them seriously, when theirfire engine was engulfed by flames. The bushfires are again spreading a toxic haze across sydney and other parts of New South Wales. A heatwave has made a dangerous situation even worse. The heat and the smoke are almost unbearable. The streets here in sydneys outer western suburbs are almost deserted. Air quality is at a hazardous level. It is so bad my eyes are stinging, my throat is dry, and my lungs feel sore from all of the smoke blown in from the bushfires. As the fires continue to rage, so does the debate about whether the conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison is taking the threat of Climate Change seriously. Dont get me started on the government thats just yeah, he should be doing so much more. The bushfires i think are just a normal part of australia, a little bit worse this year, but ten years ago was the same, and im not so sure that Climate Change is responsible for what were experiencing here. We are currently experiencing very hazardous air quality. The record for australias hottest day has been broken for a second time this week. Maximum temperatures across the country reached an average of 41. 9 degrees. 0fficials fear that conditions on saturday could be even worse. The long anticipated big screen version of andrew lloyd webers hit stage musical cats is finally here. The star studded film seesjennifer hudson, Damejudi Dench and idris elba taking on some of the leading roles. But the reviews havent exactly been overwhelming, our arts editor Will Gompertz has been to see it. This is the trailer for the big screen, big budget adaptation of cats. It caused a social media storm when it was posted the summer. Whats your name . Cat got your tongue . People were freaked out by the uncanny furry faces of the all star cast, sporting body hugging onesies, revealing distinctly human curves. Interview requests from the media, that would normally be lapped up, were declined. Tom hooper, its oscar winning director who was behind the kings speech, made some changes, working right up to its release this week. And a blizzard of bad reviews. The guardian called it a perfectly dreadful adaptation in its one star review. The Daily Telegraph gave no stars at all to what it called a moggy mess, while your correspondent found it soulless. The daily mail, though, was far more positive, saying eight out of ten cinemagoers will love these cats. Much of the action takes place in a disused west end theatre in a highly stylised version of london, which sits somewhere between dickensian squalor and soho glamour, quite unlike, in fact, the actual modern theatre where cats the musical made its home back in 1981, just down the road in drury lane. Spotlight and a drum roll, please. Lord Lloyd Webbers original musical, based on ts eliots poems was a critical and commercial hit. This movie version is clearly not the former, but it could yet claw itself back to Box Office Success or end up in the litter tray of expensive cinematic flops. Well the reviews are in and critics are catatonic with criticism cats is categorically a catastrophe from the cgi, to the casting, lloyd webers much loved musical is a film thats less a memory and more a migraine. The Daily Telegraph gave it no stars saying its a sinister disaster from which no one emerges unscathed. But will audiences avoid cats like sour milk, or will they venture undeterred to the cinema to catch cats catchy tunes . Here to discuss is film critic caspar salmon. Cats like fish, does mr simon to make salmon like cats . It is a film that her mother gob smacked by in its awfulness, that makes any sense. The director has had huge successes and said he wanted to tackle cats because he didnt want that to be the only musical that he didnt he had wonderful memories of it as a child. Has he been let down by the effects or is the whole vision wrong interview . I think we need a whole postmortem on what went wrong because there is a whole catalogue of ills here that need to be addressed. And partly effects, the cgi addressed. And partly effects, the c6 is addressed. And partly effects, the cgi is really disastrous and kind of shoddy looking, the hair on these animals is a really woeful. For the lot goes wrong, the performances, the choreography, and partly i think thatis the choreography, and partly i think that is due to the original material which does not translate to the film. That is really interesting because in a sense, you thought it would be the other way around, you think youll be hard to portray in theatre the live theatre environment, the fantastical and it would be easier and cinema with all of the advances in Computer Generated imagery and yet you are telling me no, actually, theres more magic by the theatre theres more magic by the theatre there is the film. That is an interesting point because we have had loads of adaptations of successful films, i am had loads of adaptations of successfulfilms, iam not had loads of adaptations of successful films, i am not sure had loads of adaptations of successfulfilms, i am not sure if warhorse was meditation of the film, but we have those kinds of stories they translated really well and people are able to suspend their disbelief. And people are able to get into that universe and on film, and ability to remove yourself from that scenario is done because youre looking at close ups of these things and you can see their paws in the makeup and how bad it looks. You cannot escape the fact that what this is, which is a huge. A comparison, we should probably give someone, this is what one of the cats looks like in cats this is what a cat looks like. If you do not have a cat looks like. If you do not have a daily encounter with the feline, the real cat is the one on the right, the actress is the one on the left. That is notjennifer hudson stipulate is francesca, a ballerina. There is a bit of me that, theres a couple of films that have been panned by the critics. In the audiences love them. For sure, but this makes the greatest show meant look like citizen kane. If, a couple of drinks will be good if you want to see it. You might have a good time because, i actually dont think audiences have had the possibility in recent times of seeing something thatis in recent times of seeing something that is quite so disastrous that has not been punched within an inch of its life and focus groups in this film, which is riotously wrong in every way is kind of, and anomaly in todays landscape, so it is really worth seeing if you can get over the fa ct worth seeing if you can get over the fact that you are paying for it. And the studios might not allow such latitude again. Should the director anyone else defend the film. Ill be very happy to talk to them. Make up your own mind very happy to talk to them. Make up yourown mind and very happy to talk to them. Make up your own mind and lets take a look at the weather now. Hello. Its a wet evening and night out for many of us, but one spell of rain pushing through Northern Ireland and scotland and another coming on into england and wales as we get deeper into the night. A little bit of a gap between the two, but yet more heavy rain for the south, where the ground is saturated, and we are already seeing some flooding, so that isnt going to help. No frost for friday morning, but there could be some fog patches in Northern Ireland, which could be slow to clear. The next batch of rain might fringe into easternmost areas of scotland through the day. Elsewhere into scotland, once the shower is clear from the west, it looks dry, and for Northern Ireland as well, a bit of hazy brightness. It might brighten up in wales and south west england, but still looking quite soggy parts of the midlands and Northern England in the afternoon. Not as windy as the past few days, but temperatures down, and across the board we were in double figures today, whereas those temperatures confide to southern areas. Hello, im ros atkins, this is 0utside source. The day after the vote and mr trump has a new status he is now an impeached president. Republicans and democrats are now arguing over how the trial will proceed, with the democrats withholding the articles of impeachment until they get their way. 0ur founders, when they wrote the constitution, they suspected that there could be a rogue president. I dont think they suspected we could have a rogue president and a rogue leader in the senate at the same time. Another record heatwave in australia as hundreds of fires burn out of control. Well look at whats causing them and why Climate Change scepticism is still so prevalent in australia. The winner and loserfrom the uk election have a frosty