Transcripts For BBCNEWS Outside Source 20170615

Hes suggested russia could offer asylum to former fbi directorjames comey, who donald trump sacked. Welcome to outside source. The scale of the tragedy at Grenfell Tower is becoming much clearer. 17 people are now confirmed dead, but the Police Believe the final figure will be higher. The first victim has been named by Friends And Family as mohammed alhajali, a syrian refugee who came to the country in 2014. Theresa may has ordered a full Public Inquiry into the incident. Heres our home editor mark eastons report. Slowly, inch by painstaking inch, Fire Officers continue their grim and dangerous work. Amid the soot blackened shell of what was once home to hundreds are some who did not make it out. Exactly how many, we do not know, but the Emergency Services are warning the scale of this tragedy is yet to become clear. The agony of a wounded neighbourhood is written on a wall, the desperation of people searching for family and friends. Prayers and solace from near and far. For the past two days, jason garcia has been searching for his 12 year old cousinjessica urbano. We feel helpless really. We are hoping that, by putting up posters, sharing her image on social media, and talking to people like yourself, that maybe someone with information will get in touch. Syrian refugee mohammed alhajali, an engineering student seeking a better life in britain, was named by his family today as having died in the fire. People crave answers, but complain of delays and evasion. The love and generosity that has poured into North Kensington in the last couple of days cannot make up for the numbing sense of loss. The Prime Minister made a private visit to the scene today, speaking to Emergency Workers before announcing there will be a full Public Inquiry into what went wrong. Shock and grief are being joined by outrage and anger. The questions are raining down, rather like the charred lumps of cladding, which locals are holding up as possible evidence that people were housed in a preventable death trap. This Tower Block Fire looks just like North Kensington. They came in and said, get out, get out, evacuate now. But it was three years ago in melbourne, australia. And the similarities do not stop there. Those of us who have been around for 30 years or more have never seen a fire develop in this way. In my 29 years in the london fire brigade, i have never seen a fire of this nature, and i have seen many high rise fires. We never expected to see a high rise fire that would spread so quickly from the eighth floor to the 21st floor. In london, the fire raged from the ground to the 24th floor in less than half an hour. Attention in australia focused on the buildings aluminium cladding, an enquiry blaming cheaper plastic fibre backed cladding rather than mineral fibre backed. The same distinction is being made about Grenfell Tower, although the authorities insist Building Regulations were followed. The concerns are notjust about what went wrong in North Kensington, they are also about what could go wrong in thousands of tower blocks across britain. Duncan is live in west london. It has been confirmed, that the young syrian man, who came to the united kingdom, has lost his life. Yes. His name was more hammered. Injust a few moments, we will be hearing from his brother omar. This is the scene of mass condolence. You can barely see the walls, for writing. People have said things like you are in our prayers, rip, never give up. Many photographs of the people missing. This is the place, people bringing gifts, nappies. A man i saw had brand new shoes. People have been coming here, just to stand and stare, take photos, write. And others have been trying to find missing loved ones. This story about muhammad is extraordinary. He and his brother smelled the smoke. They realised how extraordinary this was. Omar said we have got to get out of here. The thought that muhammad was behind him. We can listen to the extraordinary story. I could not talk, look around, i could not say anything. Even my fingers. Nothing. I went outside. They were pushing me. I thought i was going to die on the stairs. I did not have anything to breathe. I was breathing smoke, lots of smoke, from the 14th floor. Iran by the stairs. Pushing me on stairs. Me and children. An african family as well. I was looking behind me, and i could not see my brother. I said, my brother, brother, where was he . They were ignoring, downstairs. I went outside, i called him, he said i am in the flat. I said why did you not come . They brought us outside. He said nobody brought me outside. He said why have you left me . He said why . I said i didnt leave. I thought that they had taken him outside. With me. They didnt. They left him, they were scared. Didnt help us. Just took half of us. I told the fire fighter, please. Go upstairs. I told him he would be safe. More than half an hour. But then, they said, my brother. They didnt help me. They could go by the stairs. It was fine. They didnt. I told them, 100 times, please, if you do not, i will go. They pushed me away. Away from the tower. And would not let me come back. I was speaking to my brother, he said i am dying. He said i cannot breathe. The was the brother of muhammad, who died in the fire. And they have got another brother, spending several minutes on the telephone, trying to get him to leave the building, and after several minutes, the phone went dead. Harrowing story. It has brought many people out this evening. Why have you joined the people this evening . Just seeing the tower from the a40. I thought i have got to come and take a look. What are you thinking . I am a little bit confused. They said that the strategy was lies asian. From compartilisation. But from my days in the military, who was responsible . It has clearly not worked. Fire brigade . The council . What if we had had a fire in the highest floor . What was the strategy . It had to be contained . We know that the fire brigade did not have the assets, who paid for that . Your thoughts tonight . Devastated. Angry. This could have been prevented. Thank you. Just one of the people who have come down this evening, the overwhelming emotion is of contemplation, silence, just looking at these words, the wall of condolence as people have been calling this. The aftermath of this tragic fire. Thank you, and thank you to you guests. Inevitably, the political dimension as those affected look for answers and somebody to hold responsible. Theresa may and the leader of the opposition, the leader of the labour party, jeremy corbyn, visited the scene. In parliament, nick hurd was questioned, and we can continue with this report. In an emergency, who is in charge . The Prime Minister Met Firefighters who have given everything at grenfell, but none of the families that have lost everything they had. She met volunteers on the ground, but returning to number 10, the focus today, getting help to those that need it. The government stands ready to provide every assistance necessary to the Emergency Services and to the local authority. I know weve all heard absolutely heartbreaking, as i did this morning, heartbreaking stories of the people that were caught up in this terrible, terrible tragedy. The labour leader was on hand in a local church, hearing fears. Somebody has to be held accountable, somebody has to be held responsible. We do not want this kicked into the long grass. We do not want the government to hide this with some hollow platitudes that lessons will be learned. And anger. Give them hell. Give them absolute hell. They knew. They knew that grenfell was unsafe. They knew that. We cannot allow people to live in a dangerous state, and that is a worry, but the resources have to be found and we will demand and make sure those resources are found. With worries for people who live in similar blocks and so much still unknown, mps demanded a meeting with ministers. When we talk about this as a tragedy, were talking about it as if its an act of god. The truth is, it wasnt some natural disaster. This is a man made disaster. We look to you both, as ministers, to leave no Stone Unturned in getting justice and getting to the bottom of this. Its really important that there is utter clarity today about whether people should stay in their flats in the event of another horrific fire, which could happen this afternoon, as we speak here, or whether they should leave. The government did promise all the survivors would get new homes near the tower. We have to act and think as if it was our friends, our family in that block. We have to have that emotional connection with what is going on, because there is no room for cool, detached, plodding bureaucracy. Yet only those that lost their beds, their homes and their loved ones can ever truly know. Laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. Bear in mind that we still dont know how mrs may intends to govern she still doesnt have a majority. And we do not have details of that deal with the dup. But we did find out two things today. One is that the brexit negotiations will begin next monday, as planned. The second is that the queens speech when the government sets out its legislative agenda for the year will take place next wednesday. That had been delayed because negotiations between the conservatives and Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party were still ongoing. Some thought the announcement of the date meant a deal had been reached. But this is what the Deputy Leader of the dup said when he was asked if that was the case. It does not mean anything of the sort. We are not saying that, they are not. It is proper that the date for the queens speech should be set. Tom. Earlier in the week, i was at Downing Street and we had the impression that the deal was close. What has been the hold up . Exactly why we have got this hold up is not clear. These discussions are taking place in private, many things that simply we will not lay on the specific aspects of until it has been done. But this is a very volatile time in westminster, not only have we had an election that delivered the result that very few people expected, the minority and the government needing to shore up. But we have also got what has been described as a national disaster, the tragedy that we have been hearing about. The government is also having to deal with this. It has the political dimensional. The Prime Minister orders the public enquiry, layers of accountability have got to go through, legislation from governments past and previous, could have done more to prevent this kind of thing from happening. Very volatile times for westminster. Not only has the queens speech had to be delayed, but also questions about brexit discussions starting on time. We understand they will. But some delay to the state opening of parliament. We do not know if this deal is going to go with it. Many questions for the government to answer, when theresa may is being judged in many ways after that election result on the way that she is responding to this National Tragedy at the moment. Over the coming days we are going to get more ofa coming days we are going to get more of a sense a that deal but many more questions to answer. Thank you. Were going to be talking to anthony, live from washington after President Trump responded to crimes he is being investigated for possible obstruction ofjustice. Death toll expected to rise, and anger has been mounting over the scale of the disaster. The Deputy Leader of Kensington And Chelsea borough was asked about the recent renovations to the tower. Were going to have to have a public enquiry to look into this. This council has been asked by the investigating authorities not to speculate, talk about the specifics about fire safety issues because it is part of a live, extremely thorough investigation. That is going to have to be reviewed by that investigation. My understanding, various and Housing Associations working on renovating 60 70 tower blocks have used retrofitted sprinkler systems. This has got to be looked at in greater detail. This is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. Our lead story is. Theresa may says there will be a full Public Inquiry into the fire at the Grenfell Tower block in london. 17 people are confirmed dead, but officials warn that the final toll could be much higher and take weeks to determine. Another major story from washington post. This time with claims President Trump is being investigated for possible obstruction of justice. The president has not taken long, responding to those crimes . the president has not taken long, responding to those crimes . I have just been sitting here, watching Donald Trumps twitter tirade. Not only lashing out at the people perpetrating this witchhunt as he has called it, but also the underlying investigation into russian meddling. He said they have been building this case on top of nothing. But then the last half an hour he has been going after Hillary Clinton. Asking why she was not investigated for russian ties . Obstruction of justice . Considering that he is the president and Hillary Clinton is now a private citizen, it seems to be misdirection. But he has been actively responding to this ongoing investigation, probably against the counsel of lawyers. Band as he is doing it, we have got this bipartisan baseball game, the day after the congressmen was shot . The mood on capitol hill has been very sombre. Trying to put this partisanship, the negative rhetoric behind us. The member of congress was shot, still in critical condition, and several Law Enforcement officers shot. The baseball game, it is a throwback to the old washington, socialising after hours, i have a feeling it is going to be a few good moment for everybody to try to get past the tragedy of yesterday. Donald trump is not talking about that, but talking about crooked Hillary Clinton. Thank you for that update. Those of you watching in europe are going to like this story Roaming Charges for using your mobile abroad are outlawed by the European Union as of today. You can you now use your allowance of calls and data in any eu member state without any extra charge. Heresjoe miller. Beneath my feet, the border between germany and poland. It is impossible to say exactly where. Because this is what modern european borders look like. But until recently, your Mobile Phone Operator could randomly switch between german and polish providers, costing you a lot of money. Thanks to brussels that is no longer going to be the case. Locals could not be more delighted. Longer going to be the case. Locals could not be more delightedlj longer going to be the case. Locals could not be more delighted. I go to germany every day and this is amazing. Ican germany every day and this is amazing. I can go with my friends to another country and i can ring my mum ifi another country and i can ring my mum if i want. Get is notjust those who lives in europe the borders who are celebrating. Despite uncertainty about how much data travels well received, the European Union is not missing the chance to hail success. That arisen industry is similarly jubilant. Particularly those catering to solo travellers. jubilant. Particularly those catering to solo travellers. I can just look up where i am, get in touch with anybody on facebook. When iam touch with anybody on facebook. When i am travelling alone that is pretty important. It could encourage other people to travel alone. That is pretty cool. Many people have already signed up to the Mobile Phone Providers that do not charge extra every single time they cross that bridge behind me. But some concern that fees overall could rise as companies try to compensate for the revenue they have lost from the abolition of roaming. But it has so successfully confined physical borders here, the abolition of the digital one is also more than welcome. The us justice department, the usjustice department, hoping to seize assets, all about the corruption scandal. Michelle, going to have to pull together to reach that . If you go through this list, they may not find it that difficult. Some of their assets seized, include a yacht, two and a half million shares, rights to dumber and dumber two, thejim shares, rights to dumber and dumber two, the jim carey shares, rights to dumber and dumber two, thejim carey film, jewellery, and famous artwork. Paintings by picasso, to be seized. Also, photos. Some significant assets, and all of this apparently proceeds, dialogue with ill gotten gains from malaysia. Established, at least in the United States, that this fund behaved inappropriately . To give you some background, the fund was set up in malaysia, trying to benefit the malaysian people. This suit alleges that some individuals were able to get money out of that fund, using it not for Investment Purposes but to benefit themselves with none other than the proceeds going back to the fund. The Acting Assistant Attorney General said that basically this money financed lavish lifestyles, and this was done at the expense and detriment of the malaysian people, and also talk about the fact that the United States wants to crack down on people using america as a safe haven. A quote. The department ofjustice officials said that our commitment is to ensure that our commitment is to ensure that the United States is not a safe haven, for those to hide ill gotten money. This goes back to 2009. It has taken this long. It is not the first thing that the department of justice has gone after them. They said that 4. 5 billion misused. Thank you. We are up at the end of the first half of outside source. Eye will be back with you, for the latest on that fire in west london and other stories. Good evening. Some subtle changes, through the course of today. That was courtesy of the cold front. Not my dream. I heard of that, hot and humid. 26 degrees, kent. 12, in northern ireland, and in particular Central Scotland even getting some rumbles of thunder. Over the next few hours, those should ease, but we keep the drizzle in the northwest. Clear skies south. Comfortable for sleeping. 12 14. Not as humid. The best of the sunshine, central and southern areas. Fair weather cloud, north. And all of the time, that South Westerly Breeze driving low cloud. Misty at the coast. Eastern areas get some brightness, and with some sunshine at northern ireland, 20 degrees pleasant enough. Scattering across the least i could lake district, but it should remain pleasant enough, highs of 21. 22,23, remain pleasant enough, highs of 21. 22, 23, not as hot and remain pleasant enough, highs of 21. 22,23, notas hotand humid remain pleasant enough, highs of 21. 22,23, not as hotand humid but remain pleasant enough, highs of 21. 22,23, not as hot and humid but for most of england and wales, dry and sunday. On saturday night, we keep low cloud, that drizzle and temperatures likely to settle to the mid teens. We start of the saturday morning on a promising note, and for many of us a good deal of dry weather. High pressure still in the driving seat. Across the top, that High Pressure allows the frontal systems to push. Here, breezy side. Showery outbreaks. South. Temperatures responding. On sunday, the potential across england and wales, the south east, high of 30. If that is going to be too hot, you wa nt to if that is going to be too hot, you want to go to the coast, paddle with the kids these are the sea temperatures. Take care. The death toll in the london Tower Block Fire is now 17. That figure is certain to rise. Police are saying they hoped the number of victims will not reach 100 but have warned some people may never be identified. Theresa may visited the scene today. She said. We need to make sure that this terrible tragedy is properly investigated. Thats why i am ordering a full public enquiry. With large areas of the tower block still an accessible it only adds to the pain of the family of loved ones missing. The last words she said, please forgive me if ive ever said anything to upset you or hurt you, i dont think we are going to make it out of the