Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20171203

Welcome to bbc news. Theresa may is coming under increasing pressure, to adopt a tougher line during brexit negotiations, as she prepares to travel to brussels tomorrow for talks with the president of the european commission. An Influential Group of brexit supporters has written an open letter urging the Prime Minister to refuse to settle the uks so called divorce bill unless brussels agrees to a series of new demands. Heres our political correspondent, alex forsyth. They have met plenty of times before, always appearing friendly, but there is a lot riding on their get together tomorrow. Whether eu leaders can be persuaded to move brexit talks on later this month. While back home, some of her mps have upped the pressure. A handful of brexit backing tories have written to the Prime Minister, laying down conditions they want met, including a promise that the European Court of justice will cease to have any jurisdiction over the uk. For some, this goes to the heart of the brexit debate. The European Court ofjustice is there to rule on all matters to do with the European Union. We will have left the European Union and therefore the simple point is that we should not therefore have to look to the European Court ofjustice or to have judgments made by them, bound directly back here into the uk. When it comes to the European Court ofjustice theresa may has signalled it will have a role during any transition period, but not after. Though some ardent brexiteers fear there could be compromise as the eu wants it to keep overseeing citizens rights. Today the government insisted european law would not hold sway over british law and had a warning for backbenchers. The Supreme Court will decide what the law of the country is in this country, as voted on by parliament. That is the big thing that theresa may has achieved. There is a bigger point here. The choice we face now is not between this brexit or that brexit. If we dont back theresa may we will have no brexit. But there are competing views over several aspects of the talks. The island of ireland will be whether uk meets the eu. All agree there should be no hard border. But today the Irish Government still was not convinced as to how that could be achieved. The Irish Government is not being unreasonable for the asking questions that need more credible answers before we can allow the process to move on to phase two. Tonight there is no agreement in key areas on the issues the eu said it wanted progress before moving on to talk trade. Tomorrows meeting is a crucial step in deciding whether enough has been done. The outcome is vital, but farfrom certain. Alex forsyth, bbc news, westminster. And well find out how this story is covered in tomorrows front pages, at 10 30 and 11 30pm this evening in the papers our guests joining me tonight are the author and broadcaster, Natalie Haynes and rob merrick, deputy Political Editor of the independent. The government has been defending its record on promoting greater social equality, after all four members of the social Mobility Commission resigned. Led by the former labour cabinet minister alan milburn, they say the government isnt doing enough to improve the life chances of people in england from poorer backgrounds. Downing street says mr milburn had already been told he was going to be replaced as head of the commission. Jonathan blake has the details. Your chances of getting a job, finding a good school for your children and being able to afford somewhere decent to live. Issues at the heart of social mobility. And from day one in power, tackling inequality was a personal priority for theresa may. The mission to make britain a country that works for everyone means more than fighting these injustices. If youre from an ordinary, working class family, life is much harder than many people in westminster realise. But, for the former labour cabinet minister, alan milburn, who was until now in charge of monitoring the governments progress on social mobility, not enough is being done. What is lacking here is meaningful Political Action to translate very good words into deeds. In the end, what counts in politics is not what you talk about, its what you do. And im afraid the divisions in britain are becoming wider. Theyre becoming wider economically, socially and geographically. Downing street says it had already told mr milburn it planned to appoint a new chair as his term in office had ended. So, is the former labour ministers very public resignation sour grapes, or political point scoring 7 well, alan milburn and i both care deeply about social mobility and equality of opportunity. He said that. And he said you wanted to keep him on, is that true . Im not going to get into the discussions we have inside the government. So its true . Hes done a fantasticjob. But his term had come to an end and i think it was about getting some fresh blood into the commission. The education secretary went on to defend the governments record. Were seeing standards in our schools rise. Critically, were seeing the attainment gap in schools narrow. This is the difference in outcomes between disadvantaged children and their better off peers. The social Mobility Commissions most recent report described britain as a deeply divided nation. Two thirds of the areas where young people face the brightest prospects are now in london. While many coastal, rural, and former Industrial Areas are being left further behind. It singled out the midlands as the worst performing area in england. Deprived areas registered some of the highest support for leaving the European Union. The government is now facing criticism that it is so focused on the process of brexit that it is ignoring some of the reasons that led people to vote for it. Jonathan blake, bbc news. North korea has accused the United States of being a warmonger on the eve ofjoint us south Korean Military exercises. Mondays drills are the largest ever involving us and south korean troops. Meanwhile president Trumps National security advisor has said the us and its allies are in a race to tackle the problem with north korea before the reclusive state achieves its nuclear ambitions. Celia hatton reports. American military might on display near the Korean Peninsula. Here, a rare sight. Three us aircraft carriers, so called super carriers, brought together last month for the first time in a decade. And now the us decision to hold another round of air exercises has raised tensions again. On monday five days of air drills will begin, the largest ever joint drills with us and south korean forces. They will simulate air strikes on mock north Korean Nuclear and missile targets. This comes as president Trumps National security adviser warns the possibility of war with pyongyang is increasing by the day. The greatest immediate threat to the United States, and to the world, is the threat posed by the rogue regime in north korea, and his continued efforts to develop a long range Nuclear Capability. There are ways to address this problem, short of armed conflict, but it is a race, because he is getting closer and closer, and theres not much time left. In north korea news of the military exercises drew dire warnings. Translation if the Korean Peninsula and the world are embroiled in the crucible of a nuclear war, because of the reckless nuclear war mania of the United States, the us must take full responsibility for it. On friday north korea held a mass event celebrating the success of recent weapons tests. The latest one sent a missile higher than ever before, putting the continental United States in striking range. Now pyongyang is rushing to perfect its weapons technology, including the development of a Nuclear Warhead that can fit on a missile. Kimjong un is getting closer to his nuclear ambitions. Here he inspects a factory making tyres for Missile Launch vehicles. Some are quick to brush off the exchange of threats between kim jong un and the trump administration, dismissing them as bluster. But as the us and north korea ramp up their military capabilities, making no secret the other is the target, it raises the prospect that one misstep and one miscalculation could ignite a sudden military confrontation, claiming hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives. Celia hatton, bbc news. I have been speaking tojim townsend, the former dignity assista nt townsend, the former dignity assistant secretary of defense for european and nato policy under obama. We are running out of options, talks are happening behind the scenes, we are happening behind the scenes, we are talking to the chinese, to the russians, two others in the International Community but unless something dramatic happens particularly from china where they can squeeze the North Koreans to pull back from them racing ahead with their Nuclear Capability and things are becoming. Comparisons are things are becoming. Comparisons a re often things are becoming. Comparisons are often drawn with the cold war between the us and the ussr. What are the similarities and importantly the differences . I am afraid there are more differences than similarities. The only similarity is the beginning of a nuclear stand off with north korea making the advances it is doing. But doing cold war days with the soviets we learned how to live under this nuclear stand off. We learned how to deter. We learned each of thes patterns, decision making, there was a Comfort Level there in terms of understanding. They were not going to surprise one another. So with that kind of stability that we were able to bring about, one based u nfortu nately able to bring about, one based unfortunately on the horror of mutually assured destruction, at least we knew each other and we could prevent surprise and miscalculation. And that is not the case with north korea today. To what extent is that lack of predictability on both sides . Extent is that lack of predictability on both sides7m certainly is a problem on both sides, for deterrence to work, for there to be a sense of stability both sides need to understand the other. Both sides need to know how the other makes decisions, the red lines they share. There needs to be transparency, there needs to be communications between both sides and if something were to happen in needs to be Something Like a hotline oi needs to be Something Like a hotline or emissaries that try to resolve issues before they get out of hand. Right now on both sides, both leaders are having trouble understanding the perception is that each holds for the other. Jim tams and former Deputy Assistant secretary of defence under the obama administration. Donald trump has hit out at the fbi in a series of angry tweets. He claimed the agencys reputation was in tatters. The president also denied asking the bureau to drop an investigation into his former National Security advisor, Michael Flynn, who last week admitted lying about his contacts with russia. Mr trump is facing fresh questions about what he knew about those contacts, after appearing to change his story. Our correspondent laura bicker is in washington. Not only did we have that controversial tweet yesterday, where he said Michael Flynn was fired for lying to the Vice President and to the fbi, which seemed to imply that donald trump knew Michael Flynn had lied to the fbi, which certainly causes a lot of problems. Then this morning we have had this range of twitter stormer on the fbi, and james comey the former head of the fbi, on why Hillary Kenton was not prosecuted further for a misuse of e mails, and he described his own Intelligence Agency as in tatters but he said it would get better under his administration. Taking all of those tweets, significant one yesterday, legal analysts wonder if he could have got himself into hot water. It turns out in a new twist that that tweet was sent by his own lawyer, john dowd. He himself has responded today saying, it was my mistake, iam responded today saying, it was my mistake, i am out of the tweeting business and i did not mean to break news. We will see if that lasts he says the reputation of the fbi is in tatters. Yet this investigation has some way to run. Where will it head next . The only person to know that is the independent prosecutor in charge of this investigation, Robert Mueller. He is slowly and methodically working his way through the evidence. It shows how little both the media and the white house knows about this investigation because we were never sure when Michael Flynn was going to appear in court. We had heard rumours but we we re court. We had heard rumours but we were not sure until the day itself. In fact the white house is understood to have been watching the news unfold on tv screens, so when it comes to where it goes next, only Robert Mueller knows. But there are a series of e mails between Michael Flynn during the transition period, when president obama was still in office and president elect trump was waiting to go into office which suddenly suggest that Michael Flynn was not acting alone. This e mails have been printed by the New York Times which certainly suggest. So when it comes to his conduct with the russians and the major others conduct, that is something they will examine. It must be said, talking to the russians in that transition period is not illegal. It is not a problem. But talking to them during the campaign and accepting help from them would be. Laura bicker, in washington. The headlines on bbc news. On the eve of a crucial meeting in brussels pressure on the Prime Minister to demand guarantees, before any divorce bill is paid. The entire board of the governments social Mobility Commission resigns saying theresa mays rhetoric isnt matched by reality. Donald trump hits out at the fbi in a series of angry tweets, claiming the agencys reputation is in tatters. If you have been out this evening you may have seen the supermoon. The moon will move closer to the earth tonight and appear larger and brighter in the sky this image was taken this evening over whitby abbey in north yorkshire. Astronomers say sky watchers will get the most spectacular views this evening and tomorrow morning. Tom kerss from royal observatory joins us from greenwich via skype. Thank you forjoining us. Why is this supermoon so noteworthy . We getting full than every 29th and a half days, sees light up our skies, but the reality is that the orbit of the mineral and the earth is not a perfect circle, it is an ellipse. So the earth is not directly at the centre of the orbit of the moon, its just off centre which means sometimes can come thousands of miles closer to us fun normal, and its the close approach between the moon and the earth, and if this coincides with the full morning, the popular colloquial term is to call that a supermoon. This small, somewhat imperceptible difference in how large and bright the moon appears. From my perspective it is wonderful if people want to look at the full moon. To get a really nice impression of the moon looking very large, the trick is to look at as it arises or as it sets because your brain creates an illusion which makes the moon appear larger. And that can be in many ways even more dramatic. So every full moon has the potential to thrill us. According to the definition that we tend to use this is the only supermoon of this year but it is the first of three in a row, as we go through to january we will get two more. How much larger and brighter is it really . Only tend to compare a full moon against the previous one of the next one and in those terms its a marginal difference. If we compare the moon tonight to the average full moon, not that there really is such a thing but if we did, we could say that tonight the full moon going into tomorrow may appear about 5 or 7 larger in diameter and perhaps 1596 7 larger in diameter and perhaps 15 brighter. The brightness perhaps more noticeable than the size. You would have to look carefully to actually spotted. When the moon is low it always looks large so many people tend to think that they are seeing a people tend to think that they are seeing a supermoon people tend to think that they are seeing a supermoon when they are seeing a supermoon when they are seeing an illusion. The actual difference is marginal. So the supermoon trilogy, when will the other two be . Weve got the cold moon tonight in december and then in early january on january two we will see an even marginally larger and brighter supermoon on january two which is known as the wolf moon in north american tradition and towards the end of january we will see a second full moon onjanuary 31, they occur with a frequency of 29 and a half days so you can have one at the beginning and one at the very end of the month. Recently we have tended to call the second full and a blue moon because it is a red event, hence the phrase, once in a blue moon. So we have three and technically they all qualify as supermoons, the second one in january we might call a blue moon and it will be a Lunar Eclipse for some around the world. February will miss out . February will have a full moon, maybe not the case because its a short month that it could be. So we want to see a snowman, thats what we call a february moon. The second man injanuary is a snowman arriving early and february will just sitting between the january full moon and the new foreman in march. Will they all have a special name . They do, some have more than one name. I like januarys first moon, the wolf moon, because it was said in north american tradition that the wolves howl at the moment in midwinter when food scarce. So many of the names we use which were published in the farmers almanac figures come from the north american tradition and described the environment at that time of year. Tom, i have learned so much in such a short time thank you very much for talking to us from the royal observatory. Nice to see you. Sport now. And for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here isjessica. But cricket first, england had another difficult day in adelaide. Joe roots decision to bowl first was again under scrutiny, as australia declared on 4112 8 on day two of the 2nd ashes test. England, who are already one down in the series, closed on 29 1. Our Sports Correspondent andy swiss has more. If day one had been tricky for england, day two was to prove even tougher, as first their hopes of restricting australias batsmen were emphatically dashed. Shaun marsh has had a stop start career. He seemed a strange selection to many, but as he completed a brilliant century, it suddenly made sense. Vindication for him, euphoria for the adelaide crowd. And when he did finally offer up a chance, this pretty much summed up englands day. Alistair cooke and james vince with a moment theyd both rather forget. A symbol of englands struggles as marsh simply piled on the misery. Australia eventually declaring on 442 8. Leaving england with a cricketing mountain to climb. Under floodlights, and the fiercest pressure, their openers needed a solid start. They didnt get it. Mark stoneman trapped by Mitchell Starc for just 18. Australia in utter control. It was cricket at its most compelling. Cooke surviving another big appeal. England werejittery, but then, in the nick of time, the rain arrived, ending play for the day, but still leaving the visitors facing a huge batting challenge. Shaun showed it is not impossible to score runs out there. A lot of their batters made starts. So it is not impossible to score runs. There is a long time left in the game, so it will be up to one or two of our guys to go out and make a big score, and notjust a0 or 50. For england, then, a frustrating and deflating day. They now need to bat at their very best if they are to save this match, and realistically save their ashes hopes. Andy swiss, bbc news, adelaide. Manchester city left it late to beat west ham, a record equalling the 13th consecutive win. David silva won and for city with a late winner, their third victory in a week, they restore their 8 point lead over neighbours manchester united, the two sides will meet at old trafford next week. Bournemouth and southampton drew 1 1. Rangers moved above aberdeen to go second in the scottish premiership after beating and the second time in a week. Josh windass scored what turned out to be the decider at pittodrie following the decider at pittodrie following the 30 the decider at pittodrie following the 3 0 win at ibrox on wednesday. Alfie hewett has become the first british singles winner at the end of season wheelchair masters. He beat compatriot gordon reid in the final in loughborough. The 19 year old won in straight sets 6 3, 6 2 to become the first british champion in 23 years of the event. Reid took the first 3 games but hewett soon found his form. He also won his first grand slam title at the french open this year. There was disappointment though for great britains Andy Lapthorne in the quad singles final, he lost in straight sets to the world number1 david wagner. Lapthorne would have knocked the american off the top of the rankings, but was only able to win 3 games. Ronnie osullivan is looking like the man to beat at snookers uk championship. The defending champion mark selby was knocked out yesterday in york but there was no problem for osullivan, whos going for a record equalling sixth uk title. He wasnt at his best against Michael Georgiou but still won by 6 frames to 1. The world number four goes into the third round where hell face either Michael White or matthew selt. Thats all the sport for now, back to you, martine. A lorry driver who crashed into stationary traffic on the m6 after apparently falling asleep at the wheel has been jailed for 16 months at wolverhampton crown court. This is the moment mariusz vlazlo smashed his hgv into two cars at 43 Miles Per Hour in march this year. He admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving. West Midlands Police said the two car drivers were treated for broken bones and back and neck injuries. The Prison Service says it has successfully dealt with an incident at hmp swaleside in kent. A small number of prisoners were involved in one wing of the jail, said a spokesman, those involved could spend longer in prison. No prison officers were injured and there was no risk to the public. Investigators in germany say that a parcel bomb discovered in potsdam on friday was connected to a blackmail attempt and not terrorism. The parcel was delivered by dhl to a pharmacy near potsdams Christmas Market. It was opened by an employee, who found wires, batteries and nails, and heard a hiss. Investigators believe the bomb had been primed to explode, but failed to go off. Following last years terror attack on a Christmas Market in neighbouring berlin, the potsdam market was immediately evacuated. Coventry, paisley, stoke, sunderland and swansea, are all competing for the title of uk city of culture 2021. The winner will be announced this week. The year long celebration of arts, music and culture has boosted local economies, proving a huge success for the current holder, hull. Well be taking a look at all the cities in contention, and first tonight its coventry, from where Colleen Harris reports. This is a city that has embraced its reputation for peace and reconciliation. Transformed by post war immigration, coventrys culture has been shaped by its history. The cathedral symbolises its resilience. What stands today in my home city are the ruins from a campaign of bombings during the blitz. The martyred city of coventry. It was also the heart of the british car industry. Its decline turned it into a ghost town. Yeah, most of the songs written down here are from the first album. The song ghost town became an anthem for a generation, written by the specials. The coventry band captured racial tensions of the early 80s through their music. Walking around in coventry at the time, it was horrendous. And you couldnt walk down the street without being attacked by national front. So, when the specials got together, that was to get black and whites united. Coventry is hoping to breathe new life into its rich multicultural and industrial past. And its bid to win the city of culture 2021 puts young people at the heart of its focus. There are so many exciting things to see and do, but people just dont know for the need to do a lot of work as part of the city of culture bid as to what our city has two offer. Helping to move the city forward is louis, a choreographer, taking his work from coventry to young people around the world. He represents a new generation looking for hope in a city trying to shake off its post war image. It is more than important, it is crucial that it winds. This is like the biggest thing that has ever happened in coventry. Its bringing a lot of hope and excitement to the city which it doesnt tend to have a better with a lot of doubt. This is the one time for the underdog to come up and rise and show what we really have. Winning the city of culture can help transform a citys fortunes. The people of coventry hope the citys which heritage can secure its future. Colleen harris, bbc news, coventry. And tomorrow well be looking at paisley, the first onto the shortlist, in the race for uk city of culture. Time for the weather with phil. Sunday turned out half decent from many areas, a little cool to start with and ending on a glorious sunset which gives hope, if youre looking for the supermoon you mostly in with a chance. Although the far north of scotla nd a chance. Although the far north of scotland quite a bit of cloud and rain and the south east, quite a bit of cloud there. When the cloud brea ks of cloud there. When the cloud breaks for any time, watch out for the touch of frost the side of the pennines, mist and fog patches where you had clear skies, once the day gets going its pretty decent, a lot of dry were rain quits the scene, that may take time. Temperatures 611 that may take time. Temperatures 6 11 or so, what about the rest of the week . After that decent start, some really wet windy weather in the middle part of the week and then things turn much, much colder towards the tail end of the week. More detail on the long term prospects on the bbc website. This is bbc news, the headlines at 8. 30pm