Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20240714

Mps vote to legalise same sex marriage and extend access to abortion in Northern Ireland, unless devolution is restored by mid october. And at wimbledon, andy murray and Serena Williams win in straight sets to reach the third round of the mixed doubles. Good evening. The tory leadership candidate, jeremy hunt, has hit back at President Trump over his attack on the British Ambassador to the United States after he called Sir Kim Darroch wacky, a pompous fool and a very stupid guy. The president has been angered by leaked private emails in which Sir Kim Darroch described the Trump White House as dysfunctional and inept. He also described theresa mays approach to brexit as foolish and a disaster. But in a tweet the foreign secretary, mr hunt, said the president was disrespectful and wrong. And said if he becomes the next Prime Minister, the ambassador will stay. Heres our north america correspondent, nick bryant. A lavish banquet in washington last night where the president glad handed diplomats from qatar, but cold shouldered the uk ambassador. Sir kim darroch, removed from the seating plan, disinvited from the dinner, after mr trump announced the white house would no longer deal with him. This morning, the president mounted another twitter tirade that was notjust incendiary but borderline thermonuclear. And on brexit. Sir kim darroch, the man entrusted to preserve and protect the special relationship, is now in the midst of a diplomatic Sir Kim Darroch, the man entrusted to preserve and protect the special relationship, is now in the midst of a diplomatic whirlwind after his highly critical cables of President Trump were leaked to the mail on sunday. And while the uk embassy this morning was said to be in keep calm and carry on mode, his elegant residence feels besieged. Sir kim was supposed to be at a meeting today between ivanka trump and the International Trade secretary, liam fox. But we understand that he decided not to attend, partly because he didnt want to put the president s daughter in an embarrassing situation. That decision was taken before the latest twitter storm. Yesterday donald trump said the good news was that the wonderful United Kingdom would soon have a Prime Minister and his favoured candidate Boris Johnson pointedly failed to back the uk ambassador. The United States is has been and will be for the foreseeable future our number one political, military friend and partner, and we will continue to stress that relationship, believe me. His rivalfor the Prime Ministers ship, jeremy hunt, said on twitter that the president s comments were disrespectful and wrong to our Prime Minister and my country. Donald trump started his relationship with theresa may with a gentle tap on the hand, he is ending it with what feels like a kick in the teeth. Nick bryant, bbc news, washington. Well later this hour, well be speaking to the former British Ambassador to the us, sir Robin Renwick asking his views on whether Sir Kim Darroch can survive in his post. And well find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrows front pages at 10 40 this evening in the papers. Our guests joining me tonight are anna mikhailova, deputy Political Editor at the telegraph and broadcaster, john kampfner. The labour Leaderjeremy Corbyn has called on the next Prime Minister to hold a second referendum before taking britain out of the eu and says labour will campaign to remain. After weeks of intense debate within his party, mr corbyn said the next Prime Minister should ask the people what they think of any brexit deal negotiated with brussels or whether they approve of leaving the eu without a deal if one cant be negotiated. Heres our deputy Political Editor, john pienaar. He looked relaxed, but smile or no smile, Jeremy Corbyns bowed to pressure inside his party. Labours new pledge, to fight the next Prime Ministers brexit deal, or no deal, to demand a new referendum and campaign to stay in. Is labour now a party of remain or leave . Labour is a party which says we will take no deal off the table. The people will have a choice in the future as to whether to remain in the European Union or accept what will be very, very damaging no deal exit from the eu with consequences for food prices, medicine supplies and industrial investment. What about at the next election, if there is no brexit by then . We are a big democratic organisation. Ive just spent some time consulting with all the parts of the labour party and the labour movement. Weve come to this position. We have a democratic process. Well decide our election position when the election comes. Have you not backed away under pressure from the mass membership and from your colleagues for fear of losing much more support . Not a bit of it. Ive been listening. But the pressure to support another referendum had grown too loud to ignore. Next, labours anti brexiteers will demand the party backs remain before the election, and if it wins. Today, they celebrated. Our members have been telling us for some time now that they want us to be a remain party, that they want us to put the new deal to the people. Were now going to campaign for that. Im very proud that the shadow cabinet have listened to their concerns. Theres further discussions to be had about what we do during an election and after. Others say labour must back a brexit deal. All of those advocates of a second referendum in my party, they say what they want but they dont really explain how to get there. And the idea that borisjohnson is going to become Prime Minister and say, lets put it all to referendum, is just not going to happen. Would labour lose more leave supporters now, and what about remainers who have turned away . Is it already too late to win back the droves of labour supporters and potential labour supporters who have deserted labour because of your position so far on brexit . Labour will offer something very different. A radical change in our country, where we value everybody, not the tax giveaways thatjohnson and hunt are competing with each other to give to the richest in our society. Labours brexit plan, like the governments, is still a work in progress. More pro remain today, but labour could still go into the next election promising to get a better deal in europe and then call a referendum on that. And if it does, will it be pro remain or pro leave . Jeremy corbyn put off deciding on election policy until later, kicked that can down the road. Both the major parties are feeling the squeeze of brexit. Neither one really knows how to handle it. John piennar, bbc news, westminster. Meanwhile, three labour peers have resigned the whip over anti semitism. Among them is lord triesman who was the partys general secretary under tony blair. He told bbc newsnight that mr corbyn and his circle are anti semitic and had allowed their allies to attackjews. Labour has called the claims false and offensive. Our Political Correspondent, iain watson, said the resignations would increase pressure on the labour leadership. The timing of the resignation is not exactly great because it comes the day before an investigation of how the party has been handling anti semitism and the three peers who have resigned in the labour wept, basically they are saying that problem is how the party dealt with anti semitism one is a former minister saying he had zero tolerance for anti semitism, and another said it hes a very distinguished citizen who served for many years, but the severest criticism comes from the general secretary at the labour party demo senior official, and what he says is he believes the Current Party leadership is institutionally anti somatic, very strong criticism indeed an interview he says the whole thing going on at the moment is like some mad psychodrama, you are never sure when its going to and then he decided he can no longer ta ke and then he decided he can no longer take direction from the Current Labour Party leadership. Now labour responded of course robustly as well saying that comments are offensive and they say the allegations are false and the party is impeccably and opposed to anti semitism, but all of the comes the same day the party is deciding what to do about chris williamson, he was suspended backin chris williamson, he was suspended back in february for saying the party gave too much ground for anti semitism and too apologetic and then alex decided he was reinstated then alex decided he was reinstated then there was an outcry from many of his own colleagues here at westminster, and now the whole case has been reconsidered again today, but again, no Decisive Action taken today according to party rules, there has to be a new panel to look at the allegations against him all over again. It made and beside that hes going to face further disciplinary action but certainly some of his fellow mps that the action should have been swifter and more severe. Certain whats in there. Employees from ethnic minority groups earned on average 4 less than their white counterparts last year. The figures published by the office for National Statistics are part of the first Detailed Analysis of britains Ethnicity Pay gap. Workers from pakistani and bangladeshi ethnic groups had the lowest average hourly pay while chinese and indian workers consistently had the highest of any ethnic group. Our correspondent, adina campbell, reports. Whoo a new generation of graduates. Today, these young people at Bath University are celebrating their academic achievements, and many will go on to be part of britains future workforce. But according to a new report, some of these graduates could see differences in pay because of their ethnicity. So, what does the Ethnicity Pay gap actually mean . If you line up all the workers in britain in order of their pay, its how the salary of the white person in the middle compares with that of the ethnic minority person, also in the middle. So, its notjust about whether white people and ethnic minorities are getting equal pay for equal work, but also to what extent ethnic minorities are joining and progressing to better paid jobs. I guess we can hopefully see that gap close. That would be nice, and in addition to that, obviously you know when youre applying forjobs and you have to choose your ethnic identity, you dont have to worry, is this going to disqualify me from a job . The fact that its changing is obviously a good sign. Obviously you know, you can say that it changing faster would be nicer. The new report found ethnic minorities earn nearly 4 less than white ethnic groups. In london, this is even higher, with a pay gap of nearly 22 . If we look at hourly pay, white workers will earn £12, compared with just £9. 60 for people from bangladeshi backgrounds. And those from chinese families earn much more. £15. 75 an hour. This is the first time we have a clearer picture of what the race pay gap looks like in the uk. A big difference is that people from ethnic minorities tend to be younger than their white colleagues, and their career choice may be a reason why they earn less. So, we need to know more information about the age of people affected, the types ofjobs theyre choosing and the educational differences, to pinpoint exactly where change is needed. Some companies, such as pwc, already voluntarily publishing Ethnicity Pay gap data. Senior leaders say the transparency is making a big difference. When you publish it, youve got to put some real strong action plans behind what youre going to do to change that data. Thats where were at at the moment. Because this is becoming more and more of a business issue as well. Our clients are demanding that they work with people from diverse backgrounds. As the uk becomes more culturally rich, there are growing calls for all employers to publish their Ethnicity Pay gap figures, similar to the gender pay gap, to ensure broad fairness for the changing faces in multicultural britain. Adina campbell, bbc news. The headlines on bbc news. The foreign secretary can dance at President Trump latest attack on the British Ambassador in washington after he called the a stupid guy. The president headed to had conservative Leadership Debate is under way against the backdrop of the diplomatic row between uk and us. The labour leader atjeremy corbyn says he will call on the next Prime Minister to hold a second referendum and campaign for remain to stop a no deal brexit or damaging deal. Sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, heres chetan pathak. Hello, we start with not good news, konta has been knocked out of wimbledon after losing straight sets, the british number one was cruising but it went wrong thereafter. It was business as usual for Serena Williams is in the semifinals, but she had to battle ha rd semifinals, but she had to battle hard at rounding up the court of final action here is john. She disappointment for konta when she was coasting to the opening set, 4 1 app before it unraveled losing on a tie break and then the second set 6 went to barbara who goes on to face Serena Williams. Huge disappointment as she was helping to reach semifinals for a second time and konta on risk selection will feel opportunity missed. |j konta on risk selection will feel opportunity missed. I couldnt quite find the level i needed to find and make it difficult and challenging for the kind of player she is. Shes a very difficult player to play on the surface, and in general. Shes a very good player. And yet its unfortunate i couldnt quite find the level needed to come through. Serena williams didnt have it all her own way, she took the first step i dropped the second before dropping her game to clinch the decisive third set against a player who will not the weld number one in the last round. Simone also through, and she will face alina said alina and straight sets, they are that top two seeds meeting and they will meet in the next semifinal. Serena williams was back on centre court later in that day with and be merry in the mixed doubles, the Partnership Co mforta bly mixed doubles, the Partnership Comfortably came through with 7 5 and 6 3, they will face a top seed in the third round tomorrow. Frustrating day with rain entrapping the first at the cricket world cup semifinals, indiana were on top when heavens opened and they had new zealand on 211 for five that we just underfour over zealand on 211 for five that we just under four over remaining daily resume play at 1030 tomorrow the winner plays england or australia who place the semifinal on thursday. Jared tom is finished and that Tour De France with stage iv 214 km. Very much one for the sprinters, and the former team mates on the right to bear, grabbing the wind on the line, its quick steps with the role which julian still in the lead, 45 seconds i had thomas. Earlyjuly meeting qualification is under way for the next season european competition, three british side and action including celtic who are way, and the first round they are up to one with the press like 75 minutes played. And well champions, and the saints ta ke played. And well champions, and the saints take the lead against the upper league ranging from the first leg, with the press round qualifying exchange of this in gibraltar co mforta bly exchange of this in gibraltar comfortably by four goals to nail. Name mark can lead if there is an offer sitting everyone, thats according to the sporting director leonardo, the Brazil International failed to turn up for the price to pre season training and they say theyll take appropriate action, been linked with the move back to former cloud in barcelona, the cloud he left he left he joined the french champions for weld record £200 million in 2017. Former arsenal member has become the technical director, he was a member of the invisible side who wind up eating 2003 and the 2005 season leading his role as general coronet of brazil oversee arsenal coaching, scouting and and academy. Thats all your support for now, well have more exports today at half past ten. Thank you very much indeed. Mps in westminster have tonight voted to legalise same sex marriage and extend access to abortion in Northern Ireland. The vote could bring the law there into line with the rest of the uk but it will only come into force if the government at stormont is not restored later this year. Northern irelands Democratic Unionist Party has previously blocked attempts to introduce both abortion and same sex marriage. Our ireland correspondent, emma vardy, said tonights vote could be a real catalyst for change. These havent been to have Northern Islands of the most divisive issues, this is the only part of the uk where same sex marriage is not legal and where there is a near total ban on abortion. Its supposed to be the Northern Ireland assembly here where it takes decisions on the manner but theres been no politicians here during any decision taking for more than two and half years since a partially collapsed which has led to increased caused by mps at westminster for westminster to intervene. Now the boats that today do not change anything overnight, but if there is no assembly restored by october 21st, then it means at westminster m ps by october 21st, then it means at westminster mps will be under obligation to bring forward legislation to legalize same sex marriage and under pressure to decriminalise abortion. That has led toa decriminalise abortion. That has led to a very angry reaction from Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party they have long pose a change thejuly party they have long pose a change the july and accused mps party they have long pose a change thejuly and accused mps and hijacking the bill to further their own causes. Patrick corrigan is part of the Love Equality Campaign that has been pressing for a change to the law. He was in the commons for this evenings vote. Thank you forjoining us. What was it like in the comments and what does today mean . Great feeling in the comments apart from the dup mps, directs our faces and thus particular benches on the results of the two vets on equal marriage and abortion came through, issues that have been worked on for very long number of years and so today really, its a day for history books and a testa m e nt to its a day for history books and a testament to the work of campaigners from many, many grassroot organisations. The mps to deliver it today, in huge numbers, these are a landslide level victories in terms of the number of mps voting for equal marriage rights and same sex couples and decriminalising abortion, a key issue right at this moment, a mother is facing prosecution for procuring so called Abortion Pills for her teenage daughter, said these are very real human rights denials and a very real feeling of achievement at the end of some very long hard and thought campaigns to achieve human rights for people in Northern Ireland. But there is a caveat is there not, its not that straightforward because we have the date of the 21st of october, explained to us what that date means, it was put in the amendment. Northern ireland has been without the about government for two and half years, january 2017 with the last time we had executive or legislative able to pass laws, there have been sporadic into party talks between the government in that period, all unsuccessful and as a current phase of the talks under way, government has had this new deadline after many failed deadlines of october 21, so if they manage to achieve restoration of the developed government by then the two issues will revert to the storming assembly but in the absence of that return to devolution, the law will be changed here at westminster where i am speaking to you from that we have been hardened by the as heartened by the support because they had seen and understood where they need to act where government refuses to act and they have acted with the full support of Northern Ireland, contrary to maybe what i implied in the previous story, its actually a very pro choice and pro Marriage Equality society, only opinion poll is done on issue including a recent one done by the two universities in the region and show there is a large majority among the public for both equal marriage and abortion reform and today we saw westminster deliver where he failed to. While the dup would not agree with the consensus you are describing there and they are saying its wrongful for westminster to intervene and there are real concerns of direct rule. Its not a consensus, im just saying there are large majorities in favour, the dup are going to represent the vocal minority against both of these issues, but theyre a minority and there also minority in assembly so if we see storment return, there is a majority i believe for both equal marriage reform and for Abortion Access and i think of dup wish to try and overturn these votes in westminster, they can do so perhaps when storment returns and i think they will be u nsuccessful returns and i think they will be unsuccessful because that tide turned. Today is a day for history books and there is no going back whether for lgbt books and there is no going back whether for lg bt people books and there is no going back whether for lgbt people in ireland are women and others who need access to abortion in Northern Ireland and todayis to abortion in Northern Ireland and today is friday for starbucks and i think we have the dup behind and there are cake bees behind a. What does this mean for both men and women facing prosecution currently . I think courts have to look closely and hard at this, there is a court case that Amnesty International has helped to take where we are challenging the legality of even prosecution of this mother for procuring pills for her daughter because previously we had a Court Judgement that cast doubt on the legality of any such prosecutions because both in the cases of fatal foetal abnormality or pregnancy through rain or incest, and a very cute clear breaches from the human rights from un and other International Bodies declaring it to be the case, and i think what we have seen happen in westminster today gives a clear direction to the courts of what parliament and legislature have all of the country and uk is saying is the will of the people is the will of the elected representatives of the people of the uk. And i think the prosecutor is in the courts will have to think clearly a nd the courts will have to think clearly and very hard about whether 01 clearly and very hard about whether or not they go ahead and prosecute lenin for simply accessing the rights that would be available to them in every part of the uk in terms of the british and dutch Abortion Pills and every part of the uk to simply go to your gpa and get prescribed medication at the nhs but in Northern Ireland you will find police knocking on your door and we have today is the day when that is cast into the history books. Thank you very much for your time, patrick. Youre watching bbc news, its called a gene silencing drug and it has been approved for nhs use approved for nhs use in england to treat patients with a rare hereditary disease. The condition, known as ama loid osis, affects limb movement, vision and heartbeat and often causes excruciating pain. Doctors say the impact of the pioneering drug is amazing and gene silencing is making the previously untreatable, treatable. Heres our health and science correspondent, james gallagher. Brothers neil and Vince Nicholas have a deadly disease called amyloidosis. It causes a build up of toxic proteins in their body, damaging nerves and weakening their heart. The disease has killed their mum and their brother. Its decimated our family. My mum had five siblings. They all died of it. But theyve been given an Innovative New form of medicine called gene silencing. So, how does it work . Inside nearly every cell of our body, our dna creates messages, these blue strands. Theyre sent off and tell other parts of the cell to make proteins. Those are our bodys building blocks. Normally these are healthy messages and the protein produced, like this purple one, is healthy too. But sometimes the messages are unhealthy and create toxic proteins, likeness harmful green one. Gene silencing uses a drug to block the unhealthy messages. It intercepts them and kills them off, preventing harmful proteins from being created. Julian gilmore has treated generations of the same family and seen them die from amyloidosis. But he can now halt or even reverse the disease after gene silencing drugs have been approved in england today and in scotland injune. He says the implications of this technology are amazing. This is probably the first of many potential drugs, you know, many potential diseases that will be treated by gene silencing. I think this has very far reaching potential consequences. Scientists are already trialling gene silencing in huntingtons disease and its hoped it could work for some other dementias too. You just hope that someones going to invent a drug that will do it. Im lucky that im here today, able to talk to you about that. Neil thinks the drug has saved his music career, as his disease was causing numbness in his fingers. Gene silencing has been on a long journey from pure science to medicine but its now starting to make the untreatable treatable. James gallagher, bbc news. Now its time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. Hello, southern areas in shetland david and sunshine today, cloudy conditions and abrasive rain continuing to net across parts of scotla nd continuing to net across parts of scotland and Northern Ireland in northern england, ive showered to the southwest, but many in the south will be dry. Shetland once again temperature is at the lowest 10 degrees monday night, temperatures in the teens has a start wednesday morning rush hour, bit of sunshine across england and wales friday for england in north wales but greater chance of showers breaking out in the south, and charlotte hit and miss, staying predominantly dry and some rain at times for Northern Ireland and scotland which later in the day, is to scotland could see pretty nasty thunderstorms for the evening rush hour, temperatures here 18 and 20 degrees by 25 celsius in the southeast corner chilly conditions dominating through the night and into thursday. Sunshine and showers, those tapes storms in scotla nd and showers, those tapes storms in scotland in northeast england before friday and that we can start look dry. Hello this is bbc news with lu kwesa burak. Currently going head to head in debate. The debate in the programme will be the first and only time the two go up against each other. Before those pallets are returned, lets turn over to our correspondent who was in the spin room at the debate. How is it all going so far . Well, the first half has been dominated by brexit as you might imagine. Lots of questions how the two men will handle it and how committed they are to leaving the deadline of the 31st of october. There is a difference here, borisjohnson says do or die, jeremy hunt says he will a deliver that but if youre close to some kind of new deal, that he would not hold it because he thinks it is a fa ke hold it because he thinks it is a fake deadline. Lots of questions about how they feel about a no deal brexit, how damaging that might be and what the repercussions would be for british businesses. Several questions from the audience about that. There has been some heated exchanges over that issue. Take a listen. If we have to go out on no deal, well have £39 billion to spend andl deal, well have £39 billion to spend and i think ill be very helpful and lubricating the consequences. Helpful and lubricating the consequences. Last time we debated this, you said that in a no deal situation, we would be able to avoid tariffs through something you called article 24. Paragraph five b. I know you are stickler for details. And tend to go on about it. Saying that that would not be possible and yes he does. Know he doesnt. What he says is that you can only get that agreement to waive tariffs if the other side agreed and they have made it absolutely clear that they will not agree. And he worried that getting details like that wrong is 0k getting details like that wrong is ok for getting details like that wrong is 0k fora getting details like that wrong is ok for a newspaper column but as Prime Minister, yourjob is at sta ke. Prime minister, yourjob is at stake. Only a defeatist and someone who is actually on the other side of the argument in someone who did not wa nt the argument in someone who did not want to leave a take that line. But it will be proposed as very sensible. Underneath the paragraph five b arrangement. Only if both parties agree to it. It would be, i never said anything differently. Really . Last time you said we would not face tariffs. It will be observed for the eu to impose tariffs, come from the eu to impose tariffs, come from the eu to impose tariffs, come from the e without a deal with optimism. Gentlemen, please. I do not want you talking over one another. Really, Boris Johnson trying to make out that jeremy hunt is not serious about brexit and he is really going for borisjohnson on the details of what he is supposing. Thank you very much for that. One of our top stories today and that news that mps at westminster have voted not only to legalize same sex marriage, but also to extend access to abortion in Northern Ireland. Well have more on this now. Johnson tabled that motion to liberalize the notion. And we really appreciate you speaking with us. Really appreciate you speaking with us. Your thoughts on what happened in the comments. I think Parliament Today decided that we had lost patience with the assembly in Northern Island has not met for the past two and a half years and these issues around same sex marriage and access to Abortion Services cannot wait any longer. So we took the decision today that unless the assembly is and running and the next few months, then parliament will legislate and make sure that we have same sex marriage in Northern Ireland, just as we had in england, wales and scotland it will look at the anomaly in Abortion Services not being available in Northern Ireland and the fact that the Northern Irish abortion laws are based on a victorian statute of 1861 and i think we all except that that 150 year old act is now out of date and we need to have new legislation. There is that caveat and those who tabled the same sex marriage agreement said this could be an incentive for stormont to be restored. What is the likelihood that the du pikachu had overturned this . There actually right, for same sex and abortion, that the assembly is up and running and obviously these are matters that are devolved and they could decide how they want to legislate. But what were saying is that in the absence of that, we have waited for two months for her to reconvene it hasnt happened so far, than the Westminster Parliament will step up and take the appropriate action. Taking you to other events happening in the labour party and that new indication from jeremy corbyn. Is this another sign of him bowing to the pressure of the leadership on how the party is approaching brexit . Brexit is the big issue of the moment and it is very clear for all labour mps that we have a very clear and succinct message to the electorate as to what will have to do on brexit. I come from a leaf constituency, but i have seen a shift in my own constituency in the past nine months and people begin to realise what brexit means lots of people have said to me that they welcome a second referendum on any deal that the new Prime Minister puts forward. So what happens, if we are talking about a general election scenario, bubble a manifesto look like then . You are talking about a deal or a no deal and it was a labour administration, Labour Government. Jeremy corbyn has set out that if it is a Labour Government who gets in a general election, there will be an attempt to renegotiate any deal and put it into the peoples vote. |j to renegotiate any deal and put it into the peoples vote. I think the labour party has a proud tradition of being as national party. Believing in organisations like the eu and being part of it and wanting to reform from within. I think that is certainly something they would need to stress and any general election manifesto. And you have had those three resignations within the party of anti semitism and claims. Labour has undoubtedly had a problem, but they also appear to have a problem with how it is handled. Why is that was yellow i think youre absolutely right, we have not handled this well and the equalities and human rights commissions are carrying out investigations to what is going on in the labour party and i feel very strongly that this is something that we need to get a grip of anjeremy corbyn himself is said that there is anti semitism and he needs to be dealt with. And along with many other colleagues, i want that action taken to ensure that and i was pleased to see that he was suspended continuation of his suspension so that matter can be dealt with because i know labour mps feel very strongly that we are not a racist party, we are a party that opposes that we have a strong record of it. Thank you very much for your time. Calling him a pompous full and a very stupid guy. The president has been angered by leaked private e mails which derek described as the administration as dysfunctional and inept. The foreign secretary said that his words were disrespectful and wrong. We are going to get more on that to the former British Ambassador and he joins us on that to the former British Ambassador and hejoins us live on that to the former British Ambassador and he joins us live via webcam from west london. Thank you very much for speaking to us. In your time very much for speaking to us. In yourtime in very much for speaking to us. In your time in this role, have you ever come across Something Like we are witnessing now . No. The fundamental problem here is not the way this is going to affect our relationship, which is not going to be much in my opinion, but the leak. Under the secret documents from washington and the press, you are actually liable to go to jail. And there needs to be a really serious lea k there needs to be a really serious leak inquiry, because if the ambassador cannot tell the Prime Minister and the foreign secretary privately what he thinks and what he thinks is the best way to handle the americans is, then the whole system brea ks americans is, then the whole system breaks down. So this needs to be a really serious leak inquiry and not just going to the motions. We really do need to try to put a stop to this. That really affects us in the short term, the relationship is not going to be very much affected because there is going to be a new Prime Minister and trump gets on well with Boris Johnson, Prime Minister and trump gets on well with borisjohnson, he will try to reset the relationship with him and not do any fault of kim, it affects his ability to continue effectively. We talked about the possibility of a hostile nation being part of this, but is the likelihood that we will discover what is behind these leaks . |j likelihood that we will discover what is behind these leaks . I do not think a hostile nation was behind this at all, i think that is rubbish because that means that the russians could read all of our diplomatic cables, whoevers doing this is been able to get these reports for many months and that is a limited number of people and a serious leak inquiry involves looking into peoples iphones and e mails and that is what this one needs to do. How untenable is his position right now . Obviously, it is pretty well untenable. He has said that we are going we are not going to do business with them. If you are described as inept and radiating insecurity by the ambassador, not going to very friendly to the ambassador. Nuts are kims fault but in practical terms, you will not be able to see the president who, i do not think sees much of anyway. But he will also not be able to see the secretary of state, the cia, the head of the pentagon and so on. You cant really continue effectively if youre in that situation. You do start to think about how this is radiating to other indices and postings around the world. Do you think it will impact on how ambassadors carry out their work over the next few months are surly while this inquiry is taking place . Yes. Will make you to think as an ambassador, to sink what you really think and ask yourself what is this going to look like if it is published and looked completely compromise my assignment here. This is serious. This is a serious dimension of this. The relationship, that will blow over because if we do brexit, we are very badly going to need to negotiate a trade agreement with the us to get back to substance. And the substance of the relationship is strong, defence, intelligence, security. Where the biggest investors in the us and they are the biggest investors in britain. If we leave europe, theyre going to badly need to strengthen the relationship not weaken it. Thank you very much for your insight. A child under the age of five is dying from preventable causes every ten minutes in yemen according to the united nations. With the civil war there now in its fifth year, the un says the situation is desperate. But some children have been saved like six year old yusra who had a life threatening tumour in her eye and desperately needed treatment abroad order to survive. Thanks to donations after her story was told on the bbc, she was operated on in jordan and is now recovering. Our International Correspondent orla guerin has been following her story. Look, its good . Again. Hand painting a new future. For six year old yusra, not just childs play, her careful brush strokes are colouring and artificial eye. Oh, excellent. Just like the one shes about to receive. Its the last stage of months of life saving treatment at the king hassan Cancer Centre in jordan, all funded through donations. She has come smiling through, surviving an aggressive tumour which claimed her left eye. Her specialist now hoping to hide her scars and heal her trauma. Her reaction says it all. And doctors say she has been a tonic for them. When i see her i try to give her love, but she give me first, with smile and hug. She likes life. Shes a wonderful girl, a beautiful girl. If you looked to her smile, only her smile, you would be happy. If you are tired, you would be relaxed. Shes a lovely girl. I love her. It was a very different picture last october when we met yusra and her family in war torn yemen. They were sheltering in a disused shop in the capital sanaa. Yusra desperately needed treatment abroad but was trapped by a saudi ban on civilian flights. After we highlighted her case, several organisations came together and managed to get her tojordan. Yusra has been in the best of hands there and her surgeon says she is now cancerfree. But she has a genetic condition, so follow up checks are being arranged in yemen. He worries about her future in a war zone. This is what breaks my heart. We are not politicians, we cannot solve the issues. We do what we can do as doctors. We can make the conditions better and we hope and wish for the very best. For this one at yemeni child, there was a way out, an escape from war, but not for ever. This was yusras last visit to the park before swapping the playgrounds of oman for the Battle Ground that is yemen. Her devoted mother all too aware of the risks. Translation when a missile landed nearby and tents are torn to pieces and rely on the ground to avoid the debris. And we lie on the ground to avoid the debris. There was an air strike on the farm next to us. Im frightened to go back. But with yusras treatment completed, it was time to pack up suitcases, almost as big as she is. Yusra is now back in her homeland, surrounded by her extended family. She is a pint sized study in courage but in yemen every day is a fight for survival. Foreign secretaryjeremy hunt condemns President Trumps latest attack on the British Ambassador in washington after he calls Sir Kim Darroch a stupid guy. The first head to head conservative Leadership Debate is taking place, against the backdrop of that diplomatic row between the uk and the us. The labour Leaderjeremy Corbyn says he will call on the next Prime Minister to hold a second referendum and campaignfora minister to hold a second referendum and campaign for a man to stop a no deal brexit or a damaging deal. The governor of the bank of italy has warned the Italian Government that it must reduce its debt or risk a financial crisis. Speaking to bbc news ahead of a meeting of eu finance ministers in brussels today, Ignazio Visco said italys Economic Growth was dismal. Economists are warning that the consquences will be felt all over europe, if italy fails to get a grip on its public finances. Heres our economics correspondent, Dharshini David italians are having to tighten their belts. And the lack of cash could affect us all. Many people have seven or 800 euros to live on in a month. People are losing theirjobs all the time. However tempting their product, it is not easierfor businesses. We get nothing back, we pay taxes and then we expect services to be good. Instead they are cutting more. Here the bank of italy, theyre concerned about how tough life is for italians, as in the uk, which is have failed to keep pace with the cost of living over the past decade. So a government thatis the past decade. So a government that is promising to slash taxes and raise public spending has an obvious appeal. But that is pushing up the level of public debt that is concerning them not just level of public debt that is concerning them notjust in brussels, but also here in the central bank. It is high, it has been increasing because of low growth. But at the same time, not learning how to deal with it and the markets in the markets are making us pay for that. Over e3 trillion is held by banks, notjust here, but across europe. Their quest for confidence about the government pots possibility to manage its money, they could all suffer and soak at their ability to lend. Just as many parts of the european economy are struggling. It is notjust italy, germany is risking recession while the uk is struggling with uncertainty. So, any financial shock here could be more damaging than the greek crisis of 2007. Greece is relatively tiny compared to italy, to italys economy in depth market. The destruction that that might cause is much bigger. The pressure for italy to a abide by the ease rules is immense. This european design certainly is not at its heart. So there are tensions and each country has its own tensions. After decades of lax financial management, the government has promised brussels that it will tighten up its finances. This italians hopes of greater prosperity risk being sacrificed for the fortu nes risk being sacrificed for the fortunes of europe as a whole. Walk down newton green in great dunmow in essex and you probably wouldnt notice anything unusual. From the outside, the houses all look like ordinary semis. So why has one property been described as britains most extraordinary home . Well, the fantasy fiction author, john tarrow, bought number 51 back in 1990, and reckons hes spent about a Million Pounds on it turning into 13 worlds, including a voodoo kitchen and haunted bedroom. Mike liggins has been given a guided tour. When you enter the world of this world of magic. No flat packed furniture or widescreen tvs here because talisman is a one off. The product of one mans up session. Mans wild imagination. Product of one mans up session. Mans wild imaginationlj product of one mans up session. Mans wild imagination. I am the author and creator of this. This is the living and dining room and it is a tower taken the living and dining room and it is a tower ta ken over the living and dining room and it is a tower taken over by the victorians in 1887. John bought this in 1990 for £72,000. It was nice enough, but did not have much to sash, he started to create an office upstairs but not just any started to create an office upstairs but notjust any office, this is new york in the 1920s. Once the office was finished, i did i want to be anywhere else in the house, and i was sitting there and they said, watch make another room . And that is when i started on the journey to see transforming the whole house. And what a journey, they created the japanese tea house set in the future. The kitchen is new orleans in the 1950s. The stairs inspired by an italian villa with the help of his husband marcus, john has amassed 2000 objects from 27 countries around the world. And this is a 1911 bedroom and a haunted scottish manner. When i started. I have my imagination and then i got my dad involved and he was quite practical and my mum got involved and friends got involved and they all told of volu nteers got involved and they all told of volunteers and people that have worked on this house. The back garden has been transformed into a fountain courtyard and the shed,it into a fountain courtyard and the shed, it is not really a shed at all. It is not a real cabin but youve probably guessed that. He does tours once a month, the neighbours do not mind. John has written a novel based and astonishingly, he is about to give it all up. He is planning more travel. The house is being put into a trust and will stay as it is to serve as an inspiration to others. Britains most extraordinary home. Cressida cowell, the author and illustrator of the how to train your dragon and the wizards of once books, has been named as the new waterstones childrens laureate. She says she will be a laureate who fights for books and wants to give children the chance to write whatever they want, once a week. She spoke to our arts editor, will gompertz. Heroes, humour, and plenty of action. The dreamworks adaptation of the bestseller how to train your dragon books. A very exciting book. Which were written and illustrated by cressida cowell, the new childrens laureate who popped into this Primary School in london to talk about reading, writing and. The wizards had lived. Yes, wizards. Children need to feel that books are a joyful thing. So, what they need to have is access to books and not every Primary School has a library. And even if they do have a library, the books might be very old fashioned, they might not have a librarian. Trying to get children to have access to books and to get the right book into the hands of the right child at the right time, that is a key factor in getting a kid to read for the joy of it. The other area i will be focusing on particularly is getting children writing for the joy of it. 15 minutes every friday, for a kid to have a special book where they can write whatever they want no rules, no marking, just fun. Because i think children, you know, you need to know the rules but with the sats. And im getting lots of parents and grandparents and carers writing to me saying, my kid used to love writing but now they are so worried about writing the wrong word or their spelling and handwriting, they no longer even want to put pencil to paper. The Creative Industries make £101 billion a year for this country, so we need creative children to go into those industries. Cressida cowell calls her charter a giant to do list, designed to inspire a new generation of readers and writers, some of whom might one day take their turn as the nations childrens laureate. Now its time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. Southern areas bathed in sunshine cloud and outbreaks of rain continues across parts of scotland and Northern Ireland and to a certain degree in northern england, may in the south will be dry, we will see temperatures in the lowest of 10 degrees but a fairly muggy night, temperatures in the teens is to start the rush hour, but if sunshine in north was compared to today but will see a few chances of showers break out today and the show is very much hidden this for england, staying predominantly dry but for Northern Ireland and scotland, later in the day, easter scotla nd scotland, later in the day, easter scotland did get some pretty nasty thunderstorms of the evening rush hour. It did to 20 degrees, maybe 25 celsius in the southeast corner and conditions dominate to the into thursday. Sunshine in the state brings a more severe thunderstorms before friday, the week and stress look a the drier. Hello, im ros atkins, this is outside source. Borisjohnson and jeremy hunt have just finished debating in the contest to be the next uk Prime Minister. Well talk to our Political Correspondent vicky young for analysis on their clashed over the brexit deadline and no deal. President trump also came up. Thats because the us president has again firecely attacked the British Ambassador to washington, calling him stupid and pompous. He also lashed out at theresa may and her brexit plan. Well hear from Anthony Zurcher in washington. Hong kongs leader has said the controversial extradition bill that caused huge protests is dead well look at why the opposition say thats not enough