After being groomed by epstein. Prince andrew denies any inappropriate conduct. The education secretary orders universities to review fire safety in all their buildings after 200 firefighters spent more than nine hours tackling a fire at a student hall in bolton. Jeremy corbyn has led a meeting of senior labour figures to decide the pa rtys manifesto, promising a vision for a better britain for everyone. Competing on green issues the conservatives say they will plant 30 Million Trees a year by 2025, but the lib dems say they can plant twice as many. Good evening. Prince andrew has told the bbc he categorically denies having sexual relations with Virginia Roberts, who says she was forced to have sex with him when she was 17 years old. In an interview with bbcs newsnight, hes answered questions for the first time about his links with the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. The duke of york said a sense of honour led him to continue his assocation with the disgraced financier. 0ur royal correspondent Nick Witchell reports. The year is 2010. Prince andrew is in new york. He is videoed staying at the mansion of a convicted child sex offender called jeffrey epstein, whod just been released from an 18 month prison sentence. Andrews presence gives rise to questions, put to him by bbc newsnights Emily Maitlis. You were staying at the house. Yes. Of a convicted sex offender. It was a convenient place to stay. I mean, ive gone through this in my mind so many times. At the end of the day, with the benefit of all the hindsight that one could have, it was definitely the wrong thing to do but, at the time, i felt it was the honourable and right thing to do. And i admit fully that myjudgment was probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable, but thats just the way it is. And then theres andrews alleged contact with the then 17 year old Virginia Roberts, who was on epsteins payroll. She has alleged that andrew seduced her. That is something, andrew says in the interview, that never happened. She says she met you in 2001. She says she dined with you, danced with you at tramp nightclub in london, she went on to have sex with you in a house in belgravia belonging to ghislaine maxwell, your friend. Your response . I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever. You dont remember meeting her . No. It was in 2001, according to Virginia Roberts, that she had sex with andrew on three occasions, including one orgy. The palace has denied that. In 2008, epstein was convicted of procuring for prostitution a girl under the age of 18. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison. It was in 2010, after epstein had been released from prison, that andrew visited him in new york and stayed at his mansion. I stayed with him, and thats the bit that, as it were, i kick myself for on a daily basis, because it was not something that was becoming of a member of a royal family, and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices, and i let the side down, simple as that. But nothing about this story is simple. Jeffrey epstein cant answer questions. He took his own life in august. As for andrew, lawyers for Virginia Roberts want him to make a statement under oath. The us authorities would most certainly like to hear his account of everything he witnessed. Nicholas witchell, bbc news. And you can see the full interview in a bbc newsnight special on bbc two and here on the news channel tonight at 9. 00, and also on the iplayer. Joining me now is our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. The full interview being aired at 9. 00, a lot of questions, what can you tell us about how this interview was secured, first of all . It is evident that newsnight has been in discussion with andrews private office for some months. In a limitless set of six months of this has been in the making. Emily maitlis. Initially, andrews of us would have been keen for him to talk about his work, but it was quite clear that no interview could go ahead without touching on these issues which have been so much in the news in recent months. It is clear that it was andrews determination, together with his private secretary, to go ahead and do this. I think they have been in the driving seat, they are the people who have felt this is a gamble that was worth taking. I am not so sure that the mainstream, if you like, at Buckingham Palace communications experts, have really been involved in this, and i am not at all sure that they would have advice for him to go ahead with it. But there it is, he has decided he wa nts to but there it is, he has decided he wants to get his story out there. It is, asi wants to get his story out there. It is, as i say, a high risk gamble. He will be hoping that he gains credit for subjecting himself to the best pa rt for subjecting himself to the best part ofan for subjecting himself to the best part of an hour, and for subjecting himself to the best part ofan hour, and has for subjecting himself to the best part of an hour, and has Emily Maitlis has said, there were no restrictions on what she could ask, andi restrictions on what she could ask, and i think is weve seen already from the clips that have already been issued, she asks some very tough questions. And he hasnt flinched, he has, whatever we think of what he has said, he has sat there, to commit, and come up with what he must consider to be the best and most plausible answers. Many people are saying it is a very strange time for him to start speaking about this, because often, a lot of these stories simply go away, dont they over time . There is no precise explanation, no even in precise explanation as to why he felt this was the moment he wanted to do it. I can only think that he wa nts to to do it. I can only think that he wants to draw a line, this was an opportunity, he is coming up to his 60th birthday, he has got his other daughters wedding next year. I think you perhaps felt this was something that has been hanging over him, that he wants to take the risk of going out and putting his side of the case, and hoping that people will find his answers to be credible and plausible. Certainly in relation to Virginia Roberts, the one area where, as we have seen already, he owns up rather to letting the side down, that is the relation to his decision to go and stay withjeffrey epstein after he had been released from prison. That is no mitigation for that fact, the is accepted that asa for that fact, the is accepted that as a misjudgment. Is the strength of the pair the reputation of himself, but also the wider Royal Household . What is at stake . Is this trying to repair the reputation . That is an application for the rest of the Royal Household, this is an affair centred squarely on him. I am sure there is considerable dismay within there is considerable dismay within the royal family at the way in which this is played out. There must be disappointment at his lack of judgment. I am sure there will be members of the family who, frankly, must be aghast at the fact he went back afterjeffrey epsteins conviction and still stayed with him. Andrew has already said he went back because he wanted to break off the friendship. Well, it is curious. He said it was a matter of convenience to go and stay with him. There are hotels in new york, yet he stayed at this mans house for three 01 stayed at this mans house for three orfour nights, stayed at this mans house for three or four nights, and stayed at this mans house for three orfour nights, and that is a stayed at this mans house for three or four nights, and that is a rather extraordinary decision, and of course, andrew has said he did this because he is so honourable. By that, i suppose he means that he feels a loyalty towards this man had been a friend for a number of years. But i think that most people would think that honour and loyalty to a man who has been convicted of the crimes he was convicted of really should not arise. 0k, crimes he was convicted of really should notarise. 0k, nicholas, thank you very much indeed. The full interview airing tonight at 9. 00 on bbc two, here on the news channel, and also on the iplayer. The labour party has reached a unanimous agreement over the contents of its manifesto and will publish it next week. Labour has already announced a number of policies, including a pa rt nationalisation of bt to make broadband free for everyone, and extra spending on infrastructure. Jeremy corbyn said the document will change the lives of the people of the country for the better. 0ur Political Correspondent iain watson joins us now. Unanimous agreement reached in the rooms behind you, iain . That is partly how this system works here, effectively you get a huge document, perhaps 130 pages, and some people have individual disagreements with it, but they are very reluctant to throw the whole thing out. Certainly during an election campaign, they are keen to show some kind of unity. When ajeremy are keen to show some kind of unity. When a Jeremy Corbyn emerged from this building just about an hour ago, he said the document would be very radical and would have the capacity, if implemented, to transform britain. Weve just had a very extensive meeting of our Partys National executive, shadow cabinet, and other people as well, and we have reached a unanimous agreement on the contents of our manifesto, which will be published next week. That manifesto is a transformative document that will change the lives of the people of this country for the better. It will be a once in a Generation Opportunity to vote for a more Egalitarian Society that cares for all, and im very, very proud of the contents of it, and i cant wait to take those contents and its promise of a better britain to everyone all around this country during our election campaign. Thank you very much indeed. Unanimous agreement for the ma nifesto unanimous agreement for the manifesto does not mean to say there are not arguments on here during six hours of debate amongst the leading figures in the labour movement. I will just figures in the labour movement. I willjust run you through a few of them. One was over the issue of freedom of movement. The partys grassroots at its conference voted to extend freedom of movement for workers to and from the European Union. That is something which some people felt might not play very well with voters who are concerned about immigration. So as far as im aware, what they have decided to do it so that if the uk stays within the European Union, then continued freedom of movement would be met with new, stronger regulation of the employment market so that people would not be undercut by migrant labour. It is also an argument over another commitment from the Party Conference for a net zero Carbon Emissions by 2030. One of the big unions, the gmb, not happy with that, they did not think it would be realistic. It has been a bit of a fudge on that, it does not become a fixed deadline, and talk about eliminating the majority of Carbon Emissions by 2030. New policy is emerging as well, help for older women worried about an increase in the state pension age, and i am also told there will be a new retail offer to give people notjust free prescriptions in england, but free dental checks as well. Some of those specific details we will get when the manifesto is launched, which looks like being next thursday. Thank you very much indeed, iain watson. The snp leader Nicola Sturgeon has called on the scottish people to deny Boris Johnson the majority he craves. Speaking on the campaign trail on the east coast of scotland, she said that evidence suggests that brexit will hit the north east of scotland, harder than anywhere else. 0ur news correspondent, alexandra mackenzie, sent this update. Nicola sturgeon has been out campaigning across the north east of scotland. She was here in arbroath, the home of the arbroath smokie. Her main message today has been about brexit. Scotland voted to remain within the European Union and Nicola Sturgeon has said today a vote for the snp is a vote against borisjohnsons hard brexit. In her words, a vote for the snp is a vote to stop scotland being taken out of the European Union against its will. There are 13 tory mps across scotland and Nicola Sturgeon has said that the snp is the main challenger in all of those seats. She has said that this election is probably the most important in her lifetime. Nicola sturgeon has also said, again, she would like an independence referendum in 2020. She said that scotland would be better if the power was within the hands of the scottish people. Now, we are here in arbroath. This is where the declaration of Scottish Independence was signed in 1320. So possibly no coincidence that Nicola Sturgeon was here earlier today. Elsewhere, the conservatives and the liberal democrats are both promising to plant millions of trees to tackle Climate Change if they win the election. Liberal democrat leader, jo swinson, says the party would plant 60 Million Trees every year across the uk by 2025, while the tories are pledging to plant 30 million. An investigation is underway into the cause of a fire at a block of student flats in bolton. Witnesses say the blaze spread quickly to the upper floors, prompting concerns about the cladding on the block. Two people were injured. From bolton, 0livia richwald reports. These videos posted on social media show an intense fire which spread rapidly, sending chunks of burning cladding and sparks to the ground. At first, some of the students ignored the alarms. There is a girl who came running and was banging on doors and she just started screaming saying, there is a fire, get out of here right now. We were running down the stairs, and it was getting higher and higher. The cladding on this building is not the same as that which has been blamed for exacerbating the fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017, which killed 72 people. The students had been reassured it was safe. But videos posted on social media has raised alarm bells. This is not a grenfell scenario, it is a different type of material. It is a material that is combustible. As we have seen from the footage, once it takes hold with a fire, it has the potential to impinge on the evacuation of the occupants. This afternoon, the Prime Minister visited a shelter to meet affected students, and then to the scene, where he met firefighters. The university of bolton says it is finding new accommodation for its students and offering them support. All of my belongings, they are all gone. And how are you feeling . Traumatised. Tonight, there is a warning from the fire brigades union. They described the videos as alarming, and say urgent action is needed. The headlines on bbc news the duke of york says he let the side down by staying at the home of convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein in new york. The education secretary orders universities to review fire safety in all their buildings after a blaze rips through a student hall in bolton. Jeremy corbyn has led a meeting of senior labour and trade union figures to decide which policies will go in the partys manifesto. Competing on green policies the conservatives say they will plant 30 Million Trees a year by 2025, but the lib dems say they can plant twice as many. Michelle 0neill has been re elected as sinn feins Vice President , seeing off a challenge from the former stormont education ministerjohn 0dowd. The vote took place at the partys annual conference in londonderry. Michelle 0neill will continue in the position which, in effect, means she is leader of sinn fein in Northern Ireland. She said the contest had been conducted in a comradely way. Thereve been skirmishes in paris between police and yellow vest protesters, a year on from the first of the movements weekly demonstrations. Demonstrators threw projectiles at riot police, who responded with tear gas. They first took to the streets to protest against president macrons fuel tax hike, but the movement went on to challenge his wider reforms, even demanding his resignation. Hugh schofield has sent this report. One year on, not the Champs Elysees this time, but the place ditalie in the east of the city, and the rioters are out again. Maybe they are only a minority among the yellow vest protesters, but they are certainly setting the tone. This was supposed to be the starting point for a peaceful march for gilets jaunes through the centre of paris. Instead, we have burning barricades, clouds of tear gas, projectiles being thrown at police. Scenes very reminiscent of this time last year. Earlier, a group of protesters tried to block off the paris ring road. Noticeably, many of them are no longer wearing what was their uniform, the high visibility vest, that is because they say it makes them identifiable, more easily arrested. Theyd come, they said, to march. Instead, they have been bottled in by riot police and stifled. Translation their one goal is quite simply to break up the demonstrations before it even begins. We are here to we demonstrate. We dont agree with what macron says. Were fed up, we are working just to survive. Today is one year since gilets jaunes took to the streets to demand social, tax and economicjustice. One year later, nothing has changed. We are still angry, and were still here. And still they gas us and they beat us. A year on, the yellow vests certainly cant produce the numbers they used to, and ruthless policing is proving effective. But amony many people in france, the spirit of resistance lives on. There have also been clashes in hong kong between police and pro democracy protesters. These scenes took place near the polytechnic university, where police fired tear gas and petrol bombs