Pressing covid situation, the biggest contraction of our economy for 300 years, double the Budget Deficit we faced after the financial crash, we are still putting £10 billion in as a proportion of gdp, still the third biggest g7 donor. The biggest. One of the biggest bilateral humanitarian donors. The biggest donor to gavi. So i appreciate its been a difficult decision but actually if you look at all of the areas and the positives we are still contributing to, i think it shows the scope for us to be a greater scope for good in the world but we need to work with our partners in order to magnify and amplify those efforts and that is what the g7 is all about. Thank you very much. What the g7 is all about. Thank you very much very much. First of all this is something very much. First of all this is something we very much. First of all this is something we raise very much. First of all this is something we raise at very much. First of all this is something we raise at every| something we raise at every opportunity. I have no higher priority opportunity. I have no higher priority than bringing arbitrarily detained priority than bringing arbitrarily detained americans, american hostages detained americans, american hostages home to the United States and that hostages home to the United States and that is across the board. As dominic and that is across the board. As dominic said, the reports coming out of tehran dominic said, the reports coming out of tehran are dominic said, the reports coming out of tehran are not accurate. We are very ctosety of tehran are not accurate. We are very closely engaged ourselves on this issue very closely engaged ourselves on this issue and will remain so. As i said, this issue and will remain so. As i said. Im this issue and will remain so. As i said, im determined to bring every american said, im determined to bring every american home. More broadly on this, we have american home. More broadly on this, we have to american home. More broadly on this, we have to take a stand against the arbitrary we have to take a stand against the arbitrary detention of citizens for political arbitrary detention of citizens for political purposes. I applaud the work political purposes. I applaud the work canada has done in this area, and Dominic Work Canada has done in this area, and dominic and i discussed this as well today~ and dominic and i discussed this as well today. And i would hope that with time well today. And i would hope that with time and effort, countries could with time and effort, countries could establish a norm that this practice could establish a norm that this practice is could establish a norm that this practice is simply unacceptable. Because practice is simply unacceptable. Because it is. And i think we will have because it is. And i think we will have conversations in the coming weeks have conversations in the coming weeks and have conversations in the coming weeks and months about that. Countries weeks and months about that. Countries that engage in these actions countries that engage in these actions need to know that cannot happen actions need to know that cannot happen with impunity and it is truly unacceptable. I have to tell you as well that unacceptable. I have to tell you as well that from washingtons perspective, the uk is our most vital perspective, the uk is our most vital partner including Working Around vital partner including working Around The World in helping other countries, Around The World in helping other countries, helping people fulfil their countries, helping people fulfil their potential and deal with some of the their potential and deal with some of the challenges that have been tirought of the challenges that have been brought on by many things but inctuded brought on by many things but included by covid 19 now, as well as the climate included by covid 19 now, as well as the climate crisis. And i think we share the climate crisis. And i think we share a the climate crisis. And i think we share a commitment both in our own countries share a commitment both in our own countries but share a commitment both in our own countries but in the work we are doing countries but in the work we are doing Around The World too, as both the president and Prime Minister have the president and Prime Minister have recently said, build back better have recently said, build back better. ~. ,. , better. We will leave that News Conference better. We will leave that News Conference. The better. We will leave that News Conference. The six better. We will leave that News Conference. The six oclock better. We will leave that news | conference. The six oclock news better. We will leave that News Conference. The six oclock news is coming up, before that, the three days that shook football. If this were to happen, it has the potential to end the club game as we know it. Its not right what theyre trying to do. Its not competitive. Its a closed shop. There was quite unanimous sadness, anger, disgust. At the events of the last three days. For people, greedy people, to come in and treat it like their own personal hedge fund is disgusting. Its disgraceful, its disgusting, and i will say three strong words enough is enough. Chanting. Its not a sport if the success is already guaranteed. Its not a sport, and it doesnt matter if you lose. I can only give my personal opinion, and i dont like it one bit and hopefully it doesnt happen. The ramifications of this, i think, well be talking about in years to come. Archive and for inter milan, still the european champions. I since the middle of the last century, european footballs been based on a principle that anyone can be king. The idea that the seats at the top table are for guests and cant be permanently reserved, that you can work your way up through the divisions and play in europe or fall back down the other way, no guarantees. But business likes guarantees. At some of the biggest clubs, the pandemic meant stadiums stood empty. And already hefty overdrafts grew still more enormous, they were looking for something to rely on, even if that meant revolution. Well, i think for many years now, the wealthiest, biggest clubs in europe, have used the threat of a breakaway, a super league, as a negotiating tactic. Youve had conversations about reform of the Champions League and then conversations about breaking away from the Champions League involving the same people at the same times. What was different this time, however, was that they meant business. But for all the leaks and whispers about a breakaway, when the european governing body, uefa, announced it had agreed a new format for its flagship Champions League, it seemed it had the big clubs on board. The plans were due to be announced on monday the 19th of april. Very few knew of the impending storm. The super league was about to be born. Well, sunday morning, i got this tip that actually this was serious, that this is actually going to be happening. I then got that sort of second. Sourced and was able to write it online, sunday lunchtime. |so, i do think its going to bei a really big story for football. What i had absolutely no idea about was that this i was going to become a sort of International Political incident. The news spread fast. There were spectators back at wembley that day for the fa cup semifinal, but that was no longer footballs biggest story. Theres been some reports filtering through this afternoon that 12 of europes top football clubs, including six english sides. The reaction to this story about a proposed European Super League. Uefa figures are said to be furious tonight that 12 major European Clubs, including the big six from england. It would distort, it would warp the competitive balance of the league. We already know that those clubs have a major built in advantage because they qualify for Champions League football, they have more fans than many of the other clubs, bigger matchday revenue, bigger commercial income. You allow them to take part in this new competition, which we understood would generate for them hundreds of millions of pounds it was financed by an investment bank, as we knew, they had huge aspirations to sign multi billion pound deals with broadcasters in the future it would accentuate, reinforce, that advantage even more. The plan was that six english clubs arsenal, chelsea, liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur would join six other clubs including the likes of real madrid, barcelona and juventus to form a super league, which would take place in mid week, when current european competitions are held. The original 12 would be joined by three other permanent members. Theyd have a place every season, however they performed, for the next 23 years. The remaining five teams would qualify every year. This was a challenge to the whole order of football in europe. It was so radical. What was going to happen was going to transform the game so fundamentally, and it was going to try to bring in an american type Closed System into something thats the complete opposite. Well, it was going to destroy the beautiful game as we know it. And i think it was the speed, the scale and the audacity i of what was announced, that there was a bit of an intake of breath. The american owners, because the success of the franchise model in the nfl, i think theyve looked at it and people like john henry and joel glazer have said, well, hold on, explain this thing to me l where i buy a club, but its possible that that club might not j be in this competition next year . | how does that work . I think youve made a bit of a mistake, and were l here to fix this for you. This was the end of the sport as we knew it. By sunday evening, the counterattack had begun. Uefa and the three domestic leads involved released a punchy statement, saying they were. They threatened to ban those clubs involved from their competitions and also said. They finished by stating. Now the opposition were on the pitch before the rebel 12. The hours ticked on and still no confirmation that the super league was a reality. It was gone 11pm in the uk before each club released a statement confirming their plan. And a website appeared promising, the best clubs, the biggest players, every week. It also said the huge amounts of money involved would allow them to give billions of pounds back to the game, but still no voices backed the words. It began to unravel virtually from the moment of its inception because it became clear that there was no plan. Because if you have a plan, Something Like that comes into the public domain, you must be able to execute something, you must be able to get your messages out. Liverpool put on their twitter feed the official statement that they were joining the super league. This was ten past 11pm at night or something. And within ten minutes, there was 5,000 replies, and every single one, as far as i could see, was you bunch of unprintable things. I think it was really almost. It was almost a reflex response. We just hit the phones, and we got in touch with fan reps from all the other clubs, because we knew we had to stop this. The headlines for you at 6 oclock this morning. Football divided as six premier clubs confirm theylljoin a breakaway European Super League. The organisers say it will bring more money into the game, but the reaction from fans, politicians and many players has been furious. It will have massive ramifications on our game in this country. It will wreck the Pyramid System that has been so important to local football clubs, to communities and teams. And it takes out the competition. This is all about, right, i dont care about anybody else but my pockets. Lets get some more money in there, and well be ok. Forget them, forget the players, forget the staff, forget the fans, this is about me who wants more money. I think its bang out of order. The club has completely neglected its fans, everything that it stands for to gain money from this greedy scheme. Itsjust absolute chaos, really. And itsjust, itsjust. You know, its a race to the bottom, in my opinion. Its upsetting. Supporters trusts, pundits, politicians, almost everyone who was asked came out against the super league, but at this stage, they had only statements. Those behind the plans were acting. On Monday Morning in madrid, they filed Legal Paperwork to try and protect the breakaway clubs from sanctions against them. An hour afterwards, the rebel 12 left the European Clubs association, which represents professional clubs throughout europe and which Andrea Agnelli ofjuventus had been chairman of. In case it was not already clear this was serious. The reason im told that they were so confident and talking to people close to the Super League Clubs at the time, they seemed very bullish about their prospects was that they felt that they were on the right side of the law. So, for those against the plan, outrage wouldnt be enough. In Football Tactics are crucial. We started talking to the contacts weve got at the dcms, in the Major Political parties, in the football governing bodies, because, of course, this was a situation where, you know, there were many strange alliances formed. Weve often sat across the table from Senior Premier League executives and argued about things like Ticket Pricing and Kick Off Times for broadcast live games, all sorts of things. And now, of course, this was a threat to the Premier League, as well. Meanwhile, the calm waters of lake geneva belied the storm inside uefas headquarters in nyon, switzerland. They were announcing their plans for a revamped Champions League, something the big clubs had been asking for. Among the huge narratives of business, sport and culture, was this also a story of betrayal . I spoke with the ceo, or whatever he is,. At Manchester United, ed woodward, on thursday. He called me, he says, great reforms, i fully support it. I spoke with agnelli, i think, 20 times in the last days, i the last time on saturday. When i said, i hear rumours about a super league, and he says, no, this is a lie. Dont believe it. I i will call you back in one hour. And he turned off the phone. So, its hard to believe the level of immorality of some people. I ceferin and agnelli share close family ties. This was personal as well as political. Not every big club had rallied to the rebel flag. In germany, where fans have voting rights, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund said they were strongly opposed. And Paris Saint Germain in france never defected. Back in england, opposition moved from tweets and websites to banners a more visible, audible anger. Sometimes footballs not about winning, its about trying, you getting there. But they want that ruined. They want it ruined, all because of money, and its disgraceful, its disgusting. And i will say three strong words enough is enough. While on zoom calls in westminster and in the homes of fans representatives like martin cloake, the resistance was organising. I think it was anger and determination. I mean, you know, were living in extraordinary times anyway without even more Extraordinary Events unfolding as they have over the last few days. You know, were living in an era where people are talking about, you know, the people taking more control, if you like. And there was a popular feeling that this was the wrong thing to do. But the government were absolutely serious when they said, what oliver dowden, the sports minister, said, in the commons, that they saw this as a threat to a fundamental institution in this country and they were going to stop it. And i think that was the turning point. We will put everything on the table to prevent this from happening. I we are examining every option from Governance Reform To Competition Law and mechanisms i that allow football to take place. I put simply, we will be reviewing| everything the government does to support these clubs to play. We know that there are members across this house who have for the past 11 years of conservative led governments supported reform. So, its time, madam deputy speaker, for the government to get off the subs bench and show some leadership on the pitch because we need reform of football. You know, the government had a significant role. Boris johnson was holding crisis meetings. Government were sort of threatening to impose restrictions on work permits of players, talking about sort of luxury taxes, windfall taxes. One significant factor was the reaction of supporters. I mean, im sure, if it had continued, when fans returned, wed have seen boycotts, wed have seen huge protests. Wed already seen protests when there werent fans back. The first opportunity to do that was ahead of the evening Premier League game between leeds united and one of the six rebels, liverpool. There were fans of both sides and other english clubs at the protest, and there was anger in the air. Say no to the super league its the one profession in the world where you can come from nothing and be an absolute world beater, and for people, greedy people, to just come in and treat it like their own personal hedge fund is disgusting, so we wanted to make a stand. Its going to ruin everyones dream, everyones game and its just ridiculous. Liverpools manager, jurgen klopp, said before the match his players hadnt been told in advance about the new competition. After the game, a 1 1 draw, james milner was asked about it. I can only give my personal opinion, and i dont like it one bit and hopefully it doesnt happen. But liverpools owner, john w henry, still hadnt said anything. In fact, by monday night, the super league silence was deafening. There had to be a way of articulating what was happening, ideally from all of the clubs, but certainly in english to the english media. And that had to be done immediately. And in the end, real madrid president Florentino Perez did an interview with a little watched digital channel in spain in the middle of the night. The only message that appeared to come from that was that he wanted to have shorter matches, which was fairly disastrous pr. Translation television needs to change. We need to adapt to i the times were living in. The first thing we should do is analyse why 40 of young people, 16 to 24 year olds, have got no interest in football. If young people find matches too long, it may be because they are not interesting enough or maybe we might have to make the Football Matches shorter. Perez, the chairman of the new league, claimed it would save football, not to mention financially troubled real madrid. But it would soon become clear the super league itself was in big trouble. Its 6 oclock on tuesday the 20th of april. Good morning. The Prime Minister will hold talks with senior figures in football this morning as the row over the European Super League intensifies. 14 more clubs will meet today to consider their response. I the criticism of the super league continues, including from prince william, who is president of the football association. Its not correct. Its not right what theyre trying to do. Its not competitive. Its a closed shop. You can hear and see and feel the anger from almost everyone in football. By Tuesday Morning, the organisers of the super league were up against a former england captain, a future king, the Prime Minister, the leader of the opposition, the european and World Football authorities and, it seemed, british football fans en masse. Under that pressure, we saw the first signs of cracks. Tuesday morning, a colleague of mine, matt norton, took a call saying that he had heard that two clubs were i having second thoughts. I spoke to a couple of people within football at a decent level who suggested to me that Manchester City and chelsea were having second thoughts. They were reconsidering their commitment. When i was told that there were doubters on Tuesday Morning, i spoke to someone whos involved in the super league, and they said, no, no, no, right at the very top, theyre all still involved. Theyre all still keen on it. Despite that, the mood was definitely changing, and uefa had gone from raging to persuading. To the english clubs, mainly, come to your senses. Not out of love for football, because i imagine some of you dont have much of that, but out of respect for those who bleed themselves dryi so that they can go to the stadium to support their team and want the dream to be kept alive. Meanwhile, back in england, representatives from the 1a Premier League clubs not on the guest list were meeting to discuss tactics. Everton had earlier led their attack on the super league six. In a statement, they condemned the preposterous arrogance of those involved. Aston villa called it a sinister scheme. Their chief executive, christian purslow, was in the Premier League meeting. The board made it quite clear that they are contemplating the most severe of sanctions against these six clubs because they have behaved in a way which self evidently damages the league as a whole and their 1a fellow shareholders. All i can say is that there was quite unanimous sadness, anger, disgust at the events of the last three days amongst every single one of those 1a clubs. Borisjohnson and the culture secretary, oliver dowden, were holding a zoom call with supporters groups, while the labour leader, sir keir starmer, did the same, offering to help them rise up against the super league. There was talk of a legislative bomb to stop the rebel six breaking away. Afterjames milner� s interview the night before, more and more players made their opinions clear. Marcus rashford, one of the most influential young men in the country, tweeted this photo with sir matt busby� s quote. And Manchester Citys manager, pep guardiola, regarded by many as the best in the world, had his say. Its not a sport when the relation between the effort and the success, the effort and reward doesnt exist, dont exist. So, its not a sport. So, its not a sport of the success is already guaranteed. Its not a sport, and it doesnt matter if you lose. At Stamford Bridge in london, chelsea fans were beginning to gather ahead of their teams match against brighton hove albion. They were keen to make their feelings known. Theyve grown in number. To around about 1,000 fans. Theyre currently on the move, | moving from the stamford gate to another gate outside Stamford Bridge. We havent seen the team buses arrive yet. In the end, the former chelsea goalkeeper, petr cech, had to come out to try and get the buses into the stadium. Kick off was delayed. The super league story was hurtling to a conclusion. Just some Breaking News before we go here on sportsday because the bbc sports editor, dan roan, hasjust been in touch to tell us that we understand that chelsea are preparing documentation to request withdrawing from the European Super League. So, that is really significant news. Cheering. When the phone call did come through, it was out of the blue, but it was from someone i trusted. You know, i knew then that this wasnt quite what it seemed. Ijust felt without chelsea, i think Manchester City will go, too. So, as we went on air, i i had absolutely no idea that the next 45 minutes, everything that we had i planned was gone. One more update for you from our sports editor, dan roan, confirmation that our understanding is that Manchester City have withdrawn from the European Super League. It was almost like every ten minutes or so, it was like watching a House Of Cards fall down. I think as one went, there was going to be a Domino Effect because it then became unsustainable. It was a collapse, and it was among the most dramatic evenings of reporting i can ever recall. The sheer drama, the intensity, the potential ramifications i and the engagement, really, that this story provoked. I i found that if i didnt check my e mail for 90 seconds, then i was out of date. And i was getting Text Messages from people saying, is the Ed Woodward Story true . Whats the Ed Woodward Story . If you havent had quite enough Breaking News for one evening on 5live sport, ed woodward is going to stand down from his position as Executive Vice Chairman of Manchester United, and our understanding is that it is not related to the super league. And then i got a call again from a contact at 10 30pm on tuesday night to say, within 20 minutes, well all be out. And i reported that. Byjust after 11pm that night, almost exactly three days after they announced they were joining it, all six english teams involved in the super league confirmed they were leaving it. The revolution was over. Now for the repercussions. I want to apologise to all the fans, supporters of liverpool football. Club for the disruption i caused over the past 48 hours. The other owners, or their representatives, joined john w henry in offering apologies or statements of regret, but not everyone was convinced. A lot of the apologies that have come out have been more of a kind of were really sorry you didnt understand why we were right rather than wed got it wrong. The remaining italian and spanish Super League Clubs admitted defeat for now, but this wouldnt be the end of the matter. The fall of the super league hadnt extinguished the emotions it had provoked. The anger was still there. The owners were still there. Chanting we want our arsenal back im guessing in their minds, i this was just a monday evening Tuesday Morning type of thing, we said its cancelled, people| are going to forget about it. Its the weekend now, its friday, and fans are still adamant to let their voices be heard. So, the fact that fans are not. Backing down is great because that gives them a reason to think, right, this is not going to be an easy ride. Some demanded the rebels be punished and held accountable for their actions, so had the big six shrunk a little in the storm . The strange, ironical thing is that actually theyve lost so much power now, so much goodwill, so much respect that theyre in a far, far worse position than they were a week ago. Theyve always had this final bargaining chip, we will break away and set up a super league. They cant do that any more. People think theyve won battles. People are thinking that theyve. Theyve assumed status that they didnt have before. We have to remember that those 12 clubs are, by and large, the most famous clubs, the most well supported clubs in european football. The idea that anything can happen long term without those clubs being on board with it, i think, is fanciful. Its far easier to know what wont be happening than what will. The government has launched a review of english football, which will consider whether supporters should be given a say on decisions their clubs take. Some whove been campaigning for change in football believe this is their moment. There is a chance now, because government is clearly energised, as are the football. Authorties and certainly the fans, theyre all energised to actually, i first of all, prevent this happening again, but, in a sense more importantly, to really starti to get some balance and i real change into the game. I am personally genuinely convinced that the will for change is there, and i think this is a watershed moment for english football, for european football. What i think is going to be fascinating now is where the story goes because there are so many more conversations to be had now. The ramifications of this, i think, well be talking about in years to come. This really cut through. It was a wake up moment, i i think, for anyone who cares about our National Sport, about what its become l and what it might i become in the future. The realfeeling, ithink, here was that the future | of the National Sport as we know. It was on the line, it was at stake. And the reaction that l it provoked, this story, was absolutely fascinating. Very exciting to cover, and i think the ramifications of it are going to extend| well into the future. Today at six no more keeping your distance. The One Metre Covid rule, could end in england, next month. The One Metre Covid rule could end in england next month. But borisjohnson says Infection Rates must stay down and foreign variants must stay out. Weve got a good chance, a good chance, to be able to dispense with the One Metre Plus from 21stjune. Theres also hope some International Travel could resume later this month. Also on the programme. Together in person, the Foreign Secretary meets his us counterpart, vowing to Work Together on everything from china to climate change. A complex, divided history. Its exactly 100 years since the birth of northern ireland. And new Premier League rules to prevent top clubs breaking away