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Scottish independence: SNP 'winning the economic argument' - BBC News
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2019-10-14
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Scotland's finance secretary uses his speech to the SNP conference to argue that the country can "more than afford" independence.
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Scotland politics
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Scotland's finance secretary has used his speech to the SNP conference to claim the party is winning the argument on Scotland's economic future.
Derek Mackay said the country can "more than afford" to be independent.
He also argued that staying part of the UK leaves Scotland "subject to the whim of Westminster turmoil".
And Mr Mackay told delegates that convincing people they will be better off after independence is key to winning them over.
Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader and Scottish first minister, says she wants to hold a second independence referendum next year, but the UK government has repeatedly said it will not give the consent Ms Sturgeon says is needed to ensure any vote is legal.
She is expected to formally ask the prime minister for consent before the end of the year - with the Scottish government's Brexit secretary, Mike Russell, not ruling out the possibility of legal action being taken if it is not granted.
Mr Mackay told the conference in Aberdeen that the party's unionist opponents are "panicking" because the "case for the Union has been "completely demolished over the last few years" due to Brexit and austerity.
He added: "We have always known that convincing people that they will be better off in an independent Scotland is key to winning their support and opinion polls clearly show that confidence in an independent Scotland's economy is growing.
"The message is ringing through loud and clear - Scotland cannot afford the Union. Our economy, our public services and our people cannot afford to be subject to the whim of Westminster turmoil for years and years.
"Scotland cannot afford the Union, but it can more than afford to be independent."
Ms Sturgeon will bring the SNP conference to a close with her keynote speech on Wednesday afternoon.
Scottish government statistics published in August showed that Scotland spent £12.6bn more on public services than it raised in taxes over the previous year.
This was lower than the £13.8bn deficit estimated for the previous year, and was equivalent to 7% of the country's GDP. The UK as a whole has a deficit of £23.5bn - or 1.1% of its GDP.
Pro-UK parties argue that the Scottish deficit figures show there would be "black hole" at the centre of an independent Scotland's finances.
The Queen stressed the importance of the Union during the state opening of Parliament
The second day of the three-day SNP conference is being held as Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled his new legislative agenda in the Queen's Speech, which the UK government has described as an ambitious programme for a post-Brexit Britain.
In her speech, which is written by the government, the Queen said: "The integrity and prosperity of the Union that binds the four nations of the UK is of the utmost importance to my government.
"My ministers will bring forward measures to support citizens across all the nations of the UK."
With the Conservatives having no majority in the Commons, there is a chance that the Queen's Speech could be rejected by Parliament, which would trigger renewed calls for a general election.
Labour has described the exercise - which comes just a fortnight before the UK is due to leave the EU on 31 October - as a political "stunt".
Speaking to the BBC's Today programme on Monday morning, Ms Sturgeon said she is unsure if Mr Johnson's government will still be in office to deliver its proposed Budget on 6 November.
She said: "On one hand, as first minister, I want there to be a Budget because we need that in order to know what the spending envelope of the Scottish government is for the next year.
"But, I have to say, I think it's another example of this government making things up as they go along. I'm not sure they will still be in office on 6 November.
"It doesn't appear to be at all certain we will leave the EU on 31 October. It's still a big risk of leaving with no deal, but I certainly hope that we will manage to see an extension secured to the Article 50 process."
Ms Sturgeon told the BBC on Sunday that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn should not "bother picking up the phone to me" to ask for her party's support to help him form a government he is willing to agree to an independence referendum.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-50040838
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news_uk-scotland-scotland-politics-50040838
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Will 'Super Saturday' be a decisive Brexit moment? - BBC News
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2019-10-10
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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A one-off Commons sitting may show how far Boris Johnson is willing to go to resist another Brexit delay.
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UK Politics
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A new date in the diary, a new countdown.
Not the EU summit, not the prime minister's deadline, but what might be a decisive day in the immediate aftermath, already being joked about as Super Saturday.
As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, in the unlikely event that there is a deal with the EU (progress check, still unlikely but not completely impossible) then the 19 October had been pencilled in as the day when Parliament would be asked to approve the arrangement the prime minister had brokered.
Whatever happens now though, Mr Johnson plans to summon MPs to Westminster, where by whatever mechanisms available, he'll essentially try to force a decisive moment.
If as expected now, there is no deal, why would he not just automatically do what Parliament has changed the law to do, to seek a delay from the EU immediately?
The deadline for that to happen is midnight on that Saturday night.
But up until that moment, and perhaps well beyond, Boris Johnson will fight the delay - not just because he believes it would be a mistake, but also because it is a political embarrassment for him to break the promise he flamboyantly made during the summer's leadership campaign and relentlessly since.
That promise is that he would not ask for a delay, he'd stick to his Halloween deadline "do or die" - you can pick your particular dramatic metaphor, there are plenty to choose from.
But he will overtly do his utmost to pin the blame for a delay on MPs. Whether you agree or find it repellent, there is nothing subtle about the obvious pitching of this No 10 against former Remainers.
The truth is a delay would be a policy failure for the prime minister - forget for the moment that he and his team would use it to help their efforts to win a broader political argument.
But inside government there is a belief that it might not quite be over. Don't all scream at once. Yes, there are lawyers everywhere warning that there is no way round the so-called Benn Act and they may well be absolutely right.
There are active attempts in court to make sure that the legal provisions to force an extension are watertight. And several Cabinet ministers have told me they can see no way to avoid a delay if there is no deal. More in sorrow than in anger one told me "the EU will do what it always does, play long, and we'll have to agree".
But inside Number 10 there are still discussions about whether to send a second letter to the EU - meaning the government would comply with the Benn Act demanding that the government has to seek a delay in letter one but then send another letter alongside it essentially denouncing that idea from a political perspective.
Put that alongside likely protestations from the prime minister that a delay would be pointless, and perhaps that he would refuse to negotiate any further, and we might all find ourselves in an extremely turbulent period, where the reactions of the EU could be hard to predict.
This would likely see the government almost immediately facing challenges in court, or perhaps even pursuing a few of their own.
But despite all of the legal and political speculation, as I've written before, this is an untested area where there are no precedents and no conventions to guide us. That's why some of the wilder suggestions, including one that Boris Johnson might even refuse to move out of Number 10 if he loses a confidence vote and can't form a government, are impossible at the moment to exclude.
Whatever happens on 19 October, that may be the moment when the extent of the provocation Downing Street is willing to pursue becomes clear.
PS. Whatever you think of the aggressive noises coming out of the government about the state of the negotiations and the audacity of their plans, be in no doubt it is designed to convey a message to the EU not to expect Boris Johnson to compromise more readily after the likely general election.
Essentially the dramatic language is designed not just to irritate their opponents, but also to make it clear to their negotiating opponents that any Brexit offer from the UK, if there is a Tory majority after the election, is likely to be a harder not softer one and the EU will face a government less willing to compromise, not more.
The hope is to make it seem to the EU that their safest choice is to grab this deal. But at this stage, there is not much sign of that happening.
PPS. All the hostility has created a separate row in the Tory Party over what goes in their election manifesto. Some Brexit hawks believe it ought to promise an automatic no-deal departure if they win the election (a huge if!)
That suggestion riled some ministers and MPs who believe they now have some assurances from Mr Johnson that it would not be so stark.
As I understand it there is no final decision. But a likely position is a souped-up version of the PM's 31 October pledge - where the manifesto would say the Conservatives would like to leave with a deal, but if a tight deadline - maybe extremely tight - can't be met, then it's no deal at a pace.
Their upset is yet more evidence of Boris Johnson's challenge in keeping the Tories together, and trying to be able to please both former Remain voters and Leavers alike.
• None What is in Boris Johnson's Brexit plan?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49994824
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news_uk-politics-49994824
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Green Party leader calls for 'pernicious' Home Office to be abolished - BBC News
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2019-10-04
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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A new Ministry for Sanctuary should oversee a "fairer" immigration system, Jonathan Bartley says.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "The oceans are rising but so are we"
The Green Party's co-leader is calling for the Home Office to be scrapped in a radical shake-up of immigration policy.
Jonathan Bartley said the department was "pernicious" in its treatment of people and a new Ministry for Sanctuary should oversee a "fairer" system.
In a speech to his party conference, he warned of a "new authoritarianism" in Britain and said he was "ashamed of what our country has become".
Only the Greens could deal with the injustices that led to Brexit, he said.
Addressing activists on the first day of the Green Party conference in Newport, Mr Bartley also called for free bus travel in England, and for all future laws passed by Parliament to be measured against their environmental impact on the next generation.
The party, which opposes Brexit and supports another referendum, has only one MP in Westminster, Caroline Lucas, but performed strongly in council and European elections earlier this year.
In his speech, Mr Bartley - who shares the leadership with Sian Berry - said a "green wave was sweeping the continent and we are surfing it in England and Wales".
Paying tribute to climate protesters, including Extinction Rebellion, who he said had made the future of the planet a political imperative, he said the "oceans are rising but so are we".
Outlining a "radical plan" to revamp government and the economy, he said the Home Office should be scrapped and its responsibilities shared between two new departments.
All bus travel should be free in England and Wales, Mr Bartley said
While the Ministry for Sanctuary would be in charge of immigration policy, the Ministry for the Interior would have responsibility for law and order.
The changes, he said, were needed to address the "austerity, inequality and political exclusion" which he said had contributed to the Brexit vote.
"We would abolish the pernicious Home Office because transformation of our country demands a system that is truly representative of and fair to everyone," he said.
While his party opposed Brexit, he said it would not be joining the Liberal Democrats in calling for Article 50 to be revoked, which would end the process entirely.
Welcoming Labour's "late" conversion to the idea of another referendum on Brexit, he said only the people could settle the issue of the UK's future in Europe.
"If we want to stay in Europe, we must win the argument over Europe," he said.
"If they (the government) were on the side of the people they would trust the people, and give the people a people's vote"
He called for the a total overhaul of the economy to deal with the climate emergency, saying policy-makers "must do what the science demands not what is deemed politically possible".
"This can be a new start," he concluded. "We need a decisive break from business as usual, and we are ready to make the leap.
"The Green Party has always been on the right side of history. The time is now to shape our future."
Ms Berry, who is running to be Mayor of London, will address the three-day event on Sunday.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49936213
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news_uk-politics-49936213
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England's World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand 'the finest of their lives' - BBC Sport
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2019-10-26
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[]
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It was impossible to find an area in which England were not superior to the All Blacks, writes Tom Fordyce.
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This time, against New Zealand in a stone-cold World Cup classic, there was no need to go to boundaries scored.
If England have ever produced a better 80 minutes of rugby union then no-one dancing round Yokohama or screaming the sofas down back home could care to remember it.
It was supposed to be close. It was supposed to be the All Blacks, because it is almost always the All Blacks, going back through the years at Twickenham and Auckland and all points in between.
And yet it was comfortable, in an excruciating sort of way, if you ignore the dread tension of being up and ahead from the second minute against a side who routinely make late comebacks like other teams make touch.
And if you could watch George Ford's penalties arcing towards the posts while still breathing, and watch the percussive demolition hits of Sam Underhill, Tom Curry and Maro Itoje without grabbing your own ribs and wincing.
From the first minute to the last England were demonstrably the superior team. There's a decent argument they also won the time before then too; when you can stare down the haka and grin, as Owen Farrell did, or stroll towards it like a man off to the bar, as Joe Marler did. There was no fear when so many down the years have quaked.
• None England made All Blacks look like 'they hadn't a clue' - pundit reaction
• None England had to stand up to haka - Farrell
Never before have New Zealand conceded a World Cup try as early as Manu Tuilagi's second-minute score. Only once before have they been kept scoreless in the first half of a World Cup match.
It is 18 games - across 12 years - since they were beaten in this tournament, and this was only a second loss to England in 17 meetings. Yet on a night of the gloriously strange, the most nonsensical stat of all was also among the most startling: the three-time world champions scored fewer points than Leicester did away goals against Southampton the night before.
To tip the All Blacks from their throne, even the most ebullient among England's support thought half their team would have to produce the finest performance of their lives.
And so it came to pass: Ford and Underhill and Curry and Itoje all at dreamy, terrifying peak that left black shirts retreating and panicking and doing all the things they usually dish out to others.
Steve Hansen picked Scott Barrett to dominate the line-out. England owned the airwaves instead, except for the one ghastly moment when Ardie Savea was gifted the chance to bring a game that could have been 17 points distant back to a six-pointer.
The biggest Barrett was hooked at half-time, Sam Cane thrown on with the game half-gone, the Kiwi breakdown a shellshocked mess. Curry and Underhill went at the wreckage like some kind of demonic twins.
There was nothing kamikaze about it. It was the death-knell instead for a team that had cut Ireland apart in the quarter-finals with quick ball and who love to slow that of their opposition so they can get up fast and flat and shut everything else off.
In total England won 16 turnovers. No team has won more at this World Cup. The last time England managed as many in the tournament was back in 1987, against Japan, when there were 4,893 spectators watching, which gives you some sort of idea how remarkable the comparison is.
Breakdown won, set-piece won, discipline won. England conceded just six penalties to the All Blacks' 11.
But it was impossible to find an area in which England were not out in front. They were faster and they were more precise. They kicked from hand better, and they tackled in the way that wrecking-balls meet walls.
• None All Blacks lost to the better side - Hansen
• None England can play better in final - Eddie Jones, Vunipola & Itoje on historic win
The team got it all right and so did their coach Eddie Jones. Right in bringing back Ford, right in resisting the temptation to buttress his line-out with another jumper in place of the relentless Curry, right with the conditioning that allowed his picks to keep going at a pace that first stretched the black-shirted resolve and then broke it.
A first World Cup final since 2007 but done in such a contrasting way.
England in Paris 12 years ago were a gutsy collection of old warriors and stalwarts who refused to beaten. They won games through the last true international hurrah of Jonny Wilkinson and disbanded quietly once coldly dismantled by South Africa in the final.
This is a young team that is accelerating into world-beating maturity before our eyes, a squad that shipped 31 second-half points against Scotland as recently as last March and finished a dismal fifth in the Six Nations a year before, now pushing back fresh boundaries with every game that comes.
The only England team to ever win the Webb-Ellis trophy arrived at the tournament in 2003 as the best team in the world and held their position on the curve just long enough to make it count when it truly mattered.
This one shows no sign of stalling. Jones has had some luck in having Tuilagi and both Vunipolas fit when Stuart Lancaster lost two of the three four years ago. He has reaped the harvest that Lancaster sowed in giving debuts to a young Farrell, and Ford, and May, and Slade.
But he is taking that raw mix and turning it into something special. At a time of financial crisis the RFU bet the house on Jones. He has now narrowed the odds in a way that many doubted he could.
No-one is remembered for winning a semi-final. Should all this momentum, hope and belief come crashing down in the same stadium in a week's time then Saturday's triumph will fade and pale.
Yet as Hey Jude and Wonderwall blasted out around the two tiers of blue seats on Saturday evening, and white shirts in the stands cavorted and bellowed along, it was all about the now and this night.
The kings are dead, their throne empty. Next week can wait for another dawn.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/50194297
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rt_rugby-union_50194297
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Brexit: No better outcome than my deal, says Johnson - BBC News
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2019-10-18
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Boris Johnson makes a fresh appeal to MPs ahead of Saturday's knife-edge Commons vote on his Brexit deal.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson: "Chance to move on" with Brexit
Boris Johnson has urged MPs to "come together" to back the Brexit deal he has secured with the EU, insisting there is "no better outcome".
The prime minister told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg he wanted the country to "move on" from Brexit, which he described as "divisive".
And he said he was hopeful the deal would pass the Commons on Saturday.
The government's former allies in the DUP and every opposition party plans to vote against it.
The new deal, agreed by Mr Johnson and the EU on Thursday, is similar to the one agreed by Theresa May last year - but it removes the controversial backstop clause, which critics say could have kept the UK tied indefinitely to EU customs rules.
Northern Ireland would remain in the UK's customs union under the new agreement, but there would also be customs checks on some goods passing through en route to Ireland and the EU single market.
Mr Johnson and his team are trying to persuade enough Labour rebels, former Conservatives and Brexiteer Tory rebels to get it across the line in Parliament.
He told the BBC's political editor: "I just kind of invite everybody to imagine what it could be like tomorrow (Saturday) evening, if we have settled this, and we have respected the will of the people, because we will then have a chance to to move on.
"I hope that people will think well, you know, what's the balance, what do our constituents really want?
"Do they want us to keep going with this argument, do they want more division and delay? Look, you know, this has been a long exhausting and quite divisive business Brexit."
He repeated his commitment to leave the EU on 31 October, adding: "There's no better outcome than the one I'm advocating tomorrow."
Mr Johnson has repeatedly said Brexit will happen by the end of the month with or without a deal.
But MPs passed a law in September, known as the Benn Act, which requires the PM to send a letter to the EU asking for an extension until January 2020 if a deal is not agreed - or if MPs do not back a no-deal Brexit.
Former Tory Sir Oliver Letwin - who was kicked out of the party for backing the law - has put an amendment down to ensure the extension is asked for even if MPs back the deal in the Commons on Saturday.
He said the government could still leave without a deal on 31 October if the PM's proposals had not passed every stage in Parliament to become law - so the motion would withhold MPs' approval until that final hurdle is passed.
Meanwhile, responding to the deal, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said taking no deal off the table was a "net economic positive".
It really is extremely tight. It would be foolish to make a guess on which way it will go.
What we do know might happen tomorrow is rather than there being a thumbs up or thumbs down vote to the deal, there could be an attempt by some MPs to bring in what they see as an insurance policy.
This could mean another delay in case this deal falls through in the next couple of weeks.
That is potentially being put forward as an amendment so MPs will have a chance to vote on it.
Without going in to all the potential machinations it could mean tomorrow turns, not just into MPs giving an opinion on Boris Johnson's deal, but also wrangling again about a potential delay.
This could make things more fuzzy, and certainly more frustrating for Downing Street.
It will be a showdown of sorts.
Downing Street always knew that Parliament would be a very tricky hurdle.
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Mr Johnson was also quizzed about the deal he has struck with the EU to resolve the issues over the Irish border.
He denied breaking a promise to the DUP, saying: "No I don't accept that at all.
"I think that what you have is a fantastic deal for all of the UK, and particularly for Northern Ireland because you've got a single customs territory. Northern Ireland leaves the EU with the rest of the UK."
The DUP has accused Mr Johnson of "selling Northern Ireland short" by accepting checks on some goods passing through Northern Ireland to get a deal with the EU.
The party's Brexit spokesman, Sammy Wilson, has described the deal as "toxic" and is urging Conservative MPs not to back it.
The pro-Brexit European Research Group has previously given its full backing to the DUP.
On Friday evening vice-chairman Mark Francois told the BBC he would be voting for the deal, while another member, Andrew Bridgen, said the "vast majority" of the group "will come to the conclusion that this deal is tolerable".
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Labour plans to vote against the government motion, and in a letter to his own MPs Jeremy Corbyn said it was a "worse deal" than the one Theresa May struck with Brussels.
He said the proposals "risk triggering a race to the bottom on rights and protections".
"This sell-out deal won't bring the country together and should be rejected," Mr Corbyn added.
The party also attacked the deal after one Conservative MP, John Baron, told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme the UK would be able to leave the EU "on no-deal terms" if trade talks failed at the end of the so-called transition period in December 2020.
Labour chairman Ian Lavery said: "The cat has been let out of the bag... [and] no one should be in any doubt that Johnson's deal is just seen an interim arrangement."
However, the government appears to have moved to try and win the support of some Labour MPs by promising to boost workers' rights and environmental standards after Brexit.
Downing Street said the pledge followed discussions with Labour MPs and would also include a commitment to giving Parliament a say in the future relationship with the EU.
The SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford has also tabled an amendment, calling for a three-month extension to Brexit to allow for an early general election.
And Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage called the deal "the second worst deal in history" behind Theresa May's withdrawal agreement.
Commons business will start at 9:30 BST on Saturday - the first weekend sitting since the invasion of the Falklands in 1982.
Mr Johnson will make a statement to the House and face questions from MPs, before they move on to a debate about the deal.
The timing of any votes depends on which amendments are chose by the Speaker of the Commons, John Bercow.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-50099540
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news_uk-politics-50099540
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Paul Gascoigne cleared of sex assault on train passenger - BBC News
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2019-10-18
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The ex-footballer has been cleared of both assault and sexual assault after kissing a woman on a train.
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England
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Paul Gascoigne arrived to hear the verdict with his legal team and personal manager Katie Davies
Former England footballer Paul Gascoigne has been cleared of sexually assaulting a woman on a train.
The 52-year-old had been accused of "forcefully and sloppily" kissing the fellow passenger on a service from York to Newcastle in August 2018.
Mr Gascoigne wept in the dock and thanked the jury to cheers of "yes" from the public gallery as the verdict was announced.
He was also cleared of the lesser charge of assault by beating.
Judge Peter Armstrong told Gascoigne: "You are now discharged and free to go." He was told he could apply to have his defence costs paid.
Leaving Teesside Crown Court, the former Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Rangers, Middlesbrough and Everton midfielder thanked the judge and his dentist - an apparent reference to evidence earlier in the trial about him not having his false teeth in when he was on the train.
His solicitor Imogen Cox read a statement on his behalf, saying: "To have a sexual allegation for over 12 months has been tough.
"I am so glad I was finally able to put over my side of the story and that the jury came to the correct verdict.
"I'm now looking forward to getting on with my life."
Gascoigne himself then said: "I am off to the dentist."
In a tweet Mr Gascoigne's personal manager Katie Davies, who has been with him on all four days of the trial, said the verdicts had "restored her faith in humanity".
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by M & N Management This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
It emerged that during legal argument in the absence of the jury, the prosecution tried and failed to be allowed to tell the jury about Gascoigne's previous convictions, which include offences of battery, criminal damage and racially aggravated harassment.
The Crown Prosecution Service said it had considered the charge before the case.
A spokesperson said: "We reviewed the case in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors and it was determined that there was a realistic prospect of conviction and it was in the public interest to prosecute Mr Gascoigne for the offence of sexual assault."
Mr Gascoigne had told the court he gave the woman a "peck on the lips" to "boost her confidence" after he heard a male passenger call her overweight.
However, prosecutor William Mousley had told the jury that the accused had "lied, and lied, and lied" during the trial, which heard he had been drunk on board the train.
But Michelle Heeley QC, defending, said the former player had no sexual intention.
Mr Gascoigne has spoken to onlookers outside the court
She said: "In his own naive way, he thought he was making a larger woman have more body confidence.
"It's a clumsy way to go about building someone's confidence, but it was not sexual."
Jurors were handed a file of photos showing Mr Gascoigne kissing and being kissed by famous footballers and fans.
A photo of him kissing Diana, Princess of Wales, was also shown to the jury.
Mr Gascoigne broke down as he told the court about what happened on the journey from Birmingham to Newcastle, on 20 August last year.
The former footballer, who had been travelling with his nephews, said while passengers were asking for selfies and autographs he heard a man say about a passenger: "What do you want a photo of her for? She's fat and ugly."
Mr Gascoigne told the jury he had previously had trouble with his weight and "automatically" went to sit next to the woman to reassure her.
He said he told her: "You're not fat and ugly, you're beautiful."
Mr Gascoigne was in a "drunken state" when he was arrested, the court was told - although he said he had had pellets implanted in his stomach that made him sick if he drank spirits, and denied being drunk.
British Transport Police PC Robert Moody said Mr Gascoigne had been drinking beer in a hotel lobby when he arrived to arrest him.
PC Moody said he had spoken to him before travelling to the hotel, telling jurors Mr Gascoigne had said: "I know what it's about, I kissed a fat lass."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-50068077
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news_uk-england-50068077
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Tony Blair: 'No-deal Brexit risks UK break-up' - BBC News
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2019-10-08
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The former PM says leaving the EU without a deal would be a boost for those backing Scottish independence.
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Scotland politics
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Tony Blair said he believed a no-deal Brexit was a "threat" to the United Kingdom
Tony Blair has said the prospect of a no-deal Brexit is a boost for those supporting Scottish independence.
The former prime minister said the chances of the UK leaving the EU without a deal have increased on the basis of latest briefings from No 10.
But Mr Blair said a deal with the EU was still possible.
In an interview with BBC Scotland, Mr Blair also acknowledged that he now finds it a "struggle" to support Labour.
He said: "A no-deal Brexit is a threat to the United Kingdom, there is no doubt about that.
"It is a threat to Northern Ireland, it is a threat to Scotland remaining in the UK,
"Do I hope either of these things happen? No, of course not and I will argue strongly against it."
Mr Blair added that a no-deal Brexit would give supporters of independence an "additional argument that they did not have before".
Angela Merkel and Boris Johnson spoke on the phone on Tuesday morning and this has led to reports that the chances of a Brexit deal have decreased
Reflecting on reports that a Brexit deal is "essentially impossible" after a call between the prime minister Boris Johnson and Angela Merkel, Mr Blair said there needed to be better conduct in negotiations.
He added: "On the basis of the way the government has behaved today I think a no deal is more likely.
"I think there is a genuine desire on the part of Europe to reach a deal if at all possible, no-one sensible wants a no deal.
"Let's see what happens over the next days but if the government is seriously going to assemble the semblance of a deal it has got to stop doing these briefings and stop conducting its business through the media."
Asked about his personal support for the party he led for 13 years, Mr Blair added that "It's a struggle for me with Labour and I am quite open about that."
Speaking at another event in Edinburgh, a lunch organised by the Scottish Parliamentary Journalists' Association, Mr Blair warned about a UK government briefing that the Tories would contest an election on a platform supporting a no-deal Brexit.
He said: "The strategy is laid out very clearly, and it's a vast elephant trap of great width and depth, with neon signs flashing around it saying: 'Elephant trap - elephants of limited awareness please fall in'.
"They should avoid that."
Mr Blair added: "The right thing is indeed to go back to the people but I beg you, please, not by way of a general election.
"To mix a general election up with the specific issue of Brexit is wrong in principle and it's wrong in the politics."
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Boris Johnson: UK offering EU 'very constructive' Brexit proposals - BBC News
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2019-10-01
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Boris Johnson says plans will go to the EU soon, but some customs checks will be needed in Ireland.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. PM: Irish customs checks after Brexit can be "absolutely minimal"
Boris Johnson says the government is offering the EU "very constructive and far-reaching proposals" to break the Brexit impasse.
Speaking to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, he confirmed the UK's plan would include some customs checks on the island of Ireland after Brexit.
But they would be "absolutely minimal" and "won't involve new infrastructure".
The EU says it has "not received any proposals from the UK" yet that could replace the backstop.
The UK is set to leave the EU on 31 October.
Mr Johnson has said the exit will go ahead with or without a deal - despite MPs passing a law last month forcing him to ask for an extension from the EU if Parliament hasn't voted in favour of a specific deal or leaving without one.
The border between Ireland and Northern Ireland has been a contentious part of the Brexit negotiations since day one.
At present there are no checks on goods moving across it and the backstop was agreed between former PM Theresa May and the EU as an insurance policy to make sure that does not change - and that no infrastructure like cameras or security posts can be installed in the future.
If used, the backstop would keep the UK in a very close relationship with the EU until a trade deal permanently avoiding the need for checks was agreed.
However, the government says it is "undemocratic" and unacceptable.
Speaking on day three of the Conservative conference, Mr Johnson said he believed the UK was offering enough to win the EU round and more detail would be made public soon.
"Yes, I absolutely do," he insisted.
"So, with great respect to all those who are currently anxious about it - and particularly in Ireland - we do think that our proposals are good and creative.
"But I accept also... there may be hard yards ahead."
He added: "That is going to be where the argument is going to be - and that's where the negotiations will be tough."
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The PM said there would "have to be a system for customs checks away from the border".
"If the EU is going to insist on customs checks... then we will have to accept that reality," he added.
When it was put to him that it was not the EU who were insisting on customs checks, the PM replied: "Well, let's see where we get to. And as you know, we made some very constructive and far-reaching proposals."
The Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, said in the event of a no-deal Brexit, there would need to be checks at ports, airports and perhaps at the border.
But he said that would only be the case if the UK left without an agreement, telling the Dail: "We've never been in the position of signing up to checks as part of a deal."
Mr Johnson told Laura Kuenssberg he always knew "things would get choppy" in the lead up to the Brexit deadline.
But the PM believed "fevers would cool" and "tempers would come down" once that moment had passed.
"There's no way of getting Brexit done without... displeasing people who don't want Brexit to get done," he said.
"[There is] no way of delivering Brexit sort of 52% Brexit and 48% Remain - that's just logically impossible."
Mr Johnson added: "I think once we get it done, and once we can begin building a new partnership with our new friends... we can start thinking about how we can do things differently."
At a reception hosted by the DUP at the Conservative party conference in Manchester on Tuesday night, Mr Johnson said the UK had made progress in the negotiations, adding: "I hope very much in the next few days we are going to get there."
The prime minster said that Northern Ireland should remain part of the United Kingdom "forever".
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The government has made a number of policy announcements at the conference, from raising the National Living Wage over the next five years to toughening prison sentences for the worst offenders.
But the plans have been overshadowed by allegations that Mr Johnson squeezed the thigh of journalist Charlotte Edwardes under a table at a lunch in 1999.
Mr Johnson has repeatedly denied the incident, telling the BBC: "It's simply not true."
He would not answer whether he thought Ms Edwardes - who has stood by her claims - lied or whether he remembered the lunch.
And while the PM said such allegations should be taken seriously, he did not agree to an investigation, saying he wanted to "get on with delivering on... [the] important issue of our domestic agenda".
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Will 'Super Saturday' be a decisive Brexit moment? - BBC News
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2019-10-09
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A one-off Commons sitting may show how far Boris Johnson is willing to go to resist another Brexit delay.
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UK Politics
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A new date in the diary, a new countdown.
Not the EU summit, not the prime minister's deadline, but what might be a decisive day in the immediate aftermath, already being joked about as Super Saturday.
As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, in the unlikely event that there is a deal with the EU (progress check, still unlikely but not completely impossible) then the 19 October had been pencilled in as the day when Parliament would be asked to approve the arrangement the prime minister had brokered.
Whatever happens now though, Mr Johnson plans to summon MPs to Westminster, where by whatever mechanisms available, he'll essentially try to force a decisive moment.
If as expected now, there is no deal, why would he not just automatically do what Parliament has changed the law to do, to seek a delay from the EU immediately?
The deadline for that to happen is midnight on that Saturday night.
But up until that moment, and perhaps well beyond, Boris Johnson will fight the delay - not just because he believes it would be a mistake, but also because it is a political embarrassment for him to break the promise he flamboyantly made during the summer's leadership campaign and relentlessly since.
That promise is that he would not ask for a delay, he'd stick to his Halloween deadline "do or die" - you can pick your particular dramatic metaphor, there are plenty to choose from.
But he will overtly do his utmost to pin the blame for a delay on MPs. Whether you agree or find it repellent, there is nothing subtle about the obvious pitching of this No 10 against former Remainers.
The truth is a delay would be a policy failure for the prime minister - forget for the moment that he and his team would use it to help their efforts to win a broader political argument.
But inside government there is a belief that it might not quite be over. Don't all scream at once. Yes, there are lawyers everywhere warning that there is no way round the so-called Benn Act and they may well be absolutely right.
There are active attempts in court to make sure that the legal provisions to force an extension are watertight. And several Cabinet ministers have told me they can see no way to avoid a delay if there is no deal. More in sorrow than in anger one told me "the EU will do what it always does, play long, and we'll have to agree".
But inside Number 10 there are still discussions about whether to send a second letter to the EU - meaning the government would comply with the Benn Act demanding that the government has to seek a delay in letter one but then send another letter alongside it essentially denouncing that idea from a political perspective.
Put that alongside likely protestations from the prime minister that a delay would be pointless, and perhaps that he would refuse to negotiate any further, and we might all find ourselves in an extremely turbulent period, where the reactions of the EU could be hard to predict.
This would likely see the government almost immediately facing challenges in court, or perhaps even pursuing a few of their own.
But despite all of the legal and political speculation, as I've written before, this is an untested area where there are no precedents and no conventions to guide us. That's why some of the wilder suggestions, including one that Boris Johnson might even refuse to move out of Number 10 if he loses a confidence vote and can't form a government, are impossible at the moment to exclude.
Whatever happens on 19 October, that may be the moment when the extent of the provocation Downing Street is willing to pursue becomes clear.
PS. Whatever you think of the aggressive noises coming out of the government about the state of the negotiations and the audacity of their plans, be in no doubt it is designed to convey a message to the EU not to expect Boris Johnson to compromise more readily after the likely general election.
Essentially the dramatic language is designed not just to irritate their opponents, but also to make it clear to their negotiating opponents that any Brexit offer from the UK, if there is a Tory majority after the election, is likely to be a harder not softer one and the EU will face a government less willing to compromise, not more.
The hope is to make it seem to the EU that their safest choice is to grab this deal. But at this stage, there is not much sign of that happening.
PPS. All the hostility has created a separate row in the Tory Party over what goes in their election manifesto. Some Brexit hawks believe it ought to promise an automatic no-deal departure if they win the election (a huge if!)
That suggestion riled some ministers and MPs who believe they now have some assurances from Mr Johnson that it would not be so stark.
As I understand it there is no final decision. But a likely position is a souped-up version of the PM's 31 October pledge - where the manifesto would say the Conservatives would like to leave with a deal, but if a tight deadline - maybe extremely tight - can't be met, then it's no deal at a pace.
Their upset is yet more evidence of Boris Johnson's challenge in keeping the Tories together, and trying to be able to please both former Remain voters and Leavers alike.
• None What is in Boris Johnson's Brexit plan?
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As it happened: Reaction as MPs tell PM to ask for Brexit delay - BBC News
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2019-10-19
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Latest updates as MPs vote to delay Brexit until necessary UK legislation is passed.
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UK Politics
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It had been billed as a march to give confident voice to those who want the Brexit debate put back to the people, but as crowds set out on the People's Vote march, the nervous chatter was how the MP Oliver Letwin's amendment might be their only hope.
This long-planned event provided a noisy soundtrack to government attempts to bring the Brexit argument to an end before the march reached its destination.
Pictures from inside the Palace of Westminster were relayed to the vast crowd watching on a big screen erected on Parliament Square outside.
And then the moment when it was clear there would be no Brexit deal today. It was less a moment for rejoicing, more a sense of relief.
The long march that the protesters hope will lead from one people's vote to another will go on.
What the final destination looks like, for those on all sides of the argument, that remains frustratingly unclear.
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Brexit: No better outcome than my deal, says Johnson - BBC News
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2019-10-19
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Boris Johnson makes a fresh appeal to MPs ahead of Saturday's knife-edge Commons vote on his Brexit deal.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson: "Chance to move on" with Brexit
Boris Johnson has urged MPs to "come together" to back the Brexit deal he has secured with the EU, insisting there is "no better outcome".
The prime minister told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg he wanted the country to "move on" from Brexit, which he described as "divisive".
And he said he was hopeful the deal would pass the Commons on Saturday.
The government's former allies in the DUP and every opposition party plans to vote against it.
The new deal, agreed by Mr Johnson and the EU on Thursday, is similar to the one agreed by Theresa May last year - but it removes the controversial backstop clause, which critics say could have kept the UK tied indefinitely to EU customs rules.
Northern Ireland would remain in the UK's customs union under the new agreement, but there would also be customs checks on some goods passing through en route to Ireland and the EU single market.
Mr Johnson and his team are trying to persuade enough Labour rebels, former Conservatives and Brexiteer Tory rebels to get it across the line in Parliament.
He told the BBC's political editor: "I just kind of invite everybody to imagine what it could be like tomorrow (Saturday) evening, if we have settled this, and we have respected the will of the people, because we will then have a chance to to move on.
"I hope that people will think well, you know, what's the balance, what do our constituents really want?
"Do they want us to keep going with this argument, do they want more division and delay? Look, you know, this has been a long exhausting and quite divisive business Brexit."
He repeated his commitment to leave the EU on 31 October, adding: "There's no better outcome than the one I'm advocating tomorrow."
Mr Johnson has repeatedly said Brexit will happen by the end of the month with or without a deal.
But MPs passed a law in September, known as the Benn Act, which requires the PM to send a letter to the EU asking for an extension until January 2020 if a deal is not agreed - or if MPs do not back a no-deal Brexit.
Former Tory Sir Oliver Letwin - who was kicked out of the party for backing the law - has put an amendment down to ensure the extension is asked for even if MPs back the deal in the Commons on Saturday.
He said the government could still leave without a deal on 31 October if the PM's proposals had not passed every stage in Parliament to become law - so the motion would withhold MPs' approval until that final hurdle is passed.
Meanwhile, responding to the deal, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said taking no deal off the table was a "net economic positive".
It really is extremely tight. It would be foolish to make a guess on which way it will go.
What we do know might happen tomorrow is rather than there being a thumbs up or thumbs down vote to the deal, there could be an attempt by some MPs to bring in what they see as an insurance policy.
This could mean another delay in case this deal falls through in the next couple of weeks.
That is potentially being put forward as an amendment so MPs will have a chance to vote on it.
Without going in to all the potential machinations it could mean tomorrow turns, not just into MPs giving an opinion on Boris Johnson's deal, but also wrangling again about a potential delay.
This could make things more fuzzy, and certainly more frustrating for Downing Street.
It will be a showdown of sorts.
Downing Street always knew that Parliament would be a very tricky hurdle.
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Mr Johnson was also quizzed about the deal he has struck with the EU to resolve the issues over the Irish border.
He denied breaking a promise to the DUP, saying: "No I don't accept that at all.
"I think that what you have is a fantastic deal for all of the UK, and particularly for Northern Ireland because you've got a single customs territory. Northern Ireland leaves the EU with the rest of the UK."
The DUP has accused Mr Johnson of "selling Northern Ireland short" by accepting checks on some goods passing through Northern Ireland to get a deal with the EU.
The party's Brexit spokesman, Sammy Wilson, has described the deal as "toxic" and is urging Conservative MPs not to back it.
The pro-Brexit European Research Group has previously given its full backing to the DUP.
On Friday evening vice-chairman Mark Francois told the BBC he would be voting for the deal, while another member, Andrew Bridgen, said the "vast majority" of the group "will come to the conclusion that this deal is tolerable".
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Labour plans to vote against the government motion, and in a letter to his own MPs Jeremy Corbyn said it was a "worse deal" than the one Theresa May struck with Brussels.
He said the proposals "risk triggering a race to the bottom on rights and protections".
"This sell-out deal won't bring the country together and should be rejected," Mr Corbyn added.
The party also attacked the deal after one Conservative MP, John Baron, told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme the UK would be able to leave the EU "on no-deal terms" if trade talks failed at the end of the so-called transition period in December 2020.
Labour chairman Ian Lavery said: "The cat has been let out of the bag... [and] no one should be in any doubt that Johnson's deal is just seen an interim arrangement."
However, the government appears to have moved to try and win the support of some Labour MPs by promising to boost workers' rights and environmental standards after Brexit.
Downing Street said the pledge followed discussions with Labour MPs and would also include a commitment to giving Parliament a say in the future relationship with the EU.
The SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford has also tabled an amendment, calling for a three-month extension to Brexit to allow for an early general election.
And Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage called the deal "the second worst deal in history" behind Theresa May's withdrawal agreement.
Commons business will start at 9:30 BST on Saturday - the first weekend sitting since the invasion of the Falklands in 1982.
Mr Johnson will make a statement to the House and face questions from MPs, before they move on to a debate about the deal.
The timing of any votes depends on which amendments are chose by the Speaker of the Commons, John Bercow.
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Rugby World Cup: New Zealand overpower Ireland to reach semi-finals - BBC Sport
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2019-10-19
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Holders and tournament favourites New Zealand score seven tries in a 46-14 win over outplayed Ireland who fall at the quarter-final stage yet again.
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New Zealand will meet England in the World Cup semi-finals after condemning Ireland to a seventh quarter-final exit with a 46-14 hammering in Tokyo.
Two tries from Aaron Smith and one by Beauden Barrett helped the All Blacks to a 22-0 lead at half-time.
The holders scored further tries through Codie Taylor, Matt Todd, George Bridge and Jordie Barrett.
Robbie Henshaw's score and a penalty try did nothing to recover what was a disastrous display for Ireland.
Billed as the defining final chapter in Joe Schmidt's tenure as head coach, Ireland's World Cup in Japan will go down as another failure with no indication that the team are any closer to the world's elite than they were when they exited at the same stage four years ago.
This was Ireland's second defeat in the tournament - their 19-12 Pool A loss to hosts Japan having deprived them of a last-eight meeting with South Africa and a possibly easier route to a first semi-final.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks will move into the semi-finals as even stronger favourites to lift a third successive Webb Ellis Cup than they were at the start of the tournament having produced a display that few, if any, sides would be capable of delivering.
The narrative from the Ireland camp remained consistent throughout the week-long build-up: they had to produce an almost flawless display if they were to even run New Zealand close.
However, not for a single minute of Saturday's contest did it look as though Ireland possessed the tools capable of derailing the champions.
Indeed, it was New Zealand who produced what was infinitely closer to perfect rugby, taking their game to a level with which Ireland could not contend.
After Richie Mo'unga had kicked his side ahead, Smith navigated the All Blacks deep into Ireland territory before darting through a gap to score.
Although still in the first quarter, the signs were looking ominous for Ireland, with New Zealand winning the battle at the breakdown and punching holes in the defence as they stretched their play left, right and back again through the scintillating back three of Barrett, Sevu Reece and Bridge.
Ireland needed a spark and had the opportunity to push New Zealand onto their try-line with a kick to the corner, but Johnny Sexton missed his touch and two minutes later the ball was back at the opposite end of the pitch, with Smith diving over again from close range.
The third try, which killed off any faint Irish hopes of a revival, came from an Ireland move inside the New Zealand half, with Reece's hit on Sexton dislodging the ball, allowing Barrett to kick through and gather beyond the line.
After spending much of 2019 clinging onto the form of last year as an indicator of their potential, Ireland's defeat by New Zealand in Tokyo presents a far clearer picture of their place on the world stage than their win over the All Blacks 10 months ago did.
The manner of the loss leaves little room for an argument that Ireland can be considered among the top sides in the world.
By the time Taylor dived over on 48 minutes after his side had worked the ball through the phases, it was clear that New Zealand were operating on a level that Ireland were not capable of reaching.
For all of Ireland's shortcomings, the All Blacks were relentlessly wonderful.
Their fifth try arrived after the forwards set-up field position for Mo'unga to kick crossfield for Reece to gather and present for Todd to score.
Ireland did score eventually, as Henshaw cut back against the grain to put his side on the board 10 minutes from time.
Bridge and Jordie Barrett, having been introduced from the bench, benefited from more superb New Zealand ball movement to add further scores either sides of Ireland's penalty try.
• None New Zealand have won 29 of their 32 meetings with Ireland in Test rugby (D1, L2), including both of their matches at the World Cup (43-19 in 1995).
• None Ireland have lost all seven of their World Cup quarter-finals, never making it past this round, No side has endured as many losses at this stage.
• None Two of Ireland's three biggest defeats under Joe Schmidt have now come in World Cup quarter-finals (also 43-20 v Argentina in 2015), while the other came less than two months ago against England (57-15).
• None New Zealand scored seven or more tries in a World Cup knockout match for the third time in their history (eight v Wales in 1987, nine v France in 2015). No other side has scored more than six tries in a match beyond the pool stage of the tournament.
• None Matt Todd became the fifth player to score a try and be yellow-carded in a World Cup knockout game - the previous four were all from New Zealand or France (S Betsen, L Picamoles, L McAlister, J Kaino).
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.
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Ginger Baker: Legendary Cream drummer dies aged 80 - BBC News
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2019-10-06
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One of rock's most influential musicians, he played with Cream, Blind Faith and Public Image Ltd.
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Entertainment & Arts
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The drummer was known for his hair-trigger temper as much as his music
Ginger Baker, one of the most innovative and influential drummers in rock music, has died at the age of 80.
A co-founder of Cream, he also played with Blind Faith, Hawkwind and Fela Kuti in a long and varied career.
His style combined the lyricism of jazz with the crude power of rock. One critic said watching him was like witnessing "a human combine harvester".
But he was also a temperamental and argumentative figure, whose behaviour frequently led to on-stage punch-ups.
Baker continued to play around the world despite his failing health
Nicknamed Ginger for his flaming red hair, the musician was born Peter Edward Baker in Lewisham, south London, shortly before World War Two.
His bricklayer father was killed in action in 1943, and he was brought up in near poverty by his mother, step-father and aunt.
A troubled student, he joined a local gang in his teens and became involved in petty theft. When he tried to quit, gang-members attacked him with a razor.
His early ambition was to ride in the Tour de France but he was forced to quit the sport when, aged 16, his bicycle got "caught up" with a taxi. Instead, he took up drumming.
"I was always banging on the desks at school," he recalled. "So all the kids kept saying, 'Go on, go and play the drums', and I just sat down and I could play.
"It's a gift from God. You've either got it or you haven't. And I've got it: time. Natural time."
He honed his craft in London's pubs and clubs
The strong legs he'd developed on long bike rides helped him play the double bass drum set-up he favoured and Baker soon talked his way into his first gig.
He played with jazz acts like Terry Lightfoot and Acker Bilk but his style - fragmented and aggressive, but articulate and insistent - was often an odd fit.
Instead, he gravitated towards London's burgeoning blues scene and, in 1962, joined Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated on the recommendation of Charlie Watts - who was leaving to join the Rolling Stones.
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He gained early fame as a member of the Graham Bond Organisation alongside bassist Jack Bruce - but it was their partnership with Eric Clapton in Cream that made all three superstars.
One of rock's first "supergroups", they fused blues and psychedelia to dazzling effect on songs like Strange Brew, Sunshine of Your Love, Badge and I Feel Free. They sold more than 35 million albums and were awarded the world's first ever platinum disc for their LP Wheels of Fire.
Along with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the band expanded the vocabulary of heavy rock, especially during their incendiary live shows, where the three musicians would stretch simple riffs into long, exploratory improvisations.
"It was as if something else had taken over," Baker once said of playing with Cream. "You're not conscious of playing. You're listening to this fantastic sound that you're a part of. And your part is just… happening. It was a gift, and we three had it in abundance."
But the volatility that fuelled their performances was rooted in animosity. Baker and Bruce's arguments were frequent and violent, even driving Clapton to tears on one occasion. Once, Baker attempted to end one of Bruce's solos by bouncing a stick off his snare drum, and into Bruce's head.
"So I grabbed my double bass," Bruce later recalled, "and demolished him and his kit."
The band eventually split after two years and four albums, with a farewell concert at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1968.
"Cream came and went almost in the blink of an eye, but left an indelible mark on rock music," wrote Colin Larkin in the Encyclopaedia of Popular Music.
Bands who built on their template included Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin - not that Baker was impressed.
"I don't think Led Zeppelin filled the void that Cream left, but they made a lot of money," he told Forbes.
Cream in Central Park, shortly before their farewell concert (L-R): Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce
Following the band's demise, he teamed up with Clapton and Steve Winwood to form Blind Faith, followed by the ambitious 10-piece Air Force, which combined his interests in jazz and Afro-fusion.
While the musicianship was of a high standard, the eclectic mix of jazz, blues, African music and a surfeit of drums - there were three percussionists - was never going to inspire a mass following.
After one studio album and a live concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Air Force, undermined by personnel changes, finally crashed and burned.
The drug-related death of his friend, Jimi Hendrix, persuaded Baker it was time to leave the London music scene and get clean.
He left Britain to live in Nigeria, where he recorded with Fela Kuti and built his own recording studio. He helped Paul McCartney record the classic Wings' album Band On The Run, although their relationship soured over claims that he was never paid.
Financial problems of one sort or another dogged him throughout this period and he eventually lost control of his studio.
Away from music, he took up rally driving and, somewhat incongruously, developed a love of polo, building up a sizeable collection of ponies, despite his tendency to get injured.
"I've had a lot of falls which have wrecked my body," he told the Telegraph in 2013. "They had to take a piece of my hip bone out and screw it into my neck."
In the 1980s, he played with John Lydon's Public Image Ltd, while continuing to form and discard new bands that combined his African and Western musical influences, like African Force and Middle Passage.
While commercial success eluded him, his reputation, particularly with a new generation of drummers, remained high.
"His playing was revolutionary," said Neil Peart, drummer with the Canadian band Rush. "He set the bar for what rock drumming could be."
Cream were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, briefly reuniting to play three songs, then teamed up again in 2005 for a series of concerts in London and New York.
Almost inevitably, the performances ended with Baker and Bruce fighting on stage.
"It's a knife-edge thing for me and Ginger," Bruce said afterward. "Nowadays, we're happily co-existing in different continents... although I was thinking of asking him to move. He's still a bit too close."
Baker had, in fact, headed to South Africa, where he spent the reunion money buying polo ponies and funding a veterinary hospital.
In 2012, he became the subject of a hugely enjoyable documentary - Beware of Mr Baker - which illustrated how his jaw-dropping drumming was neither as wild nor as extraordinary as his personal life.
In the opening scene, the musician was seen attacking director Jay Bulger with a metal cane, declaring: "I'm going to put you in hospital." He later settled down to reflect, cantankerously, on the trail of broken bands, ex-wives and neglected children he'd left in his wake.
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Contributors marvelled at his talent, but little else. "He influenced me as a drummer, but not as a person," recalled Free's Simon Kirke, who toured with Cream.
In later years, he was beset by ill health, breaking most of his ribs and subsequently being diagnosed with a degenerative spine condition and the onset of emphysema.
"God is punishing me for my past wickedness by keeping me alive and in as much pain as He can," he told Rolling Stone at the time.
The musician fought osteoarthritis to record his final album, Why?, in 2014. Two years later, he underwent open heart surgery and announced his retirement from touring.
"Just seen doctor… big shock… no more gigs for this old drummer... everything is off," he wrote on his official blog.
"Of all things I never thought it would be my heart."
Baker's death will see him feted as one of rock's most influential musicians, but he scoffed at such accolades, insisting: "Drummers are really nothing more than time-keepers."
He told Rhythm magazine: "It's the drummer's job to make the other guys sound good."
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Barclays U-turn on cash access in post offices - BBC News
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2019-10-24
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Barclays reverses its decision to prevent customers withdrawing money from the Post Office network.
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Business
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In remote areas, post offices can be the only places offering banking services
Barclays has reversed its decision to prevent customers withdrawing money from the Post Office network.
It prompted fury when it announced its debit card holders could deposit money but not withdraw cash from a post office counter from January.
Cancelling that plan, the bank said it recognised the network was "valued by many communities in the UK".
It had been the only one of 28 banks and building societies not to fully sign up to a Post Office agreement.
"Our decision provoked a great deal of public and private debate. We have listened very carefully to points that have been made to us by ministers in the government, by MPs, and by interested charities and consumer advocates," said Barclays chief executive Jes Staley.
"Ultimately we have been persuaded to rethink our proposals by the argument that our full participation in the Post Office Banking Framework is crucial at this point to the viability of the Post Office network."
Earlier this month, the Post Office unveiled a new agreement, covering the three years from January and allowing for postmasters and post mistresses to be paid more to take in and dispense cash.
Barclays is the only one to exclude cash withdrawals from its part of the agreement.
This prompted serious concerns from those who have seen bank branches and ATM services disappear from local communities.
Barclays said it would launch a cashback scheme at small businesses in remote towns and areas where there is no branch or ATM alternative within 1km (0.6 miles), and promised to commit to keeping branches open in towns where there are no other options for two years.
That plan continues despite the latest U-turn.
"We are confident that those actions would ensure that all of our customers, vulnerable and otherwise, continue to have access to cash, and we believe that our plans will ultimately expand access to cash through, for example, the free to use retailer cashback scheme we are launching," Mr Staley said.
"We remain of that view, and this was confirmed for us in thousands of conversations with our customers in the past couple of weeks."
Natalie Ceeney, who chaired the Access to Cash Review which called for an guarantee for future access to notes and coins, said: "I'm glad Barclays have come to this decision. They have listened to concerns of politicians, charities and most importantly, their customers.
"Lessons need to be learnt by Government. The cash infrastructure is fragile and cannot be left solely to commercial interests."
Economic secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, who met with Barclays bosses earlier on Thursday, said: "It is vitally important that we have a model for the Post Office Banking Framework which is sustainable, now and in the future. We welcome Barclays' commitment to engage constructively on this so we can safeguard access to cash for everyone who needs it."
Rachel Reeves, chair of Parliament's Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee, said: "I met with Barclays yesterday and as a Committee we were very keen that they should face proper public scrutiny for their actions. The BEIS Committee has called out this egregious behaviour towards customers and we welcome the fact that Barclays has belatedly realised the game is up on this policy."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50174372
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Brexit: How will Labour respond to PM's gambit? - BBC News
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2019-10-24
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The position is fluid in Westminster as the PM says he will ask for an election in the run-up to Christmas.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeremy Corbyn: Take no-deal off the table and we absolutely support a general election
He did it, sort of. The prime minister has said he'll ask MPs to back an election in seven weeks time, just in time for Christmas.
The government's laying the motion tonight to hold the vote on Monday, trying to lay down the gauntlet to the opposition parties, who can keep him trapped in Number 10 if they like.
Remember this time last week there was delight in Downing Street that they had overcome expectations and agreed a deal with the EU.
But that euphoria fell away on that side of the argument, when MPs booted out the timetable to debate and pass all the new laws that would actually make Brexit happen.
For some of those objecting, it's a part of the ruse to stop our departure. But many others had what they considered entirely legitimate concerns about the speed with which he was trying to ram it through
Number 10's wheeze now is to dangle the offer of a few extra days of scrutiny to get it through, but only if MPs give in to Boris Johnson's other demand, backing to go to the ballot box soon after.
'Have the extra time you called for, but only if I get my ultimate prize' he's asking Parliament.
Downing Street knows full well however that opposition MPs are unlikely suddenly to swoon for this new timetable, it is hardly much extra time for scrutiny.
And while there are cabinet ministers who reckon it would be better to try as hard as possible with the bill, calmly and on a more conventional timetable, the dominant view in government is that there really is not a serious chance of the Brexit legislation getting through unmangled, so the only way, reluctantly for some, is to push the button for an election.
And this is where it gets very sticky for the government.
What happens next is partly dependent on exactly how the EU responds to the UK request for delay to Brexit.
That will become clear either on Friday or Monday. Although President Macron is understood to be on board for a short extension that would focus the minds, apparently texting as much to the prime minister on Thursday, the wider view in the EU is not expected to fall in line with that.
Precisely how they respond will shape the opposition parties' next moves. They might even, whisper it, come up with a fudge.
Boris Johnson cannot be remotely sure Labour and the smaller parties will let him have his way. The SNP and the Lib Dems are both tempted to go for an election as soon as a three month delay is agreed.
The Labour Party's official position has always been that they would agree to an election, in fact officially they are chomping at the bit, like the other parties, as long as a delay is agreed.
One senior member of the shadow cabinet predicted they would not be able to withstand the pressure if the Lib Dems and the SNP said yes.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The PM says an early poll would create a "credible" deadline for passing a Brexit deal
Jeremy Corbyn himself, and certainly one group in his camp, are understood to be very tempted too. But, just as in 2017, lots of Labour MPs are horrified at the idea, partly because of Labour's standing in the polls.
But also, there are senior shadow cabinet ministers who believe the smart thing would be to leave the PM in his purgatory, twisting, unable to get his bill through, unable to get to an election.
In short, the position is fluid, and Labour is having words with itself tonight.
Plenty of Tory MPs worry that Labour will pursue precisely a delaying tactic - "like a boa constrictor they will slowly squeeze Boris until his novelty fun factor starts to grate".
If Boris Johnson therefore is totally and utterly stuck in a few days time, he in turn vows that he would raise the temperature even higher, to turn an already fraught and bizarre situation into something completely extraordinary, making MPs vote day after day after day on whether or not to have an election, and bringing forward no business to the House of Commons - the government going on a form of political strike.
The belief in Number 10 is that while it might be hellish getting there, in the end the logic moves towards the opposition allowing an election, in the end.
Either way, the opposition's final responses to the prime minister's gambit tonight are not final. They will wait to see exactly what the EU says.
What is obvious though is that the prime minister's 'do or die' Brexit deadline has disappeared. Whether his vow to get an election is one he is able to keep is also not in his control.
There will be no budget, there may not be an election, and there may not be Brexit any time soon, and depending what happens next there may not really be a government either in any traditional sense of the word.
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Northern rail could be nationalised - BBC News
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2019-10-16
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The government is considering whether the management of the train service should be taken into public hands.
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Business
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The government is considering whether the management of the North of England's largest rail commuter service should be taken into public hands.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Northern's poor performance, with trains regularly arriving late or not at all, "cannot continue".
Mr Shapps said he had issued a "request for proposals" from the firm and the Operator of Last Resort (OLR).
This could lead to services being brought into direct government control.
Giving evidence to the Commons' Transport Select Committee, Mr Shapps said: "As a fellow long-suffering commuter, I entirely believe we cannot carry on just thinking it is OK for trains not to arrive, or Sunday services not to be in place. That has to change."
The Department for Transport confirmed it was developing contingency plans for the replacement of the current franchise "with either a new short-term management contract with Northern or the Operator of Last Resort (OLR)".
"In the context of significant challenges facing the operator, such as delays to infrastructure upgrades and historic underinvestment in the northern rail network, issuing a request for proposal enables the department to examine whether the contract is properly aligned with current operating challenges in the North," it said.
"It also allows us to determine whether the franchise owner or an OLR would be best placed to tackle these issues and deliver for passengers."
David Brown, managing director at Northern, said the firm had faced several challenges in the past couple of years, outside the direct control of Northern.
The most significant of these is the continuing late delivery of major infrastructure upgrades, including the North West electrification, which is more than two years late.
Mr Brown added: "Arriva and Northern remain fully committed to delivering the transformation of the North's railways and improving customers' experience. We are delivering the biggest transformation of local rail for a generation."
This is another black mark for Britain's rail system.
A second franchise, potentially brought under government control is not what Conservative ministers wanted.
Labour will press its argument that the system is so broken that the same should happen to all train companies.
But Northern (a large commuter network) is a much more complex franchise than the East Coast Mainline (intercity services) which the government took control of last year and rebranded LNER.
For that reason the government is probably keen to stop short of the "full public control" option and take-on a more supervisory role, with Arriva (Northern's parent company) still in charge of the day-to-day.
But several leading politicians argue Northern has failed and therefore should be removed wholesale from managing the franchise.
Northern argues the system is at fault because delayed infrastructure upgrades (managed by publicly-owned Network Rail) have not allowed it to run the services passengers demand.
There is no silver bullet to fixing the railways but the government-commissioned rail review will, in a matter of weeks, attempt to come up with answers.
Northern, which is one of the biggest franchises in the country, has been in trouble for years. Industry sources have confirmed to the BBC that the train company, which is owned by Arriva, has been losing money for some time.
Passenger numbers on Northern dropped after the botched introduction of new timetables in the summer of last year.
Mr Shapps said: "If you are northern, and you are a Northern passenger, you're as frustrated as I was in 2018. With Northern it has failed to recover."
On Friday, Transport for the North said it believed the franchise should be taken into public hands, via what is known as an Operator of Last Resort (OLR). The OLR is, on behalf of the government, currently in charge of London North East Railway, the East Coast Mainline intercity franchise.
However, the OLR is not the only option for the government.
It could also opt for what is known as a "management contract", which would mean that Arriva would still operate rail services, but the Department for Transport would adopt a much more hands-on role for the operation of the franchise.
The OLR has been monitoring Northern for some time and any change to the operation of the franchise would take months to implement.
A review of the railways in the UK is already under way. The Williams Review, led by former British Airways boss Keith Williams, is due to publish its findings in coming weeks. It is expected that the rail franchise system will be completely overhauled, a point mentioned in the Queen's Speech earlier this week.
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Elton John: 'I still want my dad's approval' - BBC News
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2019-10-20
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The star lifts the curtain on his life and career, and reveals what he'll do after his farewell tour.
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Entertainment & Arts
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Listen to Elton John discuss his childhood and plans for retirement
He may have started out singing cover versions on cheap compilation albums, but Elton John went on to become the fifth highest-selling recording artist of all time.
He was the first musician to enter the US album charts at number one. He has won a Brit award for outstanding achievement three times. And he owns six gold, 38 platinum and one diamond albums.
None of this, however, impressed his father.
Stanley Dwight, a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force, never attended one of Elton's shows, and never expressed pride in his son's success. Their relationship was strained until his death from heart disease in 1991.
Writing in his new autobiography, Me, Elton admits he spent his whole career "trying to show my father what I'm made of".
"It's crazy, but I just wanted his approval," the star tells the BBC, in the only print interview about his book. "I'm still trying to prove to him that what I do is fine - and he's been dead for almost 30 years."
Strikingly, however, the star harbours no resentment, describing his father as a "product of his time" - uptight, emotionally stunted and trapped in an unhappy marriage.
"Although he didn't really come to the shows or write me a letter to say, 'well done', I don't think he knew how to," he explains.
Elton and his father failed to see eye-to-eye
Born Reginald Dwight and raised in Pinner, near Wembley in north-west London, Elton was frequently on the receiving end of his parents' frustration. He spent his formative years in "a state of high alert" amid arguments and "clobberings" from his mum.
"My parents were oil and water. They should never have gotten married," he says. "As you get older, you can see much clearer what they went through, what they tried to do for me at the expense of their happiness."
His salvation came in rock and roll.
Both his parents were musically inclined - Stanley was a trumpet player with the Bob Miller band, while his mother, Sheila, would bring home new records every week on pay day. One day, she arrived home clutching Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel, a disc that turned Reggie's world upside down.
"I grew up in the 1950s, which was a very conservative age - people peeking behind the curtains, being very judgmental," he says.
"I knew nothing about sex, it was never even mentioned to me. If a girl got pregnant she was sent away and nobody talked about it. It was a very different place.
"Then Elvis Presley arrived on the scene and revolutionised things musically and socially, and then the 60s happened and all hell broke loose".
Initially, the teenager watched these developments as an outsider - in love with the music, but forbidden to participate.
"I was very shy," he says. "I grew up not being able to wear what I wanted to. Winkle picker shoes? No, they were too disgusting. The mods wore chisel toe shoes and anoraks. I couldn't wear those either.
"So when I changed my name and became Elton John, I just went off like an Exocet missile, and I had a great time. I lived my teenage years in my 20s, basically."
The star compensated for being stuck behind a piano by creating ever-more elaborate stage costumes
The story has been told a thousand times: The miraculous meeting with lyricist Bernie Taupin, a blue-touch-paper appearance at LA's Troubador club, and an unbeatable run of hit albums.
Between 1970 and 1975, there were 11 in all, an astonishingly productive purple patch that generated classic singles like Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting, Tiny Dancer and Rocket Man - the latter of which unexpectedly turned Elton into a sex symbol.
"It was a surprising time," he laughs. "I mean, I wasn't David Bowie, I wasn't Marc Bolan, I was sitting at the piano. But I suddenly became, you know, the object of screaming girls. I don't know why."
Emboldened by success, Elton's outfits became ever more outrageous: Satin capes and winged boots gave way to mohawk wigs, bejewelled top hats and peacock suits adorned with feathers and sequins - the sort of thing Liberace would have worn if he'd had the courage to be really flamboyant.
Elton's 1970 shows at the Troubador club made his name. "He's going to be one of rock's biggest and most important stars," said the LA Times.
His imperial phase culminated with two sold-out shows at LA's Dodger Stadium in October 1975. With a combined audience of 100,000 fans they were, at the time, the largest concerts ever staged by a single artist.
"He was like Elvis at the height of his career," said photographer Terry O'Neill, who shot the gigs. "It is impossible to try to explain to people today what it was like."
But Elton knew as he played those shows that he would never reach that peak again.
"I was smart enough to know it couldn't last. It's impossible. You just have to accept that there's going to be someone bigger than you."
It's a sense of perspective other artists lack, he says.
"When Michael Jackson said, 'I want to sell more records than Thriller', I thought, 'Oh boy, you're in for a big fall'. Because Thriller was a classic record. It sold 40 million albums, which was huge. You can't have a record coming in at number one all the time."
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Sure enough, Elton would have to wait until 1990 before he returned to the top of the charts. The wilderness years, while hardly hit-free, saw him split temporarily with Bernie Taupin and record an ill-advised disco album, Victim Of Love.
Behind the scenes, his drug and alcohol intake was spiralling out of control. In his memoir, he describes having seizures and witnessing his voice go "haywire" as his "unbelievable appetite" for cocaine grew stronger.
The drug had initially given him a "jolt of confidence and euphoria," but as addiction took hold, he became erratic and violent. In 1983, after filming the video for I'm Still Standing, he woke up with his hands throbbing, unaware that the night before, he'd stripped naked, punched his manager John Reid and methodically demolished his hotel room.
Although the recent biopic Rocketman depicts I'm Still Standing as Elton's hymn to sobriety, it actually took him another seven years to kick the habit.
This YouTube post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on YouTube The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. YouTube content may contain adverts. Skip youtube video 2 by EltonJohnVEVO This article contains content provided by Google YouTube. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Google’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. YouTube content may contain adverts.
The turning point came when his then-boyfriend Hugh Williams checked into rehab, plunging Elton into a fortnight-long cocaine and whisky binge. Eventually, he dragged himself to the clinic, where Williams confronted him on his behaviour.
"You're a drug addict, you're an alcoholic, you're a food addict and a bulimic," he said. "You're a sex addict. You're co-dependent".
"Yes," said Elton, "yes, I am," and started to cry.
So on 29 July, 1990, he entered rehab in Chicago to treat "three addictions at once".
In his book, Elton reprints a poignant break-up letter he wrote to "the white lady" during his treatment. "I don't want you and I to share the same grave," it reads.
He kept his word: The singer has now been clean for 29 years, during which time he's revitalised his career, married film producer David Furnish, written the hit soundtrack to the Lion King, launched the stage version of Billy Elliot and become father to two children, Zachary and Elijah.
He says the autobiography was written for them: A document they could read after he's gone that would tell the unvarnished truth.
"I want them to know that their dad was being honest, and he made something of his life after a few hiccups along the way", he says.
Elton with his husband David Furnish and their sons Zachary and Elijah
It was Elton's sons that prompted him to give up touring, too.
"My kids were only going to grow up once," he writes in the memoir. "Music was the most wonderful thing, but it still didn't sound as good as Zachary chatting about what had happened at football practice."
With typical grandiosity, Elton's farewell tour is scheduled to run for three years, with the final show set for 17 December, 2020, at London's O2 Arena.
But that is definitively not the end. Last week, Bernie Taupin posted a photo of himself at the writing desk, composing lyrics. Can Elton confirm they're intended for him?
"Yes, they are," he says. "I said to Bernie, 'I'm going around the world for three years, why don't I write?
"You know, I wrote the whole of the Captain Fantastic album on the SS France, sailing from Southampton to New York, and I didn't have a tape recorder. So I remembered everything I wrote in my head: The chord changes, the sequences, everything.
"And I said, 'I'd like to go back and do that, instead of going into the studio and writing on the spot'. It may not be successful but I just want to try it."
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What's more, he's already cooking up plans to play concerts after the farewell tour.
His "dream thing" is to put on a theatrical residency, in the style of Kate Bush's Before the Dawn extravaganza in 2014.
Like her, Elton would delve deep into his back catalogue, prioritising lesser-played cuts like Amoreena, Come Down In Time and Original Sin over fan favourites like Your Song or Rocket Man.
"I've sung these songs nearly 5,000 times, some of them, and although they're wonderful songs, and I'm very appreciative of them, I've sung them enough," he says.
"If I do perform again, I would like to do songs that I think are just as good as the ones that have been popular for 50 years, but haven't had the chance to emerge."
Elton John's autobiography, Me, is out now, You can hear excerpts, read by Taron Egerton, on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week and on BBC Sounds this week.
Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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Henry VIII divorces led to copycat splits, Bangor researchers say - BBC News
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2019-10-20
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Edward Griffith of Gwynedd flip-flopped between two wives in a similar way to Henry VIII.
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Wales
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Henry VIII split from the Roman Catholic church after he rowed with the Pope over one of his divorces
Henry VIII's legendary marital troubles paved the way for copycat divorces, new evidence has suggested.
Records from the 16th Century have been largely lost.
But experts from Bangor University and the University of Exeter have unearthed evidence of parallels between events at the royal court and the love-life of a member of the Welsh gentry.
Edward Griffith of Gwynedd flip-flopped between two wives in a similar way to and at the same time as the monarch.
Teenager Edward married Jane of Cochwillan who subsequently died aged 13. He then married her sister Agnes in about 1527 but the following year she returned to live with her father.
Edward later married Jane Puleston in about 1529, but he soon began living with Agnes again. He then returned to Jane and they had three daughters - Jane, Elin and Katherine.
The chronology of these events closely resembles the complicated ending of Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
The king's divorce was mentioned in court documents about Edward's split from Agnes and experts believe the similarity of the two cases showed Edward was following events at the royal court as he managed his own marriages.
Anne Boleyn was executed under Henry's orders while he divorced Catherine of Aragon
Details about Edward's marriages only exist because his heirs brought a case about the Penrhyn inheritance in 1556.
Dr Gwilym Owen, of Bangor Law School, said: "The evidence is contained in witness depositions taken in Chancery proceedings. Church records for the period are substantially lost. Therefore, these depositions are a lucky survival."
Prof Rebecca Probert, an expert in marriage law from the University of Exeter, said: "We have compared the evidence we have about Edward's life and it's very striking that events in his life echo that of events in the royal marriage.
"Viewed in isolation, Edward appears at best indecisive and at worst a complete cad. But if you put his actions in the context of the actions of the king, it seems he felt bound by the arguments put forward by his ruler."
She added it may also have been because he was "an impressionable teenager".
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Rugby World Cup: New Zealand overpower Ireland to reach semi-finals - BBC Sport
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2019-10-20
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Holders and tournament favourites New Zealand score seven tries in a 46-14 win over outplayed Ireland who fall at the quarter-final stage yet again.
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New Zealand will meet England in the World Cup semi-finals after condemning Ireland to a seventh quarter-final exit with a 46-14 hammering in Tokyo.
Two tries from Aaron Smith and one by Beauden Barrett helped the All Blacks to a 22-0 lead at half-time.
The holders scored further tries through Codie Taylor, Matt Todd, George Bridge and Jordie Barrett.
Robbie Henshaw's score and a penalty try did nothing to recover what was a disastrous display for Ireland.
Billed as the defining final chapter in Joe Schmidt's tenure as head coach, Ireland's World Cup in Japan will go down as another failure with no indication that the team are any closer to the world's elite than they were when they exited at the same stage four years ago.
This was Ireland's second defeat in the tournament - their 19-12 Pool A loss to hosts Japan having deprived them of a last-eight meeting with South Africa and a possibly easier route to a first semi-final.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks will move into the semi-finals as even stronger favourites to lift a third successive Webb Ellis Cup than they were at the start of the tournament having produced a display that few, if any, sides would be capable of delivering.
The narrative from the Ireland camp remained consistent throughout the week-long build-up: they had to produce an almost flawless display if they were to even run New Zealand close.
However, not for a single minute of Saturday's contest did it look as though Ireland possessed the tools capable of derailing the champions.
Indeed, it was New Zealand who produced what was infinitely closer to perfect rugby, taking their game to a level with which Ireland could not contend.
After Richie Mo'unga had kicked his side ahead, Smith navigated the All Blacks deep into Ireland territory before darting through a gap to score.
Although still in the first quarter, the signs were looking ominous for Ireland, with New Zealand winning the battle at the breakdown and punching holes in the defence as they stretched their play left, right and back again through the scintillating back three of Barrett, Sevu Reece and Bridge.
Ireland needed a spark and had the opportunity to push New Zealand onto their try-line with a kick to the corner, but Johnny Sexton missed his touch and two minutes later the ball was back at the opposite end of the pitch, with Smith diving over again from close range.
The third try, which killed off any faint Irish hopes of a revival, came from an Ireland move inside the New Zealand half, with Reece's hit on Sexton dislodging the ball, allowing Barrett to kick through and gather beyond the line.
After spending much of 2019 clinging onto the form of last year as an indicator of their potential, Ireland's defeat by New Zealand in Tokyo presents a far clearer picture of their place on the world stage than their win over the All Blacks 10 months ago did.
The manner of the loss leaves little room for an argument that Ireland can be considered among the top sides in the world.
By the time Taylor dived over on 48 minutes after his side had worked the ball through the phases, it was clear that New Zealand were operating on a level that Ireland were not capable of reaching.
For all of Ireland's shortcomings, the All Blacks were relentlessly wonderful.
Their fifth try arrived after the forwards set-up field position for Mo'unga to kick crossfield for Reece to gather and present for Todd to score.
Ireland did score eventually, as Henshaw cut back against the grain to put his side on the board 10 minutes from time.
Bridge and Jordie Barrett, having been introduced from the bench, benefited from more superb New Zealand ball movement to add further scores either sides of Ireland's penalty try.
• None New Zealand have won 29 of their 32 meetings with Ireland in Test rugby (D1, L2), including both of their matches at the World Cup (43-19 in 1995).
• None Ireland have lost all seven of their World Cup quarter-finals, never making it past this round, No side has endured as many losses at this stage.
• None Two of Ireland's three biggest defeats under Joe Schmidt have now come in World Cup quarter-finals (also 43-20 v Argentina in 2015), while the other came less than two months ago against England (57-15).
• None New Zealand scored seven or more tries in a World Cup knockout match for the third time in their history (eight v Wales in 1987, nine v France in 2015). No other side has scored more than six tries in a match beyond the pool stage of the tournament.
• None Matt Todd became the fifth player to score a try and be yellow-carded in a World Cup knockout game - the previous four were all from New Zealand or France (S Betsen, L Picamoles, L McAlister, J Kaino).
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.
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Boris Johnson: UK offering EU 'very constructive' Brexit proposals - BBC News
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2019-10-02
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Boris Johnson says plans will go to the EU soon, but some customs checks will be needed in Ireland.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. PM: Irish customs checks after Brexit can be "absolutely minimal"
Boris Johnson says the government is offering the EU "very constructive and far-reaching proposals" to break the Brexit impasse.
Speaking to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, he confirmed the UK's plan would include some customs checks on the island of Ireland after Brexit.
But they would be "absolutely minimal" and "won't involve new infrastructure".
The EU says it has "not received any proposals from the UK" yet that could replace the backstop.
The UK is set to leave the EU on 31 October.
Mr Johnson has said the exit will go ahead with or without a deal - despite MPs passing a law last month forcing him to ask for an extension from the EU if Parliament hasn't voted in favour of a specific deal or leaving without one.
The border between Ireland and Northern Ireland has been a contentious part of the Brexit negotiations since day one.
At present there are no checks on goods moving across it and the backstop was agreed between former PM Theresa May and the EU as an insurance policy to make sure that does not change - and that no infrastructure like cameras or security posts can be installed in the future.
If used, the backstop would keep the UK in a very close relationship with the EU until a trade deal permanently avoiding the need for checks was agreed.
However, the government says it is "undemocratic" and unacceptable.
Speaking on day three of the Conservative conference, Mr Johnson said he believed the UK was offering enough to win the EU round and more detail would be made public soon.
"Yes, I absolutely do," he insisted.
"So, with great respect to all those who are currently anxious about it - and particularly in Ireland - we do think that our proposals are good and creative.
"But I accept also... there may be hard yards ahead."
He added: "That is going to be where the argument is going to be - and that's where the negotiations will be tough."
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The PM said there would "have to be a system for customs checks away from the border".
"If the EU is going to insist on customs checks... then we will have to accept that reality," he added.
When it was put to him that it was not the EU who were insisting on customs checks, the PM replied: "Well, let's see where we get to. And as you know, we made some very constructive and far-reaching proposals."
The Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, said in the event of a no-deal Brexit, there would need to be checks at ports, airports and perhaps at the border.
But he said that would only be the case if the UK left without an agreement, telling the Dail: "We've never been in the position of signing up to checks as part of a deal."
Mr Johnson told Laura Kuenssberg he always knew "things would get choppy" in the lead up to the Brexit deadline.
But the PM believed "fevers would cool" and "tempers would come down" once that moment had passed.
"There's no way of getting Brexit done without... displeasing people who don't want Brexit to get done," he said.
"[There is] no way of delivering Brexit sort of 52% Brexit and 48% Remain - that's just logically impossible."
Mr Johnson added: "I think once we get it done, and once we can begin building a new partnership with our new friends... we can start thinking about how we can do things differently."
At a reception hosted by the DUP at the Conservative party conference in Manchester on Tuesday night, Mr Johnson said the UK had made progress in the negotiations, adding: "I hope very much in the next few days we are going to get there."
The prime minster said that Northern Ireland should remain part of the United Kingdom "forever".
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The government has made a number of policy announcements at the conference, from raising the National Living Wage over the next five years to toughening prison sentences for the worst offenders.
But the plans have been overshadowed by allegations that Mr Johnson squeezed the thigh of journalist Charlotte Edwardes under a table at a lunch in 1999.
Mr Johnson has repeatedly denied the incident, telling the BBC: "It's simply not true."
He would not answer whether he thought Ms Edwardes - who has stood by her claims - lied or whether he remembered the lunch.
And while the PM said such allegations should be taken seriously, he did not agree to an investigation, saying he wanted to "get on with delivering on... [the] important issue of our domestic agenda".
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Hong Kong protests: Knife attacker bites man's ear after stabbing four - BBC News
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2019-11-03
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Four people are hurt in an attack at the Cityplaza mall, where pro-democracy protesters had gathered.
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China
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Five people have been injured in a knife attack at the site of a pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong.
The attack happened at the Cityplaza mall in the Tai Koo district on Hong Kong Island.
The local hospital authority said four men and one woman were injured, with two in critical condition.
One of the injured, a local councillor, had his ear partially bitten off by the as-yet unidentified male attacker, who was subdued by passersby in the mall.
Witnesses said the Mandarin-speaking attacker drew a knife after a political argument with people in the mall, which was the site of pro-democracy protests earlier in the day.
The local councillor, Andrew Chiu Ka-yin, reportedly was attempting to prevent the attacker leaving the scene when the man bit off a section of his ear. Witnesses said the attacker was badly beaten by passersby who intervened, before police arrested the man.
Andrew Chiu Ka-yin receives first aid after he was attacked on Sunday
One of the victims, a woman, told the South China Morning Post that the suspect drew a knife after arguing with her sister and her husband, who were also injured. The Hong Kong Free Press reported that that attacker was a Mandarin-speaking pro-Beijing supporter.
Hong Kong has experienced five months of sometimes violent demonstrations by pro-democracy activists, who first took to the streets to protest against a bill that would have allowed extradition to mainland China, but evolved into a broader revolt against the way Hong Kong is administered by Beijing.
The wave of pro-democracy protests continued this weekend, days after a high-profile activist, Joshua Wong, was banned from standing in local elections. Police fired tear gas on Sunday into crowds of demonstrators in the eastern suburb of Taikoo Shing, home to the Cityplaza where the stabbing occurred.
With no end in sight, China's leaders signalled last week that they were preparing to change how the mainland administered Hong Kong.
Shen Chunyao, the director of the Hong Kong, Macau and Basic Law Commission, told reporters that officials were looking at ways to "perfect" how Hong Kong's chief executive was appointed and removed. He did not elaborate on what exactly might change.
Last month, the leader of one of Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy groups was taken to hospital after being attacked, apparently with hammers. Photographs on social media showed Jimmy Sham of the Civil Human Rights Front lying in the street, covered in blood.
From hospital, the activist said he "remained committed to the ideal of peaceful non-violence".
Images and footage of the incident spread quickly around social media platforms. The man who did the biting was subdued by a crowd, which then beat him, some using metal objects.
That is was all happening in a shopping centre being stormed by riot police in pursuit of protestors who were earlier singing and chanting made it even more intense. A small group of hardcore activists had also smashed up shops whose owners they judged to be too "pro-Beijing".
I watched the footage on a television in a small restaurant in Hong Kong. Halfway through the report, the woman running the place turned and walked away from the screen. "This is all too depressing," she said in Chinese.
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General election 2019: PM puts corporation tax cuts on hold to help fund NHS - BBC News
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2019-11-17
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Boris Johnson says public services will benefit as planned corporation tax cuts are put on hold.
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Election 2019
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson laid out his plans as he addressed the CBI conference
Planned cuts to corporation tax next April are to be put on hold, Boris Johnson has said, with the money being spent on the NHS and other services.
The rate paid by firms on their profits was due to fall from 19% to 17%.
But the PM told business leaders it may cost the Treasury £6bn and this was better spent on "national priorities", including the health service.
Labour said business "handouts" had done real damage and the Tories would "revert to type" after the election.
The announcement does not mean any new money for the NHS, on top of the £20bn extra a year the Conservatives are promising to give it up to 2023. The BBC understands the cash will be used, in part, to fund existing pledges on GP training.
With just over three weeks to go before the 12 December election, the leaders of the three largest parties in England have been parading their business credentials at the CBI conference.
Jeremy Corbyn said business had "so much to gain" from a Labour victory in terms of investment while Jo Swinson said the Liberal Democrats were the "natural party of business" because they wanted to cancel Brexit.
Addressing the audience of top executives and entrepreneurs, Mr Johnson said they had "created the wealth that actually pays for the NHS".
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Stressing his party's "emphatic belief in fiscal prudence", he said he had decided against going ahead with a further cut in corporation tax, a step first proposed by Chancellor George Osborne in 2016 to boost business in the wake of the Brexit referendum.
Mr Johnson said the UK already had the lowest rate of corporation tax of "any major economy" and further cuts would be "postponed".
"Before you storm the stage, let me remind you that this saves £6bn that we can put into the priorities of the British people including the NHS," he told the audience.
Corporation tax is an important revenue-raiser, making up approximately 9% of the UK government's total tax take. The amount raised by the tax has risen by two-thirds in the past decade, as the rate has fallen from 28% to 19% and economic conditions have improved.
But many economists said the latest cut would be potentially counter-productive in terms of tax yields, with a study based on HMRC data last year suggesting it could mean £6bn a year in lost government revenues.
In response, CBI director Carolyn Fairbairn said the move could "work for the country if it is backed by further efforts to the costs of doing business and promote growth".
Blink and you might have missed it, but the PM has just announced the single biggest tax-raising measure of the campaign so far.
The overnight headlines about Boris Johnson's CBI speech were about a £1bn cut to business taxes. It pays to read the small print.
All together, this leaves an extra £5bn a year for the Conservative manifesto to deploy in extra spending or, as seems likely, some crowd-pleasing pre-election personal tax cuts.
I'm told the corporation tax move was Chancellor Sajid Javid's idea, and was discussed during plans for his aborted Budget earlier this month. The PM also confirmed Mr Javid would remain in post if he wins the election next month.
Cancelling the cut still leaves the UK with the lowest corporation tax rate in the G20, although not as low as Switzerland or Singapore.
Given the government's argument has long been that cuts to corporation tax raise revenue, it is interesting to see the PM now say that cancelling cuts will also raise revenue.
It is meant to show clear blue water between the Conservatives and Labour on fiscal credibility. In the event, there was barely a squeak out of the CBI audience about a significant multi-billion pound tax change.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Monday's freeze marked a "temporary pause in the Tories' race to the bottom" on business taxes.
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Labour's plan has been to raise corporation tax to 26% - the 2011 level - which it says will generate billions to be spent on its priorities, including health and education.
Turning to Brexit, the Conservative leader told the conference that while big business did not want the UK to leave the EU, his withdrawal deal would provide the certainty "that you want now and have wanted for some time".
If elected with a Commons majority, Mr Johnson is hoping to get the agreement on the terms of the UK's exit into law by 31 January, and begin talks with Brussels on a permanent trading relationship.
He also announced a review of business rates in England, with the aim of reducing the overall burden of the tax, as well as a cut in National Insurance contributions for employers, which already benefit from a reduction known as the employment allowance.
In his address, Mr Corbyn said business had nothing to fear from a Labour government, arguing that while the richest would pay more, there would also be "more investment than you have ever dreamt of".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeremy Corbyn: "I understand your concern over some of our plans"
He said he would "make no apologies" for the party's plan to take rail, mail, water and broadband delivery into public ownership, saying it was "not an attack" on the free market and would bring the UK in line with the continent.
"It is sometimes claimed I am anti-business," he said. "This is nonsense. It is not nonsense to be against poverty pay. It is not nonsense to say the largest corporations should pay their taxes, just as small companies do.
"It is not anti-business to want prosperity in every part of the country."
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The Labour leader also set out plans to train about 320,000 apprentices in jobs such as construction, manufacturing and design within the renewable energy, transport and forestry sectors.
Ms Fairbairn said the business community shared Labour's desire to increased investment but warned the opposition's "massive instincts towards state intervention and ownership" put that at risk.
In her first address to the CBI as leader of her party, Ms Swinson said no-one claiming to want to "get Brexit sorted" was on the side of business, due to the negative impact she said it would have on investment and access to labour.
"With Boris Johnson in the pocket of Nigel Farage and Jeremy Corbyn stuck in the 1970s, we are the only one standing up for you," she said.
She said her party would go further than the others and replace "crippling" business rates with a levy paid by commercial landlords based on land value, which she suggested would help "rescue the High Street".
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, who is not attending the CBI event, said politicians' focus should be on helping small business and promoting what he claimed were the advantages of a no-deal Brexit.
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General election 2019: Conservatives promise 'equal' immigration system - BBC News
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2019-11-17
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The Tories outline changes after Brexit as Jeremy Corbyn is pressed on his views on EU migration.
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Election 2019
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeremy Corbyn: "I don't want us to become an isolated society"
The Conservatives have set out plans for an "equal" immigration system after Brexit as Jeremy Corbyn said he still expected a "great deal" of movement of people from the EU to the UK.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab outlined plans to change the rules on benefits which EU nationals can claim in time if they live and work in the UK.
But he said there would be no arbitrary target for total immigration levels.
The Labour leader said immigration was vital for growth and public services.
In a BBC interview, Mr Corbyn defended the principle of free movement, which lets EU citizens travel, live, study and work in any member country but which is currently set to end at the start of 2021.
Migration from the EU had "enriched" the country, he said, and this had to be a part of the close economic relationship he wanted to build with the continent going forward.
Pressed on whether this would involve retaining freedom of movement of people, he said immigration would form part of Labour's Brexit renegotiation if it won the election, but added "there will be a great deal of movement".
The Lib Dems said the Conservatives' plans were based on the false assumption that overseas workers were trying to "do us over".
And business groups said migrant labour was needed at "all skills levels" if the UK was to upgrade its infrastructure and housing.
"When we hear talk about brightest and best, I think that is a worry," Carolyn Fairbairn, the director of the CBI employer's group told Sky News.
"If you do want to build 200,000 houses a year, you don't just need the architects and the designers, you need the carpenters, you need the electricians, you need the labourers."
The Conservatives have said from the start of 2021, when the post-Brexit transition period ends, immigration rules will apply to EU nationals and non-Europeans in the same way, with no preferential treatment for any group.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said that if he won the election, he would try to reduce the number of so-called "unskilled" migrants coming into the UK.
The issue of immigration has slipped down the list of voter concerns since the Brexit referendum, now at its lowest point for almost two decades.
However, with public services stretched and the NHS under particular pressure, the Conservatives want to respond to the argument that people from overseas add to the burden on the welfare state.
Extending the immigration health surcharge to EU as well as non-EU migrants after the end of free movement is logical, but increasing the charge by 56% carries risks.
The UK government is hoping foreign workers can fill desperate shortages of staff in health and social care. But nurses, doctors and carers are less likely to move to Britain if there are rising costs for them on arrival. Last week, the Tories promised to make it cheaper for foreigners coming to work in the NHS by reducing the cost of a visa. Today's announcement appears to do the opposite.
For all the political parties, there is a balance to be struck between the concerns of some communities which fear immigration will constrain access to jobs and services, and the concerns of employers who argue restricting access to foreign workers may hamper their ability to create jobs or deliver services.
The Conservatives say they would introduce an Australian-style points-based system, which would consider migrants' skills and whether they meet certain criteria.
In recent years, the party had a long-standing goal - first introduced by David Cameron and also a promise in the 2017 election manifesto - to cut net migration to less than 100,000 a year. But the government never came close to meeting the target and faced repeated calls to drop it.
Announcing more details of their immigration policy on Sunday, the Conservatives said the "vast majority" of migrants would need a job offer to come to the UK to work - although there will be a "small number of exceptions" for example high-skilled scientists.
Rules on claiming benefits will be "equalised", meaning that like other migrants, EU citizens would have to wait five years before they can access benefits and will not be able to send child benefit payments abroad.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Dominic Raab: "What you don't want to do is encourage cheap labour from abroad"
And the immigration health surcharge - the payment charged to migrants to use the NHS - would apply to all migrants, both EU and non-EU, and would be raised from £400 to £625 a year.
Mr Raab told the BBC's Andrew Marr show that such "granular controls" would help reduce pressure on the public services while ensuring the UK had access to the labour it needed, particularly in the health service.
While the Conservatives were committed to bringing down the overall volume of immigration, he said he would "not fix an arbitrary target".
"We want to be able to plug gaps in specific sectors, whether it is the NHS or elsewhere but what you don't want to do is encourage a reliance on cheap labour from abroad which has a depressing effect on wages," he said.
Also appearing on Andrew Marr, Mr Corbyn said a future Labour government would not "turn its back" on migration from the EU and suggested it would make it easier for the partners and families or those who had settled in the UK to join them.
"There has to be a recognition that our economy and society has been enriched massively by people who have made their homes here," he said. "No Labour government led by me will bring in a hostile environment."
But Mr Corbyn deflected questions on whether free movement could continue in its current form, saying people would have to wait until Labour's manifesto is published on Thursday for more details. He also declined to say whether he wanted the UK to leave or remain in the EU.
The BBC's Iain Watson said there had been a disagreement at a key meeting on Saturday - when Labour's ruling body approved the party's manifesto - on whether to incorporate Labour's conference policy of extending freedom of movement for workers.
Mr Corbyn said freedom of movement would continue if voters back Remain in the new referendum pledged by Labour.
But if voters back Leave, Labour would introduce its own immigration policy, recognising there would have to be high levels of labour mobility.
This, he added, would be underpinned by stricter regulation of the employment market to prevent migrant workers "undercutting" employees here and to stop migrants being exploited.
Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson told LBC that immigration was a "mutual good thing" and her party would oppose all of the changes to benefits and NHS charges being talked about by the Conservatives.
And the SNP's leader Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland needed to maintain a healthy level of inward migration to avoid a long-term decline in the working-age population and the negative impact this would have on taxpayer-funded public services.
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Shane Sutton: Ex-British Cycling coach storms out of medical tribunal after 'doper' claim - BBC Sport
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2019-11-13
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Ex-British Cycling technical director Shane Sutton furiously denies claims he is a "doper" before storming out of Dr Richard Freeman's medical tribunal.
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Last updated on .From the section Cycling
By Jack Skelton BBC Sport at the tribunal in Manchester
Ex-British Cycling technical director and Team Sky head coach Shane Sutton furiously denied claims he is a "doper" before storming out of Dr Richard Freeman's medical tribunal.
Dr Freeman alleges the testosterone he ordered to British Cycling headquarters in 2011 was on behalf of Sutton.
In staggering, confrontational exchanges between Sutton and Dr Freeman's lawyer, Mary O'Rourke QC, Sutton repeatedly denied this and her claim he doped during his racing career.
A livid Sutton then left the tribunal in Manchester after calling Dr Freeman "spineless".
An official could not persuade Sutton to return and he is set to decide on Wednesday whether he will resume giving evidence, as planned, on Thursday.
The tribunal is set to resume at 11:30 GMT on Thursday, with Wednesday a planned day off.
Former British Cycling and Team Sky medic Dr Freeman is facing an allegation he ordered 30 Testogel sachets to the National Cycling Centre in May 2011 knowing or believing it was intended for an athlete to enhance performance, which he denies.
Sutton's highly anticipated first appearance at the tribunal started at 14:00 after a day-and-a-half delay because of private legal argument.
Dr Freeman has admitted to 18 of the 22 allegations against him, including that he asked supplier Fit4Sport to falsely claim the Testogel had been sent in error.
In a public session before Sutton gave evidence, Miss O'Rourke said the defence's case is that Sutton is a "habitual and serial liar" as well as "a doper, with a doping history".
• None Miss O'Rourke said she had evidence from an anonymous witness who saw Sutton inject himself with testosterone at his home in Rowley Regis in the late 1990s
• None Sutton strenuously denied the claim, calling it "laughable" and that he had never tested positive in around 100 tests during his career
• None Miss O'Rourke claimed several witnesses had come forward in the last two weeks to say Sutton is "a liar, a doper and a bully"
• None He told Miss O'Rourke he would "do you for defamation" and that he wanted her to "retract" that claim because she had "no evidence"
• None Sutton repeatedly told Dr Freeman to "take down the screen", "man up" and "look me in the eye"
• None Miss O'Rourke said that Sutton had sent Dr Freeman a text at the end of last year that read: "Be careful what you say, don't drag me in, you won't be the only person I can hurt"
• None Referring to Dr Freeman's claim that the testosterone was to treat Sutton's alleged erectile dysfunction, the Australian said: "My wife wants to come here and testify you're a liar"
• None Sutton swore on the life of his three-year-old daughter he did not order the delivery of Testogel in 2011 and said he was willing to take a lie detector test if needed
• None Sutton said he had "no idea" why Dr Freeman had ordered the Testogel but that he "would've helped him work out a way through it" if Freeman had come to him at the time
• None He called Miss O'Rourke a "bully" and criticised her for what "you've put my family through"
After around two hours of increasingly hostile exchanges during Miss O'Rourke's cross-examination on Tuesday, Sutton announced he was leaving the hearing and departed with an extraordinary outburst.
Despite calling Dr Freeman a "good friend", Sutton made a series of claims about his former colleague and called him "spineless" for sitting behind a screen as Sutton gave evidence.
"I'm going to leave the hearing now, I don't need to be dragged through this," said Sutton.
"I'm going to go back to my little hole in Spain, enjoy my retirement, sleep at night knowing full well I didn't order any [testosterone] patches.
"The person lying to you is behind the screen, hopefully one day he will come clean and tell you why. He's a good bloke, a good friend, I've no argument with him.
"I'm happy with what I achieved in my career, I wish Richard Freeman all the best going forward, no one is better bedside than him.
"Dr Freeman went through a messy divorce, he turned up to work drunk on several occasions - he was like the Scarlet Pimpernel.
"I covered for him when we couldn't get hold of him.
"I'm not lying, I've told the truth, don't ask me any more questions.
"I'm not getting dragged by this mindless little individual [O'Rourke] living in her sad world, who is defending someone who has admitted to telling a million lies to you and the rest of the world but can't come out and tell the truth.
"He is hiding behind a screen, which is spineless, Richard, you're a spineless individual."
'Am I the one on trial here?'
Miss O'Rourke said on 7 November she would attempt to question the "integrity and credibility" of Sutton and earlier on Tuesday said she had 100 questions planned for him.
Only three questions in, Sutton became impatient, stating his former career as a rider was "irrelevant", as were other questions about his level of knowledge of doping practices in cycling history.
Sutton directed his ire at Miss O'Rourke, asking for "an apology" for her claims and at one point asking, "Am I the one on trial here? I feel like I'm the criminal."
When Miss O'Rourke put it to Sutton that his claim he did not know what Testogel was until asked about it by UK Anti-Doping in 2016 was either him "having a laugh" or a "blatant lie", Sutton replied: "There is only one joke in this room and that's you."
He also turned to the press gallery at one stage and said: "I hope you are getting all this."
Sutton added there was "nothing sinister" in him telling the General Medical Council's legal team that he and former British Cycling chief Sir Dave Brailsford were worried about being involved in this case and it was only because "the buck stops with you" as the head of an organisation.
Before Sutton's appearance, the independent medical practitioners tribunal ruled that the general topic of erectile dysfunction could be the subject of questions to him in public.
Yet Sutton brought up the subject before Miss O'Rourke could ask, shortly before he stormed out, adding: "I would have no problem telling the GMC it was for me, but I never ordered it."
If Sutton chooses not to return to the hearing on Thursday, Miss O'Rourke is hoping to call former British Cycling head of medicine Dr Steve Peters for cross-examination.
Sutton said Dr Peters had "phoned me the other night" and will "verify everything I've had to say".
The testosterone delivery was brought to Dr Peters after former physio Phil Burt, who is due to give evidence on Friday, discovered it.
Dr Peters has claimed Dr Freeman contacted supplier Fit4Sport the same day the order arrived to confirm it was sent in error and Dr Peters said he then asked Freeman to return it.
Dr Peters said he was satisfied after being shown an email from the supplier "confirming" that the Testogel had been returned and destroyed, which Dr Freeman now admits was false.
The hearing, which is to determine Dr Freeman's fitness to practise medicine, continues.
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Inflation falls to three-year low as energy prices fall - BBC News
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2019-11-13
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Official data shows UK consumer prices rose 1.5% as a new price cap kept a lid on energy prices.
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Business
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UK inflation rose at its lowest pace in almost three years last month as the energy cap kept a lid on the price of electricity, gas and other fuels, according to official statistics.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said consumer prices rose 1.5% in October, against 1.7% in September.
The slower pace of price rises could boost household spending power as wages are rising faster than inflation.
ONS data released on Tuesday showed that average earnings, excluding bonuses, increased by 3.6% in the three months to September.
The October inflation number was lower than the 1.6% forecast by economists, although the Bank of England has said inflation could slip to 1.25% early next year - well below its 2% target.
A spokesperson for the ONS said: "A fall in utility prices due to a lowering of the energy price cap helped ease inflation in October. However, this was partially offset by rising clothing prices."
Prices of clothes and footwear rose by 1% on the previous month, the ONS said, with the most significant price moves being in ladies' formal trousers and branded trainers.
The Bank's policy makers expect the decline in inflation to continue in the first half of next year, due partly to the impact of the energy price cap and a likely reduction in water bills.
But they think those factors will fade and inflation will move back towards the target in the latter part of 2020. So the October data doesn't very much change the argument about the next move in interest rates.
Two big uncertainties are perhaps more likely to move the dial: Brexit and the slowdown in the global economy.
Indeed the Bank has already signalled as much. Persistent Brexit-related uncertainty and further weakness in global growth could mean it "might need to reinforce the expected recovery in UK GDP growth and inflation" - in other words cut interest rates.
If those risks don't materialise a rise would be more likely. But no move is imminent.
Gas and electricity prices fell by 8.7% and 2.2% respectively in October from September.
Ofgem said that around 15 million households on default deals or pre-payment meters will see lower bills this winter as a result of its latest cap on prices which took effect from October.
The cap means that households should typically pay £75 less a year.
Howard Archer, chief economic advisor to the EY Item Club, said the inflation figures were "decent news for consumer purchasing power".
The 3.6% rise in wages in the three months to September compares with an inflation rate of 1.8% over the period.
Jing Teow, economist at PwC, said: "The continued trend of falling inflation since late 2017, coupled with the steady rise in wages since 2018, has boosted household spending power, which has supported UK economic growth over the past two years."
But she said there were signs that pay growth was "cooling off" since peaking in June this year, which might also put less pressure on firms to raise prices.
The inflation rate has implications for interest rates. Ruth Gregory, senior UK economist at Capital Economics, said the falls in energy prices meant that the drop in inflation was not "a reflection of a weakening in underlying inflationary pressures".
She expects a further fall in utility prices in April next year.
"Overall, the figures do little to change our view that inflation will spend more time below 2% than above it in 2020 and that if Brexit is delayed further, interest rates will be cut in May 2020," she said.
Emma-Lou Montgomery, associate director for personal investing at Fidelity International, also said there could be pressure to cut in rates - currently at 0.75% - early in 2020.
But Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the inflation measure should rise back to 2% in the second half of 2020 so he doubted that rates would be cut soon.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50401910
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news_business-50401910
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General election 2019: What we can read into the polls at this stage - BBC News
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2019-11-13
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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As the election campaign ramps up, looking beyond opinion polls becomes a key rule of political reporting, writes Nicholas Watt.
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UK Politics
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An old hand once offered me a wise piece of advice: if an opinion poll generates a strong headline it will probably turn out to be wrong.
So it is sensible to treat the polls with caution. At this stage of the 2017 general election, the world was debating whether Theresa May's majority would be above or below 100.
But opinion polls can provide a helpful snapshot of the electorate's thinking at the moment they are conducted.
With four weeks to go until election day, there appear to be two clear strands in the current polls.
First, Boris Johnson is ahead, in part because the Leave vote is rallying behind the Conservatives.
The second theme is that the Remain vote is splintering. That explains, in part, why Labour is so far behind the Tories and why the Liberal Democrats are continuing to enjoy a revival.
At this point a second rule of opinion poll reporting applies. Political parties will loftily claim they have better things to worry about than opinion polls, all the while spending a fortune on "private" polls and poring over every detail of published polls.
Downing Street believes the only way Boris Johnson can deliver his Brexit deal and the subsequent future EU trade negotiations is by securing a credible parliamentary majority - 330 seats is effectively the minimum.
The Remain side - many Labour candidates and the Lib Dems as a whole - think Boris Johnson is highly likely to win the largest number of seats at the election. And so their most realistic ambition is to deny him a parliamentary majority. The way to do that is to play the classic underdog card of saying: put a check on the frontrunner.
The argument will have to be phrased carefully because of course, everyone insists they are on course for victory. But expect an argument along these lines: with a majority Boris Johnson can do what he likes on Brexit, so rein him in.
This is where the former Conservative Lord Chancellor David Gauke enters the picture.
One of Gauke's principal arguments for running as an independent in South West Hertfordshire - where he has been the MP since 2005 - is the fear that an unrestricted Boris Johnson government would threaten a no-deal Brexit through refusing to extend the transition period beyond December 2020.
The transition, dubbed the "membership minus votes" period, when the UK has all the benefits and obligations of EU membership without a say on the rules, is due to run out at the end of December next year. It can, in theory, be extended by one or two years.
Gauke - who lost the whip in September for voting to block a no-deal Brexit - agreed to vote for Johnson's new Brexit deal in October after being given a specific undertaking in the Commons by Robert Buckland. Buckland, his successor as Lord Chancellor, said MPs would be able to vote before 1 July on whether to extend the trade talks by one or two years.
Talks are due to take place during the transition period that will kick in after the UK leaves the EU on 31 January.
However if the prime minister wins a majority, the Buckland commitment will probably die. While Brexiteer cabinet ministers are delighted, more pro-European cabinet ministers are disappointed.
If Johnson fails to secure a majority, the Buckland commitment could return to life. It may be the price the prime minister has to pay to stay in office.
David Gauke may provide the Remain side with a rallying cry on the threat of a new no-deal Brexit. But the pro-Europeans are divided, as the Liberal Democrats demonstrated when they pledged to stand against Gauke.
Boris Johnson, by contrast, is rapidly becoming the unofficial leader of the Leave side, even as The Brexit Party's Nigel Farage ditched plans to take on the Tories in more than 300 seats.
And a united political force will always have an easier job in imposing its will.
You can watch Newsnight on BBC Two at 22:30 on weekdays. Catch up on iPlayer, subscribe to the programme on YouTube and follow it on Twitter.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-50410092
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news_uk-politics-50410092
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General election 2019: Will the Tories' Brexit-heavy campaign work? - BBC News
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2019-11-07
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The Tories hope their "get Brexit done" pitch will win over Leave voters - but will it be enough?
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Election 2019
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"If it sticks we'll be fine" - hammer the core message, again and again, and plot a path to victory.
That's how one cabinet minister reckons the Tories can win.
After the last couple of extremely bumpy days for their party, they are hoping this will be a campaign where surprises are not a regular feature.
Instead, they and many of their colleagues reckon the plea for a majority to sort out the Brexit-induced mess of the last few years super fast will find resonance on the doors, saying they are already hearing voters quote back the '"get Brexit done" slogan.
Another cabinet minister says "it's not Parliament versus the people, it's more positive than the pitchfork, but it feels good on the ground - we are hearing from a lot of people they do reckon it's Parliament that's out of touch".
Events of the last 48 hours have shown already, as I wrote on Tuesday night, that events come crashing into parties' hopes and fears pretty fast and knock them off course.
There is another fear among some Conservatives though. The strategy coming out of Tory HQ is crystal clear - end the political agony of Brexit, attract extra Leave voters who are fed up, while hanging on to as many of their existing seats as they can.
But, with such a Brexit-heavy message, will they - can they - do both at the same time?
One former minister (one of a tiny number who predicted a hung Parliament last time round!) fears "this campaign is for the 52%, and the problem is that it is not the same electorate".
In their area, the highest turnout in the 2016 referendum was in a Labour part of the constituency, where people chose overwhelmingly to Leave. But in general elections in that same ward, the turnout is lowest.
And it's not just the question that's been much discussed - would Leave voters who wouldn't normally dream of voting Tory vote for Boris Johnson because of Brexit - that matters. It's how motivated that group will be.
The same senior Tory worries there just won't be enough voters and many of their normal voters are so cross about Brexit that, "we have lost the professional classes".
No-one would deny that Brexit has changed the political arithmetic, but the sums may not add up for the Conservatives at all.
Other senior figures argue that it won't be as one dimensional. One cabinet minister says "the pool is larger than during the referendum. There will be a strong economy argument that will work in Lib Dem-facing seats" - broadly hoping there will be a reason for those Remain-tending Tories to stick with the party.
There's a big speech from the chancellor tomorrow morning that might start to build that too. One No 10 insider says "we have to appeal to a bunch of richer, better-educated Tory Remainers who might be tempted by the Lib Dems".
That is why another minister is so relieved their party is going into the election with a Brexit deal. "It's changed everything," they say.
In other words, they don't have to knock on doors and argue for leaving the EU in eight weeks' time with potential economic turmoil.
Around the country in the next few weeks, Boris Johnson and his team of Vote Leavers will make arguments as bold and likely as brash as they did in 2016. But it's not the same year, not the same political atmosphere, and potentially, not the same voters who'll make the difference.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50325224
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news_election-2019-50325224
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Labour and Tories plan for a post-austerity future - BBC News
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2019-11-07
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Both major political parties have dropped a key target that would see the national debt falling over time.
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Business
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Both major political parties have dropped a key target that would see the national debt falling over time.
The move will allow tens or even hundreds of billions more in investment spending on hospitals, schools, housing and public transport.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said Labour would change the way public spending is accounted for, freeing it up to spend.
Chancellor Sajid Javid also plans to relax his debt rules and spend more.
He said his new rule would allow 3% of GDP in investment on public infrastructure projects - potentially an additional £100bn over current plans.
This would allow the party to spend more on hospitals, schools, roads, railways and broadband, he said.
Mr Javid said he still expected the debt to be lower at the end of the next parliament, but this was not a hard-and-fast stricture.
Like Labour, he also channelled some of the same arguments about taking advantage of cheap borrowing.
Labour's plan is a major revolution in fiscal targeting, designed to allow hundreds of billions in extra investment spending to grow public sector assets.
Mr McDonnell described the new approach as targeting "public sector net worth", saying that it was akin to how companies report their balance sheets. It also builds on a new set of figures that the Office for National Statistics has started to report regularly.
It means there will be little incentive to use off-balance sheet mechanisms, such as the much-criticised Private Finance Initiative.
But it also means a much more generous treatment for Labour's plan to nationalise some privately owned utilities, because the funding required will be offset by the acquisition of the asset - the company.
It is radical too. It relies on the continuation of the current very low borrowing rates offered to governments around the world.
And while there is an emerging international consensus on taking advantage of these cheap rates to boost growth, at a time when central banks are running out of ammunition, there is a limit.
There is a new post-austerity consensus on spending more for the future.
The dividing line is whether it is tens of billions required or hundreds of billions. And who voters trust to spend it well.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-your-money-50329893
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news_business-your-money-50329893
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General election 2019: Indyref2 needs pro-yes majority says Leonard - BBC News
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2019-11-25
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard says a Labour UK government would not block indyref2 if there is a yes majority.
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Election 2019
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Labour would not block indyref2 if pro-independence parties win a majority at the next Holyrood election, according to Scottish leader Richard Leonard.
Mr Leonard said a Labour-led UK government would grant the powers to hold a second independence referendum in this scenario.
However, he also said he still opposed breaking up the UK.
Mr Leonard also promised "further consultation" on controversial plans for an oil and gas windfall tax.
The Scottish Labour leader was speaking in a live interview and phone-in session on BBC Radio Scotland, which all of the country's main party leaders will take part in during the election campaign.
Labour's position on a second independence referendum has been the subject of much focus during the election campaign.
Nicola Sturgeon has claimed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will have little choice but to back a second independence referendum if he wants to be prime minister and Boris Johnson has ruled out giving permission for another vote while he is prime minister.
Mr Leonard said his opposition to independence had not changed but added: "If the SNP or other parties put in their manifesto that they wanted to hold a second independence referendum and they got a mandate for that, either in 2021 or at some future point, then of course what we are saying is that would not be blocked by a UK Labour Westminster government."
The Central Scotland MSP said that the independence question is a "battle that will be won or lost in Scotland" but an issue that could be reframed by the election of a Labour UK government.
He said: "The terms of the debate on the constitutional position in Scotland would change because, instead of a UK government which is embarking upon a programme of austerity, you would see a UK government embarking upon a programme of significant investment in both the economy and public services."
Mr Leonard also claimed the prospect of a second Brexit vote under Labour and the chance of the UK staying in the EU would also weaken the SNP's argument for a second independence referendum.
At the Scottish Labour general election manifesto launch Mr Leonard said the party's free school meals pledge was part of Labour's plan for "transformational change" across Scotland and the UK
The Scottish Labour manifesto promised a windfall tax of the profits of the oil and gas industry.
The idea has been controversial, especially in the north east of Scotland where many people are employed in the sector, and Mr Leonard used his interview to suggest it would be subject to consultation in the event of a UK Labour government being elected.
He said: "We think there ought to be a windfall tax on the profits of the oil and gas sector; the level at which that is pitched, when that is introduced, is a matter of consultation and negotiation.
"It will form a fund to enable those currently employed in the oil and gas sector to change their occupation and roles into other part of the economy."
Mr Leonard also said the money raised from the levy is not an "intrinsic part" of Labour's spending plans.
Concerns over Labour's proposed windfall tax on the oil and gas industry have been raised given the sector is still recovering from a recent downturn in fortunes
On Brexit, Mr Leonard said he would again campaign to remain if there was a second Brexit referendum, in contrast to Jeremy Corbyn who said he would remain neutral on the issue if prime minister.
Elsewhere, Mr Leonard suggested a Labour promise to compensate more than three million women who lost out on years of state pension payments when their retirement age was raised could be funded by borrowing.
It has been estimated this policy would cost £58bn and the Scottish Labour leader said governments can borrow money to pay for "exceptional items", insisting it is "the right thing to do".
On a second independence referendum, Nicola Sturgeon said Labour would not "walk away" from a deal with the SNP if it allowed the party to get the keys to Number 10.
Boris Johnson has ruled out granting a "section 30 order" - which grants permission for a new referendum from the UK government - while he is prime minister, arguing the issue is settled as, "the people of Scotland, were told in 2014 that that was a once-in-a-generation event".
The Liberal Democrats have said a second referendum on the future of the UK is unnecessary and would be "divisive" with Scottish leader Willie Rennie claiming his party was "unique" in this election by opposing both Brexit and independence.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50543703
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news_election-2019-50543703
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University staff strike over pensions and pay - BBC News
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2019-11-25
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Students across the UK face disruption as university staff start eight days of industrial action.
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Family & Education
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Staff at Leicester University have joined the strike
Students across the UK face disruption as lecturers and support staff in 60 universities start an eight-day strike.
Members of the University and Colleges Union (UCU) are taking action in two separate disputes, one on pensions and one on pay and conditions.
The strikes will affect almost half of all UK universities.
The universities say strikes are not the way forward and promise to do all they can to minimise the impact of industrial action on students.
In addition to striking, union members are taking other forms of industrial action, including working strictly to contract, not covering for absent colleagues and refusing to reschedule lectures lost during the strikes.
This latest action follows strikes in February and March last year, meaning some students are being affected for the second time.
Staff taking action will walk out between 25 November and 4 December and the union has not ruled out further action next term.
UCU says staff have reached "breaking point" over a number of issues, including workloads, real-terms cuts in pay, a 15% gender pay gap and changes to pensions for staff in the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which the union says will leave members paying in more and receiving less in retirement.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said about 43,600 members would be taking strike action for "systemic change".
Dr Grady said the higher education sector had "made a lot of money over the past 10 years" but that spending on staff in that period had gone down and that there had been "an attack on working conditions in the sector".
The UCU is angry that members are now having to pay 9.6% in pension contributions, up from 8% and wants universities to pay the full increase instead.
The union estimates that, overall, changes to the pension could leave lecturers about £240,000 worse off in retirement, rising to £730,000 for professors.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
But the University and Colleges Employers Association and Universities UK say employers have increased their pension contributions from 18% to 21.1% of salary, paying in an extra £250m each year.
The employers say even increasing their contributions to 22.7% of salary would cost them £373m a year.
They have warned that in order to meet the union's current demands, employers "would have to divert unsustainable amounts of money from other budgets with potential consequences including for jobs, student support, course closures and larger class sizes".
For the employers, Carol Costello of Liverpool University, acknowledged the union's concerns but said recent rises both in staff pay and in employers' contributions to staff pensions were at the limit of affordability.
"It's important that the... pension scheme trustees secure the benefits for the future of the 230,000 staff in the scheme," Ms Costello told the BBC.
"They've got to meet the legal requirements that the Pensions Regulator sets out.
"We believe that what the Pensions Regulator has said is that ultimately the level of contributions that we're putting in is at the limit."
At London's City University, the employers' arguments do not convince staff like Dr Claire Marris.
"I'm going on strike because I really care about the education that we deliver to our students and I feel our working conditions are being eroded," Dr Marris told BBC news.
She says that although she loves her teaching and research she feels her pay and pension "which is essentially deferred pay" are being whittled away.
"By giving us less money and expecting us to do more and more work, they're making it really hard for us to deliver the quality education and the quality research which we want to do and that we want to contribute to society.
"I want parents out there who are paying the fees for their children to know that 50% of the staff in universities today are casual staff, they are on short-term contracts, they are on hourly contracts and yet that's the money they are paying those fees for and I think that money should be invested in staff."
Master's student Lucy is conflicted about the strike
"I'm angry because I've paid all this money for this course... it makes it seem that this course is not important.
"Obviously I do understand why they striking... I do understand but there are different ways of going about it... I just don't think that's fair."
Grace, another trainee journalist, said losing a week out of such a short course was "really frustrating".
She believes strikes during her undergraduate course affected her final mark: "I had no dissertation tutor for six weeks... so for it to be happening again is just really annoying."
A young man in the first year of his undergraduate degree said while he supported the staff in terms of workers' rights "the timing isn't the best".
He has an assignment presentation due before the end of term but, with his seminar leader out on strike, he's not sure when or if it will take place.
"It is disturbing the rhythm of studying... it's a very pivotal time," he said.
The action involves members of the Universities Superannuation Scheme which covers staff in pre-1992 universities - those which had university status before former polytechnics became universities.
In total, the UCU says 43 universities are taking industrial action over both pensions and pay and conditions:
Staff at a further 14 institutions are striking over pay and conditions only:
And staff at three universities are walking out in a dispute over pensions alone:
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-50459152
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news_education-50459152
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Notre Dame: General says architect should 'shut his mouth' - BBC News
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2019-11-14
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The army general overseeing the reconstruction disagrees with the architect over the spire.
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Europe
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The badly-damaged cathedral is now covered in scaffolding
The army general overseeing the reconstruction of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris has said the building's chief architect should "shut his mouth".
General Jean-Louis Georgelin and architect Philippe Villeneuve disagree over whether the cathedral's new spire should look modern or medieval.
Notre Dame caught fire in April, losing its spire, roof and many artefacts.
French President Emmanuel Macron has set a five-year deadline for completing the huge restoration project.
Some experts warn that this target may be too ambitious - and Mr Villeneuve has previously said the only way it can be met is if the spire is a replica of the one that burned down.
But President Macron and General Georgelin both believe the new spire should be "contemporary".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The moment Notre-Dame’s spire fell as the fire raged in April
A public argument over the spire's design broke out at a meeting of the French National Assembly's cultural affairs committee late on Wednesday.
"As for the chief architect, I have already explained that he should shut his mouth," General Georgelin snapped, prompting gasps from those at the meeting, AFP news agency reported.
He later said that all involved ought to "move ahead in wisdom so that we can serenely make the best choice for Notre Dame, for Paris, for the world".
A final decision on the spire would be settled on in 2021, he added.
The historic cathedral lost its spire and roof in the huge fire on 15 April
On the same day, France 3 TV channel broadcast footage from inside Notre Dame - showing its missing spire and burned-out roof, as well as debris that has collected on the cathedral floor.
Last month, Mr Villeneuve told the broadcaster RTL: "Either I restore it identically... or they make a contemporary spire and it will be someone else [doing it]."
Within 24 hours of the fire on 15 April, hundreds of millions of euros were pledged to help fund the rebuilding of the cathedral.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50420567
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news_world-europe-50420567
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Mavis Bran: Oil fell on chip shop owner 'like a waterfall' - BBC News
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2019-11-14
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Geoffrey Bran, 71, denies murdering his wife Mavis, 69, with hot oil in 2018.
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Wales
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Mavis Bran died six days after sustaining severe burns at the chip shop
A man accused of murdering his wife in their chip shop described how hot oil fell on her chest "like a waterfall" after she accidentally slipped.
Geoffrey Bran, 71, denies murdering his wife Mavis Bran, 69, in Hermon, Carmarthenshire, on 23 October 2018.
Mrs Bran died in Morriston Hospital six days after suffering burns.
Swansea Crown Court heard Mr Bran had told detectives he had not lost his temper following an argument about burnt fish.
He has claimed Mrs Bran sustained the burns in an accident.
"At the corner of my eye I could see the fat fryer moving as if it was in slow motion," he told the court.
"The front legs slipped off the table, instantly the legs fell off the edge and the weight of the oil tipped the whole thing forward, the whole two tubs came out in one whoosh.
"One of the legs got to the edge and the weight of the oil must have moved things fast and it was like a waterfall and it landed on her chest."
The couple ran The Chipoteria in Carmarthenshire, one of a number of businesses they owned
Mr Bran said he moved his wife and sat her up to take off her oil soaked clothes after the accident.
"I didn't know if I was doing the right thing to be honest," he added.
"I just grabbed the bottom of her jumper and pulled it over her head."
He told her to run to their house and ask their lodger Gareth to call an ambulance.
The defendant said his wife had turned to drink that caused "paranoic" moments and she would "blame him for everything".
He said she consumed two and a half bottles of wine a day and was drinking from 09:30 on the morning of the accident.
Describing their relationship, he said: "There was a few arguments. Nothing serious."
He described how the couple met in 1980 and married four years later.
Mr Bran told the jury Mavis was the "business brain" and he carried out renovations on a string of businesses they owned together including restaurants, pubs and cafes.
The court heard when paramedics arrived at Bryn Tawel, the family home, Mrs Bran had a blood alcohol reading of 108 mg/dl. The current drink drive limit in England and Wales is 80mg/dl.
When asked whether he threw oil over his wife at The Chipoteria in Hermon, Mr Bran told detectives: "I would not throw oil over anybody."
He was asked why he did not follow Mrs Bran back to their house after she was injured, and replied: "There was nothing I could do", adding he did not call for an ambulance because he believed their lodger was doing so.
Steven Jeffery, a consultant burns and plastic surgeon, agreed with the pathologist's report that Mrs Bran's eyes were closed when her face was burnt.
"The eyes were actually scrunched up," he said.
Prof Jeffery was asked whether Mrs Bran's burns could have been sustained by her falling to the floor and pulling the fryer down over herself.
"This version of events is consistent with her injuries," he said.
He also agreed her injuries may have been caused by oil being thrown at her in an assault.
Prof Jeffrey said there were no cuts or bruises to suggest Mrs Bran had pulled the fryer on top of herself.
Christopher Clee QC, defending Mr Bran, said: "If it's an act of throwing, he's more likely to have splashed himself with oil. There's no evidence of that?"
He confirmed burns on Mr Bran's fingertips were consistent with his version of events.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-50398851
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news_uk-wales-50398851
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Election 2019: Campaign latest and Parliament's final day - BBC News
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2019-11-04
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The Lib Dems launch their election campaign while Labour and the Tories trade blows over Brexit.
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Election 2019
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Sadly, this case of a doctored video shows that what matters for an effective social media strategy is not accuracy, but noise.
The Conservatives’ video will have induced in many viewers a false impression of what Sir Keir Starmer said. Their defence, that it was edited for time and effect, and the jaunty music shows it to be clearly satirical in nature, rubs up against the fact that it was in a basic sense misleading.
But the fact the Conservative Party’s press office, having received enquiries, then released a further attack on Sir Keir, shows why this minor saga will be chalked up as a success.
By highlighting the original misrepresentation, journalists merely draw attention to it. In an age of media consumption when our attention is finite, and fought over by the world’s most powerful companies, what matters is briefly capturing enough voters’ minds for long enough to convey the impression that Labour is in a pickle over Brexit.
Of course, everything about this minor affair shows a world in which campaigning isn’t about civilised debate, nuance, policy or argument. It’s about the digital blitzkrieg, and who has the most brutal weaponry. In social media elections, might is right.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/election-2019-50287053
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news_live_election-2019-50287053
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General election 2019: Indyref2 needs pro-yes majority says Leonard - BBC News
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2019-11-26
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard says a Labour UK government would not block indyref2 if there is a yes majority.
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Election 2019
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Labour would not block indyref2 if pro-independence parties win a majority at the next Holyrood election, according to Scottish leader Richard Leonard.
Mr Leonard said a Labour-led UK government would grant the powers to hold a second independence referendum in this scenario.
However, he also said he still opposed breaking up the UK.
Mr Leonard also promised "further consultation" on controversial plans for an oil and gas windfall tax.
The Scottish Labour leader was speaking in a live interview and phone-in session on BBC Radio Scotland, which all of the country's main party leaders will take part in during the election campaign.
Labour's position on a second independence referendum has been the subject of much focus during the election campaign.
Nicola Sturgeon has claimed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will have little choice but to back a second independence referendum if he wants to be prime minister and Boris Johnson has ruled out giving permission for another vote while he is prime minister.
Mr Leonard said his opposition to independence had not changed but added: "If the SNP or other parties put in their manifesto that they wanted to hold a second independence referendum and they got a mandate for that, either in 2021 or at some future point, then of course what we are saying is that would not be blocked by a UK Labour Westminster government."
The Central Scotland MSP said that the independence question is a "battle that will be won or lost in Scotland" but an issue that could be reframed by the election of a Labour UK government.
He said: "The terms of the debate on the constitutional position in Scotland would change because, instead of a UK government which is embarking upon a programme of austerity, you would see a UK government embarking upon a programme of significant investment in both the economy and public services."
Mr Leonard also claimed the prospect of a second Brexit vote under Labour and the chance of the UK staying in the EU would also weaken the SNP's argument for a second independence referendum.
At the Scottish Labour general election manifesto launch Mr Leonard said the party's free school meals pledge was part of Labour's plan for "transformational change" across Scotland and the UK
The Scottish Labour manifesto promised a windfall tax of the profits of the oil and gas industry.
The idea has been controversial, especially in the north east of Scotland where many people are employed in the sector, and Mr Leonard used his interview to suggest it would be subject to consultation in the event of a UK Labour government being elected.
He said: "We think there ought to be a windfall tax on the profits of the oil and gas sector; the level at which that is pitched, when that is introduced, is a matter of consultation and negotiation.
"It will form a fund to enable those currently employed in the oil and gas sector to change their occupation and roles into other part of the economy."
Mr Leonard also said the money raised from the levy is not an "intrinsic part" of Labour's spending plans.
Concerns over Labour's proposed windfall tax on the oil and gas industry have been raised given the sector is still recovering from a recent downturn in fortunes
On Brexit, Mr Leonard said he would again campaign to remain if there was a second Brexit referendum, in contrast to Jeremy Corbyn who said he would remain neutral on the issue if prime minister.
Elsewhere, Mr Leonard suggested a Labour promise to compensate more than three million women who lost out on years of state pension payments when their retirement age was raised could be funded by borrowing.
It has been estimated this policy would cost £58bn and the Scottish Labour leader said governments can borrow money to pay for "exceptional items", insisting it is "the right thing to do".
On a second independence referendum, Nicola Sturgeon said Labour would not "walk away" from a deal with the SNP if it allowed the party to get the keys to Number 10.
Boris Johnson has ruled out granting a "section 30 order" - which grants permission for a new referendum from the UK government - while he is prime minister, arguing the issue is settled as, "the people of Scotland, were told in 2014 that that was a once-in-a-generation event".
The Liberal Democrats have said a second referendum on the future of the UK is unnecessary and would be "divisive" with Scottish leader Willie Rennie claiming his party was "unique" in this election by opposing both Brexit and independence.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50543703
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news_election-2019-50543703
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LGBT teaching row: Birmingham primary school protests permanently banned - BBC News
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2019-11-26
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Protests had an adverse effect on pupils and 21 teachers were treated for stress, a judge says.
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Birmingham & Black Country
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Head teacher Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson was "thrilled" the school was not criticised by the judge
Demonstrations against LGBT inclusive education have been permanently banned outside a primary school.
A High Court judge ruled in favour of an exclusion zone to remain around Anderton Park, in Birmingham, which has been targeted by protesters for months.
The protests had an averse effect on pupils, residents and staff, leading to 21 teachers being treated for stress, Mr Justice Warby said.
Campaigners accused the city council of trying to silence debate.
The protests at the school in Balsall Heath aimed to stop LGBT relationships education, with many parents and activists claiming it contradicts their Islamic faith and is not "age appropriate".
Protesters were banned from the school gates in June
October's five-day hearing at the city's Priory Courts heard there were further "untrue" and "harmful" allegations made about the school on social media, and how a visiting imam had claimed to parents there were "paedophiles" inside the school.
Other false claims included that the school had a "paedophile agenda" and staff were "teaching children how to masturbate".
"None of this is true," Mr Justice Warby said as he handed down the ban at Birmingham Civil Justice Centre.
"None of the defendants have suggested it was true and the council has proved it is not true."
The lessons had been "misrepresented by parents", he said, adding the school does not promote homosexuality and seeks to weave the language of equality into everyday school life.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Lead protester Shakeel Afsar is "bitterly disappointed" by the ban
Since June protesters have gathered just outside the exclusion zone.
In the hearing last month, the city council argued an interim injunction should be extended beyond school gates and made permanent.
Birmingham City Council said the noisy protests at the school gates were disrupting lessons and meant children were unable to use the playground.
The council maintained the court action was in response to campaigners' behaviour, not the issue of the protests.
The prior injunction named lead protester Shakeel Afsar, who does not have children at the school, his sister Rosina and Amir Ahmed, all of whom contested the need for a legal injunction.
Mr Justice Warby directed that the three named defendants should be liable to 80% of those costs, which the court heard have yet to be calculated.
The judge said the reason the award was not in full was because part of the council's claim - for an injunction on the making of abusive social media posts against teachers - had been unsuccessful.
Teaching at the school had been "grossly misrepresented", Mr Justice Warby said
Mr Afsar said he was "bitterly disappointed with the decision of the court".
He branded the court "one-sided", pointing out that the judge, the council's barrister and key witnesses had been "white", compared with the "diverse" protest supporters.
"We can continue to protest in the same area that we have been protesting in since June this year," he added.
"These young children are not being taught the status of law."
Protests have continued outside an exclusion zone at Anderton Park Primary School
Speaking after the ruling, head teacher Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson said staff would be "over the moon".
"We knew it was misrepresented and that was the frustration when you are trying to go about your daily business as educators and when people say things about you that are not true, that is very difficult," she said
"It has been awful, but my staff are unbelievable and parents are unbelievable and the children of Anderton Park are incredible human beings and we are a strong school and every single person is part of that strength."
It's hard to see what the protesters can do now. One of the group's three leaders - Amir Ahmed - has said they would seek leave to appeal, but it's far from clear on what grounds they could do so.
Only a handful of the people who regularly gathered outside the school were parents or had any direct connection with Anderton Park, but the demonstrators do reflect concern felt by some religious communities about equality teaching, and particularly lessons about same sex relationships.
It won't matter to them that the judge has said their allegations about "promoting" homosexuality are false and that they have "misrepresented" what is being taught in the school.
It will simply confirm their belief that they are the victims of bias against them by the establishment and the mainstream media.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What is in the books that Parkfield parents are protesting about?
Birmingham City Council said it was "really pleased" with Mr Justice Warby's decision.
"This was always about protecting the school and community from the escalating levels of anti-social behaviour of the protests," Dr Tim O'Neill, the council's director of education and skills, said.
"Birmingham is diverse and inclusive - these are its strengths - and we must all come together to ensure all children get the best education possible."
He said "fringe elements" had been attracted to the protests with the aim of "stoking division and hatred".
Christian campaigner John Allman, from Okehampton in Devon, had joined proceedings with a view to "raising freedom of expression arguments" in opposition to aspects of the injunction that sought to restrict statements on social media.
Meanwhile, Mr Afsar had claimed the weekly protests were "peaceful" despite the use of megaphones and a sound-boosting PA system.
The National Association of Head Teachers, which has supported the school, welcomed an end to the "noisy and aggressive protests".
"This judgement makes it abundantly clear that the school gate is no place to hold a protest," a spokesperson said.
It was also welcomed by the Department for Education, which has previously faced criticism for a perceived lack of support for the school, but said it wanted to "encourage positive dialogue".
Update 29 November 2019: This article has been updated to reflect that John Allman's part in proceedings was related to freedom of expression arguments and not the exclusion zone.
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General election 2019: A campaign unlike any other? - BBC News
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2019-11-18
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Party leaders are making big promises at a time when trust and loyalty among voters is in short supply.
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Election 2019
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The prime minister has had plenty to chew on this week
Labour's latest "retail offer" of free broadband for all showed - if it still needed showing - voters are being handed a choice of rival ideologies as stark as any we've seen since Margaret Thatcher took on Labour's Michael Foot in 1983.
Younger voters may imagine this is what normal politics looks like. It isn't. Or at least, it wasn't.
All the parties are desperate to grab the attention of an electorate which has never trusted its politicians less, or been less tightly bound by old party loyalties.
So far, the 2019 general election has been unlike any in living memory.
Trust between people and politicians - as measured, for example, by the YouGov "Trust Index" - has never been lower in modern times.
Party loyalties have never been looser.
Monday's quarterly GDP figures set the economic tone. Annual economic growth at 1% was nothing to celebrate, even if the UK hadn't actually tipped into recession.
And yet the spending arms race picked up speed; the Tory promise of £34bn extra cash for the NHS overtaken this week by Labour's £40bn.
So, the rivals are now racing desperately in the face of economic and political headwinds, compounded by the almost bottomless uncertainties of Brexit.
The Conservative slogan "get Brexit done", for example, glosses over the fact that, even if Boris Johnson wins a majority on 12 December and manages to pass his EU divorce deal intact, it would be just the start of tougher trade negotiations than any we've seen so far.
The prime minister's assessment on BBC Breakfast that there's "bags of time" to achieve a comprehensive EU trade deal may be true, though plenty of experts don't believe a word of it.
If those experts are right, we would again be looking at the possibility of a no-deal Brexit at the end of next year.
Immigration also dominated the argument this week.
Pro-EU parties like the Lib Dems and the SNP unapologetically, defiantly, banged their drums for freedom of movement.
The Conservatives and Labour, both so wary of offending voters in Leave-supporting constituencies, spent much more time condemning each other's migration policies than explaining the consequences of their own.
The Labour leader has been put on the spot over immigration and Scottish independence
Would the Tory promise of a points-based immigration policy mean lower levels of immigration?
Priti Patel said yes, eventually and rather quietly. There were no numbers attached.
Mr Corbyn would only say Labour's plan would be "fair". He meant cutting numbers was not the point, even if a lot of potential Labour voters think it is.
Under his leadership, Labour is more interested in enforcing fair wages, stopping home-grown workers being undercut by migrants and giving trade unions more power to help set pay rates in companies across the UK.
Where is the election heading, just over a week into the official contest?
You only a need a memory stretching back as far as Theresa May's 2017 campaign to realise making hard and fast predictions is a game for mugs.
The Brexit Party's decision to pull candidates out of 317 Tory-held constituencies this week was a help to the Tories, but not enough to hand a sure victory to the Conservatives.
The Lib Dems are fighting to win, while ruling out any kind of deals if they do not
Now, leading Brexit Party players are claiming they've been quietly offered peerages, jobs and, in the case of Ann Widdecombe, a role in future trade talks if only they'd back off.
The Conservatives deny it. She says she's a practising Catholic and she'd swear on a bible it's true. Call her a liar if you wish. I'll hold your coat.
The Lib Dems have been campaigning on familiar themes, including climate change. They're hoping, of course, to hold the balance of power in the new Parliament, and use it to frustrate Boris Johnson, or force out Jeremy Corbyn.
It's not inconceivable that their leader Jo Swinson could become a political "kingmaker".
Local council by-election results this week suggest the Lib Dems may, just may, outperform their poll ratings. It wouldn't be the first time.
There's still nearly a month of this to come. Already, Jeremy Corbyn has carried out 20 campaign visits, often targeting marginal Tory seats.
That's one third more than Boris Johnson and more than double the Lib Dem leader.
Those numbers will surely even out. All of them have been to areas hit by the floods this week. The prime minister's response was strongly criticised by his opponents. Then he promised grant money for councils and businesses.
Mr Johnson also committed some 100 troops to help out, useful no doubt; maybe even more useful than the similar number of party leaders and members of their campaign entourages who've converged on the stricken areas of the Midlands and South Yorkshire in recent days.
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General election 2019: PM puts corporation tax cuts on hold to help fund NHS - BBC News
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2019-11-18
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Boris Johnson says public services will benefit as planned corporation tax cuts are put on hold.
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Election 2019
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson laid out his plans as he addressed the CBI conference
Planned cuts to corporation tax next April are to be put on hold, Boris Johnson has said, with the money being spent on the NHS and other services.
The rate paid by firms on their profits was due to fall from 19% to 17%.
But the PM told business leaders it may cost the Treasury £6bn and this was better spent on "national priorities", including the health service.
Labour said business "handouts" had done real damage and the Tories would "revert to type" after the election.
The announcement does not mean any new money for the NHS, on top of the £20bn extra a year the Conservatives are promising to give it up to 2023. The BBC understands the cash will be used, in part, to fund existing pledges on GP training.
With just over three weeks to go before the 12 December election, the leaders of the three largest parties in England have been parading their business credentials at the CBI conference.
Jeremy Corbyn said business had "so much to gain" from a Labour victory in terms of investment while Jo Swinson said the Liberal Democrats were the "natural party of business" because they wanted to cancel Brexit.
Addressing the audience of top executives and entrepreneurs, Mr Johnson said they had "created the wealth that actually pays for the NHS".
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Stressing his party's "emphatic belief in fiscal prudence", he said he had decided against going ahead with a further cut in corporation tax, a step first proposed by Chancellor George Osborne in 2016 to boost business in the wake of the Brexit referendum.
Mr Johnson said the UK already had the lowest rate of corporation tax of "any major economy" and further cuts would be "postponed".
"Before you storm the stage, let me remind you that this saves £6bn that we can put into the priorities of the British people including the NHS," he told the audience.
Corporation tax is an important revenue-raiser, making up approximately 9% of the UK government's total tax take. The amount raised by the tax has risen by two-thirds in the past decade, as the rate has fallen from 28% to 19% and economic conditions have improved.
But many economists said the latest cut would be potentially counter-productive in terms of tax yields, with a study based on HMRC data last year suggesting it could mean £6bn a year in lost government revenues.
In response, CBI director Carolyn Fairbairn said the move could "work for the country if it is backed by further efforts to the costs of doing business and promote growth".
Blink and you might have missed it, but the PM has just announced the single biggest tax-raising measure of the campaign so far.
The overnight headlines about Boris Johnson's CBI speech were about a £1bn cut to business taxes. It pays to read the small print.
All together, this leaves an extra £5bn a year for the Conservative manifesto to deploy in extra spending or, as seems likely, some crowd-pleasing pre-election personal tax cuts.
I'm told the corporation tax move was Chancellor Sajid Javid's idea, and was discussed during plans for his aborted Budget earlier this month. The PM also confirmed Mr Javid would remain in post if he wins the election next month.
Cancelling the cut still leaves the UK with the lowest corporation tax rate in the G20, although not as low as Switzerland or Singapore.
Given the government's argument has long been that cuts to corporation tax raise revenue, it is interesting to see the PM now say that cancelling cuts will also raise revenue.
It is meant to show clear blue water between the Conservatives and Labour on fiscal credibility. In the event, there was barely a squeak out of the CBI audience about a significant multi-billion pound tax change.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Monday's freeze marked a "temporary pause in the Tories' race to the bottom" on business taxes.
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Labour's plan has been to raise corporation tax to 26% - the 2011 level - which it says will generate billions to be spent on its priorities, including health and education.
Turning to Brexit, the Conservative leader told the conference that while big business did not want the UK to leave the EU, his withdrawal deal would provide the certainty "that you want now and have wanted for some time".
If elected with a Commons majority, Mr Johnson is hoping to get the agreement on the terms of the UK's exit into law by 31 January, and begin talks with Brussels on a permanent trading relationship.
He also announced a review of business rates in England, with the aim of reducing the overall burden of the tax, as well as a cut in National Insurance contributions for employers, which already benefit from a reduction known as the employment allowance.
In his address, Mr Corbyn said business had nothing to fear from a Labour government, arguing that while the richest would pay more, there would also be "more investment than you have ever dreamt of".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeremy Corbyn: "I understand your concern over some of our plans"
He said he would "make no apologies" for the party's plan to take rail, mail, water and broadband delivery into public ownership, saying it was "not an attack" on the free market and would bring the UK in line with the continent.
"It is sometimes claimed I am anti-business," he said. "This is nonsense. It is not nonsense to be against poverty pay. It is not nonsense to say the largest corporations should pay their taxes, just as small companies do.
"It is not anti-business to want prosperity in every part of the country."
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The Labour leader also set out plans to train about 320,000 apprentices in jobs such as construction, manufacturing and design within the renewable energy, transport and forestry sectors.
Ms Fairbairn said the business community shared Labour's desire to increased investment but warned the opposition's "massive instincts towards state intervention and ownership" put that at risk.
In her first address to the CBI as leader of her party, Ms Swinson said no-one claiming to want to "get Brexit sorted" was on the side of business, due to the negative impact she said it would have on investment and access to labour.
"With Boris Johnson in the pocket of Nigel Farage and Jeremy Corbyn stuck in the 1970s, we are the only one standing up for you," she said.
She said her party would go further than the others and replace "crippling" business rates with a levy paid by commercial landlords based on land value, which she suggested would help "rescue the High Street".
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, who is not attending the CBI event, said politicians' focus should be on helping small business and promoting what he claimed were the advantages of a no-deal Brexit.
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General election 2019: Lib Dems and SNP lose ITV debate legal challenge - BBC News
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2019-11-18
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The parties took the channel to court after their leaders were left out its head-to-head debate.
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Election 2019
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The Lib Dems and SNP have lost their legal challenge to be included in an ITV head-to-head debate ahead of the general election on 12 December.
The channel is due to air a face-off between Tory leader Boris Johnson and Labour's Jeremy Corbyn on Tuesday.
The Lib Dems said they wanted their pro-Remain stance to be represented, while the SNP also wanted the issue of Scottish independence to be raised.
But judges ruled there was "no arguable breach of the Broadcasting Code".
In the High Court in London, Lord Justice Davis and Mr Justice Warby said the case was not suitable for judicial review as ITV was not carrying out a "public function" in law by holding the debate.
However, the parties had the right to complain to Ofcom about the programme after it had been broadcast, they said.
Lord Justice Davis said: "The clear conclusion of both members of this court is that, viewed overall, these claims are not realistically arguable."
But Lib Dem education spokeswoman Layla Moran tweeted "the fight must continue", adding: "It is outrageous that the Remain voice is missing from the ITV debate.
"It's simply wrong of broadcasters to present a binary choice and pre-empt the decision of the people in a general election."
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The SNP's Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, also condemned the decision, saying it "discriminated against Scottish voters" and "treated them as second-class citizens".
He added: "That is, quite simply, a democratic disgrace, and the fact that election law and broadcasting codes allow such gross unfairness is unacceptable."
And he called for Mr Johnson and Mr Corbyn to commit to take part in an all-party debate on 1 December, rather than sending other senior figures from their respective parties.
It took the two judges just a matter of 10 or 15 minutes to reach a decision about the claim that the Lib Dems and SNP should be allowed access to the head-to-head debate.
The judges came back and said they would not agree to that and effectively refused to even hear the judicial review.
Their legal argument was that ITV was not exercising a public function as it is a private broadcaster - albeit regulated - therefore could not be subject to judicial review.
They also said if the two parties had a complaint about the programme, they had a way of complaining and that was to the regulator Ofcom - but that can only be done after the programme is broadcast
However, the judges said an important part of their decision was the editorial judgment made by ITV was not irrational and perverse.
They did not want as judges to get in the way of an editorial matter for a major broadcaster.
So the application from the parties is rejected and the debate goes ahead.
But the Lib Dems still have big problems with this court decision, and say they they are going to take a closer look before deciding what to do next.
The BBC will also host a live head-to-head debate between the Conservative and Labour leaders in Southampton on 6 December, plus a seven-way podium debate between senior figures from the UK's major political parties on 29 November, live from Cardiff.
The Lib Dems have sent a legal letter to the BBC over its decision not to include Ms Swinson in the head-to-head.
BBC Scotland will stage a televised debate between the SNP, Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats on 10 December, although the Scottish Greens have criticised the decision not to include them.
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Oxford Union debate: Blind student 'violently' pulled from seat - BBC News
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2019-11-18
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Ebenezer Azamati says he felt "unwelcome" in Britain after being "violently removed" from the Oxford Union
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Oxford
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Footage of security appearing to grapple with Mr Azamati was filmed in the chamber
A blind student who was "violently" removed from a prestigious debating society has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
Ebenezer Azamati was "accosted" by a security guard when he tried to return to a seat he had earlier reserved before the debate on 17 October.
He said he was "very pleased" that claims of "false violent disorder" were retracted by the Oxford Union.
The union has been asked for comment.
The postgraduate student from Ghana said his treatment made him feel "unwelcome in the union, Oxford and even the country".
The Oxford Union, which is independent from the university, has a tradition of hosting debates and speakers stretching back to 1823.
Mr Azamati, who is visually impaired, was "forcibly and violently prevented from re-entering the union to resume his seat" before a debate, according to the university's Africa Society.
It said he arrived to the union in Frewin Court early to reserve his seat in the chamber before the debate and then returned to his college.
The student was then confronted by a security guard when he tried to return to his seat so Mr Azamati sat in another seat offered by another member before staff attempted to remove him.
The Oxford Union intentionally resembles the House of Commons
The society said: "Even if he had re-entered when the debate had started, such poor treatment through violent means remains unjustifiable."
Nwamaka Ogbonna, president of the Oxford University Africa Society, said a security guard had told Mr Azamati he could not enter the chamber because "the union was full" despite the student having apparently reserved a seat.
Ms Ogbonna said: "The argument that he had to leave because there were not any seats is invalid. People are allowed to stand.
"I think everyone is quite perplexed."
Video footage shared online showed an argument between security and Mr Azamati in the chamber before staff appeared to manhandle him.
Mr Azamati was attending the debate in which the motion "This house has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government" was discussed by members and politicians from various parties.
The St John's College student, who studies International Relations, said he was "treated as not being human enough to deserve justice and fair treatment".
After the charges against Mr Azamati were successfully appealed on Saturday, the president of the Oxford Union, Brendan McGrath, apologised to the Africa Society "for the distress and any reputational damage" to the student.
Helen Mountfield QC, who represents Mr Azamati, said there were ongoing talks with the union over what steps it can take to address the "failings" exposed by the case.
The university tweeted its support for Mr Azamati, and said it shared "the widespread outrage regarding the unacceptable treatment" of the student.
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It added: "The union is an entirely independent club not governed by the university, but this student's treatment goes against our culture of inclusivity and tolerance.
"We are pressing the union for answers on how they plan to remedy the issue and ensure this does not happen in future."
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General election 2019: Alun Cairns refuses to give details on rape trial row - BBC News
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2019-11-08
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The ex-Welsh Secretary declines to answer questions about a row that led him to quit on Wednesday.
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Wales politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The ex-Welsh secretary declines to answer questions about a row that led him to quit
A former minister has refused to answer questions on when he knew his former aide had "sabotaged" a rape trial, in his first interview since the story broke.
Alun Cairns, who resigned as Welsh secretary on Wednesday, said he was "determined to clear his name".
His former aide was selected as an assembly candidate eight months after the trial collapsed.
Mr Cairns is facing pressure to quit as a general election candidate.
His former colleague Ross England told a rape trial in April 2018 that he had been in a casual sexual relationship with the victim - claims the victim had denied.
He was thrown out of court by the judge, who had ruled such evidence inadmissible, and the trial collapsed. The defendant James Hackett was subsequently convicted of rape at a retrial.
Mr Cairns had denied he knew about the trial's collapse until last week, but resigned after BBC Wales obtained an email addressed to him discussing the case - it had been sent in August 2018.
Asked how he reconciled the differences between the statement and the email, Mr Cairns said: "This is a highly sensitive situation, and I've taken this seriously throughout."
Alun Cairn, standing with his mother Maragret (L) and his wife Emma (R), said he is "determined to clear his name"
Interviewed with his mother Margaret and his wife Emma by his side, the politician said: "The party has made a statement that has expressed sympathy to the victim. That is something I would absolutely fully support".
"Now it's important to realise that I had nothing, no association in anyway with the trial and that I've stood aside as the secretary of state for Wales in order to give the cabinet office the space they need to fully look at all of the facts so they can come to a conclusion and a judgement.
"I'm keen to get on with the campaign of the general election. Of course people will judge all of the facts rather than trial by media."
Asked by BBC Wales if he would stick to what he had said previously, he said: "There is a due process", referring to an investigation that will be carried out by the cabinet office.
He said Mr England "left my employment some 13 months before the trial", and that he had "no communication from the court or the judge".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson denied his general election campaign had been thrown off course by a rape trial row
It was put to Mr Cairns that BBC Wales had spoken to sources within the Conservative Party who had been aware of the matter. Asked why he did not know about the situation if they did, he repeated his argument.
"Let the cabinet office look at all of the evidence, let them take into account all of the facts, and they will make the judgement rather than be faced by trial by media," he said.
Criticising the comments, a Welsh Conservative source said: "We can't go on for the next five weeks with this hanging over the party with the constant flow of damaging interviews like we've seen today".
Ross England has been suspended as a candidate for the Vale of Glamorgan at the assembly election
Mr Cairns resigned from the cabinet following the publication of the email earlier this week.
Labour, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats have called for Mr Cairns to quit as a general election candidate, as has the rape victim at the centre of the case.
The email message on 2 August 2018 was sent to Mr Cairns by Geraint Evans, his special adviser. It was also copied to Richard Minshull - the director of the Welsh Conservatives - and another member of staff.
It said: "I have spoken to Ross and he is confident no action will be taken by the court."
In December 2018, the former Welsh secretary endorsed Mr England's candidacy to represent the Vale of Glamorgan in the 2021 Welsh assembly election.
At the time of his selection to stand as an AM, Mr Cairns described Mr England as a "friend and colleague" with whom "it will be a pleasure to campaign".
Mr England was suspended as a candidate and as an employee last week after details of the court case emerged. The Welsh Conservative party said a "full investigation will be conducted".
Other candidates standing in the Vale of Glamorgan for the 12 December general election include Belinda Loveluck-Edwards for Welsh Labour and Anthony Slaughter for the Wales Green Party.
The close of nominations is 14 November.
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Election 2019: Campaign latest and Parliament's final day - BBC News
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2019-11-05
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The Lib Dems launch their election campaign while Labour and the Tories trade blows over Brexit.
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Election 2019
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Sadly, this case of a doctored video shows that what matters for an effective social media strategy is not accuracy, but noise.
The Conservatives’ video will have induced in many viewers a false impression of what Sir Keir Starmer said. Their defence, that it was edited for time and effect, and the jaunty music shows it to be clearly satirical in nature, rubs up against the fact that it was in a basic sense misleading.
But the fact the Conservative Party’s press office, having received enquiries, then released a further attack on Sir Keir, shows why this minor saga will be chalked up as a success.
By highlighting the original misrepresentation, journalists merely draw attention to it. In an age of media consumption when our attention is finite, and fought over by the world’s most powerful companies, what matters is briefly capturing enough voters’ minds for long enough to convey the impression that Labour is in a pickle over Brexit.
Of course, everything about this minor affair shows a world in which campaigning isn’t about civilised debate, nuance, policy or argument. It’s about the digital blitzkrieg, and who has the most brutal weaponry. In social media elections, might is right.
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Bad dreams 'help to control fear when awake' - BBC News
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2019-11-27
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A bad dream during the night may help you to control fear when awake, say researchers.
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Family & Education
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If you had a bad dream last night, it might have a positive benefit - because research suggests being scared while asleep helps to control fear during the waking hours.
University researchers in Switzerland and the United States examined how the brain responded to types of dream.
They found bad dreams improved the effectiveness of the brain in reacting to frightening experiences when awake.
But really terrifying nightmares were found to have a negative impact.
The neuroscientists, from the University of Geneva, the University Hospitals of Geneva in Switzerland and the University of Wisconsin in the US, have suggested that dreams could be used as a form of therapy for anxiety disorders.
The study looked at whether bad dreams - which are moderately frightening rather than excessively traumatic - might serve a useful purpose.
With more than 250 electrodes attached to 18 subjects - and with another 89 people keeping diaries of their sleeping and dreaming - the researchers examined how the emotions experienced during dreams were connected with feelings when awake.
The findings, published in Human Brain Mapping, showed that bad dreams helped people to "react better to frightening situations".
When someone woke after a bad dream, the area of the brain that controlled their response to fear was found to be more effective.
This suggested that bad dreams were a way of preparing people for fear in their waking lives.
The greater the frequency of frightening dreams, the researchers found a higher level of activity in the area of the brain that manages fear.
"We were particularly interested in fear. What areas of our brain are activated when we're having bad dreams?" said Lampros Perogamvros, a researcher in the Sleep and Cognition Laboratory at the University of Geneva.
The researchers said they found a "very strong link between the emotions we feel in both sleep and wakefulness", with bad dreams being a way of simulating frightening situations as a rehearsal for such experiences when awake.
"Dreams may be considered as a real training for our future reactions and may potentially prepare us to face real life dangers," said Mr Perogamvros.
But there was a limit to how frightening a dream could be - because once a dream became a very upsetting nightmare the benefits were lost and instead it was likely to mean disrupted sleep and a "negative impact" that continued after waking.
"If a certain threshold of fear is exceeded in a dream, it loses its beneficial role as an emotional regulator," said Mr Perogamvros.
• None Having more sleep before holiday 'stops arguments'
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-50563835
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news_education-50563835
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Raheem Sterling dropped by England after Joe Gomez clash before Euro 2020 qualifier - BBC Sport
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2019-11-11
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England forward Raheem Sterling will not play in the Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro on Thursday following a clash with team-mate Joe Gomez.
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Last updated on .From the section England
Raheem Sterling admitted "emotions got the better of me" after being dropped for England's Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro following a clash with team-mate Joe Gomez.
The Football Association said Sterling had been dropped "as a result of a disturbance in a private team area".
The Manchester City forward, 24, then took to social media to confirm "a five to 10 second thing" with Liverpool's Joe Gomez, 22, in the England camp.
But he added the pair were now "good".
Sterling and Gomez had an on-field argument during the Reds' 3-1 Premier League victory at Anfield on Sunday.
"Both Joe and I have had words and figured things out and moved on," Sterling said via his Instagram account on Tuesday.
"We are in a sport where emotions run high and I am man enough to admit when emotions got the better of me.
"This is why we play this sport because of our love for it - me and Joe Gomez are good, we both understand it was a five to 10 second thing... it's done, we move forward and not make this bigger than it is.
"Let's get focus on our game on Thursday," Sterling added.
It is understood Sterling turned on Gomez in the canteen, and other players pulled them apart.
The Liverpool defender was unhappy about what happened, but Sterling apologised and both now consider the matter to be over.
England boss Gareth Southgate consulted with senior players and they agreed with the plan to drop Sterling.
"Unfortunately the emotions of yesterday's game were still raw," said Southgate on Monday.
"One of the great challenges and strengths for us is that we've been able to separate club rivalries from the national team.
"We have taken the decision to not consider Raheem for the match against Montenegro on Thursday. My feeling is that the right thing for the team is the action we have taken.
"Now that the decision has been made with the agreement of the entire squad, it's important that we support the players and focus on Thursday night."
• None England must 'lose the arrogance', says Southgate
• None Players to wear 'legacy numbers' as part of 1,000th match celebrations
England play their 1,000th senior men's international on Thursday and a point at Wembley would book a spot at Euro 2020 with one qualifying game to spare.
The Three Lions are top of Euro 2020 Qualifying Group A, three points clear of the Czech Republic and four ahead of Kosovo with the top two nations advancing.
A win or a draw for Southgate's side will see them qualify.
England then play their final group match away in Kosovo on Sunday.
Sterling, who joined Manchester City from Liverpool in 2015, has made 55 appearances for England, scoring 12 times, and netted in the 5-1 away win in Podgorica in March, while Gomez has featured seven times for the national side.
However, Gomez has struggled for first-team action for Liverpool this season, starting only one Premier League match.
Sterling has started 11 of City's league matches in 2019-20 and has scored 14 times in 17 appearances in all competitions for his club, as well as scoring four times for England.
Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand said the incident could have been "handled better".
In a post on Facebook, Ferdinand suggests Southgate "would no doubt have seen worse many times during his time as a player and manager".
"I just feel this could and should have been handled better to support the player and not hang him out to dry," he continued.
"One of our world-class players who has conducted himself wonderfully through racism and unwarranted criticism in an England shirt will now come under more scrutiny and be vilified in the media no doubt - when this could have been dealt with internally. Hindsight is a great thing though."
Today is a media day with England and I'm sure the long lenses will be focused on Sterling and Gomez. The big point in all of this is that during the time Gareth Southgate has been the England manager, team harmony has been one of the key things.
He has often told us how they have worked on defusing club rivalries, because it has been a problem with England in the past. Sterling will remain with the squad and one of the things Southgate said was that the emotions from Sunday's match were still raw and the decision to leave Sterling out has been made with the agreement of the entire squad.
Sterling has come on a storm in the last year or so, while his development has continued with Manchester City and England. He has scored 10 goals in his past 10 internationals and he did captain England when he won his 50th cap against the Netherlands in June.
Time will move on and we will always refer to this, but he is such an important player for England, I would go as far to say he is the first name on the team sheet. So I would not rule him out of captaining his country in the future.
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Newport crash victim 'denied justice on technicality' - BBC News
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2019-11-23
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The partner of a suspected hit-and-run victim says his life "will never be the same".
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Wales
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John Conibeer spent six weeks in an induced coma after he was the victim of a hit and run
A man injured so badly in a suspected hit-and-run that he was given a 2% chance to live, said he has been denied justice "on a technicality".
John Conibeer spent six weeks in a coma and needed multiple life-saving operations after he was hit by a van on the A48 near Chepstow last year.
The man charged with the hit and run walked free because of a clerical error, he said.
The Crown Prosecution Service said it would be "inappropriate" to comment.
Gwent Police said it had "followed the standard procedures" while investigating and had sought advice early from the CPS.
John Conibeer's partner Emma Ross was with John when he was struck by the van
In the early hours of 17 February 2018, Mr Conibeer, then 32, was one of three passengers in a car being driven by his partner Emma Ross on the way home from a meal together in Chepstow.
Ms Ross lost control of the car and crashed into a wall. There were no injuries and Mr Conibeer got out of the car to check for damage.
As he was attempting to push the car back on to the road, he was hit from behind by a Ford Transit van.
Mr Conibeer became trapped between the van's wheel and the wheel arch and was dragged around the wheel twice before being thrown to the side of the road.
He was left with 24 broken bones, including a fractured pelvis, hip, shoulder and four vertebrae.
He also suffered a punctured lung, a lacerated kidney and liver and injuries to his bowel, urethra and bladder.
Mr Conibeer was taken to the Royal Gwent Hospital, but needed transferring to specialists at the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff.
He had to be resuscitated twice during his first operation, which lasted 24 hours as surgeons worked in shifts, and Ms Ross estimates her partner was operated on for about 80 hours.
Mr Conibeer had to be resuscitated five times during about 80 hours of surgery
After a lengthy appeal to catch the suspect, police made an arrest in March, but no charges were brought until September.
The BBC has learned the suspect was facing three charges - causing serious injury through careless driving, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident.
Mr Conibeer said police had told him the suspect had admitted he was driving the van.
The defendant was due to appear at Newport Magistrates' Court on 14 November but the case, which was being prosecuted by the police, was withdrawn after the district judge ruled the case had "timed out".
With certain motoring offences, prosecutors have six months to charge someone, at which point the offence becomes "timed out" unless the prosecutor issues a certificate of extension.
The ambition to get back to his job as a roofer motivated Mr Conibeer during his surgery
Ms Ross said the certificate was not present in the case file, which allowed the defence to call on the judge to throw it out.
One of the charges - causing serious injury through careless driving - was also missing from the charges on the court sheet, Ms Ross said.
The couple claim police and the CPS have "blamed each other" and Ms Ross has complained to the CPS and is considering complaining to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
"I have lost out on justice because of a technicality," Mr Conibeer said.
The physical and mental recovery has been an arduous one for Mr Conibeer.
"It's set him back years. He's had to develop again - for him it has been like being a child again physically and mentally," Ms Ross explained.
Mr Conibeer said: "It makes me really angry when people say 'you're so lucky to be alive'. Part of me wishes I had died that night because I don't feel lucky.
"I have battled with suicidal thoughts - the pain was in every part of my body."
Despite the struggle to overcome the lasting consequences of that night, Mr Conibeer said he was genuinely grateful, particularly to his family, friends and the medical staff who saved his life.
Despite appearing physically well, Mr Conibeer is unlikely to ever fully recover from his injuries
Ms Ross was asked what the couple would like to see happen.
"I would like to see him admit what he did in front of a judge, and then face us and hear how it has affected him," she said.
"If you look at him, he looks brilliant now. But his life will never be the same."
A spokesman for the CPS said: "We have received a complaint in relation to this case. It would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this stage."
Gwent Police said: "We note the legal arguments raised by the defence. It would be inappropriate to comment further."
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General election 2019: Farage calls on Johnson to 'build Leave alliance' - BBC News
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2019-11-01
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The Brexit Party leader says the PM must ditch his EU deal - or he will stand candidates against Tories.
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Election 2019
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Nigel Farage has called on Boris Johnson to drop his Brexit deal or face his party's candidates in every seat.
Speaking at the Brexit Party's election campaign launch, he called on the PM to "build a Leave alliance" and seek a free trade agreement with the EU.
If Mr Johnson refuses, Mr Farage said he already had 500 candidates he could field against the Tories in seats across England, Scotland and Wales.
The Conservatives have consistently ruled out a formal pact with the party.
A Tory source told the BBC: "A vote for Farage risks letting Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street via the back door. It will not get Brexit done and it will create another gridlocked Parliament that doesn't work."
It comes after President Donald Trump said Mr Farage and Boris Johnson should team up as "an unstoppable force".
Recent opinion polls have shown the Conservatives with a double-digit lead over Labour.
Polling expert Sir John Curtice said Boris Johnson had received a boost after he negotiated a deal with the EU and brought the deal back to Parliament before 31 October deadline.
However, MPs turned down his plan to pass the deal in three days, leading to a three month extension to the deadline - something vocal Brexiteers, including Mr Farage, have criticised the PM for.
Having not got Brexit through by Halloween, some Tories fear that Mr Farage's candidates could split the pro-Brexit vote and prevent their party from winning a majority in 12 December poll.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Ten moments that led to an(other) election
Mr Farage used the launch to condemn the PM's deal, urging him to "drop [it] because it is not Brexit".
Instead, Mr Farage urged him to pursue a free trade agreement with the EU - similar to the deal the bloc has with Canada - and to impose a new deadline of 1 July 2020 to get it signed off.
If an agreement was not done by then, the UK should leave the EU without a deal and move to World Trade Organisation trading rules.
"I would view that as totally reasonable," he said. "That really would be Brexit."
But Mr Farage said if Mr Johnson did not pursue the route, the Brexit Party would contest every seat in the country - with 500 candidates ready to sign the forms to stand on Monday.
"The Brexit Party would be the only party standing at these elections that actually represents Brexit," he said.
But Tory Brexiteer Mark Francois said Mr Farage's pitch for an alliance had "screwed it up".
"If you genuinely want to work with another party, you don't go on live national television and call them liars," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One.
He said the PM's agreement with the EU was not a "perfect deal", adding: "We are not in Valhalla here. But the deal takes us out of the European Union.
"Nigel is a very talented politician but anyone who works with him will tell you he is his own worst enemy and his ego has got the better of him."
Nigel Farage has, in effect, given Boris Johnson an ultimatum - abandon your central Brexit policy or the Brexit Party will challenge your deal at every opportunity across the country.
With the prime minister highly likely to refuse, it seems Mr Farage will have to live up to his promise of fielding 500 or more candidates in this election by Monday - and his claim that he has the resources to do so.
That's a tall order for a party that only launched in April.
He's no doubt buoyed by the Brexit Party's success in the European elections earlier this year.
But in the past, when at the helm of UKIP, Mr Farage has struggled to turn popular support into Westminster seats.
He has been targeting Labour leave areas in Wales, the Midlands and the North of England - the very seats Mr Johnson has in his sights.
But the risk for both parties is by splitting the Leave vote they give Jeremy Corbyn an unintended boost.
Mr Farage also attacked Labour for a "complete and utter betrayal on Brexit" - and said his party would target Labour seats in the Midlands and North of England.
He said Labour's plan to renegotiate a deal then put it to a referendum was offering a choice of "remain or effectively remain".
Mr Farage said there were five million Labour voters who had supported Leave in the 2016 EU referendum - although that is likely to be an overestimate - meaning his party "posed a very major problem" for Jeremy Corbyn.
"So many Labour Leave seats are represented by Remain members of Parliament," he said. "We view those constituencies around the country among our top targets."
He ridiculed the reported Conservative plan to target "Workington man" - Leave-supporting traditional Labour voters in northern towns - saying Tories needed to get out of London more.
Nigel Farage claimed in his speech that when UKIP did well under his leadership, it was doing more damage to Labour than the Conservatives.
Yet, he seems to think the threat of standing everywhere is going to have an impact on the Tories' Brexit stance by making them afraid they are going to lose out.
At the end of the day, what Nigel Farage is promising is to fight this election across the piece and on a stance which the Brexit Party has been very clear about for a while.
The interesting question there is how successful he is going to be persuading the Leave voters of this argument.
Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party have a lead as they have been gradually squeezing the Brexit Party vote, with Leave voters coming to them.
Relatively few Leave voters seem to blame Mr Johnson for the fact that he failed to meet the 31 October deadline.
But on the other hand, it is also clear from the polling there is a substantial body of Leave voters who would prefer to exit without a deal rather than supporting the PM's plan.
So, you can see how Mr Farage may be able to push some people back in his direction.
On the other side of the Brexit debate, Remain-supporting parties have been negotiating electoral pacts in certain constituencies.
The potential agreements would see the Liberal Democrats, Greens and Plaid Cymru stand aside for each other to ensure the election of as many MPs who back a second Brexit referendum as possible.
Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley said it was "no secret" that the his party was "talking to the Lib Dems and Plaid" but "nothing has been finalised".
Elsewhere on the election trail:
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Florida cops hope Alexa can solve bizarre spear murder case - BBC News
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2019-11-01
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Police want to establish if a smart-speaker recorded how Silvia Galva ended up impaled on a bed post.
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US & Canada
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Adam Reechard Crespo has been charged in the murder of his girlfriend, Silvia Galva
Florida police investigating the bizarre death of a woman during a domestic row have obtained audio from two Amazon Echo devices.
Silvia Galva, 32, was impaled by a spear-tipped bed post in a struggle with her boyfriend, Adam Reechard Crespo, at their Hallandale Beach home.
Mr Crespo, 43, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. He says her death was a tragic accident.
Police want to establish if the smart-speaker, Alexa, recorded the dispute.
According to the police report, Mr Crespo said he was trying to pull Ms Galvo off their bed during an argument in the bedroom of their Hallandale Beach apartment in July when he heard a snap.
The police report says: "[Mr Crespo] pulled the blade out of the victim's chest 'hoping it was not too bad.'"
But Ms Galva died with a 12in (30cm) double-sided blade through her chest following the altercation at the flat in a seaside city 20 miles (32km) north of Miami.
A lawyer for Mr Crespo, Christopher O'Toole, told the BBC that Ms Galva's death was unintentional.
Mr Crespo was sleeping when "Silvia came into the bedroom, knocked the door down".
Ms Galva broke off one of the pointy bedposts and "it ended up inside of her", Mr O'Toole said.
Hallandale Police did not return a request for comment.
According to the police report, when Mr Crespo saw Ms Galva had been stabbed he called for a female friend who was in the apartment to call emergency services.
"He tried to save Silvia's life," Mr O'Toole said, "this was the woman he loved."
A police warrant obtained by US media says "audio recordings capturing the attack on victim Silvia Crespo... may be found on the server[s] maintained by or for Amazon.com".
Authorities said Amazon provided multiple recordings, but did not disclose their contents.
Mr O'Toole said he supports the use of the audio in court.
"Ordinarily, I'd be jumping up and down objecting, but we believe the recordings could help us," he said. "If the truth comes out, it could help us."
Mr Crespo was bailed from custody on a $65,000 (£50,000) bond.
Florida police believe two Amazon Alexa devices may have recorded the dispute
While smart speakers do always "hear", they do not typically "listen" to conversations.
The major brands record and analyse snippets of audio internally to detect words like "Alexa", "Ok Google" or "Hey Siri", but if those words are not detected, the audio is discarded.
If the wake word is said, however, then the audio is recorded and sent to the voice recognition service at the company.
The big smart speaker companies - Amazon, Apple and Google - all employ staff who listen in to customer voice recordings.
But security researchers have found no evidence that speakers continuously send entire conversations back to a remote server.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-50269667
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General election 2019: PM puts corporation tax cuts on hold to help fund NHS - BBC News
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2019-11-19
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Boris Johnson says public services will benefit as planned corporation tax cuts are put on hold.
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Election 2019
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson laid out his plans as he addressed the CBI conference
Planned cuts to corporation tax next April are to be put on hold, Boris Johnson has said, with the money being spent on the NHS and other services.
The rate paid by firms on their profits was due to fall from 19% to 17%.
But the PM told business leaders it may cost the Treasury £6bn and this was better spent on "national priorities", including the health service.
Labour said business "handouts" had done real damage and the Tories would "revert to type" after the election.
The announcement does not mean any new money for the NHS, on top of the £20bn extra a year the Conservatives are promising to give it up to 2023. The BBC understands the cash will be used, in part, to fund existing pledges on GP training.
With just over three weeks to go before the 12 December election, the leaders of the three largest parties in England have been parading their business credentials at the CBI conference.
Jeremy Corbyn said business had "so much to gain" from a Labour victory in terms of investment while Jo Swinson said the Liberal Democrats were the "natural party of business" because they wanted to cancel Brexit.
Addressing the audience of top executives and entrepreneurs, Mr Johnson said they had "created the wealth that actually pays for the NHS".
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Stressing his party's "emphatic belief in fiscal prudence", he said he had decided against going ahead with a further cut in corporation tax, a step first proposed by Chancellor George Osborne in 2016 to boost business in the wake of the Brexit referendum.
Mr Johnson said the UK already had the lowest rate of corporation tax of "any major economy" and further cuts would be "postponed".
"Before you storm the stage, let me remind you that this saves £6bn that we can put into the priorities of the British people including the NHS," he told the audience.
Corporation tax is an important revenue-raiser, making up approximately 9% of the UK government's total tax take. The amount raised by the tax has risen by two-thirds in the past decade, as the rate has fallen from 28% to 19% and economic conditions have improved.
But many economists said the latest cut would be potentially counter-productive in terms of tax yields, with a study based on HMRC data last year suggesting it could mean £6bn a year in lost government revenues.
In response, CBI director Carolyn Fairbairn said the move could "work for the country if it is backed by further efforts to the costs of doing business and promote growth".
Blink and you might have missed it, but the PM has just announced the single biggest tax-raising measure of the campaign so far.
The overnight headlines about Boris Johnson's CBI speech were about a £1bn cut to business taxes. It pays to read the small print.
All together, this leaves an extra £5bn a year for the Conservative manifesto to deploy in extra spending or, as seems likely, some crowd-pleasing pre-election personal tax cuts.
I'm told the corporation tax move was Chancellor Sajid Javid's idea, and was discussed during plans for his aborted Budget earlier this month. The PM also confirmed Mr Javid would remain in post if he wins the election next month.
Cancelling the cut still leaves the UK with the lowest corporation tax rate in the G20, although not as low as Switzerland or Singapore.
Given the government's argument has long been that cuts to corporation tax raise revenue, it is interesting to see the PM now say that cancelling cuts will also raise revenue.
It is meant to show clear blue water between the Conservatives and Labour on fiscal credibility. In the event, there was barely a squeak out of the CBI audience about a significant multi-billion pound tax change.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Monday's freeze marked a "temporary pause in the Tories' race to the bottom" on business taxes.
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Labour's plan has been to raise corporation tax to 26% - the 2011 level - which it says will generate billions to be spent on its priorities, including health and education.
Turning to Brexit, the Conservative leader told the conference that while big business did not want the UK to leave the EU, his withdrawal deal would provide the certainty "that you want now and have wanted for some time".
If elected with a Commons majority, Mr Johnson is hoping to get the agreement on the terms of the UK's exit into law by 31 January, and begin talks with Brussels on a permanent trading relationship.
He also announced a review of business rates in England, with the aim of reducing the overall burden of the tax, as well as a cut in National Insurance contributions for employers, which already benefit from a reduction known as the employment allowance.
In his address, Mr Corbyn said business had nothing to fear from a Labour government, arguing that while the richest would pay more, there would also be "more investment than you have ever dreamt of".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeremy Corbyn: "I understand your concern over some of our plans"
He said he would "make no apologies" for the party's plan to take rail, mail, water and broadband delivery into public ownership, saying it was "not an attack" on the free market and would bring the UK in line with the continent.
"It is sometimes claimed I am anti-business," he said. "This is nonsense. It is not nonsense to be against poverty pay. It is not nonsense to say the largest corporations should pay their taxes, just as small companies do.
"It is not anti-business to want prosperity in every part of the country."
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The Labour leader also set out plans to train about 320,000 apprentices in jobs such as construction, manufacturing and design within the renewable energy, transport and forestry sectors.
Ms Fairbairn said the business community shared Labour's desire to increased investment but warned the opposition's "massive instincts towards state intervention and ownership" put that at risk.
In her first address to the CBI as leader of her party, Ms Swinson said no-one claiming to want to "get Brexit sorted" was on the side of business, due to the negative impact she said it would have on investment and access to labour.
"With Boris Johnson in the pocket of Nigel Farage and Jeremy Corbyn stuck in the 1970s, we are the only one standing up for you," she said.
She said her party would go further than the others and replace "crippling" business rates with a levy paid by commercial landlords based on land value, which she suggested would help "rescue the High Street".
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, who is not attending the CBI event, said politicians' focus should be on helping small business and promoting what he claimed were the advantages of a no-deal Brexit.
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General election 2019: Lib Dems and SNP lose ITV debate legal challenge - BBC News
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2019-11-19
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The parties took the channel to court after their leaders were left out its head-to-head debate.
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Election 2019
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The Lib Dems and SNP have lost their legal challenge to be included in an ITV head-to-head debate ahead of the general election on 12 December.
The channel is due to air a face-off between Tory leader Boris Johnson and Labour's Jeremy Corbyn on Tuesday.
The Lib Dems said they wanted their pro-Remain stance to be represented, while the SNP also wanted the issue of Scottish independence to be raised.
But judges ruled there was "no arguable breach of the Broadcasting Code".
In the High Court in London, Lord Justice Davis and Mr Justice Warby said the case was not suitable for judicial review as ITV was not carrying out a "public function" in law by holding the debate.
However, the parties had the right to complain to Ofcom about the programme after it had been broadcast, they said.
Lord Justice Davis said: "The clear conclusion of both members of this court is that, viewed overall, these claims are not realistically arguable."
But Lib Dem education spokeswoman Layla Moran tweeted "the fight must continue", adding: "It is outrageous that the Remain voice is missing from the ITV debate.
"It's simply wrong of broadcasters to present a binary choice and pre-empt the decision of the people in a general election."
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The SNP's Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, also condemned the decision, saying it "discriminated against Scottish voters" and "treated them as second-class citizens".
He added: "That is, quite simply, a democratic disgrace, and the fact that election law and broadcasting codes allow such gross unfairness is unacceptable."
And he called for Mr Johnson and Mr Corbyn to commit to take part in an all-party debate on 1 December, rather than sending other senior figures from their respective parties.
It took the two judges just a matter of 10 or 15 minutes to reach a decision about the claim that the Lib Dems and SNP should be allowed access to the head-to-head debate.
The judges came back and said they would not agree to that and effectively refused to even hear the judicial review.
Their legal argument was that ITV was not exercising a public function as it is a private broadcaster - albeit regulated - therefore could not be subject to judicial review.
They also said if the two parties had a complaint about the programme, they had a way of complaining and that was to the regulator Ofcom - but that can only be done after the programme is broadcast
However, the judges said an important part of their decision was the editorial judgment made by ITV was not irrational and perverse.
They did not want as judges to get in the way of an editorial matter for a major broadcaster.
So the application from the parties is rejected and the debate goes ahead.
But the Lib Dems still have big problems with this court decision, and say they they are going to take a closer look before deciding what to do next.
The BBC will also host a live head-to-head debate between the Conservative and Labour leaders in Southampton on 6 December, plus a seven-way podium debate between senior figures from the UK's major political parties on 29 November, live from Cardiff.
The Lib Dems have sent a legal letter to the BBC over its decision not to include Ms Swinson in the head-to-head.
BBC Scotland will stage a televised debate between the SNP, Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats on 10 December, although the Scottish Greens have criticised the decision not to include them.
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Grace Millane died 'accidentally during sex', murder accused claims - BBC News
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2019-11-19
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The man accused of murdering Grace Millane says she died accidentally during consensual sex.
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Essex
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University of Lincoln graduate Grace Millane had been travelling alone in New Zealand
A British backpacker died when consensual sexual activity "went wrong", a court has heard.
Grace Millane died on 1 December, the night before her 22nd birthday, while travelling in Auckland, New Zealand.
A 27-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies her murder.
His defence told Auckland High Court Ms Millane, from Wickford, Essex, died accidentally after being consensually choked during sex. The defendant has chosen not to give evidence himself.
Prosecutors allege he strangled Ms Millane before disposing of her body.
The court heard the pair had met through dating app Tinder and after drinking cocktails for several hours had returned to his hotel room at CityLife in Auckland's city centre.
Ron Mansfield, defending the man, told the jury: "If the couple engaged in consensual sexual activity and that went wrong, and no-one intended for it to go wrong, then that is not murder.
"And that is what [the defendant] has said took place, and that is what at the end you will be told the evidence reveals."
He said that while death from consensual choking was "rare", it was dangerous "if two people are inebriated, relatively inexperienced and don't know each other too well".
Grace Millane was found buried in the Waitakere Ranges, near Auckland
The man has admitted putting Ms Millane's body in a suitcase and burying it in the Waitākere Ranges, a mountainous woodland area outside Auckland.
He told police he had "freaked out" after finding her dead in the morning after their date.
"He may not have done the right thing afterwards for fear no-one would believe him," Mr Mansfield told the jury.
The defence claims Ms Millane had not suffered any injuries other than those the man said had occurred during sex, and neighbours had not heard anything which would suggest an argument had taken place.
Mr Mansfield added he was not seeking to attach any blame or shame to Ms Millane for any sexual interests she may have had.
Miss Millane died on the night before her 22nd birthday
The court heard in statements from friends that she had discussed an interest in BDSM sexual conduct and had profiles on BDSM dating apps.
Forensic pathologist and toxicologist Dr Fintan Garavan told jurors Ms Millane's injuries would "favour consensual" acts as there were no signs of a struggle.
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Chip shop death: Geoffrey Bran cleared of murdering wife - BBC News
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2019-11-19
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The 71-year-old was found not guilty of killing his wife after she was scalded with boiling oil.
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Wales
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A chip shop owner accused of killing his wife by throwing boiling oil over her has been cleared of her murder.
Geoffrey Bran, 71, who ran The Chipoteria in Hermon, Carmarthenshire, had told police his wife Mavis slipped and pulled a deep fat fryer over herself.
Mrs Bran, 69, died in hospital six days after receiving burns to 46% of her body on 23 October 2018.
He was cleared after five hours of jury deliberations at Swansea Crown Court.
Mrs Bran had told friends in the weeks before her death that she feared her husband would kill her, the jury had heard.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Geoffrey Bran's family ask to be left to 'grieve properly'
A statement read by Mr Bran's granddaughter outside court thanked people for their support, adding: "Family, friends, and our legal team who have shown great compassion, professionalism and positivity over this trying time.
"The loss of Mavis has left the family devastated and we ask that we are left now to get on with our lives and grieve properly without further intrusion."
Mrs Bran's family said: "We as a family would like to say a big thank you to everyone for all the support we have received after the loss of our beautiful, loving sister Mavis, who lost her life in such a tragic way doing the job she loved.
"She was the matriarch of the family and is missed every day.
"Now that the court case is over and we finally have closure, we can rebuild our lives as a family, remembering Mavis as the fun-loving person that she was."
Mavis Bran died six days after hot oil went over her at her chip shop
The trial was told the couple, who had been married for more than 30 years, had a volatile relationship with arguments and swearing and it deteriorated over the last few months of Mrs Bran's life.
The prosecution argued Mr Bran had thrown the oil at his wife after an argument over some burnt fish, but he told the jury she accidentally pulled it over herself after she slipped and fell.
The week-long trial heard Mrs Bran was a heavy drinker and was over the legal drink-drive limit for alcohol on the day of the incident.
After Mrs Bran was injured, the court was told she went into their house, which is next to the chip shop cabin, but Mr Bran did not assist her or call an ambulance and continued to serve customers.
The couple ran The Chipoteria in Carmarthenshire, one of a number of businesses they owned
Mrs Bran called a friend, Caroline Morgan, telling her: "Geoff has thrown boiling oil over me, help me, help me, get here now. I am burnt to hell."
It was Mrs Morgan who called for an ambulance when she arrived 40 minutes later to find Mrs Bran "rocking back and forth like a little old lady".
Mr Bran said in evidence his wife had accidentally slipped and pulled a fat fryer over herself, saying: "One of the legs [of the fryer] got to the edge [of the table] and the weight of the oil must have moved things fast and it was like a waterfall and it landed on her chest."
Steven Jeffrey, a consultant burns and plastic surgeon, agreed her burns could have been sustained by her falling to the floor and pulling the fryer down over herself, saying: "This version of events is consistent with her injuries."
Geoffrey Bran had been married to Mavis since 1984
Mrs Bran was taken to Morriston Hospital in Swansea after the accident where she had surgery to remove some of her burned skin.
She developed sepsis and hypothermia and died from multi-organ failure.
The couple met in 1980 and married in 1984. They did not have children together.
Mr Bran, who was initially arrested on suspicion of assault, had told police of his relationship with his wife: "It's a miracle we lasted that long. But we used to get on OK. We've had our ups and downs."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-50474374
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General election 2019: Will the Tories' Brexit-heavy campaign work? - BBC News
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2019-11-06
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The Tories hope their "get Brexit done" pitch will win over Leave voters - but will it be enough?
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Election 2019
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"If it sticks we'll be fine" - hammer the core message, again and again, and plot a path to victory.
That's how one cabinet minister reckons the Tories can win.
After the last couple of extremely bumpy days for their party, they are hoping this will be a campaign where surprises are not a regular feature.
Instead, they and many of their colleagues reckon the plea for a majority to sort out the Brexit-induced mess of the last few years super fast will find resonance on the doors, saying they are already hearing voters quote back the '"get Brexit done" slogan.
Another cabinet minister says "it's not Parliament versus the people, it's more positive than the pitchfork, but it feels good on the ground - we are hearing from a lot of people they do reckon it's Parliament that's out of touch".
Events of the last 48 hours have shown already, as I wrote on Tuesday night, that events come crashing into parties' hopes and fears pretty fast and knock them off course.
There is another fear among some Conservatives though. The strategy coming out of Tory HQ is crystal clear - end the political agony of Brexit, attract extra Leave voters who are fed up, while hanging on to as many of their existing seats as they can.
But, with such a Brexit-heavy message, will they - can they - do both at the same time?
One former minister (one of a tiny number who predicted a hung Parliament last time round!) fears "this campaign is for the 52%, and the problem is that it is not the same electorate".
In their area, the highest turnout in the 2016 referendum was in a Labour part of the constituency, where people chose overwhelmingly to Leave. But in general elections in that same ward, the turnout is lowest.
And it's not just the question that's been much discussed - would Leave voters who wouldn't normally dream of voting Tory vote for Boris Johnson because of Brexit - that matters. It's how motivated that group will be.
The same senior Tory worries there just won't be enough voters and many of their normal voters are so cross about Brexit that, "we have lost the professional classes".
No-one would deny that Brexit has changed the political arithmetic, but the sums may not add up for the Conservatives at all.
Other senior figures argue that it won't be as one dimensional. One cabinet minister says "the pool is larger than during the referendum. There will be a strong economy argument that will work in Lib Dem-facing seats" - broadly hoping there will be a reason for those Remain-tending Tories to stick with the party.
There's a big speech from the chancellor tomorrow morning that might start to build that too. One No 10 insider says "we have to appeal to a bunch of richer, better-educated Tory Remainers who might be tempted by the Lib Dems".
That is why another minister is so relieved their party is going into the election with a Brexit deal. "It's changed everything," they say.
In other words, they don't have to knock on doors and argue for leaving the EU in eight weeks' time with potential economic turmoil.
Around the country in the next few weeks, Boris Johnson and his team of Vote Leavers will make arguments as bold and likely as brash as they did in 2016. But it's not the same year, not the same political atmosphere, and potentially, not the same voters who'll make the difference.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50325224
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Pakistan police investigate 'joint suicide' of sisters-in-law - BBC News
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2019-11-06
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The bodies of the women, one of whom had a baby, were found on a farm in Pakistan's southern desert.
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Asia
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The Thar region is one of Pakistan's poorest areas
Police in Pakistan are investigating the apparent joint suicide of two young women in one of the poorest areas of the country's south.
The bodies of Nathu Bai and Veeru Bai, who had a baby son, were found on the farm where they lived.
They were married to two brothers who worked as farmhands for a local landowner near the town of Islamkot.
It is unclear why the women took their lives. Campaigners say there have been a spate of suicides in the area.
The southern Thar desert area of Pakistan is resource-rich, but also one of the country's poorest regions.
Police say they don't have a motive for why the women took their lives in the village of Kehri.
"I personally went to the site. It was apparently a suicide, though we are still looking into it," local police station chief Inspector Kabeer Khan told the BBC.
"It's really hard for me to say why they did it. It's the harvest season so we can't say hunger could be a reason. But you can't rule out domestic tensions caused by overwork or negligence."
Little has been reported about the lives of Nathu Bai and Veeru Bai. The women were in their early twenties and married to two brothers, Chaman Kohli and Pehlaj Kohli.
Veeru Bai's son was a year old, a local resident who knew the family told the BBC.
For the last six months the couples had been living on the farm some distance away from the village to help harvest the maize crops, another resident said.
When locals spotted the women's bodies on Sunday morning, they informed the police.
Dr Pushpa Ramesh, who examined the bodies in hospital in Islamkot late that night, told the BBC "there were no other injuries or signs of trauma on the bodies" to suggest any other cause of death.
"Their mothers, brothers and the in-laws were all here. They were devastated by grief," he said.
You may also be interested in:
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Almost 140 children have died of starvation in the Thar desert region
Allah Jodio, who lives in the same neighbourhoods as the Kohlis, said he asked the women's husbands and their father-in-law what could have caused them to take their own lives.
"But they said there was no apparent reason. Nothing extraordinary had happened," he said.
Mr Jodio believes domestic tensions may be behind the tragedy.
"You see, our people are very poor and often live from meal to meal. And they had been working on the farms for the last several months. There's a lot that keeps going wrong and needs to be righted, so there must have been angry arguments. Both were young, and must have taken the disastrous step in their youthful rage."
At least 59 people have killed themselves in the Thar region so far this year, including 38 women and two children, while about 198 suicides were reported in 2018, according to civil society group, Aware.Org.
The reasons cited are increasing poverty, and population displacements caused by coal mining projects.
Campaigners say these and other factors mean domestic tensions are commonplace.
The situation is made worse by the absence of any government safety net to help the vulnerable.
The region is populated predominantly by low-caste Hindus, who are a minority in overwhelmingly Muslim Pakistan.
They are generally looked down upon by local landowners, who include some upper-caste Hindus, and the wider Muslim population.
If you've been affected by a mental health issue, help and support is available. Visit Befrienders International for more information about support services.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-50306153
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Raheem Sterling dropped by England after Joe Gomez clash before Euro 2020 qualifier - BBC Sport
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2019-11-12
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England forward Raheem Sterling will not play in the Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro on Thursday following a clash with team-mate Joe Gomez.
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Last updated on .From the section England
Raheem Sterling admitted "emotions got the better of me" after being dropped for England's Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro following a clash with team-mate Joe Gomez.
The Football Association said Sterling had been dropped "as a result of a disturbance in a private team area".
The Manchester City forward, 24, then took to social media to confirm "a five to 10 second thing" with Liverpool's Joe Gomez, 22, in the England camp.
But he added the pair were now "good".
Sterling and Gomez had an on-field argument during the Reds' 3-1 Premier League victory at Anfield on Sunday.
"Both Joe and I have had words and figured things out and moved on," Sterling said via his Instagram account on Tuesday.
"We are in a sport where emotions run high and I am man enough to admit when emotions got the better of me.
"This is why we play this sport because of our love for it - me and Joe Gomez are good, we both understand it was a five to 10 second thing... it's done, we move forward and not make this bigger than it is.
"Let's get focus on our game on Thursday," Sterling added.
It is understood Sterling turned on Gomez in the canteen, and other players pulled them apart.
The Liverpool defender was unhappy about what happened, but Sterling apologised and both now consider the matter to be over.
England boss Gareth Southgate consulted with senior players and they agreed with the plan to drop Sterling.
"Unfortunately the emotions of yesterday's game were still raw," said Southgate on Monday.
"One of the great challenges and strengths for us is that we've been able to separate club rivalries from the national team.
"We have taken the decision to not consider Raheem for the match against Montenegro on Thursday. My feeling is that the right thing for the team is the action we have taken.
"Now that the decision has been made with the agreement of the entire squad, it's important that we support the players and focus on Thursday night."
• None England must 'lose the arrogance', says Southgate
• None Players to wear 'legacy numbers' as part of 1,000th match celebrations
England play their 1,000th senior men's international on Thursday and a point at Wembley would book a spot at Euro 2020 with one qualifying game to spare.
The Three Lions are top of Euro 2020 Qualifying Group A, three points clear of the Czech Republic and four ahead of Kosovo with the top two nations advancing.
A win or a draw for Southgate's side will see them qualify.
England then play their final group match away in Kosovo on Sunday.
Sterling, who joined Manchester City from Liverpool in 2015, has made 55 appearances for England, scoring 12 times, and netted in the 5-1 away win in Podgorica in March, while Gomez has featured seven times for the national side.
However, Gomez has struggled for first-team action for Liverpool this season, starting only one Premier League match.
Sterling has started 11 of City's league matches in 2019-20 and has scored 14 times in 17 appearances in all competitions for his club, as well as scoring four times for England.
Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand said the incident could have been "handled better".
In a post on Facebook, Ferdinand suggests Southgate "would no doubt have seen worse many times during his time as a player and manager".
"I just feel this could and should have been handled better to support the player and not hang him out to dry," he continued.
"One of our world-class players who has conducted himself wonderfully through racism and unwarranted criticism in an England shirt will now come under more scrutiny and be vilified in the media no doubt - when this could have been dealt with internally. Hindsight is a great thing though."
Today is a media day with England and I'm sure the long lenses will be focused on Sterling and Gomez. The big point in all of this is that during the time Gareth Southgate has been the England manager, team harmony has been one of the key things.
He has often told us how they have worked on defusing club rivalries, because it has been a problem with England in the past. Sterling will remain with the squad and one of the things Southgate said was that the emotions from Sunday's match were still raw and the decision to leave Sterling out has been made with the agreement of the entire squad.
Sterling has come on a storm in the last year or so, while his development has continued with Manchester City and England. He has scored 10 goals in his past 10 internationals and he did captain England when he won his 50th cap against the Netherlands in June.
Time will move on and we will always refer to this, but he is such an important player for England, I would go as far to say he is the first name on the team sheet. So I would not rule him out of captaining his country in the future.
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Sterling-Gomez clash: England squad 'like family' - Gareth Southgate - BBC Sport
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2019-11-12
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[]
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Manager Gareth Southgate compares his squad to "a family", saying arguments were inevitable after Raheem Sterling's confrontation with Joe Gomez.
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England manager Gareth Southgate has compared his squad to "a family" in the aftermath of Raheem Sterling's confrontation with Joe Gomez, saying arguments are inevitable.
"I love all of my players. We are like a family. The important thing is for a family to communicate and work through problems," said Southgate.
"I don't expect as a manager to not have to deal with issues."
Sterling admitted "emotions got the better of me" during the incident.
"Me and Joe Gomez are good, we both understand it was a five to 10 second thing...it's done, we move forward," he added in a statement on social media earlier on Tuesday.
The Manchester City forward, who was involved in a previous altercation with Liverpool's Gomez in his side's 3-1 Premier League defeat on Sunday, has been dropped for England's Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro on Thursday.
Pictures from England's training ground on Tuesday appeared to show Gomez with a scratch running from his right eye down his cheek, although Southgate refused to say if it was related to the altercation with Sterling.
Southgate did, however, confirm that Sterling was the aggressor in the incident at the team hotel.
• None 'The biggest test yet for Gareth Southgate'
"Raheem in his [social media] post last night explained for a very brief moment his emotions ran over. It would be correct to say that's not the same for Joe," he added.
At a team meeting on Monday night, Southgate, Sterling and Gomez all spoke as the manager decided on the appropriate action to take.
"In the end I have to find the right solution for the group," added Southgate.
"That's a difficult line, you try to be fair when dealing with all players. I won't always get that right but I am the manager.
"Raheem is very important for us but I felt it was the right thing."
England are already assured of at least a play-off spot to make Euro 2020 after five wins from their opening six matches in their qualification campaign. They need just a point to qualify for the finals automatically.
• None England must 'lose the arrogance', says Southgate
• None Players to wear 'legacy numbers' as part of 1,000th match celebrations
Leicester defender Ben Chilwell said that Sterling and Gomez spoke at a team meeting on Monday, as well as Southgate.
"Gareth spoke about the situation and spoke about what he thought, and he also wanted to know what we thought about it," said Chilwell.
"Joe and Raheem got the chance to talk, which they both wanted to do. For Raheem, he wanted to apologise and Joe wanted to get stuff off his chest as well. That was it done then.
"[Sterling] was apologetic. He said it's not in his nature, which it's not. We all know as footballers that emotions can run high. There's no-one trying to make excuses for him, including himself.
"Gareth didn't want to make a decision himself, he was keen we came to the right decision with the leadership group. It got spoken about between the leadership group and Gareth. The decision has been made and we're all very on board with that.
"Since then it's not been spoken of. It got squashed yesterday [Monday]. We've moved on and trained as normal this morning."
Gareth Southgate has often told us how they have worked on defusing club rivalries, because it has been a problem with England in the past. Sterling will remain with the squad and one of the things Southgate said was that the emotions from Sunday's match were still raw and the decision to leave Sterling out has been made with the agreement of the entire squad.
Sterling has come on a storm in the last year or so, while his development has continued with Manchester City and England. He has scored 10 goals in his past 10 internationals and he did captain England when he won his 50th cap against the Netherlands in June.
Time will move on and we will always refer to this, but he is such an important player for England, I would go as far to say he is the first name on the team sheet. So I would not rule him out of captaining his country in the future.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50395337
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Shane Sutton: Ex-British Cycling coach storms out of medical tribunal after 'doper' claim - BBC Sport
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2019-11-12
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[]
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Ex-British Cycling technical director Shane Sutton furiously denies claims he is a "doper" before storming out of Dr Richard Freeman's medical tribunal.
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Last updated on .From the section Cycling
By Jack Skelton BBC Sport at the tribunal in Manchester
Ex-British Cycling technical director and Team Sky head coach Shane Sutton furiously denied claims he is a "doper" before storming out of Dr Richard Freeman's medical tribunal.
Dr Freeman alleges the testosterone he ordered to British Cycling headquarters in 2011 was on behalf of Sutton.
In staggering, confrontational exchanges between Sutton and Dr Freeman's lawyer, Mary O'Rourke QC, Sutton repeatedly denied this and her claim he doped during his racing career.
A livid Sutton then left the tribunal in Manchester after calling Dr Freeman "spineless".
An official could not persuade Sutton to return and he is set to decide on Wednesday whether he will resume giving evidence, as planned, on Thursday.
The tribunal is set to resume at 11:30 GMT on Thursday, with Wednesday a planned day off.
Former British Cycling and Team Sky medic Dr Freeman is facing an allegation he ordered 30 Testogel sachets to the National Cycling Centre in May 2011 knowing or believing it was intended for an athlete to enhance performance, which he denies.
Sutton's highly anticipated first appearance at the tribunal started at 14:00 after a day-and-a-half delay because of private legal argument.
Dr Freeman has admitted to 18 of the 22 allegations against him, including that he asked supplier Fit4Sport to falsely claim the Testogel had been sent in error.
In a public session before Sutton gave evidence, Miss O'Rourke said the defence's case is that Sutton is a "habitual and serial liar" as well as "a doper, with a doping history".
• None Miss O'Rourke said she had evidence from an anonymous witness who saw Sutton inject himself with testosterone at his home in Rowley Regis in the late 1990s
• None Sutton strenuously denied the claim, calling it "laughable" and that he had never tested positive in around 100 tests during his career
• None Miss O'Rourke claimed several witnesses had come forward in the last two weeks to say Sutton is "a liar, a doper and a bully"
• None He told Miss O'Rourke he would "do you for defamation" and that he wanted her to "retract" that claim because she had "no evidence"
• None Sutton repeatedly told Dr Freeman to "take down the screen", "man up" and "look me in the eye"
• None Miss O'Rourke said that Sutton had sent Dr Freeman a text at the end of last year that read: "Be careful what you say, don't drag me in, you won't be the only person I can hurt"
• None Referring to Dr Freeman's claim that the testosterone was to treat Sutton's alleged erectile dysfunction, the Australian said: "My wife wants to come here and testify you're a liar"
• None Sutton swore on the life of his three-year-old daughter he did not order the delivery of Testogel in 2011 and said he was willing to take a lie detector test if needed
• None Sutton said he had "no idea" why Dr Freeman had ordered the Testogel but that he "would've helped him work out a way through it" if Freeman had come to him at the time
• None He called Miss O'Rourke a "bully" and criticised her for what "you've put my family through"
After around two hours of increasingly hostile exchanges during Miss O'Rourke's cross-examination on Tuesday, Sutton announced he was leaving the hearing and departed with an extraordinary outburst.
Despite calling Dr Freeman a "good friend", Sutton made a series of claims about his former colleague and called him "spineless" for sitting behind a screen as Sutton gave evidence.
"I'm going to leave the hearing now, I don't need to be dragged through this," said Sutton.
"I'm going to go back to my little hole in Spain, enjoy my retirement, sleep at night knowing full well I didn't order any [testosterone] patches.
"The person lying to you is behind the screen, hopefully one day he will come clean and tell you why. He's a good bloke, a good friend, I've no argument with him.
"I'm happy with what I achieved in my career, I wish Richard Freeman all the best going forward, no one is better bedside than him.
"Dr Freeman went through a messy divorce, he turned up to work drunk on several occasions - he was like the Scarlet Pimpernel.
"I covered for him when we couldn't get hold of him.
"I'm not lying, I've told the truth, don't ask me any more questions.
"I'm not getting dragged by this mindless little individual [O'Rourke] living in her sad world, who is defending someone who has admitted to telling a million lies to you and the rest of the world but can't come out and tell the truth.
"He is hiding behind a screen, which is spineless, Richard, you're a spineless individual."
'Am I the one on trial here?'
Miss O'Rourke said on 7 November she would attempt to question the "integrity and credibility" of Sutton and earlier on Tuesday said she had 100 questions planned for him.
Only three questions in, Sutton became impatient, stating his former career as a rider was "irrelevant", as were other questions about his level of knowledge of doping practices in cycling history.
Sutton directed his ire at Miss O'Rourke, asking for "an apology" for her claims and at one point asking, "Am I the one on trial here? I feel like I'm the criminal."
When Miss O'Rourke put it to Sutton that his claim he did not know what Testogel was until asked about it by UK Anti-Doping in 2016 was either him "having a laugh" or a "blatant lie", Sutton replied: "There is only one joke in this room and that's you."
He also turned to the press gallery at one stage and said: "I hope you are getting all this."
Sutton added there was "nothing sinister" in him telling the General Medical Council's legal team that he and former British Cycling chief Sir Dave Brailsford were worried about being involved in this case and it was only because "the buck stops with you" as the head of an organisation.
Before Sutton's appearance, the independent medical practitioners tribunal ruled that the general topic of erectile dysfunction could be the subject of questions to him in public.
Yet Sutton brought up the subject before Miss O'Rourke could ask, shortly before he stormed out, adding: "I would have no problem telling the GMC it was for me, but I never ordered it."
If Sutton chooses not to return to the hearing on Thursday, Miss O'Rourke is hoping to call former British Cycling head of medicine Dr Steve Peters for cross-examination.
Sutton said Dr Peters had "phoned me the other night" and will "verify everything I've had to say".
The testosterone delivery was brought to Dr Peters after former physio Phil Burt, who is due to give evidence on Friday, discovered it.
Dr Peters has claimed Dr Freeman contacted supplier Fit4Sport the same day the order arrived to confirm it was sent in error and Dr Peters said he then asked Freeman to return it.
Dr Peters said he was satisfied after being shown an email from the supplier "confirming" that the Testogel had been returned and destroyed, which Dr Freeman now admits was false.
The hearing, which is to determine Dr Freeman's fitness to practise medicine, continues.
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General election 2019: Tories step up attack on Labour spending plans - BBC News
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2019-11-12
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Labour rejects Tory calculations about what their economic policies would cost as "more fake news".
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Election 2019
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Sajid Javid says Labour would "massively increase borrowing and debt", and "hike up taxes"
The Conservatives have launched a fresh attack on what they say are Labour's "reckless" spending plans.
Labour has yet to publish its election manifesto but the Tories have claimed that there is a "black hole" in its economic policies.
The Tories have tried to calculate the additional taxes they believe a Labour government would have to introduce if they win power on 12 December.
Labour has dismissed the figures as "more fake news" from Tory HQ.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell insisted an incoming Labour government would not raise VAT or national insurance, while 95% of people would not pay any more in income tax.
Personal tax rises would be confined to the top 5% of earners, he said - a policy carried over from its 2017 manifesto.
Both main parties are planning to borrow money to spend on infrastructure projects if they win the general election, while Labour has said it will pay for some of its spending pledges by reversing Conservative reductions in corporation tax.
Chancellor Sajid Javid claimed that Labour would also "hike up taxes" to pay for its programme, estimating that this would amount to an extra £2,400 per year for every taxpayer.
"The British people have made huge progress over the last decade in repairing the damage left to us by the last Labour government," he said. "If Jeremy Corbyn gets into power he would throw all that hard work away."
The Conservatives are repeating their previous claim that Labour plans to spend £1.2tn over the next five years, which forms the basis of this new claim.
But this is problematic because it makes a number of assumptions about what Labour intends to spend before it has published a manifesto.
Not only have those same assumptions been repeated in this analysis, but additional ones have been made about Labour's tax-raising plans.
For example, the Conservatives say Labour is considering a "homes tax" which would cost households up to £375 more than the current Council Tax system, raising an extra £10.2bn.
However, this seems to be based on a policy-proposal document put forward by Guardian columnist George Monbiot and commissioned for the Labour Party.
The summary of the paper even states: "The following are proposals to the Labour Party, which will consider these as part of its policy development process in advance of the next general election."
To get to the £2,400 figure, the Conservatives have assumed Labour intends to spend £651bn on day-to-day spending (which comes from their original £1.2tn calculation) over five years.
From there, the Conservatives say that Labour only plans to raise £277bn over the same period, leaving a shortfall of £374bn.
So, if you then divide the shortfall by 31.2m UK taxpayers, you arrive at £2,400 a year each (or £12,000 per taxpayer over five years) to plug the gap.
In summary, this analysis is based on assumptions about money Labour intends to spend but also how much revenue the party intends to raise.
Until the manifestos are published, it is impossible to accurately identify any spending gaps.
BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said the Conservatives' attack was part of a clear attempt to build an argument about what they call the "cost of Corbyn".
But asked how much another Conservative government would cost taxpayers during a BBC interview, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rishi Sunak did not provide a figure.
"The forecasts that there are from the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) show that there is a £30bn surplus on the current balance over the next few years - so we take in £30bn more than is spent on day-to-day spending," he told Radio 4's Today.
"We've said we will invest about £13.5bn of that on people's priorities like the NHS, like schools, like policing. We will not tax people extra for those day to day priorities."
Mr McDonnell said the Tories were unable to say how they would pay for their spending commitments.
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Election debate: Tories dismiss criticism over Twitter 'fact-checking' row - BBC News
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2019-11-20
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The party says it is entitled to rebut "nonsense" amid calls for action over rebranded Twitter account.
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Election 2019
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Dominic Raab defends the rebranding: "No-one gives a toss about social media cut and thrust"
Senior Tories have dismissed criticism of the rebranding of one of their Twitter accounts as a "fact-checking" site during the leaders' debate amid claims it deceived the public.
The @CCHQPress account - the Tory press office - was renamed "factcheckUK" for the duration of the hour-long TV show.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said "no-one will have been fooled" and they had the right to rebut Labour's claims.
But the Lib Dems urged the Electoral Commission to intervene.
In response, the watchdog said it did not have the powers to do so but it urged the parties to act with transparency and integrity.
Twitter rebuked the Conservatives, saying it would take "decisive, corrective" action if something similar happened again.
During the ITV debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, the first ever televised head-to head encounter between Tory and Labour leaders, the party's press account changed its name and its appearance, telling people it was "fact checking Labour from CCHQ".
Its Twitter handle remained the same and it retained the blue tick - signalling that it is a verified account.
Mr Raab defended the move, which has attracted widespread criticism from non-partisan fact-checking bodies, telling the BBC "no one gives a toss about social media cut and thrust" and were only concerned about the substance of the arguments.
"It was pegged to CCHQ," he told BBC's Breakfast. "No-one looking at it for a split second will have been fooled - they can see it's from CCHQ."
He said there was "huge scepticism" among the public about what politicians were saying and the Conservatives had a right to set the record straight over "nonsense" claims the NHS would be "up for sale" if they won.
"It matters that we have an instant rebuttal mechanism," he said. "We want to make it clear that we are holding Labour to account for the nonsense they systematically and serially put on the Conservatives.
"The reality is, voters will make of the competing claims what they will. What we're not going to do - we won't put up with nonsense that the NHS is up for sale being put up by Jeremy Corbyn."
Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly, who is responsible for the party's digital campaigning team, said he was "absolutely comfortable" with the move - saying the nature of the site was "clear".
Twitter is a minority interest. Journalists are over-represented on this platform compared to other social media, creating a profound danger that they misinterpret what happens on Twitter as representative of the wider world.
Nevertheless, an important threshold has now been repeatedly breached by Britain's party of government, and Twitter is the site where it happened.
It is perhaps arguable that, like the doctored video of Sir Keir Starmer a fortnight ago, the re-branding of CCHQ as a fact-checking service falls into the broad category known as satire.
But that is a stretch. The effect will have been to dupe many unknowing members of the public, who genuinely thought it was a fact-checking service when it gave opinions on Jeremy Corbyn.
This is not to patronise voters, who are wise; rather, it is to recognise that in a world of information overload, what cuts through are stunts.
Which is why, ironically, in CCHQ this morning there will be younger staff who chalk this up as a victory.
Journalists thus face a dilemma: call out disinformation, and you play to the worst of social media, distracting from questions of policy; but ignore it, and the truth recedes ever further from view.
A senior Labour politician said Twitter should have taken much stronger action.
"In order to try and deceive the public, the Conservative Party changed everything," Dawn Butler told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"Twitter could have suspended the account and taken it down. To me that would have been the better punishment. The other thing would have been to remove the blue tick."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn locked horns over the NHS, Brexit and the Royal Family
And Lib Dem education spokeswoman Layla Moran said in the "fast-moving" world of social media, many people would have been duped.
"I reported them and blocked them as soon as I saw it. Absolutely this needs to be reported to the Electoral Commission."
But the elections watchdog said its remit only extended to policing campaign finance rules, not information put out by the parties.
"While we do not have a role in regulating election campaign content, we repeat our call to all campaigners to undertake their vital role responsibly and to support campaigning transparency," a spokesperson said.
"Voters are entitled to transparency and integrity from campaigners in the lead up to an election, so they have the information they need to decide for themselves how to vote."
Twitter has policies regarding deceptive behaviour on the platform. It can remove an account’s “verified” status if the account owner is said to be “intentionally misleading people on Twitter by changing one's display name or bio”.
In a statement, the US company said: "Any further attempts to mislead people by editing verified profile information - in a manner seen during the UK election debate - will result in decisive corrective action."
Fact-checking agency Full Fact said voters depended on social media for information and episodes like this risked compromising public trust.
"Polluting that information space by pretending to provide independent fact-checking information when what you are doing is providing party lines, many of which were not accurate, is doing voters a disservice," its chief executive Will Moy told the BBC.
The BBC has its own fact-checking team, Reality Check which looked at claims made by Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn during the debate.
During the programme, both leaders said they were committed to upholding the truth during the campaign.
In response to the move by the @CCHQPress account, a number of celebrities re-branded their verified accounts, including Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker who changed his account to mimic factcheckUK, as did The Thick Of It and Veep creator Armando Iannucci.
But Royal Family actor Ralf Little said he had been suspended from Twitter after changing his account to mimic the Conservative Party press office.
He changed his name to "Conservative Party Press Orifice" and the description to "Not a fact checker. Or the Conservative Press Office".
He told LBC's James O'Brien it was "fine" that he was suspended "but only if the @CCHQPress account is suspended for the same thing".
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This episode comes less than a month after the Conservative Party was criticised for posting a "doctored" video involving Labour's Sir Keir Starmer, in which the shadow Brexit secretary was made to look as if he met a question, posed by ITV's Piers Morgan, with silence.
Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly said the video, since taken down, was meant to be "light-hearted". The party later posted an extended version of the interview.
Labour has a Twitter account - @The_InsiderUK - which says it "fact-checks" claims made by the opposition.
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Florida cops hope Alexa can solve bizarre spear murder case - BBC News
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2019-11-02
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Police want to establish if a smart-speaker recorded how Silvia Galva ended up impaled on a bed post.
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US & Canada
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Adam Reechard Crespo has been charged in the murder of his girlfriend, Silvia Galva
Florida police investigating the bizarre death of a woman during a domestic row have obtained audio from two Amazon Echo devices.
Silvia Galva, 32, was impaled by a spear-tipped bed post in a struggle with her boyfriend, Adam Reechard Crespo, at their Hallandale Beach home.
Mr Crespo, 43, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. He says her death was a tragic accident.
Police want to establish if the smart-speaker, Alexa, recorded the dispute.
According to the police report, Mr Crespo said he was trying to pull Ms Galvo off their bed during an argument in the bedroom of their Hallandale Beach apartment in July when he heard a snap.
The police report says: "[Mr Crespo] pulled the blade out of the victim's chest 'hoping it was not too bad.'"
But Ms Galva died with a 12in (30cm) double-sided blade through her chest following the altercation at the flat in a seaside city 20 miles (32km) north of Miami.
A lawyer for Mr Crespo, Christopher O'Toole, told the BBC that Ms Galva's death was unintentional.
Mr Crespo was sleeping when "Silvia came into the bedroom, knocked the door down".
Ms Galva broke off one of the pointy bedposts and "it ended up inside of her", Mr O'Toole said.
Hallandale Police did not return a request for comment.
According to the police report, when Mr Crespo saw Ms Galva had been stabbed he called for a female friend who was in the apartment to call emergency services.
"He tried to save Silvia's life," Mr O'Toole said, "this was the woman he loved."
A police warrant obtained by US media says "audio recordings capturing the attack on victim Silvia Crespo... may be found on the server[s] maintained by or for Amazon.com".
Authorities said Amazon provided multiple recordings, but did not disclose their contents.
Mr O'Toole said he supports the use of the audio in court.
"Ordinarily, I'd be jumping up and down objecting, but we believe the recordings could help us," he said. "If the truth comes out, it could help us."
Mr Crespo was bailed from custody on a $65,000 (£50,000) bond.
Florida police believe two Amazon Alexa devices may have recorded the dispute
While smart speakers do always "hear", they do not typically "listen" to conversations.
The major brands record and analyse snippets of audio internally to detect words like "Alexa", "Ok Google" or "Hey Siri", but if those words are not detected, the audio is discarded.
If the wake word is said, however, then the audio is recorded and sent to the voice recognition service at the company.
The big smart speaker companies - Amazon, Apple and Google - all employ staff who listen in to customer voice recordings.
But security researchers have found no evidence that speakers continuously send entire conversations back to a remote server.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-50269667
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Cabinet reshuffle: Simon Hart appointed new Welsh secretary - BBC News
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2019-12-17
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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He succeeds Alun Cairns who resigned amid a row over an aide's role in the collapse of a rape trial.
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Wales politics
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Simon Hart only became a junior minister under Boris Johnson in July
Simon Hart has been named the new Welsh secretary after Boris Johnson's election victory for the Conservatives.
He succeeds Alun Cairns, who resigned at the start of the campaign amid a row over what he knew about an aide's role in the collapse of a rape trial.
The Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire MP was previously a junior minister in the Cabinet Office.
Monmouth MP David TC Davies has been made junior minister in the Wales Office and will be deputy to Mr Hart.
Mr Davies, the former chairman of the Welsh Affairs Committee, will also serve as an assistant government whip, No 10 confirmed on Monday evening.
He is the sixth person to hold the ministerial role in the past two years.
Mr Hart said: "It's great to have this opportunity. I've got my orders and I'm going to try and do it as best I can."
Boris Johnson led the Tories to their biggest election win in more than 30 years with a majority of 80, after pledging to "get Brexit done" by the end of January.
The Welsh secretary oversees relations between the Welsh Government and Whitehall departments.
The appointment was welcomed by Welsh Assembly Conservatives - Senedd party leader Paul Davies gave him his "huge congratulations".
South Wales Central Assembly Member David Melding said it was an astute appointment "which promises much for Wales as we begin a new political chapter".
David TC Davies has been made junior minister in the Wales Office
Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford, from Welsh Labour, said he was "pleased to see a new Secretary of State for Wales appointed so quickly".
"I hope to meet soon to discuss Welsh Government priorities and ensure they are heard at the UK Government's cabinet table," he added.
Mr Hart came to Parliament in 2010 with a background in rural affairs as chief executive of the Countryside Alliance and a former master of the South Pembrokeshire Hunt.
A chartered surveyor by profession, he served on the backbenches until July when Boris Johnson took power and appointed him as a junior minister at the Cabinet Office.
He backed Remain in the 2016 EU referendum, but later emerged as leader of the Brexit Delivery Group, made up of MPs from both sides of the argument who sought a pragmatic approach to Brexit.
He has also been prominent in calls for greater protection for candidates and activists, claiming abuse was driving people out of politics.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-50809649
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Results exceeded Nicola Sturgeon's expectations - BBC News
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2019-12-13
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Brian Taylor gives insight into the results of the 2019 general election in Scotland.
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Election 2019
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Brian Taylor gives his analysis of the 2019 general election in Scotland as the results unfold.
The Lib Dems say Ed Davey and Baroness Sal Brinton will act as joint leaders of the party, given Jo Swinson's constituency defeat. A leadership contest will take place in the New Year.
Alistair Carmichael (third left) retains his Orkney and Shetland seat
And so Alistair Carmichael wins Orkney and Shetland. The Lib Dems end up with net four in Scotland. Gained one, North East Fife. Lost one.
The snag is the one they lost was held by their federal leader.
Talking mandates. When it comes to governance, these involve victory for a manifesto in an election.
But, when it comes to issues such as referendums, especially when their possibility is disputed, they are partly about momentum.
In which regard, the Tories entered this election in Scotland, declaring their aim to stop indyref2.
They lost seats. The SNP entered this election saying, in part, that they wanted a referendum by the end of 2020. They gained seats. The momentum is with the SNP. Consider it the other way round. What if the SNP had lost seats? Their opponents would have declared the end of indyref2.
Ian Blackford, the SNP Commons leader in the last Parliament, retains his seat - and immediately demands indyref2.
He is not prepared, he says, to see Scotland out of the EU against her will. He states: "We will have our referendum". And adds: Scotland will become an independent member of the European Union.
Nessie can rest undisturbed without Ruth Davidson skinny dipping in Loch Ness
Jamie Stone squeaks home in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross. Victory for the Lib Dems over an SNP advance. This means the SNP cannot make 50. Nessie can rest undisturbed.
Massive victory for the SNP in Gordon. The seat was previously held by Alex Salmond.
Ruth Davidson previously said she would skinny dip in Loch Ness if the SNP won 50 seats
Five Scottish seats to go. The SNP need them all to oblige Ruth Davidson to take to the waters. It's not looking likely, given relative Lib Dem performance.
Christine Jardine holds Edinburgh West for the Lib Dems. Could Jo Swinson be the only Scottish casualty for her party?
That phrase again. "Nationalism both sides of the border." Used by Christine Jardine. But used repeatedly by other Lib Dem speakers.
Just glancing again at the UK voting share. Tories up a bit. Labour down fairly steeply. But LibDems up four points. The leader who helped deliver that is out of Parliament.
Ian Murray says Labour must listen and respond - or die.
Ian Murray retains Edinburgh South. He is the only Scottish Labour MP. And a sharp critic of the now departing leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
Nicola Sturgeon says the results have exceeded even her expectations. She wants Scotland's future in Scotland's hands.
She reluctantly accepts that Boris Johnson has a mandate to take England out of the EU - but not Scotland.
She insists she has a mandate to offer Scotland the choice of independence. She will send a formal demand before Christmas and says the Tories must recognise democracy.
Quite a way to go yet. But still looking likely that the SNP could win more than 50 seats. Stand by for Loch Ness, Ruth.
She smiles. She congratulates her victorious opponent. But this must be heart-rending for Jo Swinson.
Defeated in her home patch, while battling around Great Britain as a whole. Democracy, however, means little without political change, without political churn. It doesn't make it easy for those affected.
Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson lost her East Dunbartonshire seat to the SNP
And so Jo Swinson has lost East Dunbartonshire by a tiny margin. She led her party but lost her seat. The SNP have taken the constituency.
Will Boris Johnson heed the Brexiteers in his party?
Boris Johnson, set to be returned as PM, once again declares himself a One Nation Tory.
Intriguing this is the tone his administration will adopt. Yes, it will be "Get Brexit done". No doubt he will now pursue a trade deal with vigour.
But will he heed the Brexiteers in his party who say no extension to transition. Or will he - again - seek an extension, perhaps deploying his majority? And that applies to economic policy too. How to define One Nation?
Wendy Chamberlain takes Fife North East for the LibDems. A gain from the SNP. Stephen Gethins can do no more than applaud politely.
This was Ming Campbell's seat for many years. Before that, Tory. Now back in Lib Dem hands.
Perhaps bearing out the signs across Scotland of a generic rise, albeit slight, in Lib Dem Scottish vote. On to East Dunbartonshire.....
Jeremy Corbyn is standing down as Labour leader
Corbyn standing down. He will not lead in the next general election. But he will stay to allow discussion.
Tories hold a seat - their first in Scotland. Douglas Ross hangs on in Moray.
And he's back. Alyn Smith elected as MP for Stirling. Strictly, he hasn't yet given up as an MEP. But that doesn't now look like a long-term prospect. An excellent victory for the SNP. Setback for the Tories.
Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the count in Glasgow with her party having won every seat so far in Scotland. She says it is still her intention to urge for an independence referendum in an approach to the new PM before Christmas.
Mhairi Black trenchant as always. Asked whether the SNP simply submit to a Boris Johnson victory, she replies: "No chance!"
Richard Leonard says Labour failed to get through the "din" of Brexit and other constitutional issues
Richard Leonard says Labour failed to get through the "din" of Brexit and other constitutional issues. Which is another way of saying folk were unsure about Labour's position.
The Scottish Labour leader says he tried to talk about poverty but couldn't be held. I understand his point - but parties cannot choose the agenda, especially when it is completely dominated by Brexit and independence.
These are not constitutional distractions from the truth. They are fundamental. Labour's stance was uncertain. Mr Leonard says cast iron positions might not have helped.
Owen Thompson back in Midlothian. That pattern again.
And so John Nicolson triumphs for the SNP in Ochil. Congrats to him. The irony is that he might have won in his old constituency of East Dunbartonshire. But a very good victory for him tonight.
East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow. Another big win for the SNP. Anyone detect a pattern.....? Those LibDem seats still going to be fascinating.
A glance at the Scottish voting share. SNP well up. Tories down. Labour well down. But the LibDems are slightly up. Does that add to caveats over the exit poll, or at least their place in it?
Tories had high hopes in Lanark and Hamilton East. Another victory for the SNP, with an increased majority.
Derek Mackay, Scotland's finance secretary, says it is scarcely the SNP's fault that Labour is rubbish. He notes that tonight is an argument for independence. Scotland is not getting the government she voted for.
More than half the electorate backed Mhairi Black in Paisley
More than half the electorate backed Mhairi Black in Paisley. And we have the result from West Dunbartonshire. Another good victory for SNP. We are now awaiting East Dunbartonshire. Is Jo Swinson out, defeated by the SNP?
Ian Murray, hoping to be returned as Labour MP in Edinburgh South, says the results tonight are "an absolute disaster" for Labour. He says reflection is needed. And there is a need for a credible alternative opposition.
We've had the declaration of Arbroath. And now we have the Kilmarnock edition. The verdict in both cases? SNP victories. They are well on course for an excellent night.
Will Jeremy Corbyn stand down as leader of the Labour Party?
Ged Killen, the defeated Labour candidate in Rutherglen, points to two problems for his party. No clarity on Brexit and indyref2. And Jeremy Corbyn. He anticipates that Mr Corbyn will now stand down as leader.
More about Rutherglen. The SNP vote is not as high as the exit poll suggests. The Labour vote is not as dire. So yet more caveats about that exit poll.
But still, an excellent result for the SNP. Many congratulations to the returning MP Margaret Ferrier.
The SNP's Margaret Ferrier has won the Rutherglen and Hamilton West seat
First Scottish result. Rutherglen and Hamilton West. SNP have taken it back from Labour, having won it in 2015. That concept of regaining seats could become a pattern. If that exit poll is correct....
Ian Davidson, former Labour MP, says there will be a discussion within the Labour Party. But he plays down the need for an immediate change of leadership. Labour, he says, will have a continuing job to do to oppose austerity.
Ian Blackford of the SNP recalling that the people of Scotland were told in 2014 that the way to keep Scotland in the EU was to retain the Union. Not, Mr Blackford notes, how things turned out.
Douglas Alexander arguing for a fundamental conversation about the future of Labour, if the exit poll proves to be correct. The first three results in the north east of England are broadly in line, especially that remarkable outcome in Blyth.
Back in the middle ages, I was a lobby correspondent at Westminster for a group of papers including the Newcastle Journal.
From that distant perspective, that is a remarkable result in Blyth Valley.
The Tories have taken a seat which used to be held by ex-miner Ronnie Campbell for Labour. Truly, Brexit is driving outcomes. In England. And perhaps, in a different way, in Scotland.
The Lib Dems are casting big doubt on the exit poll. They say it does not reflect their experience in key seats. Remember those caveats.
Plan B in action for the SNP. If they have failed to lock Boris Johnson out of Downing Street, they will now argue that Scotland's distinctive standpoint must be respected. Not least with a referendum on independence - that point made by Angus Robertson, former SNP Westminster leader.
Douglas Alexander, former Labour Foreign Secretary, says Corbynism has been tested to destruction. Ambiguity the road to ruin.
The Exit Poll for Scotland suggests that the Liberal Democrats would lose their Scottish seats - including Jo Swinson's in East Dunbartonshire. Ming Campbell reckons that's wrong.
Caveats, caveats. This exit poll is beyond trend for the opinion polls of the campaign, increasing the Tory lead. It also goes beyond the percentage allocated to the SNP in the few Scottish polls.
And there's more. The last couple of exit polls have been pretty accurate. But others have not, including 1992 (I still bear the scars).
And more again. Around three quarters of Scottish seats are marginal - some highly marginal, some three-way marginal. Difficult to drill down from one poll to individual seats. Keep watching!!!
If this poll is correct - IF - then Labour would require a rethink. Is it about Leave voters asserting their view in England, against Labour's relative vacillation? Or is it about the leader? To underline, let's await more figures.
Astonishing exit poll as it affects the UK - and Scotland.
Ruth Davidson said in advance she'd skinny dip in Loch Ness if the SNP won 50 seats. Stand by Nessie.
Our exit poll reckons 55 for the SNP - almost back to the apex of 2015.
If this poll is correct - IF - then stand by for three big elements. Brexit will happen. Labour will rethink. And the SNP will exercise plan B. They will argue that Scotland's voting pattern is again being overturned.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-50766399
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Johnson's gamble pays off but challenges lie ahead - BBC News
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2019-12-13
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The public has granted Boris Johnson an immense amount of political power, and he will need to spend it well.
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Election 2019
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The same prime minister. But a new map.
A victory bigger than the Tories, haunted by 2017, had dreamt of. As the hours ticked by, red flipped to blue, familiar faces forced out of their seats.
Boris Johnson gambled that he could win an election with support from towns and communities where voting Conservative might almost have seemed a sin.
The Conservatives' majority will have an almost immediate effect on the country - unless something strange happens we will leave the European Union next month - because behind him on the green benches will be new Tory MPs who will vote through his Brexit bill, his position strong enough to subdue any opposition.
There may be years of arguments about the nature of the long-term relationship but we will no longer be part of the bloc we've been entwined in for four decades. But Brexit, at least part one - to use his slogan - will be done.
Beyond that, the final tally, the scale of the Tories' majority may shape Mr Johnson's ability to reform.
He'll face different opponents - that much is clear.
Jeremy Corbyn's departure is certain, only the timing to be decided, but Labour's future direction is already the subject of bitter dispute. The loss a mixture - a lack of leadership, and the party's torture over Brexit.
But accounting for the defeat and making a plan for change is likely to involve months of recrimination.
The Lib Dems have suffered disappointment too - losing their own leader, along with the DUP's Nigel Dodds being ousted. This election has also seen a massive change in the political cast.
But there's nothing straightforward about what faces Mr Johnson, even with the kind of majority this country hasn't seen for years.
There are wide differences between town and city, Scotland and England, the political generations too.
The public has just granted Mr Johnson an immense amount of political power.
Given what's ahead it's a currency he will need to spend, and spend well.
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Election results 2019: A constitutional collision course in Scotland - BBC News
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2019-12-13
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The results demonstrated the SNP's argument that Scotland and the rest of UK are moving in different political directions.
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Election 2019
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Nicola Sturgeon maintained throughout the election campaign that she did not want to see Boris Johnson returned to Downing Street as prime minister.
But the SNP leader knows that a majority Tory government in Westminster, while Scotland voted very differently, is the result most likely to advance her greatest ambition - independence for Scotland.
The party which dominates Scotland is now set on a constitutional collision course with the UK government.
The SNP's strongest argument is that Scotland and the rest of UK are moving in different political directions.
And that's been vividly demonstrated as England embraces the Tories whilst they have lost votes and lost seats north of the border.
The UK will now move on to leaving the EU at the same time as the two parties who campaigned to stop Brexit, the SNP and the Lib Dems, increased their vote share in Scotland.
The SNP took a gamble by making their demand for a second independence referendum central to their campaign. That's a policy that can enthuse their voters, but runs the risk of galvanizing people who don't want to leave the UK to turn out and vote against the SNP.
The Scottish Conservatives campaigned on a slogan of "Tell her again, say no to indyref2".
But that's not what happened. The Tories lost seven of their 13 Scottish seats and the SNP won 13. They now hold 48 of 59 MPs in Scotland, with one sitting as an independent.
Boris Johnson will refuse to grant the legal power to hold an independence vote
This result cannot be interpreted as an outright demand for Scottish independence. But the SNP will vigorously argue that it does mean Scotland must be allowed to make a choice about its future - inside or outside the UK.
Nicola Sturgeon says she won't pretend that every single person who voted SNP necessarily supports independence. But she will insist this result is a thumping endorsement of her demand for a second referendum.
She will make an official request in the next few days to be granted the legal power to hold an independence vote.
And we know that Boris Johnson will refuse, sparking a huge debate about whether the Conservatives are ignoring the democratic choice of Scottish voters.
It's a debate that can only escalate as we leave the EU - and one which may fuel support for independence itself.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50779402
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Election results 2019: Boris Johnson's victory speech in full - BBC News
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2019-12-13
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Read the full text of Boris Johnson’s first speech after his landslide general election win.
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Election 2019
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Boris Johnson has delivered his first speech after his Conservative party won a landslide majority in the December 2019 general election, at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in central London.
You can read the full text of the speech below.
Well my friends, good morning everybody.
My friends, well we did it. We did it. We pulled it off didn't we - we pulled it off, we broke the deadlock, we ended the gridlock, we smashed the roadblock.
In this glorious, glorious pre-breakfast moment, before a new dawn rises on a new day and a new government, I want first of all to pay tribute to good colleagues who lost their seats through no fault of their own in the elections just gone by.
And I of course want to congratulate absolutely everybody involved in securing the biggest Conservative majority since the 1980s. This was literally, literally, as I look around, literally before many of you were born.
And with this mandate and this majority, we will at last be able to do - what? (Audience: "Get Brexit done".) You were paying attention.
This election means that getting Brexit done is now the irrefutable, irresistible, unarguable decision of the British people. With this election I think we've put an end to all those miserable threats of a second referendum.
And I say respectfully to our stentorian friend in the blue, 12-star hat - that's it. Time to put a sock in the megaphone, and give everybody some peace.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson says he will work "night and day, flat out" to prove his backers right
I have a message to all those who voted for us yesterday, especially for those who voted for us Conservatives for the first time.
You may only have lent us your vote, you may not think of yourself as a natural Tory. As I think I said 11 years ago to the people of London, when I was elected in what was thought of as a Labour city - your hand may have quivered over the ballot paper before you put your cross in the Conservative box, and you may intend to return to Labour next time round.
If that is the case, I am humbled that you have put your trust in me and you have put your trust in us.
I, and we, will never take your support for granted. I will make it my mission to work night and day, to work flat-out to prove you right in voting for me this time, and to earn your support in the future.
I say to you that in this election your voice has been heard - and about time too.
Because we politicians have squandered the last three-and-a-half years in squabbles about Brexit, we have even been arguing about arguing, about the tone of our arguments. I will put an end to all that nonsense and we will get Brexit done on time by the 31 January.
No ifs, no buts, no maybes - leaving the European Union as one United Kingdom, taking back control of our laws, borders, money, our trade, immigration system, delivering on the democratic mandate of the people.
At the same time, this one nation Conservative government will massively increase our investment in the NHS. The health service that represents the very best of our country with a single beautiful idea, that whoever we are - rich, poor, young, old - the NHS is there for us when we are sick. And everyday that service performs miracles.
That is why the NHS is this one nation Conservative government's top priority. So we will deliver 50,000 more nurses, and 50 million more GP surgery appointments. And how many new hospitals? (Audience: "40".) We will deliver a long-term NHS budget enshrined in law, £650m extra every week.
And all the other priorities that you, the people of this country, voted for.
Record spending on schools. An Australian-style points-based immigration system. More police - how many? (Audience: "20,000".)
Colossal new investments in infrastructure and science, using our technological advantages to make this country the cleanest, greenest on earth, with the most far-reaching environmental programme.
And you the people of this country voted to be carbon-neutral in this election - you voted to be carbon-neutral by 2050. And we'll do it.
You also voted to be Corbyn-neutral by Christmas by the way, and we'll do that too.
You voted for all these things, and it is now this government, this people's government, it is now our solemn duty to deliver on each and every one of those commitments.
It is a great and heavy responsibility, a sacred trust, for me, for every newly-elected Conservative MP, for everyone in this room and everyone in this party.
And I repeat that in winning this election we have won the votes and trust of people who have never voted Conservative before, and people who have always voted for other parties.
Those people want change. We cannot, must not - must not - let them down. In delivering change we must change too.
We must recognise the incredible reality that we now speak as a One Nation Conservative party literally for everyone from Woking to Workington; from Kensington, I'm proud to say, to Clwyd South; from Surrey Heath to Sedgefield; from Wimbledon to Wolverhampton.
As the nation hands us this historic mandate, we must rise to the challenge and to the level of expectations. Parliament must change so that we in parliament are working for you, the British people.
That is what we will now do, isn't it? That is what we will now do. Let's get out and get on with it. Let's unite this country. Let's spread opportunity to every corner of the UK with superb education, superb infrastructure, and technology.
Let's get Brexit done. But first, my friends, let's get breakfast done.
Thank you all very much for coming. Thank you all very much.
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Climate change: Stalemate at UN talks as splits re-appear - BBC News
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2019-12-13
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Talks in Madrid enter their final day with serious divisions between large emitting countries and small island states
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Science & Environment
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Delegates at the climate talks in Madrid are concerned that divisions between rich and poor are re-emerging
UN climate talks in Madrid enter their final scheduled day with divisions emerging between major emitting countries and small island states.
Negotiators are attempting to agree a deal in the Spanish capital that would see countries commit to make new climate pledges by the end of 2020.
But serious disagreements have emerged over how much carbon-cutting the major emitters should undertake.
The talks have also become bogged down in rows over key technical issues.
Negotiators arrived in Madrid two weeks ago with the words of the UN secretary general ringing in their ears - António Guterres told delegates that "the point of no return is no longer over the horizon".
Protests led by young delegates saw up to 200 protestors ejected from the talks
Despite his pleas, the conference has become enmeshed in deep, technical arguments about a number of issues including the role of carbon markets and the financing of loss and damage caused by rising temperatures.
The key question of raising ambition has also been to the forefront of the discussions.
Responding to the messages from science and from school strikers, the countries running this COP are keen to have a final decision here that would see countries put new, ambitious plans to cut carbon on the table.
According to the UN, 84 countries have promised to enhance their national plans by the end of next year. Some 73 have said they will set a long-term target of net zero by the middle of the century.
In a rare move, negotiators from the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) pointed the finger of blame at countries including Australia, the United States, Canada, Russia, India, China and Brazil.
They had failed to submit revised plans that would help the world keep the rise in global temperatures under 1.5C this century.
As well as naming names, AOSIS members were angry at the pressure being put on the island nations to compromise on key questions.
"We are appalled at the state of negotiations - at this stage we are being cornered, we fear having to concede on too many issues that would undermine the very integrity of the Paris agreement," said Carlos Fuller, AOSIS chief negotiator.
"What's before us is a level of compromise so profound that it underscores a lack of ambition, seriousness about the climate emergency and the urgent need to secure the fate of our islands."
Reinforcing the sense of division, India, supported by China, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, is taking a hard line on the promises made by richer countries in previous agreements before the Paris pact was signed in 2015.
They are insisting that the pledges to cut carbon in the years up to 2020 be examined and if the countries haven't met their targets, these should be carried over to the post-2020 era.
Signed in 2015, the Paris climate pact saw every country, India included, sign up to take actions.
This was a key concession to the richer nations who insisted that the deal would only work if everyone pledged to cut carbon, unlike previous agreements in which only the better off had to limit their CO2.
India now wants to see evidence that in the years up to 2020, the developed world has lived up to past promises.
"The Paris agreement talks about the leadership of the developed countries, it talks about the peaking of greenhouse gases earlier in these countries, so we need to see these things," said Ravi Shankar Prasad, India's chief negotiator.
"You have to honour what you agreed."
The developed world see the Indian stance as a tactic, where they are trying to go back to the way things were before Paris, with the richer countries doing the most of the heavy lifting while China, India and others do less.
Some politicians in attendance at this meeting believe there's too much self interest and not enough countries looking at the bigger picture.
Some visitors have other things to do at the COP
"Frankly, I'm tired of hearing major emitters excuse inaction in cutting their own emissions on the basis they are 'just a fraction' of the world's total," said the prime minister of Fiji, Frank Bainimarama.
"The truth is, in a family of nearly 200 nations, collective efforts are key. We all must take responsibility for ourselves, and we all must play our part to achieve net zero.
"As I like to say, we're all in the same canoe. But currently, that canoe is taking on water with nearly 200 holes - and there are too few of us trying to patch them," Mr Bainimarama said.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-50763123
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news_science-environment-50763123
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British diplomat resigns over having to 'peddle half-truths' on Brexit - BBC News
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2019-12-07
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Alexandra Hall Hall says she can no longer work for a "government I do not trust".
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UK
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A UK diplomat in charge of Brexit at the British embassy in the US has quit.
In her resignation letter, seen by US broadcaster CNN, Alexandra Hall Hall said she could no longer "peddle half-truths" on behalf of political leaders she did not "trust".
She said she has become "dismayed" by the reluctance of politicians to "honestly" address the "challenges and trade-offs" involved in leaving the EU.
The Foreign Office said it would not comment on details of her resignation.
However, it did confirm Ms Hall Hall had resigned as UK Brexit Counsellor at the British embassy in Washington - a post which involves explaining the UK Brexit policy to US lawmakers and policymakers.
In her letter, dated 3 December, she wrote: "I have been increasingly dismayed by the way in which our political leaders have tried to deliver Brexit, with reluctance to address honestly, even with our own citizens, the challenges and trade-offs which Brexit involves."
She also criticised the use of "misleading or disingenuous arguments" and "some behaviour towards our institutions" by politicians, adding that "were it happening in another country, we would almost certainly as diplomats have received instructions to register our concern".
Ms Hall Hall added: "It makes our job to promote democracy and the rule of law that much harder, if we are not seen to be upholding these core values at home."
BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams described her letter as "stunningly blunt".
Ms Hall Hall, who is a former ambassador to Georgia and has worked in the diplomatic service for 33 years, did not name any specific politicians in the letter, but took aim at the current Conservative government.
She wrote: "I am also at a stage in life where I would prefer to do something more rewarding with my time, than peddle half-truths on behalf of a government I do not trust."
When the BBC put Ms Hall Hall's comments to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Friday evening, he said: "I'm not going to talk about employment issues in the civil service."
Diplomats are supposed to be politically neutral and Ms Hall Hall stressed her decision to resign was not tied to her personal views on leaving the EU.
"I took this position with a sincere commitment, indeed passion, to do my part, to the very best of my abilities, to help achieve a successful outcome on Brexit," she wrote, but added her position had become "unbearable personally and untenable professionally".
With a week to go until the UK heads to the polls, Ms Hall Hall insisted she had stood down before the election to avoid her resignation being portrayed as a reaction to its outcome.
CNN reported that she had also filed a formal complaint about being asked to convey overtly partisan language on Brexit.
Ms Hall Hall suggested her role as a diplomat had been diverted to convey messages that were "neither fully honest nor politically impartial."
The UK has been without an ambassador to the US since Sir Kim Darroch resigned in the summer over a row about leaked emails critical of President Trump's administration.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50693537
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news_uk-50693537
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The most read BBC News stories of the last decade - BBC News
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2019-12-22
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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From the 2011 riots to the last general election, we look back at the website's most popular pages.
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World
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January 2010. Barack Obama was one year into his US presidency, Instagram hadn't been invented and the word Brexit had never been uttered.
A decade on, we look back at the most read stories on the BBC News website year by year.
Miner Juan Illanes celebrates after coming out of the Phoenix capsule
Being trapped underground in darkness, with hardly any food or water, is "the stuff of nightmares", says BBC Latin America online editor Vanessa Buschschluter, who reported from the San Jose mine in northern Chile after 33 miners became trapped deep underground.
It was the nightmarish quality of the miners' situation, she says, that moved not only Chileans, but people around the world.
For 17 days the collapse of a Chilean copper and gold mine was not widely covered outside the country. That was until the miners tied a note to a probe sent deep beneath the ground saying they were alive.
And with that, "people were hooked", says Ms Buschschluter. Rescuers drilled down as the miners' desperate families watched on, keeping vigil from what became known as Camp Hope.
"When one of the drills finally reached the miners, the camp's bell rang out and relatives hugged and jumped for joy, some fell on their knees praying," Ms Buschschluter adds.
The 33 miners were brought to the surface one by one in a specially-designed capsule via a tunnel just wider than the men's shoulders. Winching them to safety took 22 hours.
People sang the national anthem and waved Chilean flags, as champagne corks popped. It was the stuff of movies - and sure enough their ordeal made it on to the big screen in a Hollywood film starring Antonio Banderas.
A story with a happy ending? Not quite. Many of the miners, who were trapped underground for a record 69 days, struggled to cope with their newfound fame, and some faced health and financial difficulties in the years after.
A 150-year-old furniture store in Croydon is sent up in flames
It was the worst case of civil unrest in the UK for a generation. The police shooting of 29-year-old Mark Duggan in Tottenham, north London, prompted a protest that turned violent.
Over four hot August nights, looters ran free and armed rioters set fire to two police cars, then a bus, and shops.
The unrest spread just like the flames - first across London, to Hackney, then Lewisham, Peckham, Woolwich, Ealing and Clapham - before erupting in other major cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Wolverhampton and Liverpool.
The Met Police officers later said they had been outnumbered and were afraid to take on rioters, some of whom were carrying machetes. Five people died and more than 3,000 were arrested.
In the year that followed, 1,400 of them were jailed and handed much tougher sentences than magistrates would usually give for such offences.
Research by sociologist Juta Kawalerowicz found deprivation and tensions between communities and police were main factors behind the riots.
The issue of police stop and search powers being used to target black people came up in the University of Oxford research. But Ms Kawalerowicz said they were not "race riots", and rioters did not come from one ethnic group.
Michelle and Barack Obama hug in one of the most re-tweeted posts in social media history
The race was expected to be tight. But on election night, America's first black president stormed to another victory, securing a second term.
Barack Obama's re-election was particularly important, says our senior North America reporter Anthony Zurcher, because it proved US voters "were comfortable enough with a black man as president to want to keep him in the White House".
Mr Obama, a Democrat, had run a largely solid, professional campaign, painting his Republican opponent - Mitt Romney - as an elite, corporate executive who was out of touch with mainstream American voters, says our reporter.
In his first term, Mr Obama, who took office amid one of the worst recessions in decades, had overhauled the US healthcare system and overcome strong Republican opposition to pass a programme designed to boost the economy.
And in his first speech after re-election, Mr Obama told America: "The best is yet to come." He would go on to strike a climate change agreement in Paris, negotiate a deal to curb Iran's nuclear potential and restore diplomatic relations with Cuba.
But Mr Obama's second term was also punctuated by frustration, notably problems with his healthcare system and his failure to push through gun control legislation.
"Of course, four years later, Democrat Hillary Clinton was unable to rebuild Obama's winning coalition of young, minority and working class Americans," says Mr Zurcher.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The moment of the first explosion
A jubilant scene at the finish line of the 2013 Boston marathon turned into a horrific one when two pressure cooker bombs packed with nails, ball bearings and other shrapnel exploded.
Three spectators - including an eight-year-old boy - were killed, while 260 others suffered injuries, with many losing legs.
The US has had its share of terror attacks, but this one "transcended tragedy to become an ongoing national drama", says Mr Zurcher.
The search for the perpetrators shut down Boston for days. "It was a manhunt that played itself out on both traditional news outlets and social media, as Americans across the country watched every twist and turn with fear and fascination - the false alarms, dead-end leads and dramatic confrontations," he says.
Three days after the bombing, the FBI released CCTV images of the suspects, brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Then a police officer responding to reports of a disturbance near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus was found with fatal gunshot wounds.
The brothers hijacked a car at gunpoint, and were chased by police, throwing explosives at them, before their car crashed.
The elder brother, Tamerlan, was killed in a gunfight that followed, but Dzhokhar fled on foot. The wounded 19-year-old was found hours later hiding in a boat in a local resident's backyard.
At a trial, his defence team argued his older brother was the driving force, but prosecutors said Dzhokhar was an equal partner. He was found guilty of 30 charges and sentenced to death.
Earlier this month, lawyers for Dzhokhar - who is currently in a high security prison - appealed against his death sentence, alleging jurors at his trial were biased.
Peaches Geldof had started using heroin again before her death, an inquest heard
Peaches Geldof's death from a heroin overdose at just 25 shocked us all, says BBC senior entertainment reporter Mark Savage.
"Initial reports from the ambulance service called the tragedy 'unexplained and sudden' - immediately and eerily reminding us of the shocking death of Peaches' mother, Paula Yates," he adds. Geldof was just 11 when her mother died from a heroin overdose in 2000, aged 41.
The model and TV presenter - the second daughter of musician Bob Geldof - was a favourite of paparazzi photographers from a young age, often pictured leaving London parties in the early hours.
But later in life, she moved to the countryside with her second husband musician Tom Cohen and her two young sons, posting frequently about her family on social media. She told Mother and Baby magazine a month before her death that "becoming a mother was like becoming me, finally".
After Geldof died, messages of condolence poured into the BBC from readers.. An inquest heard she had been addicted to heroin and had been taking the substitute drug methadone for two-and-a-half years.
Her husband told the inquest Geldof had started using heroin again before her death. Detectives investigated who had given Geldof the heroin, but closed the case a year later with no answers.
Gunmen stormed the Bataclan concert hall, firing at the crowds inside
Paris correspondent Lucy Williamson still remembers the sound of bullets ricocheting off the old facades of buildings in the city's 11th arrondissement on the night attackers killed 130 people and injured hundreds more.
Almost simultaneously, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked the Bataclan concert hall, the Stade de France stadium, as well as Parisian restaurants and bars.
It came in the middle of a string of attacks in France - 10 months after attacks on the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine and nine months before the Nice lorry attack.
The suspected ringleader of the Paris killings was Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian national who was killed in a police raid in northern Paris five days later.
After months on the run, the sole surviving attacker, Salah Abdeslam, was shot and injured in a dramatic arrest in Brussels. He was later sentenced to 20 years in prison.
"For almost two years, it felt as if France was being bludgeoned again and again," says Ms Williamson.
But she says there was "something different" about the Paris attacks that means four years later "the impact lives on just below the surface".
"In the midst of attacks on satirical journalists, police officers, the Jewish community, priests, and symbols of the state, this time the hatred expanded to cover everyone - people at a concert, in restaurants, at a football game," she says.
"The target was simply France's joy in its own way of life."
Nigel Farage reacts to the 2016 referendum result at a party in central London on 24 June 2016
BBC News' live coverage of the UK's 2016 EU referendum was, and still is, the site's most read page ever - by some distance.
It was to be the biggest decision "in our lifetimes", according to then prime minister, David Cameron, who urged the country to vote to stay in the EU.
The campaign that followed saw a "blizzard of claims, some of them of dubious provenance", says the BBC's Reality Check correspondent Chris Morris.
Across the side of a Vote Leave bus was the message: "We send the EU £350m a week, let's fund the NHS instead."
Mr Cameron and the Remainers were ultimately defeated by 52% to 48% - despite London, Scotland and Northern Ireland backing Remain.
Boris Johnson, the public face of Vote Leave, said voters had "searched in their hearts" and the UK now had a "glorious opportunity" to pass its own laws, set its own taxes and control its own borders. UKIP leader Nigel Farage hailed it the UK's "independence day". A day later, Mr Cameron quit.
Our correspondent says the referendum "created the current divide in British politics - a divide the latest election hasn't really resolved".
"We now know Brexit will happen," says Mr Morris. "But many of the bitter arguments surrounding it aren't going to go away."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Reaction from Bristol: 'You're joking. Why does she need to do it?'
"Not another one," was the cry from Brenda from Bristol, after Theresa May announced her intention to call a snap election. Coming after the EU referendum and the 2015 general election, people were tired of politics.
"In just three words, Brenda summed up the thoughts of so many millions of voters," says BBC presenter Jon Kay, who interviewed her. "With her lovely Bristolian accent and her old shopping trolley, we knew immediately that we had struck TV gold."
Mrs May said the election was needed for "certainty, stability and strong leadership" after the EU referendum - although, as we now know, she ended up losing her majority and having to rely on the Democratic Unionist Party to prop up her minority government.
The BBC's live coverage of the results was the most read page of the year.
In its first months, the government got its legislation through Parliament quite comfortably, but as Mrs May found to her cost, political deadlock was about to set in.
As for Brenda, Mr Kay still checks in with her from time to time. "She's doing fine but doesn't want any more fuss. She laughs about how mad the world is," he says.
Brenda doesn't own a laptop or a mobile phone. So when Mr Kay told her that her catchphrase had gone viral again after the 2019 election was called, she laughed and replied: "That doesn't sound very pleasant."
For a brief spell in November 2018, it looked as though the UK was headed for an orderly Brexit. But it didn't last long.
After years of negotiations, Theresa May finally struck a deal with EU leaders, setting out the terms on which the UK would leave the EU.
Mrs May said her cabinet had backed the deal, calling it "the best that could have been negotiated". But she soon faced a revolt.
Dominic Raab, then Brexit minister, led a wave of resignations, saying he could not "in good conscience" support the deal. In the following months, Mrs May faced votes of no confidence in her leadership, but she clung on.
However, after MPs rejected a version of her Brexit agreement for a third time, she stepped down, telling the country she deeply regretted being unable to deliver Brexit.
Boris Johnson outside his polling station with his dog, Dilyn
"Everything changed" on the stroke of 22:00 GMT on 12 December, says BBC political correspondent Jonathan Blake.
As the BBC's Huw Edwards declared the exit poll at the end of a cold and wet December polling day, the Conservatives were about to secure a Commons majority of 80, the party's largest since 1987.
"A campaign focussed relentlessly on the seemingly simple promise to 'get Brexit done' had won over voters in places long-seen as out of reach for the Conservatives," says Mr Blake.
The Labour Party had its worst election result since 1935, while the SNP made big gains across Scotland. In Northern Ireland, more nationalists than unionists won seats, putting the union further "under strain", says Mr Blake.
"But in Downing Street Mr Johnson's grip on power was stronger, his support-base wider and he now had a freer hand to do, within reason, what he wanted," he continued.
"The election result has set the course firmly for the UK's departure from the European Union, left Labour in ruins and all but silenced the arguments for another referendum."
Knife-edge votes and backroom deals between parties have defined the politics of the past decade. But after the Tory's resounding victory, the tone of the next 10 years could be entirely different.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-50671343
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news_world-50671343
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The most read BBC News stories of the last decade - BBC News
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2019-12-22
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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From the 2011 riots to the last general election, we look back at the website's most popular pages.
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World
|
January 2010. Barack Obama was one year into his US presidency, Instagram hadn't been invented and the word Brexit had never been uttered.
A decade on, we look back at the most read stories on the BBC News website year by year.
Miner Juan Illanes celebrates after coming out of the Phoenix capsule
Being trapped underground in darkness, with hardly any food or water, is "the stuff of nightmares", says BBC Latin America online editor Vanessa Buschschluter, who reported from the San Jose mine in northern Chile after 33 miners became trapped deep underground.
It was the nightmarish quality of the miners' situation, she says, that moved not only Chileans, but people around the world.
For 17 days the collapse of a Chilean copper and gold mine was not widely covered outside the country. That was until the miners tied a note to a probe sent deep beneath the ground saying they were alive.
And with that, "people were hooked", says Ms Buschschluter. Rescuers drilled down as the miners' desperate families watched on, keeping vigil from what became known as Camp Hope.
"When one of the drills finally reached the miners, the camp's bell rang out and relatives hugged and jumped for joy, some fell on their knees praying," Ms Buschschluter adds.
The 33 miners were brought to the surface one by one in a specially-designed capsule via a tunnel just wider than the men's shoulders. Winching them to safety took 22 hours.
People sang the national anthem and waved Chilean flags, as champagne corks popped. It was the stuff of movies - and sure enough their ordeal made it on to the big screen in a Hollywood film starring Antonio Banderas.
A story with a happy ending? Not quite. Many of the miners, who were trapped underground for a record 69 days, struggled to cope with their newfound fame, and some faced health and financial difficulties in the years after.
A 150-year-old furniture store in Croydon is sent up in flames
It was the worst case of civil unrest in the UK for a generation. The police shooting of 29-year-old Mark Duggan in Tottenham, north London, prompted a protest that turned violent.
Over four hot August nights, looters ran free and armed rioters set fire to two police cars, then a bus, and shops.
The unrest spread just like the flames - first across London, to Hackney, then Lewisham, Peckham, Woolwich, Ealing and Clapham - before erupting in other major cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Wolverhampton and Liverpool.
The Met Police officers later said they had been outnumbered and were afraid to take on rioters, some of whom were carrying machetes. Five people died and more than 3,000 were arrested.
In the year that followed, 1,400 of them were jailed and handed much tougher sentences than magistrates would usually give for such offences.
Research by sociologist Juta Kawalerowicz found deprivation and tensions between communities and police were main factors behind the riots.
The issue of police stop and search powers being used to target black people came up in the University of Oxford research. But Ms Kawalerowicz said they were not "race riots", and rioters did not come from one ethnic group.
Michelle and Barack Obama hug in one of the most re-tweeted posts in social media history
The race was expected to be tight. But on election night, America's first black president stormed to another victory, securing a second term.
Barack Obama's re-election was particularly important, says our senior North America reporter Anthony Zurcher, because it proved US voters "were comfortable enough with a black man as president to want to keep him in the White House".
Mr Obama, a Democrat, had run a largely solid, professional campaign, painting his Republican opponent - Mitt Romney - as an elite, corporate executive who was out of touch with mainstream American voters, says our reporter.
In his first term, Mr Obama, who took office amid one of the worst recessions in decades, had overhauled the US healthcare system and overcome strong Republican opposition to pass a programme designed to boost the economy.
And in his first speech after re-election, Mr Obama told America: "The best is yet to come." He would go on to strike a climate change agreement in Paris, negotiate a deal to curb Iran's nuclear potential and restore diplomatic relations with Cuba.
But Mr Obama's second term was also punctuated by frustration, notably problems with his healthcare system and his failure to push through gun control legislation.
"Of course, four years later, Democrat Hillary Clinton was unable to rebuild Obama's winning coalition of young, minority and working class Americans," says Mr Zurcher.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The moment of the first explosion
A jubilant scene at the finish line of the 2013 Boston marathon turned into a horrific one when two pressure cooker bombs packed with nails, ball bearings and other shrapnel exploded.
Three spectators - including an eight-year-old boy - were killed, while 260 others suffered injuries, with many losing legs.
The US has had its share of terror attacks, but this one "transcended tragedy to become an ongoing national drama", says Mr Zurcher.
The search for the perpetrators shut down Boston for days. "It was a manhunt that played itself out on both traditional news outlets and social media, as Americans across the country watched every twist and turn with fear and fascination - the false alarms, dead-end leads and dramatic confrontations," he says.
Three days after the bombing, the FBI released CCTV images of the suspects, brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Then a police officer responding to reports of a disturbance near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus was found with fatal gunshot wounds.
The brothers hijacked a car at gunpoint, and were chased by police, throwing explosives at them, before their car crashed.
The elder brother, Tamerlan, was killed in a gunfight that followed, but Dzhokhar fled on foot. The wounded 19-year-old was found hours later hiding in a boat in a local resident's backyard.
At a trial, his defence team argued his older brother was the driving force, but prosecutors said Dzhokhar was an equal partner. He was found guilty of 30 charges and sentenced to death.
Earlier this month, lawyers for Dzhokhar - who is currently in a high security prison - appealed against his death sentence, alleging jurors at his trial were biased.
Peaches Geldof had started using heroin again before her death, an inquest heard
Peaches Geldof's death from a heroin overdose at just 25 shocked us all, says BBC senior entertainment reporter Mark Savage.
"Initial reports from the ambulance service called the tragedy 'unexplained and sudden' - immediately and eerily reminding us of the shocking death of Peaches' mother, Paula Yates," he adds. Geldof was just 11 when her mother died from a heroin overdose in 2000, aged 41.
The model and TV presenter - the second daughter of musician Bob Geldof - was a favourite of paparazzi photographers from a young age, often pictured leaving London parties in the early hours.
But later in life, she moved to the countryside with her second husband musician Tom Cohen and her two young sons, posting frequently about her family on social media. She told Mother and Baby magazine a month before her death that "becoming a mother was like becoming me, finally".
After Geldof died, messages of condolence poured into the BBC from readers.. An inquest heard she had been addicted to heroin and had been taking the substitute drug methadone for two-and-a-half years.
Her husband told the inquest Geldof had started using heroin again before her death. Detectives investigated who had given Geldof the heroin, but closed the case a year later with no answers.
Gunmen stormed the Bataclan concert hall, firing at the crowds inside
Paris correspondent Lucy Williamson still remembers the sound of bullets ricocheting off the old facades of buildings in the city's 11th arrondissement on the night attackers killed 130 people and injured hundreds more.
Almost simultaneously, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked the Bataclan concert hall, the Stade de France stadium, as well as Parisian restaurants and bars.
It came in the middle of a string of attacks in France - 10 months after attacks on the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine and nine months before the Nice lorry attack.
The suspected ringleader of the Paris killings was Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian national who was killed in a police raid in northern Paris five days later.
After months on the run, the sole surviving attacker, Salah Abdeslam, was shot and injured in a dramatic arrest in Brussels. He was later sentenced to 20 years in prison.
"For almost two years, it felt as if France was being bludgeoned again and again," says Ms Williamson.
But she says there was "something different" about the Paris attacks that means four years later "the impact lives on just below the surface".
"In the midst of attacks on satirical journalists, police officers, the Jewish community, priests, and symbols of the state, this time the hatred expanded to cover everyone - people at a concert, in restaurants, at a football game," she says.
"The target was simply France's joy in its own way of life."
Nigel Farage reacts to the 2016 referendum result at a party in central London on 24 June 2016
BBC News' live coverage of the UK's 2016 EU referendum was, and still is, the site's most read page ever - by some distance.
It was to be the biggest decision "in our lifetimes", according to then prime minister, David Cameron, who urged the country to vote to stay in the EU.
The campaign that followed saw a "blizzard of claims, some of them of dubious provenance", says the BBC's Reality Check correspondent Chris Morris.
Across the side of a Vote Leave bus was the message: "We send the EU £350m a week, let's fund the NHS instead."
Mr Cameron and the Remainers were ultimately defeated by 52% to 48% - despite London, Scotland and Northern Ireland backing Remain.
Boris Johnson, the public face of Vote Leave, said voters had "searched in their hearts" and the UK now had a "glorious opportunity" to pass its own laws, set its own taxes and control its own borders. UKIP leader Nigel Farage hailed it the UK's "independence day". A day later, Mr Cameron quit.
Our correspondent says the referendum "created the current divide in British politics - a divide the latest election hasn't really resolved".
"We now know Brexit will happen," says Mr Morris. "But many of the bitter arguments surrounding it aren't going to go away."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Reaction from Bristol: 'You're joking. Why does she need to do it?'
"Not another one," was the cry from Brenda from Bristol, after Theresa May announced her intention to call a snap election. Coming after the EU referendum and the 2015 general election, people were tired of politics.
"In just three words, Brenda summed up the thoughts of so many millions of voters," says BBC presenter Jon Kay, who interviewed her. "With her lovely Bristolian accent and her old shopping trolley, we knew immediately that we had struck TV gold."
Mrs May said the election was needed for "certainty, stability and strong leadership" after the EU referendum - although, as we now know, she ended up losing her majority and having to rely on the Democratic Unionist Party to prop up her minority government.
The BBC's live coverage of the results was the most read page of the year.
In its first months, the government got its legislation through Parliament quite comfortably, but as Mrs May found to her cost, political deadlock was about to set in.
As for Brenda, Mr Kay still checks in with her from time to time. "She's doing fine but doesn't want any more fuss. She laughs about how mad the world is," he says.
Brenda doesn't own a laptop or a mobile phone. So when Mr Kay told her that her catchphrase had gone viral again after the 2019 election was called, she laughed and replied: "That doesn't sound very pleasant."
For a brief spell in November 2018, it looked as though the UK was headed for an orderly Brexit. But it didn't last long.
After years of negotiations, Theresa May finally struck a deal with EU leaders, setting out the terms on which the UK would leave the EU.
Mrs May said her cabinet had backed the deal, calling it "the best that could have been negotiated". But she soon faced a revolt.
Dominic Raab, then Brexit minister, led a wave of resignations, saying he could not "in good conscience" support the deal. In the following months, Mrs May faced votes of no confidence in her leadership, but she clung on.
However, after MPs rejected a version of her Brexit agreement for a third time, she stepped down, telling the country she deeply regretted being unable to deliver Brexit.
Boris Johnson outside his polling station with his dog, Dilyn
"Everything changed" on the stroke of 22:00 GMT on 12 December, says BBC political correspondent Jonathan Blake.
As the BBC's Huw Edwards declared the exit poll at the end of a cold and wet December polling day, the Conservatives were about to secure a Commons majority of 80, the party's largest since 1987.
"A campaign focussed relentlessly on the seemingly simple promise to 'get Brexit done' had won over voters in places long-seen as out of reach for the Conservatives," says Mr Blake.
The Labour Party had its worst election result since 1935, while the SNP made big gains across Scotland. In Northern Ireland, more nationalists than unionists won seats, putting the union further "under strain", says Mr Blake.
"But in Downing Street Mr Johnson's grip on power was stronger, his support-base wider and he now had a freer hand to do, within reason, what he wanted," he continued.
"The election result has set the course firmly for the UK's departure from the European Union, left Labour in ruins and all but silenced the arguments for another referendum."
Knife-edge votes and backroom deals between parties have defined the politics of the past decade. But after the Tory's resounding victory, the tone of the next 10 years could be entirely different.
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General election 2019: How Dennis Skinner lost his Bolsover seat - BBC News
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2019-12-14
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Dennis Skinner, known as the Beast of Bolsover, has lost his seat after 49 years. What went wrong?
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Election 2019
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Dennis Skinner was known as the Beast of Bolsover
Veteran Labour politician Dennis Skinner, 87, has lost the seat he had held since 1970 after being defeated by Conservative Mark Fletcher. Why did 2019 prove to be an election too far for the so-called Beast of Bolsover?
Dennis Skinner was not present at the overnight count in his Derbyshire constituency, having recently undergone hip surgery.
His absence held a sad irony, given that he has been very much an ever-present in British politics for the best part of five decades.
Like him or loathe him, his memorable public image - the famous finger, the voice raised above the Commons cacophony - struck a chord with many.
Dennis Skinner famously used his fearsome forefinger to hammer home his points
He supported the miners through the strike and beyond, fought for their pensions rights and was suspended from the House of Commons numerous times for what was deemed "unparliamentary language".
His humorous heckles at the State Opening of Parliament became one of the endearing features of Commons life, where he became well-known for expressing his republican beliefs by heckling during the Queen's Speech ceremony.
His quips included "Tell her to pay her tax" in 1992 and "Have you got Helen Mirren on standby?" following the release of the film The Queen.
For decades Dennis Skinner (l), seen marching on Parliament with miners' president Arthur Scargill, represented Bolsover, a former industrial area
Within his Bolsover constituency Mr Skinner was, for many years, seen as part of the landscape.
The area includes many former pit communities which have struggled since the closure of the mines, with many blaming the situation on former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
For decades voters trusted Mr Skinner - himself a miner's son who worked down a pit - with representing their views.
Mother-of-six Mandy McKenna said it "hurt" to vote Conservative but she had "no faith" in Labour's leadership
Lifelong Bolsover resident and mother-of-six Mandy McKenna, 36, said people stopped trusting in Labour.
"Voting for Labour felt like a wasted vote," she said. "I voted for the Conservatives. It hurt - I didn't want to - but I felt I should vote for someone."
She said she felt "surprised" Mr Skinner lost his seat but added: "No-one round here has any faith in Jeremy Corbyn."
"It's the things he's done in the past, like the IRA stuff," she said. "If Labour got a new leader, people would be a lot happier.
"I think people voted more tactically than from actually wanting to vote for the Conservatives. My family have voted Labour all my life."
Malcolm Tomlinson says he could not vote for Jeremy Corbyn
Former miner Malcolm Tomlinson, 75, who took part in two strikes, said he voted Conservative and was happy with the result.
"I've voted Labour all my life but I just didn't like Corbyn or his cronies. It's nothing to do with Brexit, although we did vote leave. If Labour had a decent leader I wouldn't have changed.
"Bolsover hasn't had much money spent on it. I never see Dennis Skinner around."
He described the Labour party as "crippled" by the result.
"All that red gone - all those die-hard Labour voters changed sides. It's sad."
Nicky Cann, 29, who works in a pub said he also felt a sense of sadness.
"I'm gutted," he said. "Not about Labour losing but about Dennis Skinner. He was a good MP.
"I knew the Conservatives would win but didn't think it'd be here."
Rosalie Welton, (right) pictured with her friend Wendy O'Brien, said she "felt like a traitor" for not supporting Labour
Rosalie Welton, 75, a retired hospital worker, said she voted for the independent candidate.
"Corbyn has smashed Labour," she said. "I've voted for them for 50 years but they're nothing like what I used to vote for now.
"I felt like a traitor, I really did. But I was not going to vote for him - he wanted another referendum when we've already had one."
Karen Hepworth, 62, who runs a crafts stall in Bolsover, would not say how she had voted but blamed Jeremy Corbyn for the result.
"Everyone says the same thing: they don't like him and they're fed up with Brexit.
"We have absolutely nothing - it's disgraceful.
"If we lived down south, we'd not have this problem but they don't spend money here."
Karen Hepworth says the area has been neglected
The perception that the constituency had been neglected - particularly in the town of Shirebrook, the home of Mike Ashley's Sports Direct headquarters - rang true with many voters.
Troy Kissane, a plumber from Shirebrook, would not reveal how he voted but said Mr Skinner had, "had his time".
"He's way too old," he said. "This area has been solid Labour for years and years but that's all changed round since the Brexit vote.
"Shirebrook has had a huge amount of immigration to deal with and it's had a massive effect on things like doctors' surgeries.
But at the miners' welfare charity in Shirebrook, the post-election mood was one of disbelief and deflation.
Former miner Alan Gascoyne, now the charity secretary, said: "We're all in here slitting our wrists.
"Most of us would rather chop our hands off than put a cross in a box for a Tory. We never thought we would see this day."
Alan Gascoyne says he has had a "few arguments" with former miners who have voted Conservative in this election
And yet, Mr Gascoyne admits he does know some former miners who have voted Conservative.
"I've had a few arguments with people," he said. "Basically, there are two things that keep getting mentioned. The Labour party is seen as having stalled Brexit. When Theresa May got that deal, we should have supported it and got out.
"I suspect that, even though Dennis Skinner voted for Brexit, he has been tarred with that brush.
"And the other thing is Jeremy Corbyn. People don't like him. It feels as if the Labour leadership are London-based and have forgotten about these solid Labour areas. And people think, 'Well, we'll show them'."
Certainly, Mr Skinner's Conservative successor Mark Fletcher, who took 47% of the vote, as the chart above shows, is conscious that he has big boots to fill.
In an emotional tribute to the veteran, Mr Fletcher said: "Dennis Skinner has served this seat with tremendous distinction. He has been a wonderful constituency MP and he has inspired millions of people.
"I'm very sad he can't be here, because I haven't found a street that I've walked up and down in this constituency where Dennis hasn't helped somebody.
"Dennis, if you're watching, I want you to know the love and affection of the people of Bolsover is very much still with you."
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• None General election 2019: What questions do you have?
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Analysis: A mandate for Scottish independence? - BBC News
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2019-12-14
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Brian Taylor assesses the significance of the Scottish National Party's success in the general election.
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Election 2019
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Labour's Donald Dewar was the inaugural Scottish first minister
The issue of mandates has a venerable pedigree in Scottish politics. Venerable, but not always clear and sharp.
During a previous period of Scottish Labour frustration, the late Donald Dewar briefly flirted with the suggestion that the Tories had no mandate to govern Scotland, given their relative lack of MPs north of the border.
It swiftly occurred to the astute Mr Dewar that this was not an argument which sat at all easily with a Unionist perspective. It was duly dumped in favour of another more straightforward push for devolved self-government.
At the core of the Dewar dilemma there was a philosophical and psephological problem.
By challenging the Tory mandate, he was positing an argument based upon the presumption that Scottish voting held unique and unchallenged sway.
Nicola Sturgeon prespares to address the media after the SNP's impressive general election performance
A supporter of the Union will always argue - must always argue - that the Scottish perspective sits within and alongside the concerns of that wider UK electorate.
That fundamental argument is now back. In truth, it never went away. Nicola Sturgeon says she has a mandate to hold a further referendum on Scottish independence.
She says that mandate arises from a Holyrood vote, following her party's return to devolved power on a manifesto in a Scottish election which reserved the right to revisit the independence plebiscite if Scotland were to be taken out of the EU against the will of her people.
Overnight, she enhanced that argument somewhat. She said she now had to accept, with regret, that Boris Johnson had a mandate to take England out of the EU.
That mandate, she insisted, did not extend to Scotland. Indeed, by contrast, her party's stunning victory north of the border argued the exact contrary.
Now, from her perspective, this is all entirely understandable. She posits a Scottish voting bloc. She takes her instructions - strictly, her mandate - solely from that Scottish bloc.
Jackson Carlaw said he would support a no-deal Brexit
This is, of course, fundamental for the leader of her party. The clue lies in the name.
But, as Ms Sturgeon knows very well, no Unionist can accept such a mandate, at least not without qualifying it in the context of that Union.
So Tories - and others who support the Union - will say that Scotland voted, in 2014, to remain within the United Kingdom - and that the UK as a whole has just elected a Conservative government, with an instruction, a mandate, to get the UK out of the EU. Entire, as a whole.
Again, as Ms Sturgeon well understands, this fundamental division cannot be elided. It cannot be wished away.
And it now exists formally again. The returned prime minister has yet to say much, if anything, about Scotland, while basking in his UK victory.
But Jackson Carlaw, the interim Scots Tory leader, has said plenty. He insists that the Tories have been instructed to stand firm in defence of said Union. And they will do so, rejecting Ms Sturgeon's pressure for indyref2.
Ms Sturgeon will continue to insist upon her mandate, challenging her rivals to stand down, to give way. The Tories will continue to insist upon their UK mandate.
That way lies political stasis, at least in the short term. Ms Sturgeon wants a legally sanctioned referendum, not an unofficial ballot.
Given that, it is difficult to see what precise actions lie available to her. I think a law suit is improbable. The law is clear. The power to call a constitutional referendum rests with Westminster in the Scotland Act.
So perhaps, instead of mandate, we should consider momentum. Political muscle.
Ms Sturgeon's clout has palpably strengthened. She won more seats, more votes. She has evident momentum.
Consider the alternative. Had she lost votes and seats, the air would have been rich with supporters of the Union claiming that the case for indyref2 had gone backwards.
It has plainly gone forwards. If the Tories continue to resist, as they say they will, then this will, at the very minimum, be a core question at the next Holyrood elections in 2021.
Which is scarcely good news for other parties in Scotland as it will tend to polarise Scottish opinion still more sharply between the SNP and the Tories.
Richard Leonard and Jeremy Corbyn during Labour's Scottish conference in March
Labour, for example, has suffered a catastrophic result in Scotland, partly through a failure of leadership, but partly through vacillation on the two big issues of Brexit and independence.
As Kezia Dugdale said on the excellent BBC Scotland election results show (whaddya mean, you weren't watching?), if you stand in the middle of the road, you tend to get knocked down.
There will now be a period of soul-searching within Labour. The self-styled People's Party failed to persuade anything like enough people to support it.
By soul-searching, I mean an almighty rammy. But a rammy with nuance. Mr Corbyn is going, perhaps with a gentle push to ensure he moves over sooner.
But what of Richard Leonard? He has his critics - who say the party organisation in Scotland was lamentable, the seat targeting implausible and the message incoherent.
But, for now, those critics seem disinclined to move for Mr Leonard's replacement. The thought seems to be that they want the Left to "own" defeat, just as the Left were keen to trumpet the failure of other, earlier leaders.
Then there will be an endeavour at reform, including clarifying the party's stance on constitutional issues.
Some, like Lesley Laird on that same excellent programme, will lament that. They say these constitutional issues are a distraction.
As I noted on the same… (OK, enough plugs), that sounded to me exactly like the Tories. Devolution never mentioned on the doorsteps No appetite. They kept that refrain going up to the moment when they lost every Scottish Westminster seat in 1997.
And the Liberal Democrats. A sigh of relief at holding on to three seats. A whoop of delight at taking North East Fife. And a yell of despair at Jo Swinson's defeat.
But they are still there. Still in play. In a game, which just changed the rules again.
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Election results 2019: A constitutional collision course in Scotland - BBC News
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2019-12-14
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The results demonstrated the SNP's argument that Scotland and the rest of UK are moving in different political directions.
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Election 2019
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Nicola Sturgeon maintained throughout the election campaign that she did not want to see Boris Johnson returned to Downing Street as prime minister.
But the SNP leader knows that a majority Tory government in Westminster, while Scotland voted very differently, is the result most likely to advance her greatest ambition - independence for Scotland.
The party which dominates Scotland is now set on a constitutional collision course with the UK government.
The SNP's strongest argument is that Scotland and the rest of UK are moving in different political directions.
And that's been vividly demonstrated as England embraces the Tories whilst they have lost votes and lost seats north of the border.
The UK will now move on to leaving the EU at the same time as the two parties who campaigned to stop Brexit, the SNP and the Lib Dems, increased their vote share in Scotland.
The SNP took a gamble by making their demand for a second independence referendum central to their campaign. That's a policy that can enthuse their voters, but runs the risk of galvanizing people who don't want to leave the UK to turn out and vote against the SNP.
The Scottish Conservatives campaigned on a slogan of "Tell her again, say no to indyref2".
But that's not what happened. The Tories lost seven of their 13 Scottish seats and the SNP won 13. They now hold 48 of 59 MPs in Scotland, with one sitting as an independent.
Boris Johnson will refuse to grant the legal power to hold an independence vote
This result cannot be interpreted as an outright demand for Scottish independence. But the SNP will vigorously argue that it does mean Scotland must be allowed to make a choice about its future - inside or outside the UK.
Nicola Sturgeon says she won't pretend that every single person who voted SNP necessarily supports independence. But she will insist this result is a thumping endorsement of her demand for a second referendum.
She will make an official request in the next few days to be granted the legal power to hold an independence vote.
And we know that Boris Johnson will refuse, sparking a huge debate about whether the Conservatives are ignoring the democratic choice of Scottish voters.
It's a debate that can only escalate as we leave the EU - and one which may fuel support for independence itself.
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General election 2019: 'Bruising defeats' for DUP and Sinn Féin - BBC News
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2019-12-14
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From Nigel Dodds in North Belfast to Elisha McCallion in Foyle, the main parties suffered some blows.
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Northern Ireland
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This election has set the bar for unpredictable results, even by recent standards in Northern Ireland.
In 2017, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin ended up with all but one of the 18 Westminster seats allocated to Northern Ireland.
This time they have both suffered some bruising defeats.
Out of all the Northern Ireland parties the DUP had the most to lose.
After the last general election, it found itself to be a kingmaker, securing 10 seats and holding the balance of power in a hung Parliament.
But as the exit poll declared Boris Johnson was on course for a big majority, some DUP faces already looked downbeat.
What followed was to be a bruising night for the unionist party, dropping from three seats in Belfast to just one.
It had already been facing a tough fight to retain its South Belfast seat but the effect of losing Nigel Dodds, the party's deputy leader, in North Belfast, is much more significant.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. 'Pan-nationalist front has come to fruition again'
He had held the seat since 2001 and was regarded as the DUP's most experienced and savvy operator in the House of Commons.
It had been expected to be a close fight but in the end Mr Dodds lost by 1,943 votes to John Finucane of Sinn Féin.
It is worth remembering the nationalist parties had agreed a pro-Remain electoral pact in North Belfast - the SDLP for the first time agreed not to stand a candidate.
It appears to have benefited both parties with the decision in return paying off for the SDLP in South Belfast, where Sinn Féin agreed not to stand in order to maximise the pro-Remain vote to unseat Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP.
That pact did not apply in Foyle, however, where SDLP leader Colum Eastwood unseated Sinn Féin's Elisha McCallion and she saw a huge decrease in her vote - that will be a bitter pill to swallow.
Elisha McCallion congratulated Colum Eastwood, who took her seat in Foyle
Mr Eastwood had argued that in order to effect change MPs need to take their seats - an argument against abstentionism that voters in Foyle clearly backed.
Given the SDLP lost all three of its Westminster seats in 2017, winning back South Belfast and Foyle - both with massive majorities - makes them the comeback kids of this election.
It was the only party not to stand aside in any constituency as part of an electoral pact, a decision it argues has paid off with its vote up across the board.
There were shockwaves when it first emerged in North Down that the Alliance Party's Stephen Farry was on course to take the seat vacated by independent unionist Lady Hermon.
Stephen Farry beat the DUP's Alex Easton to take the seat in North Down
Many commentators had predicted the DUP's Alex Easton, who came a close second in 2017, would secure it.
Few bet that the Alliance surge witnessed in the council and European elections - which use a different voting system than first-past-the-post - would translate to a seat for the party on the green benches.
Not only did he win the seat but the party's deputy leader took an even bigger vote than Lady Hermon did two years ago.
The Ulster Unionist leader Steve Aiken, having only taken over a month ago, is already in a tough spot and faces some difficult choices going forward.
He ended up in third in the race for East Antrim, miles behind the DUP and the Alliance Party.
He may also come to regret standing aside for the DUP in North Belfast - when he had originally intended to run candidates in all 18 constituencies but bowed to pressure from within unionism and faced threats from loyalist paramilitaries.
Some voters may have used their ballot to punish Northern Ireland's big two parties
For the first time, unionism no longer has a majority at Westminster or Stormont - a statistic many would have believed unthinkable just a few years ago.
And what about the national picture - what does that mean for Northern Ireland?
It looks like Boris Johnson will be able to press ahead with his Brexit deal through Parliament in spite of opposition from the DUP - the party's influence is gone and its concerns about the withdrawal agreement will probably fall on deaf ears.
It was noticeable that the DUP MPs who did retain their seats used their victory speeches to urge the return of power-sharing in Northern Ireland.
After the last general election the DUP and Sinn Féin were riding respective waves of success at Westminster and felt no need to go back to Stormont.
Two and a half years on, with devolution still not back in place, perhaps some voters used their ballot to punish the big two parties this time.
Another round of talks is due to begin on 16 December aimed at kick-starting Stormont.
If it fails the government has insisted a new Northern Ireland Assembly election will be called.
Given the latest results the DUP and Sinn Féin might not be keen on facing the wrath of some voters at the ballot box again so soon.
And anyway, indications during the campaign pointed to the two parties already moving towards some kind of compromise.
The question now is what exactly that compromise will entail and just how soon they will reach it.
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Climate change: Call for 'flexibility' to reach consensus at talks - BBC News
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2019-12-14
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UN climate change talks in Madrid are struggling to reach agreement on crucial measures.
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Science & Environment
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Talks in Madrid have gone into extra time as delegates try to agree on measures
The Chilean official leading UN climate talks in Madrid has called on delegates to show flexibility, as they struggle to reach agreement on crucial measures needed to tackle climate change.
The negotiations, which were scheduled to end on Friday, continued throughout Saturday and into Sunday morning.
Carolina Schmidt said a deal was almost there but the outcome needed to be ambitious.
The goal is a commitment to new carbon emissions cuts by the end of 2020.
The European Union and small island states vulnerable to climate change are pushing for stronger commitments to cut those emissions. Some of the biggest polluters, including the United States, Brazil and India, say they see no need to change their current plans.
Ms Schmidt, Chile's environment minister who is the conference's president, said early on Sunday: "I request all the flexibility, all your strength to find this agreement to have an ambitious result."
She added: "It's hard, it's difficult but it's worth it. I specially need you. But people in our countries need us."
On Saturday, a new draft text from the meeting was released, designed to chart a way forward for the parties to the Paris agreement, which came into being in 2015.
The pact's intention is to keep the global average temperature rise to well below 2C. This was regarded at the time as the threshold for dangerous global warming, though scientists subsequently shifted the definition of the "safe" limit to a rise of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
The situation was unprecedented since talks began in 1991, said Alden Meyer from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
He commented: "The latest version of the Paris Agreement decision text put forward by the Chilean presidency is totally unacceptable. It has no call for countries to enhance the ambition of their emissions reduction commitments.
"If world leaders fail to increase ambition in the lead up to next year's climate summit in Glasgow, they will make the task of meeting the Paris agreement's 'well below 2C' temperature limitation goal - much less the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal - almost impossible."
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His view was echoed by David Waskow, international climate director for the World Resources Institute (WRI). "If this text is accepted, the low ambition coalition will have won the day," he said.
The conference in the Spanish capital has become enmeshed in deep, technical arguments about a number of issues including the role of carbon markets and the financing of loss and damage caused by rising temperatures.
Responding to the messages from science and from climate strikers, the countries running this 26th conference of the parties (COP) meeting are keen to have a final decision here that would see countries put new, ambitious plans to cut carbon on the table.
According to the UN, 84 countries have promised to enhance their national plans by the end of next year. Some 73 have said they will set a long-term target of net zero by the middle of the century.
But earlier in the meeting, negotiators from the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) pointed the finger of blame at countries including Australia, the United States, Canada, Russia, India, China and Brazil.
Protests led by young delegates have seen up to 200 protestors ejected from the talks
They had failed to submit revised plans that would help the world keep the rise in global temperatures under 1.5C this century.
At a "stock-taking" session on Saturday morning, Tina Stege, a negotiator with the Marshall Islands delegation, said: "I need to go home and look my kids in the eye and tell them we came out with an outcome that will ensure their future."
She added: "The text must address the need for new and more ambitious NDCs and long-term goals. We can't leave with anything else."
Reinforcing the sense of division, India, supported by China, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, has been taking a hard line on promises made by richer countries in previous agreements before the Paris pact was signed in 2015.
The deal saw every country, India included, sign up to take actions.
This was a key concession to the richer nations who insisted that the deal would only work if everyone pledged to cut carbon, unlike previous agreements in which only the better off had to limit their CO2.
Some visitors have other things to do at the COP
But India now wants to see evidence that in the years up to 2020, the developed world has lived up to past promises.
For many delegates, the deadlock is intensely frustrating in light of the urgent need to tackle emissions.
"I've been attending these climate negotiations since they first started in 1991. But never have I seen the almost total disconnect we've seen here at COP25 in Madrid between what the science requires and the people of the world demand, and what the climate negotiations are delivering in terms of meaningful action," said Alden Meyer.
"The planet is on fire and our window of escape is getting harder and harder to reach the longer we wait to act. Ministers here in Madrid must strengthen the final decision text, to respond to the mounting impacts of climate change that are devastating both communities and ecosystems all over the world."
Jake Schmidt, from the US-based Natural Resources Defense Council, said: "In Madrid, the key polluting countries responsible for 80% of the world's climate-wrecking emissions stood mute, while smaller countries announced they'll work to drive down harmful emissions in the coming year.
"The mute majority must step up, and ramp up, their commitments to tackle the growing climate crisis well ahead of the COP26 gathering."
Also on Saturday, activists staged a protest outside the summit venue to express their frustration at what they see as the failure of world leaders in taking meaningful action on climate change.
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General election 2019: Under-30s question politicians in TV debate - BBC News
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2019-12-10
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The BBC Question Time debate also saw fiery exchanges on climate change, electoral reform and trust.
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Election 2019
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Senior politicians faced questions on housing, climate change and trust from an audience of young people in a Question Time election special.
The election debate also saw exchanges over Brexit and the possibility of another referendum.
Labour's Angela Rayner clashed with Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage over what she said was a racist referendum poster, in one of the fieriest clashes.
The UK goes to the polls in a general election on Thursday.
Sitting on the panel were:
This special edition of Question Time certainly didn't lack passion or drama. At times it was lively and bad tempered, with the politicians talking over one another as they tried to win over younger voters.
We heard the now familiar arguments about Brexit which have been at the heart of this election campaign, but the politicians were also challenged over other issues such as changing the voting system which haven't made the headlines.
This wasn't a debate that saw seven party leaders go head-to-head, although four did take part, and as such was unlikely to deliver a knockout blow or even produce a clear winner.
And it probably won't have converted anyone who was already determined to vote for a particular party.
The young voters in the audience will deliver their verdict, along with the rest of the country on Thursday.
But the gap between the current generation of political leaders and the under 30s was most vividly illustrated by the question about home ownership and underlined the challenge facing whoever is in power on Friday morning.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. General election 2019: Politicians on when they bought their first house
On the subject of housing, the panel were asked what age they were when they bought their own home.
Mr Farage was the youngest, buying a property at 22, and Mr Price was the oldest at 30.
Mr Farage linked housing problems to population growth which prompted Mr Yousaf to accuse the Brexit Party leader of blaming "everything on immigrants".
He argued that "One of the best things that we [the Scottish government] did was abolish the right to buy when it came to council houses."
Mr Jenrick said it was his "personal mission to help more young people on to the housing ladder" adding that his party would "offer discounts and help with deposits".
While Ms Rayner said she would "make no apologies" for Labour wanting to build 100,000 council homes or introduce rent controls.
Audience member Aiden Booth asked the panel how governments could say they are serious about climate change without dealing with one of the biggest contributors, meat consumption.
Mr Jenrick said the Conservatives would not "ban people from eating meat", but would instead encourage people to live environmentally by investing in public transport and energy efficient measure.
But Ms Swinson attacked the government's record saying it had abolished the climate change department and blocked subsidies for wind farms.
She said tackling climate change "cannot wait" drawing attention to the case of Ella Kissi-Debrah who died aged nine in 2013 after having seizures for three years.
Mr Bartley said: "We can solve the climate emergency and reverse austerity if we're willing to make the right choices."
He added: "If the climate were a bank, we would have bailed it out by now."
On Brexit, Ms Rayner said in another referendum she would vote to leave the EU if "we get a deal that protects jobs and the economy". Labour has said that, if elected, it would renegotiate a new Brexit deal which would then be put back to the country in a referendum along with an option to remain in the EU.
Mr Price, whose party wants another referendum, argued that "the people are entitled to change their mind". He said "the opinion polls show a shift" in opinion but added that "only the people can end the impasse".
Asked if he took responsibility for the instability in politics in the years since the referendum, Mr Jenrick said he wished "we had managed to get Brexit done a long time ago", claiming that Parliament had blocked the process.
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Mr Yousaf said Scotland was the only nation "to get shafted" in the wake of Brexit. He argued that England and Wales voted to Leave, while Northern Ireland who voted to Remain would get a "differentiated deal".
Mr Farage accused the other five parties of having "broken their promise" to respect the result of the referendum.
The debate became particularly heated over a poster on immigration Mr Farage unveiled during the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Ms Rayner told the Brexit Party leader to "stop peddling hate in our country". Mr Farage hit back accusing the Labour politician of "bile and prejudice".
The panellists were also asked about how they would improve trust in politics.
Mr Price said he would introduce a bill to "make lying by politicians a criminal offence" while Mr Farage promised to tackle postal vote fraud and abolish the House of Lords.
"I won't lie and I'll call out the people who do," replied Ms Rayner.
Mr Jenrick vowed to "deliver the outcome of the referendum" while Ms Swinson said she would "stick to my principles" on Brexit "whether it is popular or not".
Mr Yousaf said his party would "fulfil the promise of the manifesto we stood on".
And Mr Bartley proposed lifting "the ceiling on the fines" that can be implemented by the Electoral Commission.
Young people make up a big share of non-voters in the UK - the British Election Study estimates that between 40-50% of those aged 18 to their mid-20s voted in 2015 and 2017 compared with about 80% of voters aged in their 70s.
Polling expert Sir John Curtice says age is "the division that nowadays lies at the heart of British party politics and will play a significant role on 12 December".
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As it happened: Latest from the campaign trail - BBC News
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2019-12-10
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Updates as politicians continued to seek voters' support, ahead of Thursday's poll.
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Election 2019
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The first question in the Northern Ireland leaders' debate is: Do you believe Brexit makes a united Ireland more likely?
Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Colum Eastwood is first to answer.
"We have to deal with the crisis that we're in, which is Brexit," he says, adding: "It's already shaken our peace process."
Mr Eastwood says he's backing another referendum and wants to be part of a "pro-Remain coalition".
DUP chief whip Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says he does not believe there's an "existential threat" to NI's position within the UK.
"We can't go on with this situation where we ignore what people say," he says. "The poll was held, the people voted."
He said the DUP has been "absolutely crucial" when it comes to Brexit, adding that it blocked the Brexit deal.
Ulster Unionist Party leader Steve Aiken clashes with Sir Jeffrey over the DUP's stance on the Brexit deal.
Mr Aiken says that on the 2 October, DUP leader Arlene Foster said the deal was sensible. "You agreed on the 2 October to put a border down the Irish Sea."
Sinn Fein vice-president Michelle O'Neill says: "There's nothing good to come from Brexit."
Referring to the original question about a united Ireland, she says Brexit "certainly makes people focus their minds about where people think their interests are best served".
The leader of Alliance, Naomi Long, says Brexit has "certainly made Northern Ireland less stable".
She says it has brought arguments around borders back to the fore.
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Racism in football: Reporting process is 'broken' - BBC News
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2019-12-26
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Complaints about racism often become "one word against another", a coach says.
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Wales
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The number of matches in England and Wales where a hate crime was reported increased by 47% last season
The way racism is reported in grassroots football is "broken" and needs an overhaul, a coach has said.
Complaints of racism too often become "one word against another", according to award-winning coach Delwyn Derrick.
A multi-ethnic side from Cardiff said they regularly experienced abuse from spectators and found it "disheartening" when complaints were dismissed.
Welsh football's governing body said it aims to create an "inclusive, welcoming and safe environment" for all players.
In the 2018-19 season, the number of matches in England and Wales where a hate crime was reported increased by 47%, from 131 matches to 193, according to Home Office figures.
The Football Association of Wales (FAW) said "racism is a societal issue, rather than a football issue".
Delwyn Derrick (right) was awarded the BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality Unsung Hero 2019 by Mickey Thomas
Mr Derrick won the 2019 BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality Unsung Hero award for his work managing Wrexham-based Bellevue FC.
"The reporting system is broken," he said
"The system is: You send in a complaint by email, once that's received by the regional football association or the FAW, they investigate by asking for the observations of the other club.
"Immediately that becomes one word against another - it becomes an argument."
The FAW deals with complaints in the top four tiers of Welsh football, while incidents in the lower tiers are investigated by regional football associations.
Of the six charges alleging racism brought by the FAW since September 2015, only one was found proven by the FAW disciplinary panel.
There is a "lack of confidence" in the way regional associations deal with complaints, according to Jason Webber from Show Racism the Red Card.
Raphael Kingsley (left) and Rizwan Ahmed say they have lost all confidence in the system
AFC Butetown, from one of the most multicultural areas of Cardiff, play in the South Wales Alliance League.
Players Raphael Kingsley and Rizwan Ahmed said the team has lost all confidence in the associations' ability to stamp out racism.
While playing a team in the south Wales valleys this season, they say their striker was called the n-word by a spectator.
It was reported but "nothing was done about it", Mr Ahmed said.
He added: "It is frustrating. You go down the right routes, the right protocols they tell you to go down - you do the right things and nothing gets done."
Hermon Yohanes says he was racially abused during the "worst game of his life"
Hermon Yohanes, of Cardiff-based STM Sport, said he was racially abused during the first half of a game against Wrexham's Cefn Albion FC in March.
"They were talking about my family, using the n-word and dog. It was the worst game of my life," the Eritrean-born 23-year-old said.
Mr Yohanes, who moved to Wales in 2011, said he told the referee about the abuse at half time and complained to police and the FAW after the game.
In July the charge was found not proven, leaving Mr Yohanes "gutted and disappointed".
The alleged racist abuse happened during a game between STM Sport and Cefn Albion at Latham Park, Newtown, in March
Dyfed-Powys Police said it investigated but found insufficient evidence "to prove the identity of the offender".
The FAW said it "thoroughly investigated" the allegation but it was found not proven due to a lack of evidence.
A spokesman said STM Sport were "encouraged" to give evidence, but "this was rejected by the individuals".
At the time, Cefn Albion said it was "delighted and relieved to have been vindicated on these serious allegations".
Sean Wharton - a former professional footballer from Cwmbran who played for teams including Cardiff City and Sunderland - said he was regularly the victim of racism during his playing career.
Sean Wharton educates young people about racism for the Show Racism the Red Card charity
Now an anti-racism educator for Show Racism the Red Card, Mr Wharton said racism could have a "massive effect".
"There is research which shows that racism has a negative impact on players' mental health in terms of confidence, in terms of belonging, in terms of self-belonging," he said.
"You can't underestimate the impact that racism has on individuals within football and society. It makes you question who you are and your self-worth and self-belief."
FAW accounts show a turnover of almost £13m last year. Its only spending on fighting racism was a £19,000 grant to Show Racism the Red Card.
The FAW said it worked with other anti-discrimination charities and campaigns, including Stonewall, We Wear the Same Shirt and UEFA Respect/Equal Game.
To be "anti-racist" rather than "non-racist", Mr Wharton said football chiefs need to believe victims who are "fed up of nothing happening" when they report racism.
Societal hate crime recorded by police in Wales rose by 14% last year, according to Home Office figures.
Mr Derrick agreed with the FAW that problems with racism in football were a reflection of society, but called for independent adjudicators at games.
The FAW said the referee is the independent adjudicator at every game and encouraged all victims of racism to report it.
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Women in Scotland 'appalled' by violence during sex on dates - BBC News
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2019-12-05
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Campaigners call for the law surrounding the issue of consent in sexual violence crimes to be toughened up.
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Scotland
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Fiona Mackenzie set up the campaign group We Can't Consent To This
Women in Scotland are frequently "appalled" at the violence they experience during sex with men they are on a date with, activists say.
Campaign group We Can't Consent To This said it knew of victims - many aged in their 40s or 50s - who had been strangled, slapped and spat on.
The group said brutality that features in pornography was often to blame.
They are calling for the law surrounding the issue of consent in sexual violence crimes to be toughened.
It follows a number of recent murder trials in which a "rough sex" defence has been used by the accused.
This argument is sometimes used in court when a man has been accused of killing or attacking a woman while having consensual sex.
An accused's legal team may bring up the victim's sexual preferences or argue she "asked" for the act of violence that led to her death or injury.
In the recent case of Grace Millane, a 21-year-old British backpacker who was murdered while on a date in New Zealand, the defence unsuccessfully argued she died after being consensually choked during sex.
University of Lincoln graduate Grace Millane was on a round-the-world trip at the time of her death
While her killer was convicted of murder, campaigners say they have now seen a surge in this sort of defence being used during trials in the UK - often resulting in a lesser conviction such as manslaughter.
We Can't Consent To This is pushing for clarification that individuals cannot consent to violent acts during consensual sex in Scots law.
Founder Fiona Mackenzie said women often do not see this sort of violence as assault, rather as something they've "put themselves into".
"There's one thing that's extremely concerning which is the widespread normalisation of violence against women in sex," she said.
"We hear from women who have been choked, punched, slapped and spat on. I think that's really concerning and I think that's meaning that these defences are much more likely to work."
Last week, the BBC published research that suggests that more than a third of women, aged between 18 and 39, had experienced unwanted slapping, choking, gagging or spitting during consensual sex.
However, Ms Mackenzie said that since launching her campaign, a large proportion of the women she has heard from are aged in their 40s and 50s while some have even been in their 60s.
She said: "We hear particularly from women who return to dating after maybe a long relationship who are appalled by the level of violence they are being subjected to.
"I don't think it is just the younger age groups."
Ms Mackenzie opened up about her own experience of violence during sex after being choked by a partner.
She continued: "I'd like to say it was a long time ago but I think even at the time I blamed myself, I thought it was something that I was responsible for.
"Many of these women live with quite extreme trauma, they can't wear clothing that's close to their neck or jewellery.
"Many of them say they just don't date men anymore because it's too scary and they've been assaulted too many times. Being subjected to that kind of assault is absolutely terrifying."
In 2009, the law in Scotland changed to clamp down on the possession of violent pornography.
The law was clarified to ban "realistic depictions" of rape attacks as well as life-threatening and violent sexual acts, bestiality and necrophilia.
A 2016 study indicated a majority of children are exposed to online pornography by their early teens, which researchers called "worrying".
Ms Mackenzie said that while the effort to clamp down on violent pornography in Scotland was important, it is "almost never enforced."
She continued: "If you go onto any of the main porn sites you see again and again, women being strangled to unconsciousness.
"I would hope that porn companies would take action to crack down on that - I don't think they have any incentive to at the moment.
"We hear that pornography is normalising the choking of women in sex - we hear from men who use pornography that that's where it's coming from."
At present the campaign has no concrete changes to present to Holyrood but has urged the Scottish Law Commission to clarify that a person cannot consent to violence leading to injury.
Ms Mackenzie, whose campaign has backing from charities such as Zero Tolerance, said that societal changes were crucial.
She has called for more public bodies to collect data on the issue as well as better sex education in schools and a review of how police handle complaints from potential victims.
Prior to the suspension of the Westminster parliament, changes to the Domestic Abuse Bill were proposed in England and Wales to reinforce the fact that consent can be no defence for death. There have been calls for the bill to be reintroduced after the general election.
The Scottish government said it was aware of cases in Scotland where the accused has argued the victim consented to the acts resulting in their death, but these resulted in conviction for murder or culpable homicide.
It said it had strengthened the criminal law on sexual offences, that the law was being kept under review and it will carefully consider any proposals to reform it.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-50662291
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Labour plans will 'slow' climate change fight, says energy firm - BBC News
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2019-12-05
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The boss of Scottish Power says nationalising the energy industry will delay reaching a zero carbon future.
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Election 2019
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. 'Private investment is bringing down the cost of renewable energy'
Nationalising UK energy companies will delay the UK's move towards a zero carbon future, according to the chief executive of Scottish Power, Keith Anderson.
He said that investment by the private sector had seen the cost of renewable energy plummet over the last decade and that debates about nationalisation would only serve as a distraction from averting a climate emergency.
"We need to focus on hitting zero carbon by 2050. Anything else is a distraction.
"Having big arguments about who owns what is the worst thing we could do right now. It would slow everything down when what we need to do is speed up."
A Labour spokesman said Mr Anderson's comments were "hardly surprising" as they represented "vested interests".
"Labour has set out our plans to dramatically expand the rollout of renewable generation - so that we can hit net zero by the 2030s - not 2050," he said.
"While generous public subsidies have led to some private sector investment in renewable generation, private ownership of the UK's grid has been a disaster, with shareholder dividends prioritised over investment."
Mr Anderson told the BBC: "We estimate we need to install 4,000 electric car charging points a day between now and 31 December 2050, and if we delay that for a year arguing about ownership that is 1.5 million charging points that won't get installed in time."
Labour says it would increase charging points at a faster rate than the private sector has managed. But Mr Anderson said that competition and innovation had revolutionised his company and the industry.
"If you look back 20 years we were predominantly a coal burning generator. Now, we have shut down all our coal mines, got rid of gas and we are now a 100% renewable energy company. That's what we want us and other companies to deliver."
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has described Labour's plans as radical
Labour plans to nationalise the big six energy providers and divide their assets, workforce and customers into 14 state-owned regional agencies.
It's not just energy. A Labour government would also take water, the Royal Mail and BT's broadband business into public ownership.
So how much would this cost?
That's a tricky question to answer. Labour say parliament would decide how much to pay the current owners - which of course includes many worker's pension funds - but the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates it would add at least £200bn to government debt.
However, the government would collect the associated revenue - apart from broadband which it eventually wants to give away for free.
Arguments about who is better at delivering key public services and utilities are not new.
But the Labour Party manifesto proposes one of the most radical overhauls of how companies are owned and run in decades.
The private sector will tell you that the prospect of nationalisation is deterring private investment at a crucial time - while Labour would say only the state has the power to borrow and invest at the scale and pace that's needed.
In Scotland, as in most of Europe, the water industry is already nationalised and the SNP wants to extend public ownership of rail, buses and ferries.
Prof Andrew Cumbers of Glasgow University says that many breakthroughs in innovation and technology - particularly in renewable energy - have been achieved thanks to state subsidies.
"It sounds radical but it's only what happens in many other countries. The government can borrow much more cheaply than companies. If you leave it all to the private sector, research and development inevitably gets cut to divert profits into shareholder dividends."
Smaller companies - such as Bulb, Ovo and Octopus in energy, and Virgin Media and Talk Talk in broadband - would not face nationalisation. That would leave them competing with the state.
Tough if you are giving services like broadband away for free or others at less than market prices.
Even Labour describe their own policies as radical. On that at least business would agree.
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Russia deploys Avangard hypersonic missile system - BBC News
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2019-12-27
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President Putin says the nuclear-capable Avangard missiles put Russia in a class of its own.
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Europe
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A still from the defence ministry video shows an Avangard warhead (computer simulation)
Russia's first regiment of Avangard hypersonic missiles has been put into service, the defence ministry says.
The location was not given, although officials had earlier indicated they would be deployed in the Urals.
President Vladimir Putin has said the nuclear-capable missiles can travel more than 20 times the speed of sound and put Russia ahead of other nations.
They have a "glide system" that affords great manoeuvrability and could make them impossible to defend against.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu confirmed the "Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle entered service at 10:00 Moscow time on 27 December", calling it a "landmark event".
Mr Putin said on Tuesday the Avangard system could penetrate current and future missile defence systems, adding: "Not a single country possesses hypersonic weapons, let alone continental-range hypersonic weapons."
The West and other nations were "playing catch-up with us", he said.
Mr Putin unveiled the Avangard and other weapons systems in his annual state-of-the-nation address in March 2018, likening it to a "meteorite" and a "fireball".
In December 2018, the weapon hit a practice target 6,000km (3,700 miles) away in a test launch at Dombarovskiy missile base in the southern Ural Mountains.
"The Avangard is invulnerable to intercept by any existing and prospective missile defence means of the potential adversary," Mr Putin said after the test.
Putin watches on as the Russian military tests the Avangard missile system in December 2018
Mounted on top of an intercontinental ballistic missile, the Avangard can carry a nuclear weapon of up to two megatons. Russia's defence ministry has released video of the Avangard system, but weapons experts have expressed scepticism about its effectiveness.
In a statement, the Pentagon said it would "not characterise the Russian claims" about the Avangard's capabilities. The US has its own hypersonic missile programme, as does China, which in 2014 said it had conducted a test flight of such as weapon.
On 26 November Russia allowed US experts to inspect the Avangard under the rules of the 2010 New START treaty, an agreement that seeks to reduce the number of strategic nuclear missile launchers.
The New START accord, which expires in February 2021, is the last major nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the US.
In August this year, the US withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which was signed by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987.
US President Donald Trump said he wanted a new nuclear pact to be signed by both Russia and China.
It is hard to determine if Russia's new Avangard hypersonic missile system really has entered service, as Moscow claims, or if this is just an advanced phase of field testing.
But President Putin's eagerness to claim bragging rights is to some extent justified. Russia looks to be ahead in the hypersonic stakes. China is also developing such systems; while the US appears to be somewhat behind.
Hypersonic missiles, as their name implies, fly very fast, at above Mach 5 - ie at least five times the speed of sound.
They can be cruise-type missiles, powered throughout their flight. Or, they can be carried aloft on board a ballistic missile from which the hypersonic "glide vehicle" separates and then flies to its target.
Such "boost-glide" systems, as they are known (Avangard appears to be one of these), are launched like a traditional ballistic missile, but instead of following an arc high above the atmosphere, the re-entry vehicle is put on a trajectory that allows it to enter Earth's atmosphere quite quickly, before gliding, un-powered, for hundreds or thousands of kilometres.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Russia released footage of two hypersonic systems in July 2018 - but was also concerned about a suspected leak of secrets
It is not so much the speed of the hypersonic weapon alone that counts. It is its extraordinary manoeuvrability as it glides towards its target.
Indeed the glide vehicle's trajectory, "surfing along the edge of the atmosphere" as one expert put it to me recently, presents any defensive system with additional problems.
Thus, if Russia's claims are true, it has developed a long-range intercontinental missile system that may well be impossible to defend against.
The announcement that Avangard is operational heralds a new and dangerous era in the nuclear arms race.
It confirms once again President Putin's focus on bolstering and modernising Russia's nuclear arsenal. It's indicative of the return of great power competition.
Some analysts might well see Russia's development programme as a long-term strategy to cope with Washington's abiding interest in anti-missile defences. The US argument that these are purely designed to counter missiles from "rogue-states" like Iran or North Korea has carried little weight in Moscow.
This all comes at a time when the whole network of arms control agreements inherited from the Cold War is collapsing.
One crucial treaty - the New START agreement - is due to expire in February 2021. Russia seems willing to extend the agreement but the Trump administration has so far appeared sceptical.
With a whole new generation of nuclear weapons at the threshold of entering service, many believe not just that existing agreements should be bolstered, but that new treaties are needed to manage what could turn into a new nuclear arms race.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50927648
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news_world-europe-50927648
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WTO chief: 'Months' needed to fix disputes body - BBC News
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2019-12-11
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The system for resolving world trade disputes grinds to a halt after the US blocks any new WTO judges.
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Business
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Director General of the World Trade Organisation Roberto Azevedo says it will take "a few months" to fix its main body for settling trade disputes.
It has ground to a halt because the US has blocked the appointment of new judges.
A minimum of three are needed and today there is just one in place.
The Appellate Body has the final say on disputes that cover billions of dollars of international trade and its decisions are supposed to be binding.
However, now that it has ceased to function and can't take on new cases Mr Azevedo conceded that "significant changes in the dispute settlement mechanism" will be needed and that "intensive consultations" will start immediately.
These are likely to include "looking at issues like how fast can the disputes settlement work", he said in a BBC interview
The WTO's Appellate Body's been called "probably the busiest international dispute settlement system in the world"
Those changes are being demanded by President Trump's administration in Washington. Their argument is that the WTO has treated the United States unfairly. Some of their criticisms are shared by other countries but others are not. Despite this Mr Azevedo says that Donald Trump's tenure as US president is not a barrier to reaching a solution.
"It's whether we can find fixes that everybody can live with".
He adds that, "these are extremely complex conversations and negotiations and very political in nature, so we have to understand this is not something that is going to be solved overnight, just like that".
Mr Trump's role is disputed by Professor James Bacchus, a former chairman, or chief judge, of the WTO Appellate Body as well as a former US trade negotiator. He told the BBC there is "little chance of resolving this while Donald Trump is still president in a way that will continue to preserve the independence and impartiality of the Appellate Body and the rest of the WTO dispute settlement system".
He says that whilst the US has won the vast majority of cases it has bought at the WTO it has repeatedly violated the trade remedies imposed on it by the organisation.
President Trump has denied that he would pull the US out of the WTO
Professor Bacchus says that many of the US claims against the WTO are "trumped up".
The US, however, thinks that the WTO dispute system interprets the WTO rules in a way that creates new obligations for WTO members, according to US ambassador to the WTO, Dennis Shea.
One area that particularly grates in Washington is dumping, when a foreign supplier sells goods abroad more cheaply than at home. The US and others have used a disputed method for assessing whether goods have been dumped and how much the the price is below what it should be.
It's not explicitly prohibited by the WTO rules, but the Appellate Body took the view that it was in effect against their spirit.
Professor Bacchus says that immobilizing the WTO Appellate Body is an attempt by the US to replace the rule of law in trade "with the rule of power".
Instead of turning to the WTO President Trump has repeatedly used tariffs to address his trade concerns, seeing them as a way to gain leverage over his adversaries. This has meant tit for tat tariffs against China in what is becoming a protracted trade war. They have also been used in disputes with countries including Brazil, Argentina, Turkey and the European Union.
With the WTO paralysed, these other countries may now be tempted to lend their support to the EU plans for a new an alternative interim system for settling international trade disputes. China, the world's second biggest economy, is also now reported to be looking to support the move.
In a statement the EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan said the WTO's problems are a "regrettable and very serious blow to the international rules-based trade system". And despite believing that a "comprehensive package of reform" is needed for the WTO he thinks it remains indispensable for ensuring open and fair trade.
The WTO's Director General isn't concerned that any interim arrangement for settling disputes, however widely supported, will replaced his organization just 24 years after it was founded.
Mr Azevedo says "I think what we need to do is not lose focus on finding the permanent solution while at the same time we're working on some temporary fixes".
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Nicola Sturgeon: Scotland 'cannot be imprisoned' in UK - BBC News
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2019-12-15
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The Scottish first minister tells the BBC that if the union is to continue, "it can only be by consent".
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Election 2019
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Nicola Sturgeon told the BBC's Andrew Mar Show that Scotland 'cannot be imprisoned' in UK
Scotland "cannot be imprisoned in the union against its will" by the UK government, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The Scottish first minister says the SNP's success in the general election gives her a mandate to hold a new referendum on independence.
However, UK ministers are opposed to such a move with Michael Gove saying the vote in 2014 should be "respected".
Ms Sturgeon told the BBC that if the UK was to continue as a union, "it can only be by consent".
She told The Andrew Marr Show that the UK government would be "completely wrong" to think saying no to a referendum would be the end of the matter, adding: "It's a fundamental point of democracy - you can't hold Scotland in the union against its will."
However Mr Gove told the Sophy Ridge programme on Sky that "we were told in 2014 that that would be a choice for a generation - we are not going to have an independence referendum in Scotland".
The SNP won a landslide of Scottish seats in the snap general election, making gains from the Conservatives and Labour and unseating Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson.
However UK-wide the Conservatives won a comfortable majority, returning Boris Johnson to Downing Street and setting up a constitutional stand-off over Scotland's future.
The Scottish government wants a referendum deal with UK ministers similar to that which underpinned the 2014 vote, to ensure that the outcome is legal and legitimate - but are facing opposition from the UK government.
Ms Sturgeon said it was "fundamentally not democratic" for Mr Johnson to rule out a referendum when his party had been "defeated comprehensively" in Scotland - losing seven of its 13 seats while standing on a platform of opposition to independence.
Ms Sturgeon was speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show
The SNP leader said: "I said this to him on Friday night on the telephone - if he thinks saying no is the end of the matter then he's going to find himself completely and utterly wrong.
"It's a fundamental point of democracy - you can't hold Scotland in the union against its will. You can't lock us in a cupboard and turn the key and hope everything goes away.
"If the UK is to continue it can only be by consent. If Boris Johnson is confident in the case for the union he should be confident enough to make that case and allow people to decide.
"Scotland cannot be imprisoned within the United Kingdom against its will. These are just basic statements of democracy."
Ms Sturgeon added: "The risk for the Conservatives here is the more they try to block the will of the Scottish people, the more utter contempt they show for Scottish democracy, the more they will increase support for Scottish independence - which in a sense is them doing my job for me.
"The momentum and the mandate is on the side of those of us who think Scotland should be independent, but also on the side of those who want Scotland to be able to chose its own future."
Mr Johnson returned to Downing Street on Friday after the Conservatives won a big majority in the election
Mr Johnson spoke to Ms Sturgeon on the phone after being returned to government, and told her that he "remains opposed" to a second independence vote.
A Downing Street spokesman said the prime minster was "standing with the majority of people in Scotland who do not want to return to division and uncertainty".
This was echoed on Sunday morning by Mr Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who said the result of the previous referendum in 2014 should hold for "a generation".
He said: "In this general election we have just seen what happens when politicians try to overturn a referendum result, and in the same way we should respect the referendum result in 2014 in Scotland.
"Scotland is stronger in the United Kingdom. You can be proudly Scottish and proudly British together.
"The best of this country are British institutions like the NHS and the BBC, and therefore we should be proud of what we have achieved together and confident that the UK is a strong partnership that works in the interests of all."
Meanwhile some senior figures in the Scottish Labour party are backing Nicola Sturgeon's calls for Holyrood to decide the timing of another independence vote.
The party's health spokeswoman Monica Lennon said she insists she would still oppose separation from the UK but accepts the SNP now have a mandate for a referendum in 2020.
Her views were supported by former Labour MP Ged Killen, who lost his seat on Thursday.
"I campaigned on a promise to vote against indyref2, but I lost," he wrote on Twitter. "The SNP made massive gains on a promise to hold another referendum and, as democrats, we must accept it even if we don't like it."
Another former MP Paul Sweeney said it was important for Labour to "reflect" on the constitutional position.
He told the BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland programme: "A more federal relationship is something that urgently needs to happen, and I think we need to be galvanised to present an argument that that needs to happen."
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news_election-2019-50799613
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Johnson's gamble pays off but challenges lie ahead - BBC News
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2019-12-15
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The public has granted Boris Johnson an immense amount of political power, and he will need to spend it well.
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Election 2019
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The same prime minister. But a new map.
A victory bigger than the Tories, haunted by 2017, had dreamt of. As the hours ticked by, red flipped to blue, familiar faces forced out of their seats.
Boris Johnson gambled that he could win an election with support from towns and communities where voting Conservative might almost have seemed a sin.
The Conservatives' majority will have an almost immediate effect on the country - unless something strange happens we will leave the European Union next month - because behind him on the green benches will be new Tory MPs who will vote through his Brexit bill, his position strong enough to subdue any opposition.
There may be years of arguments about the nature of the long-term relationship but we will no longer be part of the bloc we've been entwined in for four decades. But Brexit, at least part one - to use his slogan - will be done.
Beyond that, the final tally, the scale of the Tories' majority may shape Mr Johnson's ability to reform.
He'll face different opponents - that much is clear.
Jeremy Corbyn's departure is certain, only the timing to be decided, but Labour's future direction is already the subject of bitter dispute. The loss a mixture - a lack of leadership, and the party's torture over Brexit.
But accounting for the defeat and making a plan for change is likely to involve months of recrimination.
The Lib Dems have suffered disappointment too - losing their own leader, along with the DUP's Nigel Dodds being ousted. This election has also seen a massive change in the political cast.
But there's nothing straightforward about what faces Mr Johnson, even with the kind of majority this country hasn't seen for years.
There are wide differences between town and city, Scotland and England, the political generations too.
The public has just granted Mr Johnson an immense amount of political power.
Given what's ahead it's a currency he will need to spend, and spend well.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50775041
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news_election-2019-50775041
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Climate change: Call for 'flexibility' to reach consensus at talks - BBC News
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2019-12-15
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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UN climate change talks in Madrid are struggling to reach agreement on crucial measures.
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Science & Environment
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Talks in Madrid have gone into extra time as delegates try to agree on measures
The Chilean official leading UN climate talks in Madrid has called on delegates to show flexibility, as they struggle to reach agreement on crucial measures needed to tackle climate change.
The negotiations, which were scheduled to end on Friday, continued throughout Saturday and into Sunday morning.
Carolina Schmidt said a deal was almost there but the outcome needed to be ambitious.
The goal is a commitment to new carbon emissions cuts by the end of 2020.
The European Union and small island states vulnerable to climate change are pushing for stronger commitments to cut those emissions. Some of the biggest polluters, including the United States, Brazil and India, say they see no need to change their current plans.
Ms Schmidt, Chile's environment minister who is the conference's president, said early on Sunday: "I request all the flexibility, all your strength to find this agreement to have an ambitious result."
She added: "It's hard, it's difficult but it's worth it. I specially need you. But people in our countries need us."
On Saturday, a new draft text from the meeting was released, designed to chart a way forward for the parties to the Paris agreement, which came into being in 2015.
The pact's intention is to keep the global average temperature rise to well below 2C. This was regarded at the time as the threshold for dangerous global warming, though scientists subsequently shifted the definition of the "safe" limit to a rise of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
The situation was unprecedented since talks began in 1991, said Alden Meyer from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
He commented: "The latest version of the Paris Agreement decision text put forward by the Chilean presidency is totally unacceptable. It has no call for countries to enhance the ambition of their emissions reduction commitments.
"If world leaders fail to increase ambition in the lead up to next year's climate summit in Glasgow, they will make the task of meeting the Paris agreement's 'well below 2C' temperature limitation goal - much less the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal - almost impossible."
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His view was echoed by David Waskow, international climate director for the World Resources Institute (WRI). "If this text is accepted, the low ambition coalition will have won the day," he said.
The conference in the Spanish capital has become enmeshed in deep, technical arguments about a number of issues including the role of carbon markets and the financing of loss and damage caused by rising temperatures.
Responding to the messages from science and from climate strikers, the countries running this 26th conference of the parties (COP) meeting are keen to have a final decision here that would see countries put new, ambitious plans to cut carbon on the table.
According to the UN, 84 countries have promised to enhance their national plans by the end of next year. Some 73 have said they will set a long-term target of net zero by the middle of the century.
But earlier in the meeting, negotiators from the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) pointed the finger of blame at countries including Australia, the United States, Canada, Russia, India, China and Brazil.
Protests led by young delegates have seen up to 200 protestors ejected from the talks
They had failed to submit revised plans that would help the world keep the rise in global temperatures under 1.5C this century.
At a "stock-taking" session on Saturday morning, Tina Stege, a negotiator with the Marshall Islands delegation, said: "I need to go home and look my kids in the eye and tell them we came out with an outcome that will ensure their future."
She added: "The text must address the need for new and more ambitious NDCs and long-term goals. We can't leave with anything else."
Reinforcing the sense of division, India, supported by China, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, has been taking a hard line on promises made by richer countries in previous agreements before the Paris pact was signed in 2015.
The deal saw every country, India included, sign up to take actions.
This was a key concession to the richer nations who insisted that the deal would only work if everyone pledged to cut carbon, unlike previous agreements in which only the better off had to limit their CO2.
Some visitors have other things to do at the COP
But India now wants to see evidence that in the years up to 2020, the developed world has lived up to past promises.
For many delegates, the deadlock is intensely frustrating in light of the urgent need to tackle emissions.
"I've been attending these climate negotiations since they first started in 1991. But never have I seen the almost total disconnect we've seen here at COP25 in Madrid between what the science requires and the people of the world demand, and what the climate negotiations are delivering in terms of meaningful action," said Alden Meyer.
"The planet is on fire and our window of escape is getting harder and harder to reach the longer we wait to act. Ministers here in Madrid must strengthen the final decision text, to respond to the mounting impacts of climate change that are devastating both communities and ecosystems all over the world."
Jake Schmidt, from the US-based Natural Resources Defense Council, said: "In Madrid, the key polluting countries responsible for 80% of the world's climate-wrecking emissions stood mute, while smaller countries announced they'll work to drive down harmful emissions in the coming year.
"The mute majority must step up, and ramp up, their commitments to tackle the growing climate crisis well ahead of the COP26 gathering."
Also on Saturday, activists staged a protest outside the summit venue to express their frustration at what they see as the failure of world leaders in taking meaningful action on climate change.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-50795294
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news_science-environment-50795294
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The most read BBC News stories of the last decade - BBC News
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2019-12-23
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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From the 2011 riots to the last general election, we look back at the website's most popular pages.
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World
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January 2010. Barack Obama was one year into his US presidency, Instagram hadn't been invented and the word Brexit had never been uttered.
A decade on, we look back at the most read stories on the BBC News website year by year.
Miner Juan Illanes celebrates after coming out of the Phoenix capsule
Being trapped underground in darkness, with hardly any food or water, is "the stuff of nightmares", says BBC Latin America online editor Vanessa Buschschluter, who reported from the San Jose mine in northern Chile after 33 miners became trapped deep underground.
It was the nightmarish quality of the miners' situation, she says, that moved not only Chileans, but people around the world.
For 17 days the collapse of a Chilean copper and gold mine was not widely covered outside the country. That was until the miners tied a note to a probe sent deep beneath the ground saying they were alive.
And with that, "people were hooked", says Ms Buschschluter. Rescuers drilled down as the miners' desperate families watched on, keeping vigil from what became known as Camp Hope.
"When one of the drills finally reached the miners, the camp's bell rang out and relatives hugged and jumped for joy, some fell on their knees praying," Ms Buschschluter adds.
The 33 miners were brought to the surface one by one in a specially-designed capsule via a tunnel just wider than the men's shoulders. Winching them to safety took 22 hours.
People sang the national anthem and waved Chilean flags, as champagne corks popped. It was the stuff of movies - and sure enough their ordeal made it on to the big screen in a Hollywood film starring Antonio Banderas.
A story with a happy ending? Not quite. Many of the miners, who were trapped underground for a record 69 days, struggled to cope with their newfound fame, and some faced health and financial difficulties in the years after.
A 150-year-old furniture store in Croydon is sent up in flames
It was the worst case of civil unrest in the UK for a generation. The police shooting of 29-year-old Mark Duggan in Tottenham, north London, prompted a protest that turned violent.
Over four hot August nights, looters ran free and armed rioters set fire to two police cars, then a bus, and shops.
The unrest spread just like the flames - first across London, to Hackney, then Lewisham, Peckham, Woolwich, Ealing and Clapham - before erupting in other major cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Wolverhampton and Liverpool.
The Met Police officers later said they had been outnumbered and were afraid to take on rioters, some of whom were carrying machetes. Five people died and more than 3,000 were arrested.
In the year that followed, 1,400 of them were jailed and handed much tougher sentences than magistrates would usually give for such offences.
Research by sociologist Juta Kawalerowicz found deprivation and tensions between communities and police were main factors behind the riots.
The issue of police stop and search powers being used to target black people came up in the University of Oxford research. But Ms Kawalerowicz said they were not "race riots", and rioters did not come from one ethnic group.
Michelle and Barack Obama hug in one of the most re-tweeted posts in social media history
The race was expected to be tight. But on election night, America's first black president stormed to another victory, securing a second term.
Barack Obama's re-election was particularly important, says our senior North America reporter Anthony Zurcher, because it proved US voters "were comfortable enough with a black man as president to want to keep him in the White House".
Mr Obama, a Democrat, had run a largely solid, professional campaign, painting his Republican opponent - Mitt Romney - as an elite, corporate executive who was out of touch with mainstream American voters, says our reporter.
In his first term, Mr Obama, who took office amid one of the worst recessions in decades, had overhauled the US healthcare system and overcome strong Republican opposition to pass a programme designed to boost the economy.
And in his first speech after re-election, Mr Obama told America: "The best is yet to come." He would go on to strike a climate change agreement in Paris, negotiate a deal to curb Iran's nuclear potential and restore diplomatic relations with Cuba.
But Mr Obama's second term was also punctuated by frustration, notably problems with his healthcare system and his failure to push through gun control legislation.
"Of course, four years later, Democrat Hillary Clinton was unable to rebuild Obama's winning coalition of young, minority and working class Americans," says Mr Zurcher.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The moment of the first explosion
A jubilant scene at the finish line of the 2013 Boston marathon turned into a horrific one when two pressure cooker bombs packed with nails, ball bearings and other shrapnel exploded.
Three spectators - including an eight-year-old boy - were killed, while 260 others suffered injuries, with many losing legs.
The US has had its share of terror attacks, but this one "transcended tragedy to become an ongoing national drama", says Mr Zurcher.
The search for the perpetrators shut down Boston for days. "It was a manhunt that played itself out on both traditional news outlets and social media, as Americans across the country watched every twist and turn with fear and fascination - the false alarms, dead-end leads and dramatic confrontations," he says.
Three days after the bombing, the FBI released CCTV images of the suspects, brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Then a police officer responding to reports of a disturbance near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus was found with fatal gunshot wounds.
The brothers hijacked a car at gunpoint, and were chased by police, throwing explosives at them, before their car crashed.
The elder brother, Tamerlan, was killed in a gunfight that followed, but Dzhokhar fled on foot. The wounded 19-year-old was found hours later hiding in a boat in a local resident's backyard.
At a trial, his defence team argued his older brother was the driving force, but prosecutors said Dzhokhar was an equal partner. He was found guilty of 30 charges and sentenced to death.
Earlier this month, lawyers for Dzhokhar - who is currently in a high security prison - appealed against his death sentence, alleging jurors at his trial were biased.
Peaches Geldof had started using heroin again before her death, an inquest heard
Peaches Geldof's death from a heroin overdose at just 25 shocked us all, says BBC senior entertainment reporter Mark Savage.
"Initial reports from the ambulance service called the tragedy 'unexplained and sudden' - immediately and eerily reminding us of the shocking death of Peaches' mother, Paula Yates," he adds. Geldof was just 11 when her mother died from a heroin overdose in 2000, aged 41.
The model and TV presenter - the second daughter of musician Bob Geldof - was a favourite of paparazzi photographers from a young age, often pictured leaving London parties in the early hours.
But later in life, she moved to the countryside with her second husband musician Tom Cohen and her two young sons, posting frequently about her family on social media. She told Mother and Baby magazine a month before her death that "becoming a mother was like becoming me, finally".
After Geldof died, messages of condolence poured into the BBC from readers.. An inquest heard she had been addicted to heroin and had been taking the substitute drug methadone for two-and-a-half years.
Her husband told the inquest Geldof had started using heroin again before her death. Detectives investigated who had given Geldof the heroin, but closed the case a year later with no answers.
Gunmen stormed the Bataclan concert hall, firing at the crowds inside
Paris correspondent Lucy Williamson still remembers the sound of bullets ricocheting off the old facades of buildings in the city's 11th arrondissement on the night attackers killed 130 people and injured hundreds more.
Almost simultaneously, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked the Bataclan concert hall, the Stade de France stadium, as well as Parisian restaurants and bars.
It came in the middle of a string of attacks in France - 10 months after attacks on the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine and nine months before the Nice lorry attack.
The suspected ringleader of the Paris killings was Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian national who was killed in a police raid in northern Paris five days later.
After months on the run, the sole surviving attacker, Salah Abdeslam, was shot and injured in a dramatic arrest in Brussels. He was later sentenced to 20 years in prison.
"For almost two years, it felt as if France was being bludgeoned again and again," says Ms Williamson.
But she says there was "something different" about the Paris attacks that means four years later "the impact lives on just below the surface".
"In the midst of attacks on satirical journalists, police officers, the Jewish community, priests, and symbols of the state, this time the hatred expanded to cover everyone - people at a concert, in restaurants, at a football game," she says.
"The target was simply France's joy in its own way of life."
Nigel Farage reacts to the 2016 referendum result at a party in central London on 24 June 2016
BBC News' live coverage of the UK's 2016 EU referendum was, and still is, the site's most read page ever - by some distance.
It was to be the biggest decision "in our lifetimes", according to then prime minister, David Cameron, who urged the country to vote to stay in the EU.
The campaign that followed saw a "blizzard of claims, some of them of dubious provenance", says the BBC's Reality Check correspondent Chris Morris.
Across the side of a Vote Leave bus was the message: "We send the EU £350m a week, let's fund the NHS instead."
Mr Cameron and the Remainers were ultimately defeated by 52% to 48% - despite London, Scotland and Northern Ireland backing Remain.
Boris Johnson, the public face of Vote Leave, said voters had "searched in their hearts" and the UK now had a "glorious opportunity" to pass its own laws, set its own taxes and control its own borders. UKIP leader Nigel Farage hailed it the UK's "independence day". A day later, Mr Cameron quit.
Our correspondent says the referendum "created the current divide in British politics - a divide the latest election hasn't really resolved".
"We now know Brexit will happen," says Mr Morris. "But many of the bitter arguments surrounding it aren't going to go away."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Reaction from Bristol: 'You're joking. Why does she need to do it?'
"Not another one," was the cry from Brenda from Bristol, after Theresa May announced her intention to call a snap election. Coming after the EU referendum and the 2015 general election, people were tired of politics.
"In just three words, Brenda summed up the thoughts of so many millions of voters," says BBC presenter Jon Kay, who interviewed her. "With her lovely Bristolian accent and her old shopping trolley, we knew immediately that we had struck TV gold."
Mrs May said the election was needed for "certainty, stability and strong leadership" after the EU referendum - although, as we now know, she ended up losing her majority and having to rely on the Democratic Unionist Party to prop up her minority government.
The BBC's live coverage of the results was the most read page of the year.
In its first months, the government got its legislation through Parliament quite comfortably, but as Mrs May found to her cost, political deadlock was about to set in.
As for Brenda, Mr Kay still checks in with her from time to time. "She's doing fine but doesn't want any more fuss. She laughs about how mad the world is," he says.
Brenda doesn't own a laptop or a mobile phone. So when Mr Kay told her that her catchphrase had gone viral again after the 2019 election was called, she laughed and replied: "That doesn't sound very pleasant."
For a brief spell in November 2018, it looked as though the UK was headed for an orderly Brexit. But it didn't last long.
After years of negotiations, Theresa May finally struck a deal with EU leaders, setting out the terms on which the UK would leave the EU.
Mrs May said her cabinet had backed the deal, calling it "the best that could have been negotiated". But she soon faced a revolt.
Dominic Raab, then Brexit minister, led a wave of resignations, saying he could not "in good conscience" support the deal. In the following months, Mrs May faced votes of no confidence in her leadership, but she clung on.
However, after MPs rejected a version of her Brexit agreement for a third time, she stepped down, telling the country she deeply regretted being unable to deliver Brexit.
Boris Johnson outside his polling station with his dog, Dilyn
"Everything changed" on the stroke of 22:00 GMT on 12 December, says BBC political correspondent Jonathan Blake.
As the BBC's Huw Edwards declared the exit poll at the end of a cold and wet December polling day, the Conservatives were about to secure a Commons majority of 80, the party's largest since 1987.
"A campaign focussed relentlessly on the seemingly simple promise to 'get Brexit done' had won over voters in places long-seen as out of reach for the Conservatives," says Mr Blake.
The Labour Party had its worst election result since 1935, while the SNP made big gains across Scotland. In Northern Ireland, more nationalists than unionists won seats, putting the union further "under strain", says Mr Blake.
"But in Downing Street Mr Johnson's grip on power was stronger, his support-base wider and he now had a freer hand to do, within reason, what he wanted," he continued.
"The election result has set the course firmly for the UK's departure from the European Union, left Labour in ruins and all but silenced the arguments for another referendum."
Knife-edge votes and backroom deals between parties have defined the politics of the past decade. But after the Tory's resounding victory, the tone of the next 10 years could be entirely different.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-50671343
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news_world-50671343
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Ed Miliband to join review of Labour's election failure - BBC News
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2019-12-23
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The commission aims to "map out a route back to power" after this month's general election defeat.
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UK Politics
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Ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband will sit on a panel of party figures to review its general election failure.
Labour Together, which describes itself as a network of activists from all traditions, is setting up a commission to "map out a route back to power".
It says the panel will view attempts to pin the blame on a single cause, such as Brexit or Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, as simplistic and wrong.
Members, focus groups in heartlands, and defeated candidates will get a say.
Labour lost its fourth general election in a row on Thursday, 12 December, recording its worst performance, in terms of seats, since 1935, as a string of constituencies in its traditional Northern strongholds fell to the Conservatives.
A row has broken out between the different wings of the party about what caused the defeat, as contenders to replace leader Jeremy Corbyn jockey for position.
Labour Together was launched after the 2015 general election by a group of Labour MPs, including Lisa Nandy, one of those tipped to be lining up a leadership bid.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. John McDonnell: "This is on me. I own this disaster"
It says it wants to involve all wings of the party, from left-wing campaign group Momentum to the centrist pressure group Progress, in its post-mortem.
The group aims to publish its report by the end of February, before the new Labour leader is chosen.
The review will be spearheaded by Lucy Powell, who ran Ed Miliband's 2015 election campaign.
Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, she said there was "a real appetite" for Labour members of all traditions to come together and analyse what has changed.
"I think retreating into a factional-based analysis would be the worst thing we could do at this juncture," she said.
Ms Powell added: "The Labour coalition has fundamentally changed over the last 20 years.
"Unless we properly reflect on that, then whoever is leader next won't be able to deal with it."
Other confirmed commissioners include Birmingham Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood, Jo Platt, who lost her seat in the former stronghold of Leigh, Greater Manchester, Sienna Rodgers, editor of the news website LabourList, and James Meadway, former economic adviser to shadow chancellor John McDonnell.
The panel is also expected to recruit a trade union representative and a local organiser.
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Ms Rodgers said the review would pore over the results in "an even-handed way, which doesn't start with blaming one faction, or individual".
Some MPs who lost their seat blame Mr Corbyn's unpopularity with voters.
Mr Corbyn says Labour "won the argument" but blamed the media and the fact that the campaign was dominated by Brexit, rather than Labour's plans to boost public spending.
But internal opponents of Mr Corbyn say the party must ditch his left-wing policy agenda to stand any chance of regaining power.
Labour last won a general election in 2005 under the leadership of former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Mr Blair said last week that the "takeover of the Labour Party by the far left" had "turned it into a glorified protest movement, with cult trimmings, utterly incapable of being a credible government".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-50888060
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General election 2019: Labour pledges to cut rail fares by a third - BBC News
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2019-12-01
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The party vows to slash rail fares and make travel free for young people under the age of 16.
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Election 2019
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Labour has announced plans to slash rail fares by 33% and simplify ticket prices for part-time workers if it wins the election on 12 December.
The party also wants to make train travel free for young people under the age of 16 and build a central online booking portal with no booking fees.
The proposal is part of broader plans by the party to nationalise the UK's train system.
Conservative Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the plan was "desperate".
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have also pledged to improve transport.
Labour said privatisation had "created one of the most expensive ticketing systems in the world", which discriminated against part-time workers, discouraged rail travel and excluded the young and low-paid.
Andy McDonald, Labour's shadow transport secretary, told the BBC's Today programme: "[Our pledge] is much overdue given that passengers have had to suffer rises amounting to about 40% since 2010.
"And if we really want to make the shifts that we need to get people from cars into public transport this is a major contribution to it, because obviously that's critical to addressing the climate change crisis."
Labour's manifesto contained a pledge to make rail travel cheaper but no details about what that would entail.
The party said the proposal to slash fares by a third would cost £1.5bn per year and be covered by Vehicle Excise Duty - money the Conservatives have earmarked for roads.
More generally, Labour says nationalisation - which it plans to achieve within five years of coming to power - will allow fares to be capped and improve the reliability of services.
The Conservatives' Mr Shapps said: "This is another desperate attempt from Labour to distract from their inability and unwillingness to be straight with people on where they stand on Brexit, and the fact they would raise taxes on low and middle-income workers across the country.
"You simply cannot trust [Jeremy] Corbyn to deliver what he claims. His ideological plans would wreck our economy, cost people their livelihoods and with the help of Nicola Sturgeon, would waste the whole of next year on two more chaotic referendums."
In keeping with their proposals to nationalise the railways, Labour's plans to significantly cut fares would see a reverse in the direction of travel for policies on train fares since privatisation.
Since 1995, successive governments have tried to move the day-to-day cost of running the railways onto fare-payers and away from the taxpayer. At that time, it used to be split 50/50 - now it's more like 75% on the shoulders of the passenger.
The argument goes that by raising fares in line with the Retail Prices Index inflation figure each year, government spending on the railways can be reserved for investment in infrastructure.
Announced just two days after the average train fare rise of 2.7% was published, and coinciding with major industrial action on several lines in the run-up to Christmas, Labour's proposal for a significant cut to fares could prove popular with commuters.
The future of ticketing and rail fares is just one of the issues being looked at by a major review into the UK's railways due to report after the election.
It is led by Keith Williams, the former boss of British Airways, who is particularly interested in how innovation in aviation fares and ticketing could be applied to the railways.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have pledged to freeze peak-time and season ticket train fares for the next five years and cancel the 2.7% rise in rail tickets from 2 January 2020. They also plan to complete the HS2 high-speed rail link.
And the Conservatives are pledging to improve transport links as part of a £3.6m Towns Fund.
They have also promised to give more funding to local combined authorities to improve bus and train services and put £500m into reversing cuts to the railway network made in the 1960s.
The Brexit Party's flagship transport policy is scrapping the HS2 rail project - a goal it shares with the Green Party.
Regulated fares include season tickets for most commuter journeys, as well as saver returns, standard returns and off-peak fares between major cities. They make up about 45% of all fares.
The average change in these figures is capped at July's Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure. They are due to rise 2.8% in January.
Across England, Wales and Scotland regulated fares raised about £3.3bn for the rail operators, according to the Office of Rail and Road.
Labour says they will pay for this by ring-fencing income from Vehicle Excise Duty, which the Conservatives plan to allocate to a special road-building fund from 2020-21 onwards.
So, an interesting question will be which road projects will be defunded to pay for this pledge.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50621621
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General election 2019: Under-30s question politicians in TV debate - BBC News
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2019-12-09
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The BBC Question Time debate also saw fiery exchanges on climate change, electoral reform and trust.
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Election 2019
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Senior politicians faced questions on housing, climate change and trust from an audience of young people in a Question Time election special.
The election debate also saw exchanges over Brexit and the possibility of another referendum.
Labour's Angela Rayner clashed with Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage over what she said was a racist referendum poster, in one of the fieriest clashes.
The UK goes to the polls in a general election on Thursday.
Sitting on the panel were:
This special edition of Question Time certainly didn't lack passion or drama. At times it was lively and bad tempered, with the politicians talking over one another as they tried to win over younger voters.
We heard the now familiar arguments about Brexit which have been at the heart of this election campaign, but the politicians were also challenged over other issues such as changing the voting system which haven't made the headlines.
This wasn't a debate that saw seven party leaders go head-to-head, although four did take part, and as such was unlikely to deliver a knockout blow or even produce a clear winner.
And it probably won't have converted anyone who was already determined to vote for a particular party.
The young voters in the audience will deliver their verdict, along with the rest of the country on Thursday.
But the gap between the current generation of political leaders and the under 30s was most vividly illustrated by the question about home ownership and underlined the challenge facing whoever is in power on Friday morning.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. General election 2019: Politicians on when they bought their first house
On the subject of housing, the panel were asked what age they were when they bought their own home.
Mr Farage was the youngest, buying a property at 22, and Mr Price was the oldest at 30.
Mr Farage linked housing problems to population growth which prompted Mr Yousaf to accuse the Brexit Party leader of blaming "everything on immigrants".
He argued that "One of the best things that we [the Scottish government] did was abolish the right to buy when it came to council houses."
Mr Jenrick said it was his "personal mission to help more young people on to the housing ladder" adding that his party would "offer discounts and help with deposits".
While Ms Rayner said she would "make no apologies" for Labour wanting to build 100,000 council homes or introduce rent controls.
Audience member Aiden Booth asked the panel how governments could say they are serious about climate change without dealing with one of the biggest contributors, meat consumption.
Mr Jenrick said the Conservatives would not "ban people from eating meat", but would instead encourage people to live environmentally by investing in public transport and energy efficient measure.
But Ms Swinson attacked the government's record saying it had abolished the climate change department and blocked subsidies for wind farms.
She said tackling climate change "cannot wait" drawing attention to the case of Ella Kissi-Debrah who died aged nine in 2013 after having seizures for three years.
Mr Bartley said: "We can solve the climate emergency and reverse austerity if we're willing to make the right choices."
He added: "If the climate were a bank, we would have bailed it out by now."
On Brexit, Ms Rayner said in another referendum she would vote to leave the EU if "we get a deal that protects jobs and the economy". Labour has said that, if elected, it would renegotiate a new Brexit deal which would then be put back to the country in a referendum along with an option to remain in the EU.
Mr Price, whose party wants another referendum, argued that "the people are entitled to change their mind". He said "the opinion polls show a shift" in opinion but added that "only the people can end the impasse".
Asked if he took responsibility for the instability in politics in the years since the referendum, Mr Jenrick said he wished "we had managed to get Brexit done a long time ago", claiming that Parliament had blocked the process.
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Mr Yousaf said Scotland was the only nation "to get shafted" in the wake of Brexit. He argued that England and Wales voted to Leave, while Northern Ireland who voted to Remain would get a "differentiated deal".
Mr Farage accused the other five parties of having "broken their promise" to respect the result of the referendum.
The debate became particularly heated over a poster on immigration Mr Farage unveiled during the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Ms Rayner told the Brexit Party leader to "stop peddling hate in our country". Mr Farage hit back accusing the Labour politician of "bile and prejudice".
The panellists were also asked about how they would improve trust in politics.
Mr Price said he would introduce a bill to "make lying by politicians a criminal offence" while Mr Farage promised to tackle postal vote fraud and abolish the House of Lords.
"I won't lie and I'll call out the people who do," replied Ms Rayner.
Mr Jenrick vowed to "deliver the outcome of the referendum" while Ms Swinson said she would "stick to my principles" on Brexit "whether it is popular or not".
Mr Yousaf said his party would "fulfil the promise of the manifesto we stood on".
And Mr Bartley proposed lifting "the ceiling on the fines" that can be implemented by the Electoral Commission.
Young people make up a big share of non-voters in the UK - the British Election Study estimates that between 40-50% of those aged 18 to their mid-20s voted in 2015 and 2017 compared with about 80% of voters aged in their 70s.
Polling expert Sir John Curtice says age is "the division that nowadays lies at the heart of British party politics and will play a significant role on 12 December".
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Maya Forstater: Woman loses tribunal over transgender tweets - BBC News
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2019-12-19
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Maya Forstater lost her job after she questioned government plans to let people declare their own gender.
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UK
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A woman who lost her job after saying that people cannot change their biological sex has lost an employment tribunal.
Maya Forstater, 45, did not have her contract renewed after posting a series of tweets questioning government plans to let people declare their own gender.
Ms Forstater believes trans women holding certificates that recognise their transgender identity cannot describe themselves as women.
But that view is "not worthy of respect in a democratic society", a judge said.
Ms Forstater, who had worked as a tax expert at the think tank Center for Global Development, was not entitled to ignore the rights of a transgender person and the "enormous pain that can be caused by misgendering", employment judge James Tayler said.
Ms Forstater was "absolutist" in her view, he concluded in a 26-page judgement.
"It is a core component of her belief that she will refer to a person by the sex she considered appropriate even if it violates their dignity and/or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment," he continued.
"The approach is not worthy of respect in a democratic society."
Ms Forstater had argued "framing the question of transgender inclusion as an argument that male people should be allowed into women's spaces discounts women's rights to privacy and is fundamentally illiberal (it is like forcing Jewish people to eat pork)".
Author JK Rowling is among people who have come out in support of Ms Forstater.
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Ms Forstater, who raised more than £85,000 through crowdfunding to pay her legal bills, said in response that she was "blown away by the support and interest in her case".
"All I ever wanted on this was for people to be able to talk about the policy questions around sex and gender identity in a normal, open, democratic way".
Gender identity is a matter of enormous public interest and there are a range of different and strongly held views.
Some will regard this judgment as preventing people from expressing their honestly held belief that a person born in a male body cannot become a woman, without the threat of being dismissed from their job for doing so.
Others will see it as much needed protection for the rights of those who wish to identify as the gender they feel themselves to be.
Employment tribunal rulings are not binding legal precedents, but they do have weight, and this ruling could deter others who share Maya Forstater's views from bringing such cases in the future.
Ms Forstater's solicitor Peter Daly, of Slater and Gordon, said: "The significance of this judgment should not be downplayed.
"Had our client been successful, she would have established in law protection for people - on any side of this debate - to express their beliefs without fear of being discriminated against."
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Scottish independence: Sturgeon requests powers for referendum - BBC News
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2019-12-19
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Scotland's first minister calls on UK government to negotiate the transfer of power to allow another independence referendum.
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Scotland politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Nicola Sturgeon: "We will continue to pursue the democratic case for Scotland's right to choose"
Scotland's first minister has called on the UK government to negotiate a transfer of powers to Holyrood to allow another referendum on independence.
Nicola Sturgeon said there was an "unarguable" mandate for a new vote after her SNP won 48 of Scotland's 59 seats in last week's general election.
A document containing her arguments and draft legislation to transfer powers has been sent to the UK government.
He has argued that the result of the independence referendum in 2014 - when voters backed remaining in the UK by 55% to 45% - should be respected.
And the government used the Queen's Speech at Westminster to say that the "integrity and prosperity" of the UK is of the "utmost importance".
But Ms Sturgeon warned the prime minister that a "flat no" to her request for another referendum would not be the end of the matter.
Ms Sturgeon has published a document outlining her case for another referendum to be held
The first minister says she wants to hold indyref2 in the second half of 2020, and believes the election result has made the case for this "overwhelmingly clear".
But she wants the UK government to agree to a so-called section 30 order, which would give the Scottish Parliament the power to hold a referendum and put its legality beyond doubt - as happened ahead of the 2014 referendum.
And Ms Sturgeon has ruled out the possibility of holding an unofficial referendum similar to the one in Catalonia in 2017.
The argument over Scottish independence will not be settled anytime soon.
Nicola Sturgeon will not stop pursuing her case, no matter how many times she is rebuffed by Westminster.
And she clearly believes that if she keeps arguing that Scotland's democratic voice is being ignored she will build the case in voters' minds not just for another vote, but for independence itself.
The longer she has to wait, the more convinced she is that she will win. She may be asking for a vote before the end of next year, but she is really playing a much longer game.
The pro-independence SNP won a landslide in Scotland in the general election, while the Conservatives lost seven of their 13 seats north of the border despite winning a big majority across the UK as a whole.
Ms Sturgeon has published a paper arguing that "consensus is growing by the day" in Scotland for a second referendum, and that there is a "clear mandate for this nation to choose its own future".
In a statement at her official Bute House residence, she said: "We are therefore today calling for the UK government to negotiate and agree the transfer of power that would put beyond doubt the Scottish Parliament's right to legislate for a referendum on independence.
"I anticipate that in the short term we will simply hear a restatement of the UK government's opposition. But they should be under no illusion that this will be an end of the matter."
Ms Sturgeon wants Boris Johnson to agree to hold a new referendum - but the prime minister "remains opposed"
The paper published by Ms Sturgeon includes draft legislation which would give Holyrood the power to call referendums, although she said she was open to negotiations about the details of how this would work.
She said: "It is a fundamental democratic principle that decisions on Scotland's constitutional future should rest with the people who live here.
"The Scottish government has a clear democratic mandate to offer people a choice on that future in an independence referendum, and the UK government has a democratic duty to recognise that.
"The mandate we have to offer the Scottish people a choice over their future is, by any normal standard of democracy, unarguable."
And in a letter to the prime minister, Ms Sturgeon said Mr Johnson had "committed to engaging seriously with our proposals" in their telephone conversation last Friday.
She added: "I believe that on this - as on any issue - you have a duty to do so in a considered and reasonable manner. I therefore look forward to discussing matters further with you in the New Year.
The move comes on the same day as the devolved Scottish Parliament passed legislation that could help pave the way to a referendum.
The Referendums (Scotland) Bill passed on Thursday afternoon with the backing of the SNP and Scottish Greens, although Holyrood's three pro-union parties - the Conservatives, Labour and the Lib Dems - voted against it.
The legislation sets the general rules for any referendum, but a separate bill would need to be passed for any new independence ballot.
A series of pro-independence rallies have been held across Scotland in recent months
While the polls have narrowed in recent months, they still generally give a slender lead to the pro-UK side.
The Conservative election campaign in Scotland was centred on opposition to independence and a referendum, and the prime minister told Ms Sturgeon in a telephone conversation last week that he "remains opposed" to a new vote.
Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said Ms Sturgeon and the SNP "should concentrate on improving Scotland's hospitals and schools rather than trying to re-run an independence referendum they promised would be a once in a generation event".
Mr Gove added: "I think on that basis we should respect the referendum result and politicians across the United Kingdom should be concentrating on the issues that really matter to people: improving the NHS, fighting crime and helping to improve education.
'The Scottish government have a lot on their plate. My friends and family in Scotland want them to concentrate on improving the NHS, making sure Scottish schools are better. I want to work with the Scottish government to make sure that Scottish people's lives are better."
But his colleague Andrew Mitchell, a Conservative MP and former government minister under David Cameron, told the BBC it would be "extremely difficult" for the prime minister to continue to "resist the strong argument" for people to have another vote on independence,
He added: "I think it will stand for now, and I think it will stand until the end of the Brexit process and the new settlement is clear. They can resist it for a bit, but it would not be possible to resist it forever."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-50843024
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Women in Scotland 'appalled' by violence during sex on dates - BBC News
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2019-12-06
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Campaigners call for the law surrounding the issue of consent in sexual violence crimes to be toughened up.
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Scotland
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Fiona Mackenzie set up the campaign group We Can't Consent To This
Women in Scotland are frequently "appalled" at the violence they experience during sex with men they are on a date with, activists say.
Campaign group We Can't Consent To This said it knew of victims - many aged in their 40s or 50s - who had been strangled, slapped and spat on.
The group said brutality that features in pornography was often to blame.
They are calling for the law surrounding the issue of consent in sexual violence crimes to be toughened.
It follows a number of recent murder trials in which a "rough sex" defence has been used by the accused.
This argument is sometimes used in court when a man has been accused of killing or attacking a woman while having consensual sex.
An accused's legal team may bring up the victim's sexual preferences or argue she "asked" for the act of violence that led to her death or injury.
In the recent case of Grace Millane, a 21-year-old British backpacker who was murdered while on a date in New Zealand, the defence unsuccessfully argued she died after being consensually choked during sex.
University of Lincoln graduate Grace Millane was on a round-the-world trip at the time of her death
While her killer was convicted of murder, campaigners say they have now seen a surge in this sort of defence being used during trials in the UK - often resulting in a lesser conviction such as manslaughter.
We Can't Consent To This is pushing for clarification that individuals cannot consent to violent acts during consensual sex in Scots law.
Founder Fiona Mackenzie said women often do not see this sort of violence as assault, rather as something they've "put themselves into".
"There's one thing that's extremely concerning which is the widespread normalisation of violence against women in sex," she said.
"We hear from women who have been choked, punched, slapped and spat on. I think that's really concerning and I think that's meaning that these defences are much more likely to work."
Last week, the BBC published research that suggests that more than a third of women, aged between 18 and 39, had experienced unwanted slapping, choking, gagging or spitting during consensual sex.
However, Ms Mackenzie said that since launching her campaign, a large proportion of the women she has heard from are aged in their 40s and 50s while some have even been in their 60s.
She said: "We hear particularly from women who return to dating after maybe a long relationship who are appalled by the level of violence they are being subjected to.
"I don't think it is just the younger age groups."
Ms Mackenzie opened up about her own experience of violence during sex after being choked by a partner.
She continued: "I'd like to say it was a long time ago but I think even at the time I blamed myself, I thought it was something that I was responsible for.
"Many of these women live with quite extreme trauma, they can't wear clothing that's close to their neck or jewellery.
"Many of them say they just don't date men anymore because it's too scary and they've been assaulted too many times. Being subjected to that kind of assault is absolutely terrifying."
In 2009, the law in Scotland changed to clamp down on the possession of violent pornography.
The law was clarified to ban "realistic depictions" of rape attacks as well as life-threatening and violent sexual acts, bestiality and necrophilia.
A 2016 study indicated a majority of children are exposed to online pornography by their early teens, which researchers called "worrying".
Ms Mackenzie said that while the effort to clamp down on violent pornography in Scotland was important, it is "almost never enforced."
She continued: "If you go onto any of the main porn sites you see again and again, women being strangled to unconsciousness.
"I would hope that porn companies would take action to crack down on that - I don't think they have any incentive to at the moment.
"We hear that pornography is normalising the choking of women in sex - we hear from men who use pornography that that's where it's coming from."
At present the campaign has no concrete changes to present to Holyrood but has urged the Scottish Law Commission to clarify that a person cannot consent to violence leading to injury.
Ms Mackenzie, whose campaign has backing from charities such as Zero Tolerance, said that societal changes were crucial.
She has called for more public bodies to collect data on the issue as well as better sex education in schools and a review of how police handle complaints from potential victims.
Prior to the suspension of the Westminster parliament, changes to the Domestic Abuse Bill were proposed in England and Wales to reinforce the fact that consent can be no defence for death. There have been calls for the bill to be reintroduced after the general election.
The Scottish government said it was aware of cases in Scotland where the accused has argued the victim consented to the acts resulting in their death, but these resulted in conviction for murder or culpable homicide.
It said it had strengthened the criminal law on sexual offences, that the law was being kept under review and it will carefully consider any proposals to reform it.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-50662291
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British diplomat resigns over having to 'peddle half-truths' on Brexit - BBC News
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2019-12-06
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Alexandra Hall Hall says she can no longer work for a "government I do not trust".
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UK
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A UK diplomat in charge of Brexit at the British embassy in the US has quit.
In her resignation letter, seen by US broadcaster CNN, Alexandra Hall Hall said she could no longer "peddle half-truths" on behalf of political leaders she did not "trust".
She said she has become "dismayed" by the reluctance of politicians to "honestly" address the "challenges and trade-offs" involved in leaving the EU.
The Foreign Office said it would not comment on details of her resignation.
However, it did confirm Ms Hall Hall had resigned as UK Brexit Counsellor at the British embassy in Washington - a post which involves explaining the UK Brexit policy to US lawmakers and policymakers.
In her letter, dated 3 December, she wrote: "I have been increasingly dismayed by the way in which our political leaders have tried to deliver Brexit, with reluctance to address honestly, even with our own citizens, the challenges and trade-offs which Brexit involves."
She also criticised the use of "misleading or disingenuous arguments" and "some behaviour towards our institutions" by politicians, adding that "were it happening in another country, we would almost certainly as diplomats have received instructions to register our concern".
Ms Hall Hall added: "It makes our job to promote democracy and the rule of law that much harder, if we are not seen to be upholding these core values at home."
BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams described her letter as "stunningly blunt".
Ms Hall Hall, who is a former ambassador to Georgia and has worked in the diplomatic service for 33 years, did not name any specific politicians in the letter, but took aim at the current Conservative government.
She wrote: "I am also at a stage in life where I would prefer to do something more rewarding with my time, than peddle half-truths on behalf of a government I do not trust."
When the BBC put Ms Hall Hall's comments to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Friday evening, he said: "I'm not going to talk about employment issues in the civil service."
Diplomats are supposed to be politically neutral and Ms Hall Hall stressed her decision to resign was not tied to her personal views on leaving the EU.
"I took this position with a sincere commitment, indeed passion, to do my part, to the very best of my abilities, to help achieve a successful outcome on Brexit," she wrote, but added her position had become "unbearable personally and untenable professionally".
With a week to go until the UK heads to the polls, Ms Hall Hall insisted she had stood down before the election to avoid her resignation being portrayed as a reaction to its outcome.
CNN reported that she had also filed a formal complaint about being asked to convey overtly partisan language on Brexit.
Ms Hall Hall suggested her role as a diplomat had been diverted to convey messages that were "neither fully honest nor politically impartial."
The UK has been without an ambassador to the US since Sir Kim Darroch resigned in the summer over a row about leaked emails critical of President Trump's administration.
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'Dotage of a dotard': North Korea renews attack on Donald Trump - BBC News
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2019-12-06
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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It is the first time in over a year North Korea has been openly critical of the US president.
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Asia
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Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump during happier times in 2018
North Korea has renewed its verbal attacks on President Trump, after he threatened military action.
The foreign ministry said if Mr Trump was confrontational, it "must really be diagnosed as the relapse of the dotage of a dotard".
The North first called Mr Trump a dotard, meaning old and weak, in 2017.
It is the first time in over a year that Pyongyang has been openly critical of Donald Trump, the BBC's Korea correspondent Laura Bicker said.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a dotard as "a person whose mental faculties are impaired, specifically, a person whose intellect or understanding is impaired in old age".
Dotage, meanwhile, is defined as "having impaired intellect or understanding in old age", or in general use as "old age".
The two men held face-to-face talks in Singapore in June 2018, and in Vietnam in February this year, aimed at denuclearisation.
But talks have stalled since then, and despite another impromptu meeting at the demilitarised zone (DMZ) that separates North and South Korea in June, the North has restarted testing of short-range ballistic missiles.
North Korea has repeatedly fired off missiles throughout 2019
In recent months the hostile language has also come back.
Pyongyang has set Washington an end-of-year deadline to offer it new concessions and has said it will adopt a "new way" if that does not happen.
At the Nato summit in the UK on Tuesday, Mr Trump referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as "rocket man".
He also said that the US reserved the right to use military force against Pyongyang.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The war that never officially ended
In a statement carried by North Korea's state news agency, Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui warned that the "war of words" from two years ago may be resuming.
"If any language and expressions stoking the atmosphere of confrontation are used once again on purpose at a crucial moment as now, that must really be diagnosed as the relapse of the dotage of a dotard."
In 2017, the two leaders engaged in tit-for-tat arguments, with Mr Trump dubbing Mr Kim "little rocket man" and "a madman", while Mr Kim called the US president a "mentally deranged dotard".
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Labour plans will 'slow' climate change fight, says energy firm - BBC News
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2019-12-06
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The boss of Scottish Power says nationalising the energy industry will delay reaching a zero carbon future.
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Election 2019
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. 'Private investment is bringing down the cost of renewable energy'
Nationalising UK energy companies will delay the UK's move towards a zero carbon future, according to the chief executive of Scottish Power, Keith Anderson.
He said that investment by the private sector had seen the cost of renewable energy plummet over the last decade and that debates about nationalisation would only serve as a distraction from averting a climate emergency.
"We need to focus on hitting zero carbon by 2050. Anything else is a distraction.
"Having big arguments about who owns what is the worst thing we could do right now. It would slow everything down when what we need to do is speed up."
A Labour spokesman said Mr Anderson's comments were "hardly surprising" as they represented "vested interests".
"Labour has set out our plans to dramatically expand the rollout of renewable generation - so that we can hit net zero by the 2030s - not 2050," he said.
"While generous public subsidies have led to some private sector investment in renewable generation, private ownership of the UK's grid has been a disaster, with shareholder dividends prioritised over investment."
Mr Anderson told the BBC: "We estimate we need to install 4,000 electric car charging points a day between now and 31 December 2050, and if we delay that for a year arguing about ownership that is 1.5 million charging points that won't get installed in time."
Labour says it would increase charging points at a faster rate than the private sector has managed. But Mr Anderson said that competition and innovation had revolutionised his company and the industry.
"If you look back 20 years we were predominantly a coal burning generator. Now, we have shut down all our coal mines, got rid of gas and we are now a 100% renewable energy company. That's what we want us and other companies to deliver."
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has described Labour's plans as radical
Labour plans to nationalise the big six energy providers and divide their assets, workforce and customers into 14 state-owned regional agencies.
It's not just energy. A Labour government would also take water, the Royal Mail and BT's broadband business into public ownership.
So how much would this cost?
That's a tricky question to answer. Labour say parliament would decide how much to pay the current owners - which of course includes many worker's pension funds - but the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates it would add at least £200bn to government debt.
However, the government would collect the associated revenue - apart from broadband which it eventually wants to give away for free.
Arguments about who is better at delivering key public services and utilities are not new.
But the Labour Party manifesto proposes one of the most radical overhauls of how companies are owned and run in decades.
The private sector will tell you that the prospect of nationalisation is deterring private investment at a crucial time - while Labour would say only the state has the power to borrow and invest at the scale and pace that's needed.
In Scotland, as in most of Europe, the water industry is already nationalised and the SNP wants to extend public ownership of rail, buses and ferries.
Prof Andrew Cumbers of Glasgow University says that many breakthroughs in innovation and technology - particularly in renewable energy - have been achieved thanks to state subsidies.
"It sounds radical but it's only what happens in many other countries. The government can borrow much more cheaply than companies. If you leave it all to the private sector, research and development inevitably gets cut to divert profits into shareholder dividends."
Smaller companies - such as Bulb, Ovo and Octopus in energy, and Virgin Media and Talk Talk in broadband - would not face nationalisation. That would leave them competing with the state.
Tough if you are giving services like broadband away for free or others at less than market prices.
Even Labour describe their own policies as radical. On that at least business would agree.
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General election 2019: Tory candidate in disability pay row - BBC News
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2019-12-06
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Sally-Ann Hart defends an article suggesting people with disabilities could be paid less.
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Election 2019
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Sally-Ann Hart was appearing at a hustings in Hastings on Thursday
A Tory candidate has been filmed saying some people with learning difficulties "don't understand about money".
Sally-Ann Hart was defending sharing an article that said disabled people could be paid less than the minimum wage.
She told the audience at an election hustings for the Hastings and Rye seat on Thursday: "It's to do with the happiness they have about working."
Ms Hart later said her comments had been taken out of context but apologised for any offence caused.
She had posted "This is so right" in response to a story in The Spectator in 2017 titled "Why people with learning difficulties should be allowed to work for less than the minimum wage".
The Facebook post has now been deleted.
Sally-Ann Hart gave her support for the article in 2017 but has since deleted the Facebook post
Speaking at the event at East Sussex College in Hastings, she defended her support for the article saying: "It was about people with learning difficulties, about them being given the opportunity to work, because it's to do with the happiness they have about working.
"Some people with learning difficulties, they don't understand about money.
"It's about having a therapeutic exemption and the article was in support of employing people with learning disabilities."
Her explanation was met with jeers from the audience.
Sally-Ann Hart later apologised for any offence caused
Nick Perry, the Liberal Democrat candidate for the constituency, said: "It gave the impression of not valuing those with learning disabilities sufficiently and undermining their position in the work place.
"I think she answered in a way that shows her political ineptitude."
Labour candidate Peter Chowney said: "I was somewhat shocked by her comments as many people in the audience were.
I would like to see the opposite - of getting people with neurodiversity in properly rewarding well paid jobs."
It's a hugely controversial argument, should people with learning disabilities be paid less in order to improve the employment rate of those in paid work, which currently stands at just 6% in England.
At a Conservative party fringe meeting back in 2014, Lord Freud got into hot water for making comments similar to Sally-Ann Hart's. He suggested people with learning disabilities could be paid "£2 per hour" if they wanted to work.
There was a huge uproar and the then welfare reform minister apologised. But it's not a new argument and one that some parents of those with learning disabilities believe should be up for discussion.
I've met parents who have seen their working-age sons and daughter thrive in employment, but they've also seen how challenging it can be for them to get and stay in work.
Many people with learning disabilities thrive in supported employment, believed by many to be the answer. One of the ways it works is by having someone with you to get you up to speed on those first few months in a new job. That's often all it takes.
But not everyone has access or even knows about such schemes.
Of all disabilities, the employment rate for people with learning disabilities is the lowest. Ms Hart's remarks have offended many disabled people but for those with learning disabilities who just want to work, this has simply scratched the surface of a much wider issue.
Ms Hart, who is also a councillor on Rother District Council, later said: "I was trying to emphasise that more needs to be done to help those with learning disabilities into the workplace and having properly paid work.
"I did not say anyone should be paid less."
James Taylor, from disability equality charity Scope, said: "These opinions are outdated, inexcusable, and should be consigned to history.
"Disabled people should be paid equally for the work that they do."
The candidates standing for the Hastings and Rye constituency are: Peter Chowney (Labour), Paul Crosland (Independent), Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative) and Nick Perry (Liberal Democrat).
The BBC has contacted Mr Crosland for a comment.
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Cabinet reshuffle: Simon Hart appointed new Welsh secretary - BBC News
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2019-12-16
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He succeeds Alun Cairns who resigned amid a row over an aide's role in the collapse of a rape trial.
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Wales politics
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Simon Hart only became a junior minister under Boris Johnson in July
Simon Hart has been named the new Welsh secretary after Boris Johnson's election victory for the Conservatives.
He succeeds Alun Cairns, who resigned at the start of the campaign amid a row over what he knew about an aide's role in the collapse of a rape trial.
The Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire MP was previously a junior minister in the Cabinet Office.
Monmouth MP David TC Davies has been made junior minister in the Wales Office and will be deputy to Mr Hart.
Mr Davies, the former chairman of the Welsh Affairs Committee, will also serve as an assistant government whip, No 10 confirmed on Monday evening.
He is the sixth person to hold the ministerial role in the past two years.
Mr Hart said: "It's great to have this opportunity. I've got my orders and I'm going to try and do it as best I can."
Boris Johnson led the Tories to their biggest election win in more than 30 years with a majority of 80, after pledging to "get Brexit done" by the end of January.
The Welsh secretary oversees relations between the Welsh Government and Whitehall departments.
The appointment was welcomed by Welsh Assembly Conservatives - Senedd party leader Paul Davies gave him his "huge congratulations".
South Wales Central Assembly Member David Melding said it was an astute appointment "which promises much for Wales as we begin a new political chapter".
David TC Davies has been made junior minister in the Wales Office
Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford, from Welsh Labour, said he was "pleased to see a new Secretary of State for Wales appointed so quickly".
"I hope to meet soon to discuss Welsh Government priorities and ensure they are heard at the UK Government's cabinet table," he added.
Mr Hart came to Parliament in 2010 with a background in rural affairs as chief executive of the Countryside Alliance and a former master of the South Pembrokeshire Hunt.
A chartered surveyor by profession, he served on the backbenches until July when Boris Johnson took power and appointed him as a junior minister at the Cabinet Office.
He backed Remain in the 2016 EU referendum, but later emerged as leader of the Brexit Delivery Group, made up of MPs from both sides of the argument who sought a pragmatic approach to Brexit.
He has also been prominent in calls for greater protection for candidates and activists, claiming abuse was driving people out of politics.
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Nicola Sturgeon: Scotland 'cannot be imprisoned' in UK - BBC News
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2019-12-16
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The Scottish first minister tells the BBC that if the union is to continue, "it can only be by consent".
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Election 2019
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Nicola Sturgeon told the BBC's Andrew Mar Show that Scotland 'cannot be imprisoned' in UK
Scotland "cannot be imprisoned in the union against its will" by the UK government, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The Scottish first minister says the SNP's success in the general election gives her a mandate to hold a new referendum on independence.
However, UK ministers are opposed to such a move with Michael Gove saying the vote in 2014 should be "respected".
Ms Sturgeon told the BBC that if the UK was to continue as a union, "it can only be by consent".
She told The Andrew Marr Show that the UK government would be "completely wrong" to think saying no to a referendum would be the end of the matter, adding: "It's a fundamental point of democracy - you can't hold Scotland in the union against its will."
However Mr Gove told the Sophy Ridge programme on Sky that "we were told in 2014 that that would be a choice for a generation - we are not going to have an independence referendum in Scotland".
The SNP won a landslide of Scottish seats in the snap general election, making gains from the Conservatives and Labour and unseating Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson.
However UK-wide the Conservatives won a comfortable majority, returning Boris Johnson to Downing Street and setting up a constitutional stand-off over Scotland's future.
The Scottish government wants a referendum deal with UK ministers similar to that which underpinned the 2014 vote, to ensure that the outcome is legal and legitimate - but are facing opposition from the UK government.
Ms Sturgeon said it was "fundamentally not democratic" for Mr Johnson to rule out a referendum when his party had been "defeated comprehensively" in Scotland - losing seven of its 13 seats while standing on a platform of opposition to independence.
Ms Sturgeon was speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show
The SNP leader said: "I said this to him on Friday night on the telephone - if he thinks saying no is the end of the matter then he's going to find himself completely and utterly wrong.
"It's a fundamental point of democracy - you can't hold Scotland in the union against its will. You can't lock us in a cupboard and turn the key and hope everything goes away.
"If the UK is to continue it can only be by consent. If Boris Johnson is confident in the case for the union he should be confident enough to make that case and allow people to decide.
"Scotland cannot be imprisoned within the United Kingdom against its will. These are just basic statements of democracy."
Ms Sturgeon added: "The risk for the Conservatives here is the more they try to block the will of the Scottish people, the more utter contempt they show for Scottish democracy, the more they will increase support for Scottish independence - which in a sense is them doing my job for me.
"The momentum and the mandate is on the side of those of us who think Scotland should be independent, but also on the side of those who want Scotland to be able to chose its own future."
Mr Johnson returned to Downing Street on Friday after the Conservatives won a big majority in the election
Mr Johnson spoke to Ms Sturgeon on the phone after being returned to government, and told her that he "remains opposed" to a second independence vote.
A Downing Street spokesman said the prime minster was "standing with the majority of people in Scotland who do not want to return to division and uncertainty".
This was echoed on Sunday morning by Mr Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who said the result of the previous referendum in 2014 should hold for "a generation".
He said: "In this general election we have just seen what happens when politicians try to overturn a referendum result, and in the same way we should respect the referendum result in 2014 in Scotland.
"Scotland is stronger in the United Kingdom. You can be proudly Scottish and proudly British together.
"The best of this country are British institutions like the NHS and the BBC, and therefore we should be proud of what we have achieved together and confident that the UK is a strong partnership that works in the interests of all."
Meanwhile some senior figures in the Scottish Labour party are backing Nicola Sturgeon's calls for Holyrood to decide the timing of another independence vote.
The party's health spokeswoman Monica Lennon said she insists she would still oppose separation from the UK but accepts the SNP now have a mandate for a referendum in 2020.
Her views were supported by former Labour MP Ged Killen, who lost his seat on Thursday.
"I campaigned on a promise to vote against indyref2, but I lost," he wrote on Twitter. "The SNP made massive gains on a promise to hold another referendum and, as democrats, we must accept it even if we don't like it."
Another former MP Paul Sweeney said it was important for Labour to "reflect" on the constitutional position.
He told the BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland programme: "A more federal relationship is something that urgently needs to happen, and I think we need to be galvanised to present an argument that that needs to happen."
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Is Scottish Labour's position on independence changing? - BBC News
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2019-12-16
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As Scottish Labour seeks to regroup after its election loss, party members are publicly talking about their stance on indyref2.
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Scotland politics
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Scottish Labour were key drivers of the No campaign in 2014 - but could they now back a second vote?
Scottish Labour is having a very public debate about its future in the wake of a humbling defeat in the general election. So, could the party be about to back a second independence referendum?
The Labour Party is searching for answers - and a new leader - after a devastating night of general election results, which consigned the party to five more years of opposition at Westminster and near irrelevance in Scotland.
North of the border, Labour lost six of their seven seats and almost a third of their voters from 2017, taking less than 20% of the vote for the first time in the modern era.
The party which once dominated Scottish politics hasn't just been supplanted at the top by the SNP - they have now fallen far behind the Conservatives as the third party.
Leader Richard Leonard has promised a "swift evidence-based review" - and has said the party "must develop a clear constitutional offer that wins back the confidence of voters who in this election felt that we did not offer clarity over Scotland's future".
For all Mr Leonard would probably prefer this to be an internal review, many of his MSPs, councillors and former MPs have already started the debate in the press and on social media.
During the election campaign, Labour's position on the holding of a second independence referendum softened somewhat.
The party had previously sought to take a firm line against independence and indyref2, but seemed to accept that should SNP votes be needed to prop up a Labour administration at Westminster, this could eventually shift.
They ended up going with a sort of "maybe later" position, that a second referendum would be justified if pro-independence parties won a majority in the 2021 Holyrood elections - a position which sat slightly uncomfortably with the fact there was already a pro-independence majority of MSPs.
In light of the SNP's landslide win in the general election, some have suggested the party needs to go further and come off the fence entirely.
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To be clear, we are not yet at the point where senior Labour figures are actually backing independence. But many seem to be coming around to the idea of backing a referendum.
Former MP Ged Killen, who lost his Rutherglen and Hamilton West seat to the SNP, wrote on Twitter that he had "campaigned on a promise to vote against indyref2 - but I lost".
He said: "The SNP made massive gains on a promise to hold another referendum, and as democrats we must accept it even if we don't like it."
This was echoed by Labour councillor Alison Evison, who chairs council umbrella body Cosla. She said that a "fragile" democracy could be strengthened by "enabling the voice of Scotland to be heard through its formal processes, and that must mean a referendum on independence".
This position is not universal, though - MSP Jenny Marra replied to Ms Evison's tweet about a referendum saying: "We had one, just five years ago. Once in a generation. Fully democratic."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Richard Leonard: "We have to look at what we said about Brexit and about the whole constitutional question in Scotland"
A number of prominent Labour MSPs have suggested that the decision on whether there is a referendum should be put in the hands of the Scottish Parliament.
Monica Lennon, the party's health spokeswoman, said that "if Boris Johnson isn't prepared to grant this request [for indyref2], he should allow the Scottish Parliament to decide...the future of Scotland must be decided by the people of Scotland".
There might be a subtext here though that the decision on whether or not to hold a referendum would take place on the other side of the 2021 elections - making them effectively the crunch moment of decision.
Neil Findlay, who is stepping down as an MSP at those elections, has also said that "we cannot deny the people of Scotland a referendum where the majority is calling for it".
Be he added that "there would need to be a clear proposition - something that is impossible until we know the outcome of Brexit, and that will not happen in 2020". By necessity, this would kick the referendum off into 2021.
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Another MSP, Daniel Johnson, tweeted that the general election result was not a mandate for indyref2 and that "the Scottish Parliament is Scotland's expression of self governance, it is Holyrood elections that were the source of the last mandate".
Councillor Paul O'Kane said many voters had told him they were voting SNP as a "one time thing", and that "surely 2021 is the true test of feeling on the issue".
Mr Leonard has also phrased his thinking in the context of the 2021 elections, and how how Labour needs to go into that campaign offering "a clear prospectus for a transformed society and economy".
As well as having a position on a referendum, though, Labour are going to have to decide which side they are on when it comes to the issue itself. Jeremy Corbyn's attempt to have a "neutral stance" on Brexit doesn't appear to have done him any favours.
As MSP Colin Smyth pointed out, "whether or not to have a referendum isn't a position, it's a process - it still leaves the public wondering what we stand for".
On election night, several Labour figures observed that the party was standing in the middle of the road on the big constitutional issues - that being an ideal place to get run over.
The SNP and the Conservatives have found success (one more than the other, but still) by occupying firm positions on either side of the binary issues - one is the party of independence, the other is the party of the union. In 2019, one was pro-EU, the other pro-Brexit.
Labour meanwhile were caught in the middle on both issues, plaintively asking if voters wouldn't rather talk about something else, like inequality or the NHS.
And yet, some still see a third way through the independence debate, a compromise position of sorts - federalism.
This would rebuild the structure and constitution of the UK so that it more resembles the United States, with formal separation of powers between state governments and the central one.
Paul Sweeney, who lost his Glasgow North East seat to the SNP, said that "the British state as it is currently constructed is not sustainable", calling for a "radical" change.
He said: "A more federal relationship is something that urgently needs to happen, and I think we need to be galvanised to present an argument that that needs to happen."
Mr Findlay campaigned heavily for a federal solution in 2014 - but interestingly is now even thinking about what Labour's position should be after independence.
"If the people accept a new prospectus for independence, so be it," he wrote. "That is democracy, and if it happens, Labour should offer its own prospectus for a progressive, socialist, outward-looking and egalitarian independent country."
Is Scottish Labour's leadership too close to the UK party?
Almost as important as where Labour ends up on indyref2 is who is actually seen to make the decision.
Some in the party north of the border are concerned that they have become too closely entwined with the UK party leadership, giving Scottish Labour less ability to appeal specifically to Scots.
This was a key concern voiced by Johann Lamont when she quit as party leader in 2014, accusing Westminster colleagues of treating Scotland like a "branch office". This was something Kezia Dugdale, never a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, sought to rectify in her time in charge.
But some think the party - now led by a Corbyn ally in Mr Leonard - has drifted too much back into that "branch office" role.
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Colin Smyth wrote on Twitter that "the rolling back of anything resembling autonomy for Scottish Labour by the UK Labour leadership meant we had nothing to say on the big constitutional issues facing Scotland except what the London leadership decided the party could say".
He added: "Let's begin by deciding the party in Scotland agrees our position, not London, then setting out a radical alternative to independence and the status quo."
Anas Sarwar, who lost out in the leadership election to Mr Leonard, said that "rather than making rash pronouncements on indyref2, I think that we need a genuine period of reflection and some humility from those who led us to our worst EU election result and worst general election results in living memory".
As much as the party would like to take a moment to lick their wounds and regroup, time is not on their side. Nicola Sturgeon is heading into a constitutional confrontation with Boris Johnson, and is pushing to hold a referendum inside the next year.
If Labour are to play a meaningful part in the debate to come and avoid being caught in the middle of the road, they will need to come to a position quickly.
What are your questions about the general election? You can let us know by completing the form below.
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Maya Forstater: Woman loses tribunal over transgender tweets - BBC News
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2019-12-20
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Maya Forstater lost her job after she questioned government plans to let people declare their own gender.
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UK
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A woman who lost her job after saying that people cannot change their biological sex has lost an employment tribunal.
Maya Forstater, 45, did not have her contract renewed after posting a series of tweets questioning government plans to let people declare their own gender.
Ms Forstater believes trans women holding certificates that recognise their transgender identity cannot describe themselves as women.
But that view is "not worthy of respect in a democratic society", a judge said.
Ms Forstater, who had worked as a tax expert at the think tank Center for Global Development, was not entitled to ignore the rights of a transgender person and the "enormous pain that can be caused by misgendering", employment judge James Tayler said.
Ms Forstater was "absolutist" in her view, he concluded in a 26-page judgement.
"It is a core component of her belief that she will refer to a person by the sex she considered appropriate even if it violates their dignity and/or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment," he continued.
"The approach is not worthy of respect in a democratic society."
Ms Forstater had argued "framing the question of transgender inclusion as an argument that male people should be allowed into women's spaces discounts women's rights to privacy and is fundamentally illiberal (it is like forcing Jewish people to eat pork)".
Author JK Rowling is among people who have come out in support of Ms Forstater.
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Ms Forstater, who raised more than £85,000 through crowdfunding to pay her legal bills, said in response that she was "blown away by the support and interest in her case".
"All I ever wanted on this was for people to be able to talk about the policy questions around sex and gender identity in a normal, open, democratic way".
Gender identity is a matter of enormous public interest and there are a range of different and strongly held views.
Some will regard this judgment as preventing people from expressing their honestly held belief that a person born in a male body cannot become a woman, without the threat of being dismissed from their job for doing so.
Others will see it as much needed protection for the rights of those who wish to identify as the gender they feel themselves to be.
Employment tribunal rulings are not binding legal precedents, but they do have weight, and this ruling could deter others who share Maya Forstater's views from bringing such cases in the future.
Ms Forstater's solicitor Peter Daly, of Slater and Gordon, said: "The significance of this judgment should not be downplayed.
"Had our client been successful, she would have established in law protection for people - on any side of this debate - to express their beliefs without fear of being discriminated against."
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General election 2019: Labour pledges to cut rail fares by a third - BBC News
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2019-12-02
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The party vows to slash rail fares and make travel free for young people under the age of 16.
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Election 2019
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Labour has announced plans to slash rail fares by 33% and simplify ticket prices for part-time workers if it wins the election on 12 December.
The party also wants to make train travel free for young people under the age of 16 and build a central online booking portal with no booking fees.
The proposal is part of broader plans by the party to nationalise the UK's train system.
Conservative Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the plan was "desperate".
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have also pledged to improve transport.
Labour said privatisation had "created one of the most expensive ticketing systems in the world", which discriminated against part-time workers, discouraged rail travel and excluded the young and low-paid.
Andy McDonald, Labour's shadow transport secretary, told the BBC's Today programme: "[Our pledge] is much overdue given that passengers have had to suffer rises amounting to about 40% since 2010.
"And if we really want to make the shifts that we need to get people from cars into public transport this is a major contribution to it, because obviously that's critical to addressing the climate change crisis."
Labour's manifesto contained a pledge to make rail travel cheaper but no details about what that would entail.
The party said the proposal to slash fares by a third would cost £1.5bn per year and be covered by Vehicle Excise Duty - money the Conservatives have earmarked for roads.
More generally, Labour says nationalisation - which it plans to achieve within five years of coming to power - will allow fares to be capped and improve the reliability of services.
The Conservatives' Mr Shapps said: "This is another desperate attempt from Labour to distract from their inability and unwillingness to be straight with people on where they stand on Brexit, and the fact they would raise taxes on low and middle-income workers across the country.
"You simply cannot trust [Jeremy] Corbyn to deliver what he claims. His ideological plans would wreck our economy, cost people their livelihoods and with the help of Nicola Sturgeon, would waste the whole of next year on two more chaotic referendums."
In keeping with their proposals to nationalise the railways, Labour's plans to significantly cut fares would see a reverse in the direction of travel for policies on train fares since privatisation.
Since 1995, successive governments have tried to move the day-to-day cost of running the railways onto fare-payers and away from the taxpayer. At that time, it used to be split 50/50 - now it's more like 75% on the shoulders of the passenger.
The argument goes that by raising fares in line with the Retail Prices Index inflation figure each year, government spending on the railways can be reserved for investment in infrastructure.
Announced just two days after the average train fare rise of 2.7% was published, and coinciding with major industrial action on several lines in the run-up to Christmas, Labour's proposal for a significant cut to fares could prove popular with commuters.
The future of ticketing and rail fares is just one of the issues being looked at by a major review into the UK's railways due to report after the election.
It is led by Keith Williams, the former boss of British Airways, who is particularly interested in how innovation in aviation fares and ticketing could be applied to the railways.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have pledged to freeze peak-time and season ticket train fares for the next five years and cancel the 2.7% rise in rail tickets from 2 January 2020. They also plan to complete the HS2 high-speed rail link.
And the Conservatives are pledging to improve transport links as part of a £3.6m Towns Fund.
They have also promised to give more funding to local combined authorities to improve bus and train services and put £500m into reversing cuts to the railway network made in the 1960s.
The Brexit Party's flagship transport policy is scrapping the HS2 rail project - a goal it shares with the Green Party.
Regulated fares include season tickets for most commuter journeys, as well as saver returns, standard returns and off-peak fares between major cities. They make up about 45% of all fares.
The average change in these figures is capped at July's Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure. They are due to rise 2.8% in January.
Across England, Wales and Scotland regulated fares raised about £3.3bn for the rail operators, according to the Office of Rail and Road.
Labour says they will pay for this by ring-fencing income from Vehicle Excise Duty, which the Conservatives plan to allocate to a special road-building fund from 2020-21 onwards.
So, an interesting question will be which road projects will be defunded to pay for this pledge.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50621621
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news_business-50621621
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Mark Bloomfield 'killed by martial arts expert with two blows' - BBC News
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2019-12-02
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Colin Payne, 61, denies murdering charity worker Mark Bloomfield but has admitted manslaughter.
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Wales
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Mark Bloomfield died two days after being found injured outside a pub in Swansea
A charity worker died after being struck by a martial arts expert with two "ferocious" blows following an argument in a pub, a court has heard.
Mark Bloomfield, 54, who had previously worked as a special assistant to Mother Teresa, was found injured outside the Full Moon pub on the High Street in Swansea in July.
Colin Payne, 61 and from the city, denies murder but has admitted manslaughter.
Swansea Crown Court heard Mr Bloomfield had been sitting on a stool at the bar near Mr Payne and his partner.
The jury was shown CCTV of a can of alcohol Mr Bloomfield was holding touching the back of Mr Payne's partner, and Mr Payne is then seen arguing with Mr Bloomfield before grabbing him by the throat and throwing him to the floor.
He then kicked him in the head "for good measure", prosecuting barrister Christopher Clee QC said.
He told the jury it will be up to them to decide whether Mr Payne "overreacted."
Mr Bloomfield is then seen sitting back in his seat while Mr Payne's partner attempts to keep him away from the charity worker. Mr Payne then follows Mr Bloomfield outside.
A second CCTV clip shown to the jury showed Mr Bloomfield arguing with Mr Payne outside the premises.
Mr Clee said the footage shows Mr Payne "spoiling for a fight" before "delivering two powerful blows in quick succession to Mark Bloomfield's face" which knock him to the ground.
The court heard Mr Payne then returned to the pub while Mr Bloomfield was treated by paramedics.
Mr Clee says it was "immediately apparent" Mr Bloomfield had sustained a "very serious head injury".
"Blood was coming from inside his nose, his mouth, and very significantly, his ear," Mr Clee said, adding he sustained a "traumatic brain injury and multiple fractures across his face".
The incident took place in Swansea's High Street
Mr Payne gave "no comment" answers during his first police interview but in the second he said he did not intend to kill or cause grievous bodily harm to Mr Bloomfield, the court heard.
Mr Payne said he was "acting in self-defence of another" when he threw Mr Bloomfield to the floor and kicked him, "inadvertently" striking him on the head.
He said Mr Bloomfield "offered to fight me outside" and, concerned he may have had a weapon such as a glass, followed him.
In his statement, Mr Payne said he threw two punches as he thought Mr Bloomfield was about to strike him.
Mr Clee said the claims of self defence were "desperate attempts to cover up what he'd done" and his "martial arts expertise means he knew how to hurt somebody."
The prosecution is expected to continue with its case on Tuesday before the defence begins on Wednesday.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-50636370
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news_uk-wales-50636370
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Stormzy stokes Wiley row as he hits number one - BBC News
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2020-01-03
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The rapper tells Radio 1 that his fellow British rapper is acting "like a drunk uncle" on Twitter.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Stormzy has scored the first number one of the decade, as his song Own It climbs to the top of the singles chart.
The track is a collaboration with Burna Boy and Ed Sheeran, and earns Stormzy his third UK number one in 12 months, knocking Ellie Goulding off the top.
But it follows a Twitter spat this week between Stormzy and fellow rapper Wiley over the song.
Wiley criticised Stormzy for working with Sheeran, whom he had once said was using grime music to gain "clout".
And he suggested that the only reason Jay-Z wanted to work with Stormzy on a different track was because of his association with Sheeran.
Speaking to Radio 1's Scott Mills about Wiley, Stormzy said: "I don't think we'll be meeting up anytime soon. I think he just gets a bit 'woop' and then he hits the old social media. Obviously, when you get 'wooped' you're not meant to tweet.
"It's like a drunk uncle, it's like 'aw uncle, come on man... get back to bed'."
Stormzy added he felt bad that Sheeran was being dragged into the online argument.
"This is why it's even worse, because Ed's the kindest, nicest soul ever. He's just trying to travel the world and he's probably getting notifications," he explained. "But I said 'don't worry I'll do all the trolling'. I don't mind trolling Wiley, he loves it."
Stormzy's previous number ones in the UK include Vossi Bop and Take Me Back To London, the latter another collaboration with Sheeran,
The last British rapper to score three chart-topping singles in the space of 12 months was Dizzee Rascal more than a decade ago.
He landed a trio of chart-toppers with Holiday, Dirtee Disco and Shout between September 2009 and June 2010.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-50988633
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news_entertainment-arts-50988633
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