up to eighty inmates have taken control of a wing at a jail on the isle of sheppey in kent. prison authorities say the disturbance is now contained. the syrian government has declared victory in the city of aleppo, after the last fighters and remaining civilians left the eastern half, of what was, the rebel—held stronghold. now on bbc news: there was the vote to leave the european union, the resignation of one prime minister, and the arrival of another — adam fleming looks back on a tumultuous year in british politics in review 2016: the year in politics. ever feel you need to get away from it all? music: come all ye faithful.

especially when ten years worth of politics has been squeezed intojust one. i believe that this thursday can be our country's independence day. applause. i do not think it would be right for me to try and be the captain that steers our country to its next destination. tomorrow is going to be a very historic day, i believe that. i think it will be brexit plus plus plus, does that make sense? my picture is very simple, i'm theresa may and to be prime minister. i'm adam fleming, come with me to a secluded log cabin, there no wi—fi,

no phone reception, just you, me and a lot of events to think about. it was the issue that split the nation. the european union, leave or remain. in the first part of the year, david cameron embarked on the first half of his europe strategy renegotiating our membership of the eu with his fellow leaders. it meant lots of these, known in the trade as the grip and grin. if it was thursday, it must be hungary. is that the prime minister of slovenia or slovakia? it all came to a head at a tense summit in brussels in february. i will be battling for britain if we can get a good deal i will take that deal but i will not take a deal that doesn't meet what we need. that involved a lot of croisssants. cameron agreement with the euro bosses limited benefits for migrants from the eu and exempted britain from the idea of ever closer union. deal done, the referendum was on. i will go to parliament and proposethe british people decide our

future in europe. through an in—out referendum on thursday the 23rd of june. time for the cabinet to choose sides. home secretary, are you remaining? are you a pair of outers? chancellor, i'm guessing you're in? six frontbenchers joined the official out campaign, called vote leave. among them, david cameron's political pal michael gove. the world waited to see which way this other beast would jump. after a weekend of agonising, boris johnson left for leave. the last thing i wanted was to go against david cameron or the government, but after a great deal of heartache, don't think there's anything else i can do. if that's really what you thought all along, why have you kept your party waiting for such a long time? because truth is that it has been agonisingly difficult. the other side geared up, launching

britain stronger in europe, led by sir stewart rose, the former boss of m&s. a few other things were happening. factually wrong, racist remarks. in a bad—tempered row in labour about how the party had of —— handled accusations of anti—semitism. in the us, donald trump was about to become the republican nominee for president. on our side of the atlantic, mps criticised his plan to ban muslims entering the us. his comments regarding muslims are wrong. his policy to close borders if elected as president, is bonkers. and if he met one or two of my constituents in one of the many excellent pubs in my constituency, then they may well tell him that he is a wazzock for dealing with this issue in this way. but it was alright because he would never win, which he? and the work and pensions secretary iain duncan smith resigned, some thought it was really about europe.

he said it was because the government was huting the poor. that unfairness is damaging to the government, to the party, and it is damaging to the public. incredibly strong passions have been kindled, now it was time to fire up the referendum campaign for real. the remain campaign relied on potential risks, spelt out in a series of weighty treasury documents. britain would be permanently poorer if we left the eu. it was all backed up with assertions from the global great and the good, who claimed brexit would be bad for britain's place in the world. ourfocus is in negotiating with a big block of the european union to get a trade agreement done. and the uk is going to be in the back of the queue. bad for the economy.

negotiations on new arrangements with the european union and other trading partners could, in our view, take years. which would be bad for your wallet, even when it came to holidays. it is just not as easy to fly across europe as it is today if you leave the eu. a message spelt out in a government leaflet sent to every single household. politically the remain campaign was made up of blue, red, yellow, and green. the labour's leader, jeremy corbyn, tended to stick to his own script. i believe we have to vote to remain in order to defend investment, jobs, workers' rights and defend our environment. he left much of his side's campaigning to alanjohnson. but leave that its own large red vehicle, let's call it the boris johnson fun bus. cheering the uk asparagus will be

just as spreading and delicious. vote leave! sold! that is him auctioning a cow. two questions, firstly, where are your wellies? there's hardly any mark. his message was summed up in three words. take back control! what was that? take back control! we can take control, if we take back control. he meant control of immigration the points—based system. those who are the brightest and best with the right skills for our economy would be welcome here and this would be a fairer system. control over whether turkey would eventuallyjoin the eu. this referendum is going to be our last chance to have a say on that, we are not going to be consulted or asked to vote on whether we think those countries or others should join. and control of the money britain sent to the eu, although that

was hotly disputed. i am staggered borisjohnson is standing here tonight still defending this £350 million a week figure. it's a scandal that is still emblazoned across the campaign bus. and there wasn'tjust one leave campaign. nigel farage and the ukip crew ran their own with boats at a tougher tone on immigration. with the eu is making a mess of virtue everything. first we had the eurozone, then the eu's, asylum policy compounded by angela merkel and what we've seen are huge streams of people coming into europe over the course of the last year, no security checks done on anybody. or you could sign up for grassroots out, an alliance of tory backbenchers and a few other characters. left, right! forward march! to victory! on the 23rd ofjune. as the battle went on, leavers

capitalise on feelings that there was something fishy about the entire political establishment. i think this country has had enough of experts with organisations from acronyms. people had enough of experts? what you mean? acronyms saying they know what is best and getting it consistently wrong. old foes became firm allies but the tories things were getting more and more unfriendly. boris is the life and soul of the party. but he is not the man you want driving you home at the end of the evening. blue on blue as it was known turned into all—out war when george osborne theorised about a harsher brexit budget. the sort of tax rises we could see include a 2p rise on the basic rate of income tax from 22%, 3p rise in a higher rate of 43%. it is probably the most irresponsible act by chancellor i've seen in 24 years the house of commons.

then everything stopped. the labour mp jo cox is killed in west yorkshire constituency. the labour mp and mum of two jo cox was murdered in a street in her constituency. her killer idolised the nazis and would later be sentenced to life in prison. the referendum gave way to reflection. campaigning resumed a few days later and there was this final plea from the prime minister. so as you take this decision, whether to remain on leave, do you think about the hopes and dreams of your children and grandchildren. the big finish, the bbc‘s great debate at wembley arena. that is the enormous audience, we have a massive stage which has lecterns on it, shall we have a debate about the eu? are you already? come on! the closing arguments went like this. the economists, the scientists, the business leaders, trade unions, health professionals, they all agree

that britain is better off in. you are better off in. if we vote leave and take back control i believe that this thursday can be our country's independence day. onjune 23 the uk decided its future. and we all know how that went. the british people have spoken and the answer is we are out. for leavers, jubilation that they won almost 52%, more than 17 million votes. brexit! for remainers, who had secured 48%, simply shop. early in the morning in downing street, david cameron announced it was game over. i will do everything i can as prime minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months but i do not think it would be right for me to try and be the captain that

steers our country to its next destination. although i will always remember that look on sam cam's face. scotland voted to remain at the first minister hinted at a renewed push for independence. it is a statement of the obvious that the option of a second referendum must be on the table and it is on the table. back at westminster, the winners took in the gravity of the situation. we are still and always have been an exceptionally outward looking country and we will continue to be so. and will be a good neighbour and a good internationalist but we will have taking back control of our democratic institutions. so, can you see where i wanted a bit of peace and quiet in my log cabin in the woods? and the vote to leave only takes us halfway through the year. a heap of books have been written

about referendum by journalists, party donors, david cameron's former spin doctor, but to many people what happened next was more like a boxed set of game of thrones. any message of reassurance for the country? his profile sky—high after of referendum, johnston looked like he might inherit the crown. always be someone less showy? my pitch is simple, i'm theresa may and i think i'm the best person to be prime minister of this country. michael gove launched an attempt that was ultimately doomed. the problem: he was supposed to be managing borisjohnson‘s bid for the topjob. having consulted colleagues and in view of the circumstances in parliament, i have concluded that person cannot be me. yes, his supporters wept on a day that has become synonymous with tory treachery. over the course of the last few days i've realised that while boris does have

those special abilities to communicate and to reach out, what he did not have was the capacity to build and to lead that team and provide leadership this country needs at this critical moment. it left only one other contender. andrea ledsom. the energy minister and energetic leave campaign, andrea leadsom. what we want? went we want it? and now! but supporters mounted a march on parliament then she gave a newspaper interview that was interpreted as her saying she would make a better pm because she had kids and her campaign ground to a halt. i have, however, concluded that the interests of our country are best served by the immediate appointment of a strong and well supported prime minister. so theresa may arrived in downing street. if you are just managing, i want to address you directly. i know you're working around the clock, i know

you're doing your best, but i know that sometimes life can be a struggle. the government i lead will be driven not by the interests of the privileged few, but by yours. we will do everything we can to give you more control over your lives. she paused plans for a new nuclear power station at hinkley point over concerns about chinese involvement, then give it the go—ahead. she approved a third runway at heathrow with a vote in parliament due in a year. she plans to lead schools expand in england, and who said she didn't have a funny side? what message of reassurance does the prime minister have for fat middle—aged white men who may feel that we have been left behind? that is very interesting point, perhaps my honourable friend would like to come and see me sometime.

the job of chancellor went to philip hammond, his nicknames include spreadsheet and box office. he ditched a target to balance the nation's books by 2020 and amber rudd was named home secretary, she faced a new record level of immigration. and we were introduced to the three brexiteers, the international trade secretary william fox— pitt, brexiteers, the international trade secretary william fox—pitt, rice secretary david davis and old joke, rebooted as foreign secretary. spreading charm. and keeping comedians and work. foreign secretary from the subject of europe, is brexit living up to all of your hopes and expectations for britain so far? of course, brexit has already been a wonderful journey. boris johnson, what do you

say? journey. boris johnson, what do you 7 i journey. boris johnson, what do you say? i would say, we never really expected to win i think behind brexit a bit of a laugh does blush the numbers all over bus. islam is the numbers all over bus. islam is the tories other leading lady with davidson was having a blast. —— in scotland. the conservatives steamed in second in a letter to the scottish parliament, forcing labour into third place north of the border. labour found itself with a bit of a puzzle, its leaderjeremy corbyn was immensely popular with party members, not so much with his members, not so much with his members of parliament are some of whom described his performance in the referendum campaign is pretty lacklustre. morning. early one morning the shadow foreign secretary hilary benn was sacked, much of the rest of the shadow cabinet packed their bags, including angela eagle. you found this personally very

difficult. yes. ifeel you found this personally very difficult. yes. i feel i have served in the best way i can and today i had to go. she launched a leadership challenge but dropped out when the welsh labour mp on smith got more support. can we get through please? ata support. can we get through please? at a fractious party meets and there was a row about whetherjeremy corbyn could automatically stand in the contest. yes, he could and there was a court case the contest. yes, he could and there was a court case over the contest. yes, he could and there was a court case over which members and supporters could actually vote. no, not all of them. owen smith presented himself as a more competent corbyn. i think the party that i love and the party that has been such an engine for social change and an engine forjustice in this country is in jeopardy of not being able to do that, in danger of not being able to form a future labour government and change people's lives for the better. well he crisscrossed the country, often

by train, getting into a furious row with virgin about whether he could get a seat. didn't stop him winning the election as leader and with a bigger share of the vote than before. we are proud as a party that we are not afraid to discuss openly, to debate and disagree, that is essential for a party that wants to change people's lives for the better, that is not prepared to accept things as they are. it is also an essential part of what has drawn over half a million people into membership of what is now the largest political party anywhere in western europe. coggan cosmic labour party had victories elsewhere, like the mayoral election in bristol. sadiq khan was elected mayor of london. it was also the first that everyone is proud of her stride and the of immigrants. the former

terrorist shadoff —— shadow chancellor and bolted surprisingly well on strictly. he's jumping chancellor and bolted surprisingly well on strictly. he'sjumping up and down. jurors had time forfun catching some pokemon with me in a park. the party ended the year where it started with jeremy corbyn at park. the party ended the year where it started withjeremy corbyn at its centre. a previously belligerent, tony blair, came under scrutiny with the publication of the chilcott enquiry‘s report into the iraq war. it was 2.3 million words long. the decision to go to war in iraq and to remove saddam hussein from power in a cornish and over a0 countries led by the usa as much in a coalition of over. was the hardest, most momentous and agonising decision i took in my ten years as prime minister. now, ukip, where to start? after basically causing the referendum and then winning it, nigel farage resigned as you can leader. during the referendum

campaigni leader. during the referendum campaign i said that i want my country back. what i'm saying today isi country back. what i'm saying today is i want my life back. and it begins right now, thank you. diane james exited him but didn't much like the look of it and quit after 18 days. —— succeeded him. steven woolfe was hospitalised following an alleged laptop with a fellow in the b after he left hospital he left ukip. i will be withdrawing my application to become leader of ukip and i'm actually withdrawing myself from ukip. you are resigning from the party. yes, with immediate effect. the next leadership contest was won by paul nuttall. there are open goal is in british politics today. but ukip has to be on the pitch to kick the ball into the back of the empty net and that "is no more apparent than when it comes to the labour party. the welcomer farage was making client —— friends

and with the beagle in the usa. i've just received a call from secretary clinton. cheering she congratulated us, it is about us, on she congratulated us, it is about us, on our she congratulated us, it is about us, on our victory and i congratulated her and her family. the nigel visited the donald in trump tower shortly after his victory. mr trump renew here today? no, we'rejust victory. mr trump renew here today? no, we're just tourists. victory. mr trump renew here today? no, we'rejust tourists. prompting this tweet. no thanks, said the british government. hang on, we haven't mentioned brexit for about four minutes. brexit means brexit. and we are going to make a success of it. as the tory party conference in

october, the prime minister explained a bit more about what that meant, for example, the great repeal bill. pay attention. we will convert the body of existing eu law into british law. when the great repeal bill is given royal assent, parliament will be free, subject to international agreements and treaties with other countries, and the eu on matters such as trade. to amend the repeal and improve any law it chooses. she also said she would trigger the british and process with other leaders, the so—called article 50 -- other leaders, the so—called article 50 —— negotiation process. by the end of march. butjean miller had other ideas, she won a gate at the high court only parliament could start it. the government challenge that ruling at the supreme court, extinct constitution we. we have a set of files called the caa. an electronic bundle. 1697. bundle

three tab five, think that is the... judges will give their verdict in a few weeks. meanwhile, brexit secretary david davis had to explain and he hadn't really described his kind but in the european parliament as satan. i was being tempted by the chairman of the select committee to criticise you, so i said get it behind you son. he was the satan. that clarifies it all. he is examining the pros and cons of brexit on 50 different sectors of the economy from cakes to cars, it is certainly doing terrible things to the english language. it leaves us to the english language. it leaves us towards a smart and smooth brexit asi us towards a smart and smooth brexit as i like to call it a smexit. mark my words, we will make breakfast, brexit a success. and was there at

brexit a success. and was there at brexit effect? zac goldsmith triggered by election over heathrow, the lib dems nabbed it a pro—eu campaign. it is a good morning, the start of many more. yes, the lib dems, members end? just now to resume me is listening to the ukip wing controlling because everybody, now maybe she will listen to some panic stricken tory mps with lib dems are breathing down their necks and ellis isn't it time you listen to the electorate may or may not wa nt to the electorate may or may not want brexit but they certainly don't wa nt want brexit but they certainly don't want a hard brexit will stop ——. farewell 2016, hello 2017. donald trump will be inaugurated as president of the united states, there will be elections in france and germany and we will have elections for me is in manchester, liverpool and birmingham but british politics will be overwhelmingly dominated by the negotiations for our exit from the eu. hang on, maybe

i should head back in their? can't miss that! —— in there? no, i can't miss that! —— in there? no, i can't miss all of that! good evening, our second named storm of the year, of the way and it's going to bring with some heavy rain and some very strong winds. the shield of cloud is storm barbara, it isa shield of cloud is storm barbara, it is a deepening area of low pressure heading towards the uk. things have been a little quieter for some of us but not so much in scotland today where we've seen more wintry showers and snow particularly over the hills, some atrocious weather in the mountains and further south, contrast that with the chilly blue skies in the midlands. for most of england and wales it is dry and

skies are clear. further north the showers are becoming fewer and less wintry and it will be cold for a while but the wind will then pick up in the west, cloud increase and we have some rain, the first signs of storm barbara. it will be a deep area of low pressure driven by a strong jet stream and it will track just to the north of scotland, bringing strong winds for everyone but some strong winds developing quickly in the morning across scotla nd quickly in the morning across scotland and northern ireland together with heavy rain and localised flooding possible. this is accompanied by squally winds running into estuary is of england and wales, east anglia dry until it on a following that will be heavy showers in scotland and northern ireland through the afternoon and then and into the evening the wind starts to mmp into the evening the wind starts to ramp up across the north of scotland, where we are looking at gusts of 80, possibly 90 and it is here we have this amber be prepared wind warning from the met office, could be travel disruption and maybe some damage. storm bra broke runs

away to the north during tomorrow night, still windy for a while across scotland in particular, the wind not as strong, probably by christmas eve morning, but still some blustery showers coming in across the areas and snow of wales and scotland. further south, across the areas and snow of wales and scotland. furthersouth, bright and scotland. furthersouth, bright and breezy, the cloud will increase with rain arriving in the north—west later on. the weather front driven by yet another area of low pressure picked up by thejet by yet another area of low pressure picked up by the jet stream and this law is not quite as deep, the wind not as strong but the wind will certainly be mild, a chunk of mild air across the country and temperatures could get injured mid—teens and it will be windy and gusty winds particularly over to the ease of high ground and a band of rain will slip south and behind that we draw down some cold air into the north—west, so belatedly it could turn out to be a white christmas across areas of scotland, chiefly over the hills. after this excitement and the wind and rain and

snow come after christmas things turned dry with high pressure coming in and the wind will drop. hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. the syrian government says it has reta ken the syrian government says it has retaken aleppo the syrian government says it has reta ken aleppo and the syrian government says it has retaken aleppo and 35,000 people left in the last week. that was achieved with russia's help. today, the commander to russia says they are doing a live trine exercise. this is not the conduct of a nation that wants to be a superpower. the fingerprints of the man suspected of the berlin attack have been found inside the truck that was used.