the government defends proposals to make voters in england show id before they can vote. ministers say it will stop electoral fraud. critics say it may deter people from voting at all. japan's leader is at pearl harbour ahead of an historic visit, when he and the us president will pay their respects there together. the black box is found from the russian military plane that crashed, killing all on board on sunday. don't do it so curly this time barbara. last time it was just like jeremy clarkson. and tributes have been paid to the actress liz smith, who's died aged 95. good evening. the government has defended its proposal to make voters in england show id before

casting their ballot, saying it will preserve the integrity of the electoral system against fraud. trials will be conducted using a range of methods during the 2018 local elections. critics believe the pilot schemes could deter some people from voting. here's our political correspondent, carole walker. these smooth the scenes when the mayor of tower hamlets was elected two years ago. the people of this borough, i have said willjudge me on my record. he was accused of corruption and illegal practices and thrown out of office amid claims of voter fraud thrown out of office amid claims of voterfraud and thrown out of office amid claims of voter fraud and intimidation. thrown out of office amid claims of voterfraud and intimidation. now the government is to try out plans requiring voters to present photo id oi’ requiring voters to present photo id or proof of address in local elections in england in 2018. when it comes to ensuring people from vulnerable backgrounds given the right to vote we are determined

eve ryo ne right to vote we are determined everyone should have their say and one of the reasons we are bringing this is is to make sure nobody faces intimidation and that person has the right to cast their ballot in an election to the person they are choosing. it follows a review of rules by the former cabinet minister sir eric pickles. he spoke about the worrying covert spread of electoral fraud and accused some of a state of denial, failing to tackle vote rigging because of political correctness. he said there was evidence put on vulnerable people to vote according to the will of elders in some communities of pakistani and bangladeshi background. though the case here in tower hamlets captured the headlines, there were fewer than 700 allegations of electoral fraud in 2015. a year in which more than 51

million votes were cast. and just a handful of people were actually convicted. critics say the government's response is disproportionate and could deter some people from voting. (some labour mps believe the government has a hidden agenda. it isa it is a generalisation but if you accept that more people who do not have a passport, a driving licence, are likely to be from poorer communities and people from those communities and people from those communities are more likely to vote labour, that absolutely i think it does disproportionately affect potential labour voters. the evidence shows most elections in the uk are free and fair but ministers believe they do need to do more to ensure people have confidence in the system and if the trials are successful, all voters may have to show proof of id before they can vote in the next general election.

it has just been announced that the star wars actress carrie fisher has died. she became ill on a flight from london to los angeles. she was 60. what the hell are you doing? somebody has to save our skins. clever and confident.. i take orders from just one person, me. clever and confident.. i take orders fromjust one person, me. it's a wonder you're still alive. will somebody get this walking carpet out of many i way. carry fisher's leia wasn't your typical princess waiting to be rescued. her most famous character was outspoken on screen. to be rescued. her most famous character was outspoken on screenlj should have expected to find you holding vader's leash. i recognised your foul stench. she was often equally plain speaking in real life. sharing details of her volatile relationship with her mother, screen legend debbie reynolds and her own struggles with addiction. legend debbie reynolds and her own struggles with addictionlj legend debbie reynolds and her own struggles with addiction. i was asked right after i got sober initially, so are you happy now? i

would say among other things. happy is one of the many things, the many emotions i go through in a day. you're not just emotions i go through in a day. you're notjust skipping around, spouting hall mark cards, but you know, yeah, i'm in a much better place. somehow you lay the entire blame for your drug taking on me. place. somehow you lay the entire blame for your drug taking on melj do not mother. the film post cards from the edge was based on carry fisher's semi—autobuy graphical novel of the same name. the actress played by meryl streep. fisher was a teenager when she made her cinema debut, opposite warren beattie in shampoo, before she became one of the most famous faces in cinema. throughout her career, she continued working behind the camera, as well as in smaller roles in front of the camera, in movies like when harry

met sally. restaurants were to people in the 80s what theatre was to people in the 60s. she revised her role in star wars the force awa ke ns. her role in star wars the force awakens. that's her role in star wars the force awa kens. that's how her role in star wars the force awakens. that's how millions will remember her, a ground breaking, modern heroine from a galaxy far, far away. carry fisher who has died at the age of 60. the japanese prime minister, shinzo abe, is in hawaii for an historic visit, which will see him pay his respects at the site of the japanese attack on pearl harbor in 19111. in just a few hours, shinzo abe will be accompanied by the us president, barack 0bama, the first visit by the leaders of both countries since the attack in which nearly 2,500 americans died. 0ur north america correspondent laura bicker reports. archive: we bring you a special news bulletin. the japanese have attacked

pearl harbor by air. pearl harbor by air. pearl harbor by air. pearl harbor proved to be a deadly turning point in world war, two as the battle ships spurned and the bodies of over 2,000 american servicemen were counted, the us declared war on japan. it servicemen were counted, the us declared war onjapan. it has taken 75 years for an enemy to become a close ally. shinzo abe will be the first japanese leader to show such penitence that he'll pray at a memorial in the harbour for the sailors and marines who were killed. there will be no apology. but there will be expressions of regret. japan's neighbour china feels those signs of contrition are not enough and tokyo should mend fences closer to home. translation: japan cannot turn over a new page of history without reconciliation with china and other asian victim countries. the japanese leader should not keep beating about

the bush and evading the crucial point. back in may, barack obama was the first sitting us president to see the site of the hiroshima bomb, a symbol of how important this diplomatic friendship has become. we force ourselves to feel the dread of children confused by what they see. we listen to a silent cry. he has made asia his focus, developing strong trade ties. however, this warm relationship may be about to come to an end. president obama is preparing to leave office and the president—elect has, in the past, questioned aspects of the alliance. i'm going to issue our notification of intent to withdraw from the trans—pacific partnership. of intent to withdraw from the trans-pacific partnership. donald trump suggested japan should pay to have us troops stationed in the country and consider developing its own nuclear weapons to defend itself from a strengthening north korea. shinzo abe was the first foreign leader to meet with mr trump. he flew to new york just days after the

election. perhaps a sign ofjust how nervous he is, how keen to build trust. the public show of reconciliation and remembrance at pearl harbor comes at yet another turning point for us—japanese relations. by openly facing up to the actions of the past, tokyo's hope is that its western ally will not turn its back on them now. plan george michael's publicist has said his family and close friends have been "touched beyond words" by what she called "the incredible outpouring of love" from his fans. more flowers and tributes were left at the singer's home today. his partner, fadi fawaz, has revealed the 53—year—old died alone on christmas morning, at his home in 0xfordshire. he said he arrived at the property expecting to go out with him for a christmas lunch but instead had found the singer "lying peacefully in bed". rescue teams have found the main flight recorder from a russian military plane that crashed into the black sea on sunday.

the recorder could help investigators identify the cause of the crash, which is not believed to be terrorism. all 92 people on board died, including many members of a russian army choir. from moscow, steve rosenberg reports. they had been searching for this for more than two days. finally, from the black sea today, they recovered the black box flight recorder of the russian plane. it seemed to have survived the crash in one piece. the device was taken away and flown to moscow to this laboratory. for crash investigators, it could provide vital clues to the cause of the disaster. there is data here on the aircraft's speed and altitude, fuel and engines. at the crash site, 70 divers have been working around the clock, searching for bodies and for wreckage of the plane. today, the recovery operation brought to the surface larger fragments of the aircraft. each piece of debris they find,

one more clue to this tragedy. the tupolev—154 belongs to the russian military. syria was its final destination, but it crashed after refuelling in sochi. today, a meeting of russia's most senior military commanders began with a minute's silence. 0n the video screen, they showed the names and faces of the victims. most of the people on the plane were members of an army choir. the russian authorities are calling for patience. it will take time, they say, to piece together exactly what happened to the tupolevjet, to find out why it fell from the sky. a and while russia waits for answers, it continues to search the sea. back on the shore, it continues to mourn. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.

a senior police officer has defended the government's often—criticised programme to stop people being radicalised with extremist views, known as prevent. simon cole, who is responsible for implementing the programme, said some criticism, that it is spying on people, for example, is hysterical and that the strategy is absolutely fundamental in tackling terrorism. jeremy corbyn has played down an interview by president obama in which he implied that labour has lost touch with reality. mr obama made the comment in an interview with the us political strategist, david axelrod, who advised the labour party during last year's general election. a spokesman for the labour leader insisted mr corbyn's policies represent what voters want. england's chief nursing officer has urged the nhs to invest more in caring for people at home. jane cummings says money is being wasted on keeping elderly patients in hospital unnecessarily. she suggests reform is needed to make sure patients don't get stuck between different parts of the system. north korea could have an effective nuclear arsenal

by the end of next year, according to a high—profile diplomat who's defected. tay yong—ho, who was north korea's deputy ambassador to the uk, told the bbc that trillions of dollars of economic incentives would not be enough to persuade the north korean leader to renounce that ambition. from seoul, steven evans sent this report. and it is the world's renegade state, defying the united nations by exploding five nuclear devices. diplomats tay yong—ho vanished from the north korean embassy in august. today i greeted him when he appeared again, now in the south korean capital. i would like to save to the people in england i am very happy and now my family is here settling down and everyone in my family thinks it is the right decision to

come to south korea for a new life? no regrets as? no regrets. do you fear fuel safety? not at all. before defecting he lived in the suburban north korean embassy in london and played tennis at the local club. he accompanied kim jong—un's brother to an eric clapton concert. he was the public face of despotic north korea. if you read our papers and magazines and photos you can see how socialism is carried on and put into practice. now he has turned utterly. today he performed a ritual. signifying the desire for the two halves of career to unite. north korean leader kim jong—un wants to rule a fully fledged nuclear power. but experts doubt his test warheads are yet

ready. but the defector thinks it might only be a year before the posts are borne out and north korea has reliable bombs, small enough to go on missiles. north korea is 50 miles away from this city. tay yong—ho's new home. but it is a world away. he has made an immensely, from one of the most repressive places, an immensely, to one of the most vibrant. but defectors fear retribution from the north. surrounded by guards, he goes now to help south korea bring down kim jong—un. north korea now to help south korea bring down kimjong—un. north korea has called him human scum. russia says the syrian government is holding talks with the opposition, ahead of possible negotiations to end the six—year conflict. it's not clear where they are taking place or who is involved, though the main opposition group

says it is not taking part. meanwhile, government forces in syria have intensified their attack on a rebel—held valley near damascus. wadi barada is a significant stronghold because it's the location of a key water supply for nearly five million people in the capital. the author of the novel watership down, richard adams, has died at the age of 96. his tale of an evicted family of rabbits was rejected by 13 publishers before eventually becoming a best seller. it was also turned into an animated film. a former civil servant and world war ii veteran, he was a prominent environmentalist and campaigner for animal welfare. and tributes have been paid to the actress liz smith, who's died at the age of 95. she was best known for playing nana in the tv comedy the royle family and also played the eccentric baker, letitia cropley, daniella relph looks back at her life. what is she? she is a vegetarian.

could you have wafer thin ham? the unforgettable nanna. liz smith was the eccentric lovable centre. i've put in some i've put tarmasalata success came late for liz smith, a single mother of two children and in a series of part—time jobs, she did children and in a series of part—timejobs, she did not children and in a series of part—time jobs, she did not start acting properly until she was 50. part—time jobs, she did not start acting properly until she was 50m was a wonderful realisation that, at last, i was given a chance. it had come. it had come at last. what was it? that cheese. it was cheese. i

know it was flaming cheese. she owed the first acting role to director mike leigh. she loved being batty old ladies because she was but under the eccentricity she was a focused person. but she loved it, the more eccentric, the better. does this play cassette? do not do it so curly this time, barbara. last time it was just like jeremy clarkson. in this series with her on—screen granddaughter and in real life, they we re granddaughter and in real life, they were close friends. i took her out in the wheelchair and walked along the prom and people were ecstatic, because nanna and barbara were walking along the prom. she screamed with delight that everybody was recognising her and coming up and being loving towards her. the

actress liz smith who died at the age of 95. there's more throughout the evening on the bbc news channel. we are back with the late news at 11pm. now on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: they will be coming up shortly on bbc news. first, some breaking news. hollywood star carrie fisher, best known for her portrayal of princess leia in the star wars saga, has died, aged 60. she suffered a massive heart attack on a transatlantic flight a few days ago. 0ur correspondent peter bowes is in la for us. peter, just bring us up—to—date with the latest. yes, it has been confirmed in the last few moments that carrie fisher has passed away.

of course, she was taken to hospital on friday. she suffered, we understood at the time, a massive heart attack. she was on a flight from london to los angeles, about 15 minutes out from los angeles airport, when she was taken seriously ill. a number of people on the flight tried to help her. there we re the flight tried to help her. there were apparently enough of medical personnel on the flight, nurses and tried to resuscitate her, but she a p pa re ntly tried to resuscitate her, but she apparently is showed no signs of life. paramedics were waiting at the airport and they took her straight to hospital. we didn't really have any official confirmation about her condition until, over the weekend, debbie reynolds, her mother, a famous actress in her own right, revealed that her daughter was in a sta ble revealed that her daughter was in a stable condition and that more information would be given out as and when it was appropriate. well, now we hear from a spokesman for carrie fisher's daughter that she

has in fact passed away. she had beenin has in fact passed away. she had been in the united kingdom recently. in fact, it was her trip back to la. she was talking about her memoir, the princess diarist. she was very open about events that happened in the life, wasn't she? she was very open about many of her problems, the demons she has fought, from depression to her battles with drink and drugs over the years. she has written and spoken about those very eloquently. she regarded herself as much these days as a mental health advocate as she did an actress or, indeed, a screenwriter, and her writing career was almost as big, perhaps even larger than her career as an actress. she spent many years really behind—the—scenes in los angeles as a screenwriter, often without any personal credit. she would finesse the scripts of other

writers, and that is what she excelled at, certainly in the last few years. she wrote her own books. the latest was her eighth, an autobiography. the latest book was actually based on diaries she discovered from back in the 1970s, revealing that she had a three—month affair with harrison ford during the making of the original star wars movies. that was typical of the woman, really, that she was very open. if she knew something about her life, she would share it. could you tell us a bit more about postcards from the edge? this was the book which was turned into a film starring meryl streep. well, yes, this was another of those projects that she was very open about. it's interesting, during some of her writings, it affected her relationship with her mother, debbie reynolds, and it was seen as being a little fractious at one point. but i

know that, certainly in recent yea rs, know that, certainly in recent years, she had repaired that relationship. i spoke to debbie reynolds a couple of years ago and she talked very fondly of her daughter. they shared a home, a complex, different homes on the same complex, different homes on the same complex in beverly hills, and it seems that they were very close in recent yea rs. seems that they were very close in recent years. just looking, and there is some reaction starting to come in, obviously via twitter, as it often is. the reaction from hollywood, how is she remembered within the industry? she will be remembered very fondly indeed. as i have mentioned, she worked many times behind—the—scenes, working on projects with other performers and screenwriters. she really excelled at that. she will be remembered as somebody who was incredibly versatile. yes, she made her name is princess leia, the original star wa rs princess leia, the original star wars trilogy, and that is the role

she revived recently. she had other roles, supporting actress role is particularly, but she will be remembered for her abilities as an actress but as a writer as well, and as somebody who was not only very helpful to other people in the industry, but someone who was a very genuine figure and prepared to be open about her own life. witch graham norton, who had tweeted when the news of her heart attack first broke, said, don't you dare. he recently tweeted about half an hour ago, saying, unbelievable that such ago, saying, unbelievable that such a bright, funny, loving spark could be extinguished, carrie fisher, you will be missed, i wish you peace. many people talking about her sense of humour. she had a great sense of humour. sometimes it was self—deprecating. you only had to watch carrie fisher walking down a red carpet, whether it was at a premiere for star wars or some other wayward event that she was

attending, and she relished the occasion. —— some other hollywood event. i think she may be sometimes saw the farcical nature of what happens in hollywood in these set piece events, and you can sometimes see that in the expression on her face. she had a great sense of humourandi face. she had a great sense of humourand i think face. she had a great sense of humour and i think she was very level as a human being. she understood her own frailties and, i am sure, the frailties of many people around her in hollywood. she did her best to talk about that. she wa nted did her best to talk about that. she wanted to be very open especially about those mental health problems she had suffered, and she really made an effort to help others. she spoke also about her marriages, didn't she? 0ne spoke also about her marriages, didn't she? one of the most high profile, of course, being her marriage to paul simon. yes, that's right. many people forget this, but she was married to paul simon for a while. again, this was something she

was quite willing to talk about in public, and certainly to write about. she wanted, i think, public, and certainly to write about. she wanted, ithink, to public, and certainly to write about. she wanted, i think, to be an open book, and for people to understand perhaps some of the good times that she had, and certainly those times which weren't particularly good as well. whether it involves personal health problems oi’ it involves personal health problems or her relationships, hence talking about a relationship she had with harrison ford, and, by the way, she gave an interview fairly recently and said, when she revealed the affair with harrison ford, she had contacted him and told him what she planned to write, and she gave him the option of taking anything out of the option of taking anything out of the book that he wanted to, and a p pa re ntly the book that he wanted to, and apparently he didn't take that choice. you didn't respond. everything that she wanted to say was in the book. wood —— he didn't respond. was star wars behind that of her career? she has done a fair bit as well. it will certainly the of her acting career. the original

trilogy and now the most recent movies. —— it was certainly the highlight of her acting career. she had just finished filming on star wa rs had just finished filming on star wars 8, the latest to be released. that was what made her name. clearly, it was an iconic character to play, princess leia, which i think transcended a number of generations, which is why we are seeing today so much activity on social media from multiple generations. she found a new fan base and, i think, a generations. she found a new fan base and, ithink, a new generations. she found a new fan base and, i think, a new respect for her work, whether it be acting or her work, whether it be acting or her other work, from younger people, people who weren't even born in the 70s. maybe they have seen men now, but they didn't get the chance to see the original movies when they we re see the original movies when they were released. —— maybe they have seen were released. —— maybe they have seen them now. she said she seemed to attract the nerds, maybe because of her outfit in star wars, particularly revealing. she took it on board. what was her reaction like

when she starred in the latest film, the force awa kens? when she starred in the latest film, the force awakens? yes, the force awa ke ns, the force awakens? yes, the force awakens, which was released towards the end of last year. she loved it. she revelled in the fact that she was back in this role which had made herfamous. she was back in this role which had made her famous. she enjoyed was back in this role which had made herfamous. she enjoyed every minute. she enjoyed getting back together again, of course, with people whom she had worked with many yea rs people whom she had worked with many years ago, and yes, i think she enjoyed the reaction of fans as well, that she had maybe gone through some difficult times between the original movie and the release of the latest, and she was back. she was there, on the red carpet, the centre of attention. and i think she loved every minute of it. we are going to leave it there for now, but thank you so much. speaking to us, as we remember carrie fisher, who has passed away at the age of 60. caroline frost is joining caroline frost isjoining me now on

the phone, the entertainment editor at the huffington post. thank you for joining at the huffington post. thank you forjoining us. we are hearing so many tributes to carrie fisher. how is she being remembered? there are two schools of thought, of course the dedicated star wars fan base which is worldwide and tireless and has been devoted now for four decades and will show no signs of abating with the tragic news today.