in hong kong, a spectacularfirework display welcomes in the new year. as the world marks the start of the new year, security has been stepped up in major cities. in london, thousands of extra police are being deployed ahead of the celebrations. there's something like 3,000 police officers on duty in central london alone, and there will be stewards as well. the queen's new year's honours list is dominated by britian‘s 0lympic and paralympic stars, including lee pearson, mo farah and andy murray. the islamic state group in iraq said it carried out the attack. at least 28 people have been killed by two explosions at a crowded market in baghdad. 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. music: "0 come all ye faithful". ever feel you need to get away from it all? especially when ten years‘ worth of politics has been squeezed into just 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 to 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 pitch is very simple, i'm theresa may, and i think i'm the best person to be prime minister of this country.

i'm political reporter adam fleming, come with me to a secluded log cabin, there's no wifi, no mobile 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 7 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 croissants. cameron's 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 propose that the british people decide ourfuture in europe, through an in—out referendum on thursday the 23rd june. time for the cabinet to choose sides. home secretary, are you a remainer? are you a pair of outers? chancellor, i'm guessing you're in? six frontbenchers joined the official 0ut campaign, called vote leave. among them, david cameron's political pal michael gove. the world waited to see which way this other big beast would jump. after a weekend of agonising, boris johnson leapt for leave.

the last thing i wanted was to go against david cameron or the government, but after a great deal of heartache, i don't think there's anything else i can do. boris, if that's really what you've thought all along, why have you kept your party waiting for such a long time? because the truth is that it has been agonisingly difficult. the other side geared up, launching britain stronger in europe, led by sir stuart rose, the former boss of m&s. a few other things were happening. factually wrong, racist remarks. like a bad—tempered row in labour about how the party 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 all right, because he would never win, would 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 hurting the poor. that unfairness is damaging to the government, to the party, and it is damaging to the public. soothing music. incredibly strong passions had 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. our focus 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. although the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, tended to stick to his own script.

i believe we have to vote remain in order to defend investment, jobs, workers‘ rights and defend our environment. he left much of his side's campaigning to alan johnson. vote leave had its own large red vehicle, let's call it the boris johnson fun bus. cheering. uk asparagus will be just as delicious. vote leave! going, going, gone! sold! yes, that is him auctioning a cow. two questions. firstly, where are your wellies? there's hardly any muck. his message was summed up in three words. take back control! sorry, what was that? take back control! they meant control of immigration

with a 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 fairersystem. 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 and a tougher tone on immigration. the eu is making a mess of virtually everything. first we had the eurozone,

then the eu's common asylum policy compounded hugely 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 0ut, an alliance of tory backbenchers and a few other characters. left, right! forward march! to victory! 0n the 23rd ofjune. as the battle went on, leavers capitalised 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 have had enough of experts? what do you mean? from organisations with acronyms saying they know what is best and getting it consistently wrong. 0ld foes became firm allies, but among 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 harsh brexit budget. the sort of tax rises we could see include a 2p rise on the basic rate of income tax to 22%, 3p rise in the higher rate to 43%. it is probably the most irresponsible act by a chancellor i've seen in 24 years in the house of commons. then everything stopped. the labour mpjo cox is killed in her west yorkshire constituency. the labour mp and mum of twojo 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 or leave, do think about the hopes and dreams of your children and grandchildren. the big finish, the bbc‘s great

debate at wembley arena. that's the enormous audience, we have a massive stage which has six lecterns on it, shall we have a debate about the eu? are you all ready? 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. 0njune 23rd 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'd won almost 52%, more than 17 million votes. brexit! for remainers, who had secured 48%, simply shock. 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 and 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. we will be a good neighbour and a good internationalist, but we will have taken back control of our democratic institutions. so, can you see why 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 the referendum byjournalists, party donors, david cameron's former spin doctor, but to many people, what happened next was more like a like a box set of game of thrones. mrjohnson, any message of reassurance for the country? his profile sky—high after the referendum, borisjohnson looked like he might inherit the crown. 0r 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 boris johnson'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 the leadership this country needs at this critical moment. it left only one other contender. andrea leadsom. the energy minister, and energetic leave campaigner, andrea leadsom. what do we want? when do we want it? now! her supporters mounted a bizarre march on parliament, and 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. and so, theresa may arrived in downing street. if you're just managing, i want to address you directly. i know you're working around the clock, i know you're doing your best, and 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 gave it the go—ahead. she approved a third runway at heathrow with a vote in parliament due in a year.

she plans to let 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's a very interesting point, perhaps my honourable friend would like to come up and see me sometime. the job of chancellor went to philip hammond, whose nicknames include spreadsheet and box office. he ditched a target to balance the nation's books by 2020. amber rudd was named home secretary, she faced near—record levels of immigration. are you going to be able to get immigration down to the tens of thousands quickly? i'm just going to get started. and chaos at the independent inquiry into historic child abuse. and we were introduced to the three brexiteers, the international trade secretary liam fox, brexit secretary davis davies, and bojo, rebooted as foreign secretary. spreading charm.

speaks french. and keeping comedians in work. foreign secretary, on the subject of europe, is brexit living up to all of your hopes and expectations for britain so far? as boris johnson: of course, brexit has already been a wonderful journey. borisjohnson, what do you say? as boris johnson: i would say, we never really expected to win, i think getting behind brexit it's a bit of a laugh, plaster numbers all over a bus. in scotland, the tories other leading lady, ruth davidson, was having a blast. in elections for the scottish parliament, the conservatives steamed in second, forcing labour into third place north of the border. labour found itself with a bit of a puzzle, its leader jeremy corbyn was immensely popular

with party members, not so much with his members of parliament, some of whom described his performance in the referendum campaign as 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. 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 0wen smith got more support. can we get through, please? at a fractious party meeting, there was a row about whetherjeremy corbyn could automatically stand in the contest. yes, he could, and there was a court case over which members and supporters could actually vote. no, not all of them. 0wen 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, is in danger of not being able to form a future labour government and change people's lives for the better. whilejc criss—crossed the country, often by train, getting into a furious row with virgin about whether he could get a seat. it didn't stop him winning re—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. applause. 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.

the labour party had victories elsewhere, like the mayoral election in bristol. sadiq khan was elected mayor of london. what the vote on thursday showed is london is proud of the son of a bus driver from a council estate, the child of immigrants, being the mayor of our great city. the former shadow chancellor ed balls did surprisingly well on strictly. he'sjumping up and down. jezza had time for fun too, catching some pokemon with me in a park. the party ended the year where it started, with jeremy corbyn at its centre. a previously leader, tony blair, came under scrutiny with the publication of the chilcott inquiry‘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 coalition of over a0 countries

led by the usa, was the hardest, most momentous and agonising decision i took in my ten years as british prime minister. now, ukip, where to start? after basically causing the referendum and then winning it, nigel farage resigned as ukip leader. during the referendum campaign i said i want my country back. what i'm saying today is i want my life back. and it begins right now, thank you. diane james succeeded him, but didn't much like the look of it, and quit after 18 days. the next frontrunner, steven woolfe, was hospitalised following an alleged punch—up with a fellow mep, 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 goals 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 open goal is no more apparent than when it comes to the labour party. meanwhile, mr farage was making friends and influencing people in the usa. i've just received a call from secretary clinton. cheering. she congratulated us, it is about "us", on our victory, and i congratulated her and herfamily. the nigel visited the donald in trump tower, shortly after his victory. did mr trump invite you to come today? no, we're just tourists. prompting this tweet from the president—elect. "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. at 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, now. 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, repealand improve any law it chooses. she also said she would trigger the negotiation process with other leaders, the so—called article 50, by the end of march. but the investor gina miller had

other ideas, she won a case at the high court that only parliament could start it. the government challenged that ruling at the supreme court, big stakes constitutionally, perry mason it was not. you have a set of files called the ca. 0n the electronic bundle. 0n the electronic bundle it's 1697. bundle three, tab five, i think that is the... the judges will give their verdict in a few weeks‘ time. meanwhile, brexit secretary david davis had to explain he hadn‘t really described his counterpart in the european parliament as "satan". i was being tempted by the chairman of the select committee to criticise you, so i said "get behind me, satan." he was the satan, not you. laughter. that clarifies it all. he‘s examining the pros and cons

of brexit on 50 different sectors of the economy, from cakes to cars. it‘s certainly doing terrible things to the english language. the prime minister leads us towards a smart and smooth brexit, as i like to call it, a smexit. and conference, mark my words, we will make breakfast..brexit a success. laughter. and was there at brexit effect in richmond? zac goldsmith triggered a by—election over heathrow, the lib dems nabbed it after a very pro—eu campaign. it‘s a good morning, the start of many more. yes, the lib dems, remember them? at the moment theresa may is listening to her ukip—ish wing, which now appears to control the conservative party, now maybe she will listen to some panic stricken tory mps with lib dems breathing down their necks, saying isn‘t it time you listened to the electorate, who may or may not want brexit, but they certainly don‘t want a hard brexit? music: "0 come all ye faithful". so farewell 2016, hello 2017.

donald trump will be inaugurated as president of the united states, there will be elections in france and germany, we‘ll have elections for mayors 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 there? nah, i can‘t miss all of that! music: "0 come all ye faithful". good evening. the final day of 2016 has been relatively mild. we've had some rain in the north, too. here is

the sunset from one of our weather watchers in york. we have rain around in some parts. rain across northern ireland and southern scotland, over the next few hours that will move south as we had closer to midnight. in two parts of northern england, newcastle and manchester it will be raining by the time we get to midnight. wintry showers coming in after and risk of some icy conditions in scotland. further south, mostly cloudy over the next few hours. we will see a band of rain creeping in, bringing outbreaks of rain to the north—west of wales and england. to the south of wales and england. to the south of that quite a lot of cloud. there could be a bit of mist around but relatively dry conditions if you are heading out. things will turn colder from the north. as the cold front moved south on new year‘s day, many of us will see a return to the cold arctic to the weather. 0n of us will see a return to the cold arctic to the weather. on new year‘s day, 9am, we will see rain across

parts of the southwest, wales, the midlands and east anglia. the far south—east right to start the day, although the rain will move in. writer ‘s guide to the north of that front across parts of cumbria, towards northern ireland and the southern half of scotland. crisp, frosty and cold but showers continuing in the north of scotland. if we take a look at the day tomorrow, new year‘s day, we will see that rain lingering for a good pa rt see that rain lingering for a good part of the day. the likes of the midlands and the south—east. elsewhere a return to clear conditions with wintry sunshine but also a risk of showers turning wintry. particularly over the hills of scotla nd wintry. particularly over the hills of scotland and the north york moors. moving through the evening and overnight, eventually losing about weather from southern and south—eastern parts of england. clearer skies with those cold arctic winds bringing some wintry showers to northern and north—eastern parts of the country. a widespread frost as we had through into monday. 0n monday a largely dry and bright day after the morning frost has cleared,

it will still see some wintry showers are exposed northern and north—eastern parts but most places dry and bright. in the sunshine temperatures of 3—6. this is bbc news. i‘m annita mcveigh. the headlines at 6: new year celebrations are underway around the world — in hong kong a spectacularfirework display welcomes in 2017. security is stepped up for new year celebrations in major cities around the world. in london thousands of extra police are deployed ahead of the celebrations. the count down is on to london‘s new year‘s eve. 0ver the count down is on to london‘s new year‘s eve. over 100,000 the count down is on to london‘s new year‘s eve. 0ver100,000 people will be here to see in 2017. hundreds of ordinary people are recognised

in the queen‘s new year‘s honours along with many of britian‘s 0lympic and paralympic stars — including mo farah, jessica ennis hill and andy murray.