this is bbc news. the headlines: theresa may orders the foreign secretary and the home secretary to speak to their american counterparts and raise concerns about the us travel ban imposed by donald trump. labour calls for the president's planned state visit to the uk to be cancelled unless the ban is lifted. more than 500,000 people are supported an online petition saying donald trump should not be invited. in yemen, us commandos have killed at least 30 suspected al-qaeda fighters and civilians in a raid authorised by president trump. french voters have been to the polls to choose the socialist party candidate for a pro—‘s presidential election. in the next hour: —— at april's presidential election. roger federer beat rafael nadal in five sets at the australian open. and the right of parents to take

their children on holiday during term time is facing a new legal test, this time at the supreme court. good evening, and welcome to bbc news. theresa may has ordered the foreign secretary and home secretary to try to obtain assurances from the trump administration on how its travel ban on people from seven mainly muslim countries will affect british citizens with dual nationality. sir mo farah is among those who fear they will be affected, and politicians from different parties have been calling for president trump's invitation for a state visit to britain to be rescinded. eleanor ghani with this -- ghani rescinded. eleanor ghani with this —— ghani with this on the row.

it was all going so well, and then just hours after theresa may left washington, donald trump enacted what many think is one of the most extreme of his campaign policies. by then, the prime minister was in turkey for trade talks, where she avoided condemning the travel ban. the united states is responsible for the united states policy on refugees, and the uk is responsible for the uk policy. then overnight, a new statement clarifying the prime minister did not agree with this approach. some, like the british 0lympian sir mo approach. some, like the british 0lympian sirmo farah, approach. some, like the british 0lympian sir mo farah, are still worried. he was born in somalia but lives in america and says he is deeply troubled he will have to tell his children that he might not be able to come home. and one of theresa may's own mps, born in iraq, says he will also be affected. for the first time in my life, last

night, ifelt the first time in my life, last night, i felt discriminated against. it is demeaning and sad. i am a successful man and a politician. it's all the people who don't have the platform i have who could get stuck in an airport for hours through no fault of their own. they are british citizens and should be looked after. by this morning, government ministers were openly criticising the government's plans. the prime minister is not a shoot from the hip politician. she wants to understand the implications. there is always pressure to respond within the news cycle, but the important thing is, we are saying we disagree and we think it is wrong. friends can be candid with each other, that is what the prime minister said before her trip to the united states, but it now seems that is easier in theory than in practice. having failed to live up to her own words once, there is no criticism she has undermined her own strategy. plus, there are growing

calls for donald trump's state visit later this year to be called off. calls for donald trump's state visit later this year to be called offlj am not happy about him coming here until that ban is lifted, quite honestly. look at what is happening with those countries. how many more will it be and what will the long—term effect beyond the rest of the world? this relationship, like many, is complicated, but as the government presses for british exemption from the travel ban, mrs may will hope she has done enough to keep mrtrump may will hope she has done enough to keep mr trump onside. president trump has been defending the ban and there are reports that it could go further. 0ur correspondent reports from new york, where several demonstrations have taken place. protest is becoming a permanent

feature of the trump presidency, and atjfk airport last night the demonstrations into the early hours. let them in, they chanted. let them in! new york has always been the great gateway into america and protesters believe the executive orderflies in the protesters believe the executive order flies in the face of us values. this is an attack on the very foundation of democracy. demonstrations took place across the country. these are scenes in boston asa us country. these are scenes in boston as a us senator defied the president. i cannot believe this is happening. i knew donald trump would be bad, but not this bad, not this fast. at this courthouse in brooklyn camea fast. at this courthouse in brooklyn came a late—night legal challenge and civil liberties lawyers emerged claiming a victory as a federal judge temporarily blocked parts of the order. president trump enacts

executive orders that are illegal, the courts are there to defend people's writes. this has now become a celebration. at the arrivals hall at dallas airport, the joy of reunion. cheering a muslim woman from a rat, —— from iraq making it back into the country. 0ti i got a call saying they were detaining my wife, a green ca rd they were detaining my wife, a green card holder, a legal resident of this country. the department of homeland security said it would continue to give effect to the executive order. donald trump expressed satisfaction about how the ban was being implemented. expressed satisfaction about how the ban was being implementedm expressed satisfaction about how the ban was being implemented. it is working out nicely, and we are going to have a very, very strict ban, and extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many yea rs. have had in this country for many years. this morning, you double down

on twitter: —— he doubled down. these syrians thought that us visas offered them the chance of a new life, but this christian family of six was refused entry at philadelphia airport and forced to fly back to beirut. my son has been in america for three years, said this woman, and they didn't let me call them. there no humanity. they had spent all their money on the plane tickets and seen their american dream is eradicated with the stroke of a pen. more reaction coming in from the united states. john mccain and lindsey graham, republican senators, have been saying that donald trump's orders may do more to help recruit terrorists than to improve us security. they said in a statement:

ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self—inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism. let's speak to gary 0'donoghue in washington. interesting, gary that even senior republicans seem to be worried by this. they are not the only ones either. 0n the last count, i saw around nine republicans, this makes it 11, around nine republicans, this makes it11,in around nine republicans, this makes it 11, in the senate, who expressed serious concerns in one way or another about these executive orders. a further nine have doubts as well and there are others who are on their way to the same place. that's why you saw democrats this morning in the shape of chuck schumer, the minority leader in the senate, possibly talking about pushing through registration to —— legislation to rescind these orders. donald trump also knows that despite

the fact people might be protesting outside the white house, as they are this afternoon, he also knows that a lot of people in america, millions of them, voted for him specifically because of his promises on immigration, so he might have all these political and legal problems, but i don't think that will make him back down. it is fair to say that this order to people in the united states by surprise. indeed, it took some of the agency is supposed to implement the order by surprise. that's certainly what we're hearing. the detail of it was only really landed on people's desks on the day it was happening. 0f landed on people's desks on the day it was happening. of course, the administration says, look, if we had given prior notice, the bad guys would have tried to get in under the wire, as it were, so it was necessary to do it that way. it has caused confusion at airports, particularly over the question of whether green cards are covered by the ban. it is a right to reside and

work in the united states, much coveted. people have to go through a lot of hoops to get a green card. there is a question now about dual nationality, which has raised questions in london and germany that their citizens will be affected if they have dual nationality with one of those seven countries. so, pressure mounting, but i think he will see this as vindication that he is breaking the consensus that he thinks has done america such harmful so thinks has done america such harmful so long. gary, thank you very much indeed. we can speak now to gregory chen, the director of advocacy for the american lawyers association. he is in washington. thank you for joining us. what do you think is the legal status of this executive order? 0bviously, legal status of this executive order? obviously, it is being challenged, but is it legally watertight? i do not think it is.

your viewers will be familiar with the constitution of the united states. this executive order is likely to run foul of the constitution. already, lawyers have challenged on a preliminary basis the detention and holding are several people who have come in at various airports over the last two days and have not been allowed to enter the united states and are being detained there. the basis of those immediate challenges is on the constitution's fifth amendment, due process and equal protection clauses. right now, severaljudges haveissued clauses. right now, severaljudges have issued orders forbidding the us government from deporting those individuals, and a massachusetts judge has issued an order requiring not only that they not be deported but also that they not be detained indefinitely in detention facilities at the airport. the next step, however, is to look at whether or not these orders will be

constitutional, and the most striking aspect here is that the president has himself said on previous occasions that he plans to ban muslims from the united states and this executive order is nothing less tha n and this executive order is nothing less than a thinly veiled ban on the nationals of the seven countries that are muslim majority countries. ra rely have that are muslim majority countries. rarely have we seen an example when it comes the courts of a case of discriminatory basis against religion, against people of a particular faith, where you religion, against people of a particularfaith, where you have religion, against people of a particular faith, where you have a president who has already stated his intention to do it on these grounds. they will look carefully at that. he has said that america needs strong borders, that this should have been done years ago. the wealth, he said, is in done years ago. the wealth, he said, isina done years ago. the wealth, he said, is in a horrible mess. that is exactly what he has said —— the world is in a horrible mess. he has tried to put these through under the guise of national security, but we have the strongest borders ever.

there has been more money spent in the last decade on border patrol, on fencing, and also on national security. refugees are banned under this order and they are already screened very carefully. many of the individuals band had been living in the united states with green cards, which means you are a permanent resident. many of these people are businessmen, travellers, students who have already been to the united states, and google issued a statement saying that 180 of their employees would be stuck out of the united states because of this order. he can pretend this is the national security, but the public now knows very clearly that it is really to ban muslims from this country. gregory chen, thank you for your time. let's get the latest from new york now. laura trevelyan is atjfk

airport. what is the latest, laura? very emotional scenes here as families are waiting, hoping to be reunited with their relatives who have been detained. many relatives who had visas to legally enter the united states, who are coming to visit their relatives, some of them wearing the airand visit their relatives, some of them wearing the air and when this executive order was signed, so anxious scenes here. i've been talking to a member of congress from new york city about the situation. we believe that at the earlier today, there were a total of 13. to make individuals were released this morning, then four this afternoon, and most recently, a 78—year—old gentleman who had been detained since 8am yesterday was released. we believe there are six additional individuals being held. important to note that some of the individuals held our lawful, permanent residents of the us. that is shameful. 0ther

individuals have been held and are relatives of active united states military officials. that is shameful. it is an overly broad order that swept in individuals who have experienced an unnecessary unconscionable nightmare, and we will stick around as long as necessary to turn the situation around. you have been talking to the families, what is their move to? the families, what is their move to? the families have conducted themselves with a tremendous amount of grace and dignity. this is a very trying time and they have been respectful, patient and concern. they have great love for the usa. this is incredibly complicated in terms of what has been inflicted upon them by the president of the usa, that we have a great, robust system of checks and balances. the courts have stepped m, balances. the courts have stepped in, members of congress and the senate will continue to step in, and we will get the situation turned around. chuck schumer, who leads the

democrats in the senate, has said that your party intends to introduce legislation to overturn this executive action, but you don't have a majority, so isn't that purely symbolic? we hope there will be republicans of goodwill, such as senator portland and john mccain, and hopefully other people in the house of representatives, who will put country of our party. they simply should not fall in line behind everything donald trump attem pts behind everything donald trump atte m pts to behind everything donald trump attempts to do, much of which we believe will be unconstitutional. the president introduce this because he says he wants to stop potential terrorist from entering the united states — is this the best way to go about that, in your view? it is an nurse “— about that, in your view? it is an nurse —— it is an unnecessarily overly broad action that will inflame tensions across the world, not improve relationships. the congressman is a member of the united states congress from brooklyn

in new york, and he is saying that there are people who are legal, permanent residents of the united states, green card holders, who had been detained. there are people who are relatives of active us service military who have been detained. even some republicans making the point that this has been enacted very hastily and it is far too broad, picking up people that the government can never have intended to have involved in this. behind me, protesters are gathering. there were huge protests here last night, and this afternoon, more and more people joining the protest. laura, thank you very much. word coming through from reuters that legal opposition appears to be mounting in the united states. we hear that attorney generals from 16 american states, including california and new york, will be issuing a joint statement condemning president trump's immigration

restrictions. so, that is 16 attorney generals from separate american states condemning the trump executive order. aus a us special forces a us specialforces raid in yemen has killed 1a people at least. it targeted tribal chiefs linked to al-qaeda in the al—baida province. we will find out how those stories are we will find out how those stories a re covered we will find out how those stories are covered in tomorrow's front pages the night at 10:30pm and 11:30pm. my guests tonight are jackie frist, a public appointments adviser, and tom burgin from reuters. the northern ireland secretary has criticised the way inquiries are being conducted into the troubles. james brokenshire said the current re—investigations into the conflict focused "disproportionately" on the police and the army. a number of former soldiers

are facing prosecution for deaths during the 30 years of violence. jeremy corbyn has warned his shadow cabinet that it will be "impossible" for them to keep theirjobs if they vote against triggering the start of the brexit process. the labour leader has ordered his party's mps to support the bill when it reaches the commons. two of his front bench have already resigned over the issue. polls have closed in france where the socialist party is choosing its candidate for april's presidential election. manuel valls, a former prime minister, is leading in the polls. his opponent is benoit hamon. the party faces a tough battle from france's right wing. get the latest from hugh schofield in paris. are we any closer to knowing who might be the socialist candidate? the atmosphere at the

manuel valls camp is very gloomy, and the hamon camp is positive. we will get a provisional results soon, not an official one, but it will be a clear indication. everyone suggests that it will be benoit hamon you will be the winner. he went in as the favourite in the first round a week ago and then got the additional support of the number three candidates, montebourg. he had an unstoppable lead over manuel valls on the right winger in this face—off, who represented continuity and who had the stigma, of course, of representing in the eyes of many people who voted the outgoing

administration, which many on the left regard as having betrayed the very principles of the left. many french people see the francois hollande presidency as a failed one, so hollande presidency as a failed one, so what chance does any socialist candidate have of winning this election in april? not a great deal. you are right in pointing out that as things stand, the socialist candidate is fifth placed in the polls behind the far right, the centre—right and the two candidates positioned on the left and right of the socialist party. the real risk for any socialist candidate is that a lot of votes will go to either of these other candidates on their flanks. if benoit hamon wins, which it looks like tonight, a lot of people who might be tempted by him will say, we would rather vote for the real thing if we want a real far left candidate. we will go for melanchon.

a lot of people who would have gone for manuel valls will say, we cannot go for benoit hamon and they will move out of the party and vote for the centrist candidate. the socialist, which would normally carry the banner of the left, goes into this election with a huge burden, and it is hard to see either candidate overcoming that. hugh, thank you forjoining us from paris. the case of a father who refused to pay a fine for taking his daughter on holiday during term time will be settled this week in court. a bbc investigation has found that as a result, councils in england have changed their policies or drop cases against parents. 0ur education correspondent reports.

after taking his daughter on holiday, she had 90% attendance. the legal row was about what regularly means. you like if you look it up in the dictionary, what does it mean to attend school regularly? the dictionary says often. they are trying to make that word have an unnatural meaning, meaning 100%. what about head teachers and teachers who are having to teach children to get them through their exams and to say with term time holidays, every single week there might bea holidays, every single week there might be a child missing. there are

a lwa ys might be a child missing. there are always kids off sick, and sometimes they are due to holidays. the issue is blown out of all proportion because, for every child that misses a day due to a holiday, there are 12 days missed due to illness. the cost of holidays is a worry for many families, so what has happened since last yea r‘s families, so what has happened since last year's case? 108 councils in england out of 152 responded to our questions about term time holidays. 35 have changed their policy since thejudgment. five 35 have changed their policy since the judgment. five more 35 have changed their policy since thejudgment. five more are reviewing their heirs. 28 have dropped cases against parents. 22 have noticed parents taking more term time holidays. councils from the isle of wight to the north of england have different policies. some issue thousands of fines, others almost none. 0ne bad's battle here on the isle of wight has implications for parents across england. it has drawn a line in the

sand with, on the one hand, the government insisting that everyday missed matters, and on the other, pa rents missed matters, and on the other, parents furious about the cost of for holidays. ministers say exam results shape children's futures. missing a few days makes a clear difference. many headteachers agree. it does matter, it does make a difference. we look at our students, and any student who has attendance below 95%, we can track the fact that their progress is not as good as it should be. it is notjust about one dad. his case could have a big impact. the supreme court will reach a decision within months. let's get more on the fallout from president trump's executive order, where he has imposed a travel ban on people from seven mainly muslim countries, and that will affect

british citizens with dual nationality. let's talk to the conservative mp crispin blunt, chair of the foreign affairs select committee. thank you for your time. what do you think the british government should be saying, and possibly more importantly, doing about this travel ban? as i understand, the prime minister has instructed the foreign secretary and the home secretary to take up the issue of british nationals caught up with this, the dual nationals caught up with this, the dual nationals caught up in this executive order, with their opposite numbers in the united states. at executive level, that is the appropriate thing to do now. in terms of messaging to the white house, it needs to be made clear how disagreeable this appears, notjust in the uk but across the free world. what about theresa may's initial reaction when she was in turkey to this news, where she didn't immediately condemn, denounce or disagree with it? we have a prime

minister who is sensible, considered and cautious in coming to her positions. if you have literally climbed off a plane from the us, gone to do a wreath laying and then had a meeting with the president of turkey, you have probably been sleeping and take in consideration of policy towards turkey before deciding exactly what the line should be on this. so, a holding line at that moment i think was appropriate, and to be expected, particularly from this prime minister, who is not given to reacting instantly to things. she is careful and considered, which i think is a good thing. looking ahead, there is growing opposition to the idea of president trump coming to the uk for a state visit. 0ver coming to the uk for a state visit. over 500,000 people have signed an online petition against it. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn is saying donald trump should not be welcome to britain while the abuses oui’ welcome to britain while the abuses our shared values with his shameful

muslim ban. do you agree with him on that? it's. .. a muslim ban. do you agree with him on that? it's... a reason muslim ban. do you agree with him on that? it's. .. a reason why... theresa may's relationship with president trump is very important, to be able to get a message into the white house aboutjust how this looks. i am quite sure there are people, probably most of the american administration, holding their hands in horror as a consequence of what is happening as a consequence of this executive order. it is a sign of an immature administration, not proper policy, and we can see the difficulties that have arisen. the british prime minister needs to be reinforcing those sensible voices within the united states administration, many of whom are leaders of the departments that president trump has appointed himself, to make clear that you can't make policy on the hoof like this without giving it properly consideration and thinking through the consequences of a blanket ban on seven countries. 507 and not more? why a blanket ban? all

of these questions should have been addressed before this order was signed. but -- y seven and not more? should be trumped visit go ahead if the ban continues? —— should the drop visit go ahead? it is plainly wrong that the country that is the heart of the disaster in the middle east at the minute, syria, that refugees from there should have an indefinite ban. all of this i am sure will be renewed and reviewed over the coming days, and by the time we get round to any visit by president trump to the united kingdom, this issue will be long forgotten. in terms of british citizens with dual nationality, it is clearly potentially extremely distressing, isn't it? of course, i

have one who is a member of the foreign affairs select committee, born in iraq dual citizen, two sons at princeton university and he can't visit them. the same position applies to his wife as well, and thatis applies to his wife as well, and that is just a rather obvious demonstration of the ludicrousness ofa demonstration of the ludicrousness of a blanket policy like this brought in without proper consideration. what influenced you think theresa may or anyone else in this country could have? this was announced just a few hours after she left washington. you wonder whether she had any inkling or was given any indication this was about to be announced when she was there.|j shouldn't think so. it is obviously a matter of us domestic