hello and welcome to 100 days. scotland's parliament backs a second independence referendum, a decision that puts it on a collision course with the british government. yes 69, no 59. . is this . the beginning of the end of the united kingdom? i hope the united kingdom government will respect the view of parliament. this is simply about giving people in scotland a choice. but the british government refuses to negotiate with edinburgh until the "brexit process" is complete. we'll speak to alex salmond, scotland's former first minister, about what happens now. also... president trump plans to sweep away obama's climate change policies. any moment now, the president is due to sign an executive order to overturn environmental laws and regulations which he says hurt the economy. ford announces over a billion dollar investment in car plants in michigan.

we'll ask the company whether this has anything to do with president trump's america first approach. and... the girl's not for turning — why this statue of defiance is staying put on wall street. the scottish and uk governments look to be on a collision course tonight. within the last couple of hours, the scottish parliament has backed the scottish first minister's demands for a second independence referendum. the final decision to grant that vote still rests with the uk government in westminster, and tonight they have refused to even enter into negotiations with the scottish government until the brexit process is complete. that could be years away, and well outside the timetable set out by edinburgh. our scotland editor sarah smith reports on a looming confrontation between holyrood and westminster. jubilant excitement as supporters heard the scottish parliament had

just voted for a referendum. tears of joy today, but disappointment will follow. they are shouting yes, the prime minister will soon tell them no, there will not be a vote. i call on nicola sturgeon... earlier, the debate suspended after last week's terror attack in westminster, resumed. scotland's future should be in scotland's hands. that is what this debate is about, the future of our country, how we best harness our potential as a country and overcome the challenges that we face. is she going to spend the next two years and 100% of her time campaigning for scotland to leave the uk, at the expense of governing, or will she roll up her sleeves from today and seek to secure more powers for this parliament when they return from brussels to britain? independence debates always excite passion and confrontation. we are sick of it, and most people in scotland have had enough too. this parliament needs to and must focus on the priorities of the people of this country.

it is not the time to be sidetracked by yet more unnecessary division. so i will not take any lessons from the first minister. because actually... sit down. precisely nothing changed yesterday. i think i've answered the first minister's question. the result was never really in doubt, as the greens voted with the snp. the motion, as amended, is therefore agreed. the first minister can now formally ask theresa may for an independence vote. i hope the united kingdom government will respect the view of parliament. this is simply about giving people in scotland a choice. we agree that now is not the right time for that choice, but that choice should be available to people in scotland, when the terms of brexit are clear. i look forward to discussions in the weeks ahead. nicola sturgeon knows that theresa may is going to refuse to allow another scottish referendum. so, why bother asking for one at all? the tories say it is all part

of a well rehearsed game from the snp, where they put forward proposals to westminster they know will be rejected, and then react with righteous indignation when they are. rejecting holyrood's request for a referendum is a risk, but that's exactly what the uk government will do. the prime minister has made her position very clear. now is not the time for another referendum. nothing has been said in the scottish parliament process would be unfair on the people of scotland. the danger for the uk government is that saying no could backfire and stir up support for independence. but they firmly believe most scottish voters don't want another referendum and will accept that now is not the time. sarah smith, bbc news, edinburgh. let's speak to our scotland editor, sarah smith, in edinburgh. quite a robust response from the

scottish secretary david mandel, and he's talking about not granting a referendum until the end of the brexit process, which might include the transition as well. yes, the uk government's position as they don't wa nt to government's position as they don't want to even talk about another referendum or the possible timing of an independence vote until after the brexit negotiations have been completed in two years' time. they've made clear they're not saying they think there could be a vote in two yea rs' saying they think there could be a vote in two years' time, but to give scotla nd vote in two years' time, but to give scotland a reasonable choice of what they're choosing between an independent scotland and the new uk, as it will be processed brexit, they need to wait until it's bedded down a bitand need to wait until it's bedded down a bit and see what the consequences of leaving the eu are going to be. so this sets up quite a constitutional struggle. the first minister is going to go ahead and send a formal request to theresa may, to the british prime minister later this week, even though she knows the answer is going to be known. the prime minister is not saying never but is saying now is not the

time to be talking about it, not when we should be concentrating on brexit. the scottish government are pretty determined not to take no for an answer but what they can do to force the uk government to at least enter discussions about an independence referendum, that remains unclear at the moment. that isa remains unclear at the moment. that is a very good explanation of where we stand. thank you. let's speak to alex salmond — the former first minister of scotland and leader of the yes campaign during the referendum of 2014. we know theresa may will not engage on this. the question is, what next for you? let'sjust concern what happened today. a proportion of parliament, unlike this one down here, as by a substantial and clear majority voted for the people of scotla nd majority voted for the people of scotland have the right to exercise their self—determination. now, theresa may may think she can stand against that but she won't be able to, her position will crumble. not today, not tomorrow, but over

the coming weeks and months, because no british prime ministerfor the last generation has attempted to deny the scottish people the right to self—determination. in my lifetime is the biggest opponent of scottish independence was margaret thatcher but even she said in her autobiography that scotland had an undoubted right of self—determination and the people if they were determined on it, no politician, certainly not her, would stand in their way. theresa may, taking the stance she is doing, is attempting to deny the scottish people the right to decide. self—determination delayed is self—determination denied. self—determination delayed is self-determination denied. will she really crumble? she will say the view of the scottish people is on her side. she's going into a very complex negotiation on brexit. she's made it very clear the scottish people can't take the view one independence until they know how that process has bedded down. i put to you again, what can you possibly do to change the position we are in tonight? she's wrong about the view of the

scottish people. there is only one poll that as our straight should the uk concede a referendum if it's requested? it showed a clear majority... 60%, which requested? it showed a clear majority... 6096, which you said would be a prerequisite for another referendum. i never said anything of the sort. nicola sturgeon and her ma nifesto the sort. nicola sturgeon and her manifesto last year, which is what counts, said if scotland were dragged out of the european union against the will of the scottish people, which has happened, on page 23 incidentally, the scottish government should have the right call for another referendum. it was in her manifesto, nicola sturgeon resoundingly elected on that ma nifesto resoundingly elected on that manifesto and the scottish parliament has voted clearly for it today. to deny that is to deny the right of the scottish people. in fa ct, right of the scottish people. in fact, denying self—determination and no politician down here, the days of that happening... down here this spring, brexit, empire 2.0. let me tell you, the days of the british

empire are over and the days of british prime minister is denying self—determination to the scottish people are over as well. you have been very critical of the brexit campaign, boris johnson and been very critical of the brexit campaign, borisjohnson and nigel farage for not coming up with a clear plan. let's focus on your plan. what is the destination for scotla nd plan. what is the destination for scotland if it was independent? nicola sturgeon wants a referendum in18 nicola sturgeon wants a referendum in 18 months to two years. every parliament around europe, as well as this one, will get a chance to accept or reject a brexit deal. she will bring forward a in that time scale to care compare against the brexit deal. that is the right and proper way to do things. brexit deal. that is the right and proper way to do thingslj understand proper way to do things.” understand that but what is the destination, will you be a member of the european union?” destination, will you be a member of the european union? i am certain nicola sturgeon will bring forward a prospectus which allows for continuity within the single market place. and nobody in this place is at all confident the british government will be able to do that asa government will be able to do that as a result of the brexit negotiations. that's why the right time, the proper time, the only

feasible time to decide this issue is in18 feasible time to decide this issue is in 18 months to two years, when this parliament and every other parliament around europe gets the chance to vote on it. why shouldn't the scottish people have the right to vote and exercise self—determination on that timescale? let's remind what's going on here. this is not just let's remind what's going on here. this is notjust about scotland. northern ireland is in deadlock. the welsh arts alienate it. scotland is moving for an independence referendum and the english are split 50-50. this referendum and the english are split 50—50. this is not a prime minister in westminster in command of the political environment. on that disunited basis, which she has created, she is moving into the most difficult european negotiations to stop for more than a generation. the prime minister... it will be evident for all to see. michelle here in washington. just pick up on this idea, if you go back to the first referendum, one of the key questions many scots had was what with the economy look like, what with the currency but like? here we are talking about a second referendum,

talking about a second referendum, talking about a second referendum, talking about the timetable for that to ta ke talking about the timetable for that to take place. will people, when they vote on this, have any idea of what the economic landscape might look like? of course they shall. as you will remember, in the first referendum campaign, december 2013, there was presented in a prospectus white paper of 670 pages. many, many people in the brexit referendum last year would have loved that sort of prospectus in order to judge year would have loved that sort of prospectus in order tojudge how to vote. i'm quite certain nicola sturgeon will outline the same kind of white paper with the same kind of guidance for people as is right and proper in a referendum campaign. alex salmond, thank you very much indeed. a great pleasure. these are certainly momentous days for the uk. they are. tomorrow theresa may serves official notice on brussels that brexit will be underway. the two dear negotiation will start

tomorrow. and today i think is a very good illustration of the challenge that she's going to face, not only negotiating with the european union, which will be complex in itself, but also keeping her own party onside this. the staunch brexiteers within her party who want their cake and eat it, but also those constituent parts of the united kingdom. remember, it's the conservative and unionist party, she isa conservative and unionist party, she is a unionist, she wants to keep all the countries together as part of the countries together as part of the united kingdom going forward and that will be a very difficult task. and we haven't even touched on what the other eu members think. like spain, or belgium, who would possibly be opposed to an independent scotland joining the european union because it might giving courage and there succession as part of their country as well. notan as part of their country as well. not an easy challenge for the scottish government, if it was to get that referendum. meanwhile, president trump hasjust signed an executive order rolling

back many of president 0bama's climate change policies. the energy independence order begins the process of withdrawing and re—writing president 0bama's clean power plan. the white house says it will restore thousands of lost jobs to coal mining communities. begins the process of withdrawing and re—writing president 0bama's clean power plan. the white house says it will restore thousands of lostjobs to coal mining communities. this is wayne spoke in pennsylvania. you come to a place like this, the coal mine, as hopefully you can see through the drizzle behind me, is literally physically part of the time. it is the reason this area prospered, but that has all been taken away in recent years. notjust this mine but several mines in this region have shut down in recent yea rs. region have shut down in recent years. people have really struggled, have really struggled, but they have got used to the idea that if they wa nt to got used to the idea that if they want to move forward and have a future here they have to diversify in terms of industry, and along comes donald trump and says in

effect that he can turn back the clock, can make coal king again and thatis clock, can make coal king again and that is a message people here wanted to hear. the coal mine here closed more than a year ago. hundreds of well—paid miners were laid off. rightly or wrongly, many blame the policies of the last policy. either losing their houses, trucks, their cars. losing their houses... it's a big impact. if it was up to make, every coalminer in this country would be working, because the fact is, we've been mining coal in this country for 200 years. open it back up, get the guys back to work. do you think it's going to happen? i believe it is, yes. nearly 70% of people here in a traditionally democratic county voted trump in the election. the fact he said he would reverse 0bama policies on carbon emissions to bring back mining jobs was key. president 0bama said he was introducing these regulations to curb america's reliance on coal cuts because of concerns over climate change, but this government's more

dismissive attitude towards global warming is something that's alarming environmentalists, and its promise to reopen coal mines is just one part of that. as well as overturning rules to stop offering new government leases for coal mines, donald trump plans to cut funding for america's environmental protection agency by around a third. the man he appointed to head the organisation says he's not even sure human activity affects climate change. but is all of this even going to bring backjobs? trump said many times, i love coal miners, i love coal mines, i love coal. we're going to bring back coal, we going to bring back coal. and so this is the livelihood of this county. a lot of people, a lot of my friends, and so they believed it. i personally don't. i don't know how you bring back coal. many mines shut down simply

because of economics, there were cheaper ways of producing energy. if the jobs don't return, after hopes have been raised, people here might one day feel all that's really happened is a distraction from truly modernising american industry and a devastating setback in the fight against climate change. that report, we can listen to the president. we have an impressive group here to celebrate the start of a new era in american energy and production and job creation. the action i'm taking today will eliminate federal overreach, restore economic freedom and allow our companies and our workers to thrive, compete and succeed on a level playing field for

the first time in a long time. it's been a long time, fellas. i'm not just talking about eight years, a lot longer than eight years, you people know it may be better than anybody. thanks as well to the many distinguished members of congress who have taken the time to be here. i want to thank all of our industry leaders who are with us, and to share our determination to create jobs in america for americans. and thank you all so, i spotted you in the audience, thank you. that is what this is all about, bringing back ourjobs, bringing back our dreams and making america wealthy again. i also want to thank the dedicated public servants who are with us this afternoon. you're doing important work to protect our health

and public resources. so important. finally i want to acknowledge the truly amazing people behind me on the stage, our incredible coalminers. applause we love our coalminers. great people. 0ver great people. over the past two yea rs great people. over the past two years i've spent time with the miners all over america. they told me about the struggles they've endured. actually, in one case, i went to a group of miners in west virginia. you remember, shelley. i said, how about this... why don't we get together, we'll go to another place and you'll get anotherjob? you won't mind any more do you like that idea? you won't mind any more do you like that idea ? they you won't mind any more do you like that idea? they said no, we don't like that idea we love to mine, that's what we want to do. i said if

that's what we want to do. i said if that's what we want to do. i said if that's what you love to do, that's what you're going to do. i was very impressed. they loved the job, that's what their job impressed. they loved the job, that's what theirjob is, i fully understand that. i grew up in a real estate fa m ily understand that. i grew up in a real estate family and until this recent little excursion into the world of politics i could never understand why anybody would not want to be in the world of real estate. believe me. so i understand it, and we're with you 100% and that's what you're going to do, 0k? applause the miners told me about the attacks on theirjobs and their livelihoods. they tell me about the efforts to shut down their minds, their communities and their very way of life. i made them this promise... we will put our miners back to work. applause we've always do ——

applause we've always do -- we've today on taking bold action to follow through on that promise. my administration is putting an end to the war on coal. we're going to have clea n the war on coal. we're going to have clean coal, really clean coal. with today's executive action i am taking historic steps to lift the restrictions on the american energy. to reverse government intrusion and to canceljob to reverse government intrusion and to cancel job killing to reverse government intrusion and to canceljob killing regulations. applause and by the way, regulation is not just in this industry but every industry. we're doing them by the thousands, every industry. we going to have safety co m e every industry. we going to have safety come water, clean air but so many are unnecessary and so many are job killing. we're getting rid of the bad ones. 0ne

job killing. we're getting rid of the bad ones. one by one we are keeping promises and putting power back into the hands of the people. first today's energy ended the patented his action for an immediate re—evaluation of the so—called clean power plan. applause perhaps... perhaps no single regulation threatens our miners, and companies more than this crushing attack on american industry. second, we're lifting the ban on federal leasing for coal production. third, we're lifting job killing restrictions on the production of oil, natural gas, clean coaland shale energy. and finally we are returning power to the states where that power belongs. states and local communities know what is best for them. they understand it, they get

it, they have been doing it for a long time. it was taken away from them and not handled well. they are them and not handled well. they are the ones that we should now and will now empower to decide. my action todayis now empower to decide. my action today is the latest in a series of steps to create american jobs and to grow american wealth. we're ending for theft of american prosperity and rebuilding our beloved country. we approved the permit to finally build the keystone xl pipeline and cleared the keystone xl pipeline and cleared the way to completion of the dakota accessed pipeline. thousands and thousands of jobs. applause there is president trump, rolling back 0bama's clean power plan. and fulfilling, as he does that a

campaign promise. a fairly bruising few days, the white house, so this puts them back on the front foot. it will feel a bit like a win for the white house staff behind. and that's important, isn't it, michelle? yes,. what's interesting is donald trump won and came to power on the grounds of being a businessman, on the grounds of his experience. what you are seeing here is essentially he is saying he is putting economic policy, in his view, ahead of environmental policies. a shift from the 0bama administration, which republicans felt had overstepped the mark and gone too far. there would be many republicans who would probably back him on that. they are not as in tune with president 0bama's climate plans as perhaps... the democrats were and obviously this is part of that. they've never really embrace climate change, so i'm sure there are plenty of people

in his own party who are applauding today. let's just move on. the wife of the westminster attacker khalid masood says she is shocked by the killings here in london last week. ina week killings here in london last week. in a week she said she totally condemned her husband's actions. he ran down and killed three pedestrians westminster bridge and stabbed a police officer to death parliament last wednesday. people in the australian state of queensland are assessing the damage after cyclone deadbeat brought torrential waning gusts of wind up to 260 kilometres an hour. the prime minister said military helicopters and ships are being sent to deliver aid to the states north, where tens of thousands of homes are without power. a convicted criminal known as carlos the jackal has been convicted for life of the 1974 grenade attack ona for life of the 1974 grenade attack on a paris store that killed two people. judges found carles gil to

throw the explosive. the 67—year—old is already serving two life sentences in france for other murders and attacks. you're watching one hundred days from bbc news. still to come for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news — from mexico to michigan — why ford is investing a billion dollars in the us. did donald trump have anything to do with it? and eye—balling wall street's bull — the steely girl staring down big business and why new york city wants to keep herfor the moment at least. that's still to come on 100 days, from bbc news. today some of us enjoyed them really

warm sunshine. for others very wet with some very heavy thunderstorms. that gives you a flavour of what's to come through the rest of this week. some spots will be nudging 20 degrees but for others quite a lot of heavy rain and temperatures as a consequence will be rather disappointing. thing is turning more u nsettled disappointing. thing is turning more unsettled from the west. we have already had some thunderstorms this afternoon in parts of the midlands. this damp weather will spread to other areas. a dreary end of the night and lots of cloud cover but that will help prevent temperatures dropping to low. no. anything but a rather murky start to your wednesday morning. some mist around as well. this slow improvement, some sunshine for scotland for a time at least, although it won't last forever because the rain will be piling up the irish sea and eventually engulf much of scotland. a disappointing end to the day here with some heavy rain, particularly out west. dry weather holding on in the far north. northern ireland, hopefully some dry spells developing through the afternoon but not to be relied upon.

a lot of rain in the north—west. rain in the west of wales. just nudging into far south—west of england. further east, a lot of dry weather. dry but quite cloudy, quite a humid feel, 15—16. that is nothing compared with the temperatures we could potentially see on thursday. warm air wafting could potentially see on thursday. warm airwafting up could potentially see on thursday. warm air wafting up from the near confident and could send the mercury soaring as high as 20 or 21 in parts of east anglia, the south—east. the north and west, markedly cooler and that's because a lot of cloud. further rain, particularly up through the irish sea, chris daniels getting quite a lot of rain. dry across parts of scotland and northern ireland, best of the temperatures southeast. by friday further wet weather piling in from the west. that was slowly move eastwards. this is a cold front. that cold front will push the warm air away. a fresher feel to things as we start the weekend. going to

see a as we start the weekend. going to seeafair as we start the weekend. going to see a fairfew as we start the weekend. going to see a fair few showers around on saturday. this little ridge of high pressure will settle things down come sunday. to sum up this weekend, april showers on the menu for the 1st of april on saturday. drying up on sunday but some chilly nights to come as well. enjoy your evening. welcome back to 100 days with me michelle fleury in washington and christian fraser in london. 0ur headlines: scotland's parliament backs a second independence referendum, putting it on a collision course with the british government. yes 69, no 59, there were no abstentions. the motion as amended is therefore agreed. is this the beginning of the end of the united kingdom? and the girl's not for turning — why this statue of defiance is staying put on wall street. donald trump had some good news to tweet about this morning — "big announcement by ford today.

major investment to be made in three michigan plants. car companies coming back to us. ford has said it will spend 1.2 billion dollars on the michigan plants. before we came on air i spoke tojoe hinrichs, president of the americas for ford. how much of the announcement today is new investment that we haven't heard about before? the investment in the romeo plant is new, we have not announced that previously. the 200 million investment in the data centre is as well. the incremental investment going from 700 million to 350 million is new as well. so a number of these are new and exciting developments. for the state of michigan. what prompted you to make this

further investment in the us at this particular moment in time? these investments have been in the works for a while. a number of them were committed in 2015 as part of the uaw contract negotiation. why we are announcing today is the michigan economic development corporation met today to give support for incentives and tax abatement. so they were going to take the package as part of the consideration, we wanted to talk about it publicly and let it come to life. it wasn't long ago that he pulled a planned investment in mexico now you're going ahead with this one of the us. can you explain the business thinking behind it? what's the economic case? we originally announced we would building a new plant in mexico to build the focus. as we have seen over the last couple of years, small car sales have reduced significantly in the us. we alternated that plan to bail to produce the in another mexican plant and save 500 million. net of all those changes.

that frees up money to make incremental investment in the us. trump has talked about car industry about how it produces cars, where they are produced, did you talk to the administration about this? we shared the good news about the investment today with the white house administration before 8am. we always give courtesy for our stakeholders including senators and congressmen and women. from the differentjurisdictions where we make announcement. and the state of michigan. we said that information because we wanted to know the knees were making, it's a big investment and exciting news for michigan and the us and the auto industry. you mention the tax breaks for part of a decision at the local level? you've got the administration talking about border tax reform. how important is that to ford? what other measures he want to see? we are supportive of the initiatives

of the administration including tax reform. we think that is very much a necessary for the us economy. today, tomorrow and the future. we are encouraged by that. the future infrastructure investment as well. there is definitely a need for that in the us. the tax support we are getting the state of michigan is about a little less than $30 million over 15 years. so not the bulk of the why we made the decision, but we appreciate the state's support, and so with a number of our initiatives. key to all of this is creating jobs. what has been the reaction from the workers? 0ur workforce is extremely excited about being up to make the next generation of the ranger and bronco. any investment plan is exciting. the cascading effects of investment dollars in the auto industry is prominent. it creates nine otherjobs fair

everyjob we create. it's exciting. the state of michigan where supportive and excited. all of our employees are excited about the investment. 80% of our sales are produced here, with the largest reducer of vehicles in the us, we are enforcing the manufacturing and automotive story of the united states, it makes us feel good, it's our home country and home business. and a friendly business environment helps. thanks forjoining us. so big investment in these michigan pla nts so big investment in these michigan plants and president trump is claiming this is one of his. did you get a feeling from that interviews we re get a feeling from that interviews were the they made the decision because of trump or what is already in the pipeline? some of that money as he said, was in the pipeline for as he said, was in the pipeline for a long time. some was more recent. perhaps it was influenced by the fa ct we perhaps it was influenced by the fact we keep hearing them businessmen, ceo after see that businessmen, ceo after see that business has improved or word or improve the tramp. i think the question though —— improved under

tramp. the question is what is hat thing is that on car production. we're starting to see americans buying fewer cars, and perhaps there was a sense the market has reached a peak. so it will see how this marries the idea of selling cars when customers do not want as much. leading democrats say the republican chair of the house intelligence committee must recuse himself from the investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election. last week mr nunes by—passed his committee going directly to the president with new intelligence relating to wiretapping. it suggested mr. trump and his associates were "incidentally" swept up in the surveillance of foreign targets, by the american spy agencies. where did that intelligence come from? well, it now emerges he had met his ‘source' on white house grounds the very day before he shared it with the president. someone had invited him into the white house, and logged him

into a white house computer. all of which begs serious questions of the chair‘s independence. speaking to reporters earlier today he denied any wrongdoing you guys get so many opportunities to interview when you have something to interview when you have something to report global talk about it. we're not ruling out accusing. a russian investigation will continue. are you considering stepping down? look guys, go ask... i don't know what you're talking about. go ask the other side. well among those calling for chairman nunes to recuse himself from this investigation is democratic congressman jim himes — who sits on the intelligence committee. a brief time ago i spoke to him from capitol hill. we've seen various meetings being cancelled this week by the house intelligence committee. i think some people are beginning to wonder, is

the world poisoned. can the committee do its job? the committee has been put into suspended animation. yesterday's meeting is a consistent meeting every week, when we are first back in washington, it was cancelled. it was rescheduled. thursday was cancelled to. today's open hearing is the subject of con cassation and it was also cancelled. i think the way for this investigation to move forward is for chairman to share with us, democrats and republicans alike, the material here received and the reasons for his actions, not letting them know about it. that would be a start to get this investigation back on start. how common is it for people to go to the white house to a secure location to read sensitive

documents? it's pretty uncommon. in the capital, we have our own offices with secure areas in which we review the most sensitive intelligence. the chairman said that for whatever reason he had to do it there. that is not what is so odd. what is odd is not what is so odd. what is odd is that if this was something that would be 100% innocent without any kind of political taint, let her out and as the jail kind of political taint, let her out and as thejailand kind of political taint, let her out and as the jail and tier teran alluded that it was a proper unmasking of us information or some mistake made by the intelligence community, that sort of thing is precisely the reason our community exists. to consider it and look at it and provide oversight of the intelligence community. but the fact is almost a week later, we are almost completely in the dark about this material suggests it is not anything that is in the ordinary course of business. it sounds like you think this is a distraction from the burger question, russia's —— the bigger question, russia's

involvement in the us election. it's not a distraction. 0n lap to include it's a deliberate effort to change the topic, to prevent the open testimony. that is not happening. don't think it's an accident is not happening. we also, i think, don't think it's an accident is not happening. we also, ithink, saw that the topic shifted from the very serious allegations to from last wa kes serious allegations to from last wakes hearing, the fbi investigation underway into trump and russia, all ofa underway into trump and russia, all of a sudden we're not talking about that because of this bizarre episode of running to the white house, not sharing with committee, changing the topic, i have to believe that this isa topic, i have to believe that this is a deliberate political effort. the fyi director whispers to be meeting a panel private today, and all those meetings were cancelled in the furore. it seems all the meetings this week have been

cancelled. there are big questions about the house intelligence committee and whether it can do its job. 0ut committee and whether it can do its job. out of the problem here is that the committee has still not seen to share the relevant information that mr nunes had seen. a week on, whether those documents that he had seen support the argument that means we re seen support the argument that means were properly unmasked. that mr trump and his associates were being watched. it's impossible tojudge. there's a question of who were the tramp trump came numbers speaking to. we don't know that either. were they, does this tie into the russian investigation or not? 0r they, does this tie into the russian investigation or not? or is this a distraction? all of this remains unknown, hence you have reporters chasing mr nunes down the corridor trying to find out what they can. com pletely trying to find out what they can. completely distracting from the work of the committee. christian, i don't know if he seen these pictures. take a look at this. it's a statue that

has appeared in downtown manhattan not far from wall street. that's the charging bowl in the background. you're looking at the back of a statue which is called the fearless girl, which is supposed to be facing off against the charging bull. it was designed to celebrate international women's day. there are some feisty and fearless women in new york, and michelle is one of them. put your business hat on. it's not being bullish is it the market? generally, since the repealing of 0bama care collapse, the dow has suffered a bit? i think we've seen confidence shaken on wall street and in washington. 0ver health care debacle. but american consumers are still confident and it boosts the market. that's all we have timed for, that's100 days from now. you can get in touch with us on twitter

as well. see the next time tomorrow. you're watching bbc news. the top stories at 7:45pm. the scottish parliament has voted to back a second second independence referendum, after hours of fierce debate at holyrood. countdown to brexit — the prime minister prepares to begin the process of leaving the eu. she will send a letter to brussels tomorrow. a royal marine who was convicted of shooting dead a wounded taliban fighter in afghanistan, will be freed within weeks after his sentence was reduced. an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's much better than yesterday. nasdaq

and the london market are both up. not too bad. more on the news about scottish independence referendum. it passes but it was rejected by westminster. let's hear from the hollywood debates beginning with nicola sturgeon. my argument is this. the nature of the change that is made inevitable by brexit becomes clear. that change should not be imposed upon us, we should have the right to decide the nature of that change. the people of scotland should have the right to choose between brexit,

possibly a very hard brexit, or becoming an independent country able to chart our own course and create a true partnership of peoples across these islands. and if we accept, as i hope we all do, that scotland does have the right to decide our own future, the question becomes one of timing. when is it best to make that choice? we are all agreed that now is not the time. in my view, the time to cheeses when the terms of brexit are clear and can bejudged then against the challenges and opportunities of becoming an independent country. the leader of the scottish conservatives, ruth davidson, said the debate underlined how divisive another referendum campaign would be for everyone. this debate so far has served one purpose. it's vintage show why were people in scotland don't want the government and this parliament to be sidetracked and the division and rancour of another campaign. despite

och some speeches from the side of the chamber, this added nothing to the chamber, this added nothing to the knowledge of scottish