a little while ago, sarah saunders, the white house spokesperson let us know how the decision was reached. the 00] know how the decision was reached. the doj lost confidence injames comey, bipartisan members of congress had lost confidence in him and the rank and file in the fbi. before the news broke, the president spoke to several members of congress to inform them of his decision. did that president direct rod rosenstein to write this letter? know, as i say, he had lost confidence injames

comey and had considered letting him go since the daily was elected, but he did have a conversation with the deputy attorney general on monday where they had come to him to express their concerns, and the president asked that they put that recommendation and concerns in writing which is the letter you have received. why did he say in october that he had full confidence in him? he has questioned james comey‘s reason to stay at the fbi. i think one of the big catalysts was that last week, on wednesday, director comey made a pretty startling revelation that he'd thrown a stick of dynamite into the department of justice by going around a chain of command, taking steps without

talking to the attorney and deputy attorney general, holding a press conference and saying he would not tell them what he was going to say, which is simply not allowed. when exactly d id which is simply not allowed. when exactly did the president lose confidence in him? ya like it's been an erosion. —— it's been a —— there have been a lot of mistakes. many democrats, including senator schumer have said they didn't thinkjames comey should be there that he should be gone. i frankly think it is startling that democrats aren't celebrating this because they'd been celebrating this because they'd been celebrating the idea of it for so long. what about this investigation? donald trump has encouraged the

committee to carry on the investigation. the investigation that was going on is still happening. that has not changed, and we have encouraged them to complete this investigation so we can put it behind us and see exactly what we have been saying for a year. there is no evidence of collusion between the trump campaign and russia, and we would love that to be completed so we would love that to be completed so that we can move on and focus on things that frankly americans are concerned with. the deputy white house press secretary answering questions about the sacking of james komi, the director of the fbi. —— james comey. moon jae—in komi, the director of the fbi. —— james comey. moonjae—in has been sworn in after winning 40% of the vote, almost double that of his

competitor. it ends a decade of conservative rules as stephen evans reports. it's a new tone, where the last president was reclusive, this one appeared in full view of the people. where previous presidents basked in elaborate inaugurations, moonjae—in took ten minutes. his predecessor is injail moonjae—in took ten minutes. his predecessor is in jail awaiting trial accused of corruption. he has set a different tone. translation: trial accused of corruption. he has set a different tone. translationzlj ta ke set a different tone. translationzlj take office with empty pockets and i will leave with those and return to my hometown. but tone is easy. the ha rd my hometown. but tone is easy. the hard bit is policy and action. us and south korean military is in alliance, but president trump is in

washington. hardline trump and softer moonjae—in, how washington. hardline trump and softer moon jae—in, how will that work? moonjae—in said he would go to the north korean capital if the signals were right. he signals he isn't anti—american. the difficult would—be is if trump decides on a military attack on north korea when moonjae—in is saying, you simply can't do that. the man from the north has kept silent about having a new man in the south. kim jong north has kept silent about having a new man in the south. kimjong unto talk to him —— wanted someone to talk to him —— wanted someone to talk to him —— wanted someone to talk to him. we'll moonjae—in keep his softer approach. will moonjae—in keep his softer approach. let's speak to greg miller,

national security correspondent at the washington post. hejoins now me on webcam. when you heard what had happened, what was your first thought?m when you heard what had happened, what was your first thought? it was staggering. the reaction in the news room behind me was one of shock and it took awhile for it to sink in. i think it's still sinking in in washington. the path forward is unclear. you had to understand the historical context here. everybody is immediately thinking back, even those who are thinking back who are too young to remember, the efforts too young to remember, the efforts to suppress the watergate investigation by firing a prosecutor. i think that's where everybody‘s mind went straight. prosecutor. i think that's where

everybody's mind went straight. the deputy press secretary, sarah saunders, said that the president had lost confidence injames comey right at the beginning. do you believe that? it seems pretty clear that they never had a strong relationship. it's hard to understand why, if he had no confidence even coming in to office, why did he keep him in that position for so long, allowing him to preside over this investigation. a lot of that doesn't add up. even if there isa that doesn't add up. even if there is a strained neck, or concern over the way that the clinton e—mails we re the way that the clinton e—mails were handled, to fire the person whose investigating links between russia and the us could be seen as strange. sarah saunders said that

she was amazed that democrats are not celebrating because it is said that comey‘s intervention was backed that comey‘s intervention was backed that cost hillary clinton the election, but others say he is a good guy. i don't think they have any affection for him after the way in which he handled that. many democrats feel burned by him over the investigation into the e—mails last year, but they are more concerned about who donald trump might put in his place. he may put someone might put in his place. he may put someone in who owes him their position. so, it's extraordinary, and there are those of us in the media wondering whether trump will also look for somebody who will be focused on finding who was responsible for the leaks rather

than the underlying allegations. the deputy press secretary said quite a lot of things about james comey deputy press secretary said quite a lot of things aboutjames comey and the relationship with other officials in the united states. one line that struck me is that she said that mr komi macro ——james line that struck me is that she said that mr komi macro —— james comey had lost the confidence of the rank—and—file in the fbi. what do you make of that? i'm sure there are critics of him because he's made some decisions that are controversial both inside and out of the euro, but i don't think anyone picked up on any meaningful dissatisfaction, less delusion meant in the rank—and—file in the fbi. successors' names are kicking around, do you think it will be someone around, do you think it will be someone from inside or outside the

fbi. how beholden to will they be to the president. we are looking for someone the president. we are looking for someone to buy that position on an interim basis and the names that have surfaced longer term include the former mayoral new york, giuliani. his presidency, donald trump, may depend on this. he may go down in history as the president who fired the director early on in this investigation. who he puts in his place will shape how he is handling it at the moment. greg miller at the washington posed, thank you for your time. —— washington post.

let's get your weather now. good evening. warmth and humidity coming in from the south. it might stick around until saturday. in the short term, clear skies overnight, into the early hours of thursday, humidity and show was creeping into southern parts of the uk. there might be the odd downpour. it won't be till later in the morning, and the afternoon before some of these showers get heavy. they will be very hit and miss. they could be the odd heavy one, or very little rainfall at all. it's difficult to know when it's

coming in from the south. the message is a great start to the day. lots of sunshine. orkney, perhaps a few spots of rain. let's focus on this cloud, the humidity and the rain coming in from the south. by the time we get to lunchtime, that's when the threat of thunder increases. these showers will be very few and far between. most of us will have a hazy, warm day with spots of rain. the further north you are, 20 celsius across yorkshire. by friday, it could be colder. i think some rain around on friday morning, across many central areas, thunderstorms around for the midlands. this is going to be a tricky thing to forecast because these showers will be dotted around

almost anywhere in the southern half of the uk. as we head into saturday, the wetter weather will move into parts of england and scotland. it will dry out temporarily across the south, then this weather front with fresh air behind it will be moving in the direction of the uk over time we get to saturday, it will have lower pressure across most of the uk. that's all from me. goodbye. this is bbc news. i'm nicholas owen. the headlines at 8pm. president trump defends his sacking of the fbi chiefjames comey, saying he'd lost the confidence of almost everyone in washington. why did you fire director comey?

because he wasn't doing a good job, very simply, he was not doing a good job. the white house says donald trump had been planning to sack james comey for several months. he'd lost confidence in director comey and frankly he'd been considering letting director comey go since the day he was elected. the crown prosecution service says no conservatives will face charges over claims they'd breached the rules on campaign spending during the last general election. the family of evha jannath — the 11—year—old girl who died at a theme park yesterday — say their world has been torn apart. and education takes centre stage in the election campaign.