you're watching beyond one hundred days. there's more scandal in westminster and another cabinet minister's future is in doubt. a source tells the bbc priti patel will resign rather than face the sack over her meetings with israeli politicians. she was thrown through the back door for showdown with theresa may. —— showing through. this is the view right now of the british prime minister's office — when we get word on ms patel‘s decision, we'll bring it straight to you. democrats sweep elections in the us. they win the governor's race in virginia — is it the beginning of a backlash against donald trump, orjust a blip? president trump campaigned on tough talk against china — today it's the latest stop on his asia tour. but it may be president xi who holds the cards. also on the programme. hollywood star kevin spacey faces a new allegation of sexual misconduct — we hear from an alleged victim. the state that helped secure the white house for donald trump — how do the people of wisconsin feel a year after that incredible election? he's got an iron fist i think.

i mean he says what he wants to say and he doesn't care. he may make some people mad but i like what he's doing. get in touch with us using the hashtag. 'beyond—one—hundred—days' hello and welcome — i'm katty kay in washington, christian fraser is in london. there is nothing ‘strong or stable‘ about the current british government. the prime minister lost her defence secretary last week, tonight mrs may may be forced to sack another cabinet collegue, the international development secretary, priti patel. ms patel was formally reprimanded, on monday, for a series of meetings she held in israel with senior government officials while on holiday, none of them sanctioned by the foreign office. today she was hauled back from uganda, after news emerged of other undisclosed meetings. our diplomatic editor james landale has the story. this afternoon, priti patel

arrived back from kenya, avoiding the queues and cameras, enjoying this perk of ministerial office for perhaps the last time. the international development secretary had been summoned back to london after more details had emerged of her undisclosed meetings while on holiday in israel, a secret diplomacy that opposition parties believe broke ministerial rules. well, what she's done it she has shown us that she hasn't got respect for the job itself, she has breached the ministerial code by not being transparent, by not making sure that all the meetings were listed, and the prime minister should have sacked her as soon as she found out that she'd breached that code. the controversy began when ms patel went on holiday to israel in august. i heard some rumours about what you have got up to, checked them out, and then last friday i reported that ms patel had held a number of meetings with officials and charities without telling the foreign office, as would be expected.

that afternoon, she challenged my report, telling the guardian that the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, did know about the visit. but it emerged on monday that she had been summoned to downing street to be reprimanded by the prime minister and reminded of ministerial rules. she issued a statement apologising, and admitting there had been 12 secret meetings, including one with israel's prime minister. downing street hoped that would be that. but on tuesday morning, i reported that after the trip, ms patel suggested using british aid money for israeli army work in the golan heights. then ms patel departed on a prearranged trip as it emerged that downing street had not known about the plan to help the israeli army, then it emerged overnight that ms patel had two further meetings with senior israelis in september, without following usual procedures, without civil servants present. after all this, it was no surprise she was ordered back to london. there were also reports that ms patel had taken the controversial

step of visiting an israeli army field hospital in the golan heights, an area not recognised by the british government. so why did priti patel act as she did? some mps believe she simply didn't realise what she was doing was wrong. others say she doesn't like officialdom and has a history of doing things without telling civil servants. others suspect she was pursuing her own private foreign—policy. politics is not a game... all this matters not just because there is a risk of policy confusion but because government is based on cabinet responsibility, the idea that the men and women around this table speak as one and are accountable to parliament and the public as one. tonight, her ministerial colleagues were hardly rushing to her defence. quick question? priti patel, do you think she should resign? i'm going to leave it or not to the prime minister, thank you very much. but some allies did come to her aid. priti should not resign, she has clearly been foolish, she is a workaholic, she should have had officials with her, they would have

briefed her, they would have reported back and made sure that the foreign office knew what was happening. she didn't do that, it was an error ofjudgment, but she has been a good secretary of state. this evening, priti patel was being driven to westminster to the learn her fate. she has apologised for her behaviour, but her apparent lack of candour about her holiday in israel may mean she is coming to the end of the ministerial road. james landale, bbc news. our chief political correspondent vicki young has been following today's developments and joins us now from westminster. it has been a strange day. people following her through the airport and finally she has arrived at downing street and it is rumoured that the prime minister is not there yet. you might have thought given the pressure on prime minister but they would want to get this out of they would want to get this out of the way quickly. things have moved on in the last few minutes. theresa

may had another engagement, she came back to downing street and they have beenin back to downing street and they have been in togetherfor back to downing street and they have been in together for about 25 minutes. but priti patel we understand has now just left minutes. but priti patel we understand has nowjust left downing street by the back gate. we do not know what the outcome of the meeting has been. so they would have been going through exactly what has come about since their last face—to—face meeting on monday. the big question is whether things that priti patel did not tell the prime minister on monday which have now emerged and have not been clarified. if so i think she will no longer have her job. of think she will no longer have her job. of course she is a more junior member of the cabinet compared to the defence secretary michael fallon who went last week. but this cabinet is finely balanced, there is a balance between brexiteers and remainer is and that is why it is difficult for the prime minister this week. i think so and also looking back, losing two cabinet ministers in one week, that has not

happened since under tony blair in 1988 and then he had a huge parliamentary majority, riding high in the opinion polls. theresa may does not have that luxury so anything like this which would destabilise the cabinet is a problem because they have so much else to get on with. if you are theresa may, we spend most of her time talk about brexit and that is still going on but we have not been discussing that because of these other things. that is not a good position for any government to be in and especially weakened by the general election result and now struggling to progress with brexit. the bill coming back to the houses of parliament and having to get all that through and she is having to deal with wayward ministers. while we do not know exactly what her future is and what the decision is if one has been made. but if she was to go is —— is there a difference for theresa may over whether she resigns or is sacked? insiders to

know about these things say often this is the wrangle but goes on, whether you are allowed to resign or whether you are allowed to resign or whether you are sacked. you may know quite often there is this exchange of letters coming out afterwards and it all sounds like it has been rather friendly. in this circumstance i think it is difficult, she has been ordered back priti patel, from an overseas trip. therefore everyone knows she has been ordered back. it is then quite ha rd to let been ordered back. it is then quite hard to let her resign but from her point of view if she wants to come back and have a political career then she would prefer to be in that position. for theresa may she might wa nt to position. for theresa may she might want to look like she has got a grip of the situation. for the moment, thank you. just to show you some pictures of priti patel who we understand has just left... no, pictures of priti patel who we understand hasjust left... no, that is borisjohnson who is in the united states at the moment. no, we

do not have those. let's talk about there have been questions over the future of the british foreign secretary too.. on tuesday, borisjohnson faced calls to apologise, and even resign, over comments he made about a british woman who's being held in prison in iran. but today he flew here to washington where he's been discussing the iran nuclear deal with members of congress. last month donald trump refused to recertify the iran nuclear deal — placing the future of the agreement largely in the hands of congress. this is pretty serious. serious for the prime minister but also in what priti patel has done. when government ministers go on these visits to israel, there would be all kinds of prodigal in place, civil servants, ambassadors, and agreed government position. and also security sweeps of the room and all the security going with a visit like that. presumably she has gone there perhaps using her medications and

all that put together puts a politician in a potentially precarious position, open to blackmail. and that is why i think it is seen as so bad by her cabinet colleagues. and also if you considered the prime minister, although she is trying to hang on to although she is trying to hang on to a minister people think should have been sacked on monday, what preceded it does it set for other ministers if you're allowed to go almost freelance to a country. that would not set the best example. so quite a serious case, perhaps more serious than what borisjohnson is accused of doing. yes, in terms of what it opens ministers up to potentially but also more serious in terms of how it reflects on the prime minister. if this is what happens, and it is clearly a breach of protocol and standards, then why did the prime minister notjust sack her immediately. even if priti patel is

sacked tonight if there is a delay and the story lingers for a few days it already makes the prime minister look weaker than she needs to do. always much better to get in front of these things. exactly. too weak to sack a minister and too strong to be got rid of herself. that is the current predicament in british politics. an extraordinary time. democrats in america are smiling today — and they haven't done much of that this past year. last night's democratic victories in local elections were the best news they've had since donald trump shattered their dreams, defied expectations and won the white house exactly one year ago. two governorships in two states doesn't mean democrats are by any means back in charge — but they feel a message has been sent. a message that opposition to president trump can translate into actual votes. in virginia in the state legislature they flipped 1a seats from red to blue, the biggest democratic pick—up in over 100 years. in newjersey the democrats snatched the governorship from the republicans.

and they won a tight mayoral race in new hampshire. we were in virginia yesterday for the election — larry sabato is still there — at the university of virginia's center for politics in cha rlottesville. thank you forjoining us. looking at the virginia race, was it a win for the virginia race, was it a win for the democrats or a loss for donald trump? if resulted in a win for democrats but donald trump, donald trump, donald trump, the reasons why they were the winners. that sums up they were the winners. that sums up the race because the democrat running for governor is a delightful man and highly intelligent but pretty boring. there is no way he could excite the crowd. no way he could excite the crowd. no way he could have excited this kind of turnout which really was massive compared to the last race for governor. and the vast majority of the increase with democrats, they

showed up to vote unlike last member when they left hillary clinton high and dry. ed gillespie ran a pretty impressive campaign. in the last few weeks of the campaign he tied himself closely to president trump and his policies and ideology. but he did not get many facts from the president. this is what president trump tweeted from his asia trip this morning about ed gillespie. he worked hard but did not embrace me 01’ worked hard but did not embrace me or what i stand for. how does that help president trump with republicans? well obviously it doesn't. that was not a very gracious tweet. i know that would shock people but president trump could be ungracious! but also it is false and that is what is important. it is absolutely untrue that ed gillespie did not tie himself to trump and his issues. in fact he was out trumping president trump,

stressing confederate monument and football players taking the lead during the national anthem and immigration and latino gangs even more than trump has done. with some fishes television ads on which he spent millions. it was saturated coverage of these advertisements. and it backfired. it produced more democratic votes than additional republican votes by a factor of about ten. we will cut that interview short. because we've just heard the british international development secretary priti patel has resigned. so we go back to vicky young at westminster. of course it was expected, do we have any other details apart from the decision she has taken? priti patel was in there for about 25 minutes and we now have the official exchange of letters which is customary between the prime minister and priti patel. just to

reduce what priti patel had disabled but she talks about in recent days they had been a number of reports about her actions, she says i'm sorry these have served as a distraction from the work of the department for international development and the government as a whole. as you know from our discussions accept in meeting with organisations and politicians during a private holiday in israel might actions fell below the high standards expected of the secretary of state. she says her actions were meant with the best of intentions but she says they also fell below the standards of transparency and openness she promoted and advocated. she offered a full sum apology for what has happened. and offered her resignation. clearly other things

have come to light since monday when the prime minister did not sack which have led to her departure from government. and the prime minster has replied saying she did the right thing by resigning. so priti patel, the second cabinet minister to be forced out of a job in just one week. so the prime minister no doubt will be hoping that downing street can drawa will be hoping that downing street can draw a line under this and start to move on from this incident. what is the impact now on theresa may? well the first thing is to find a replacement, i'm not sure if we'll get back tonight or tomorrow. she will have to think of the make—up of the cabinet, whether she feels she must replace her with leading brexiteer, whether she feels she has to replace her with another or not. but really just the fact that this has been so destabilising, such a huge distraction and not for the same reason as former defence secretary michael fallon, that was allegations of sexual impropriety.

this is a different issue, showing a lack ofjudgment this is a different issue, showing a lack of judgment as this is a different issue, showing a lack ofjudgment as well however and just the kind of thing theresa may could do about when she has so much else on her plate including of course those brexit talks which resume tomorrow. and then her deputy damian green under investigation through the harassment thing going through the harassment thing going through parliament at the moment. and criticism of borisjohnson. some people have asked why she does not just grasp the nettle and shake up the cabinet and have a reshuffle and be done with it. there was speculation about whether she would doa speculation about whether she would do a wider reshuffle to try to reassert her authority after the summer. reassert her authority after the summer. i think the problem with that, so many times, even in a position of great strength as tony blairdid as prime position of great strength as tony blair did as prime minister, a reshuffle blair did as prime minister, a res huffle ca n blair did as prime minister, a reshuffle can turn out to be chaotic. they're not easy to do, personalities involved, who do you bring in or sack. you end up with

resentments. last week theresa may was just replacing one resentments. last week theresa may wasjust replacing one person, the defence secretary, and those overlooked were unhappy. and it will be sent through the prism of brexit auditory does. she may be tempted to do it but it is not always the best move. there are many conservatives not currently in government, from the younger generation if you like to feel it is time for a clear out and they deserve their chants about whether theresa may will be bold enough to do that i'm not sure. thank you. 1.4 billion chinese aren't allowed to use twitter, but the president of the united states is defying a nation wide ban and tweeting from inside the country. the us delegation apparently brought along special equipment so that mr trump could get round china's firewall and engage in his favourite social media habit. his rule breaking doesn't seem to have dampened chinese determination to give the american leader a red carpet welcome. mr trump had tea with premier xijinping, visited

the forbidden city and even shared pictures of his grand daughter, arabella kushner. the ca refully—choreographed images of the visit being beamed out from beijing show a real power pair — the 1st and 2nd most powerful leaders in the world — the question is, which one's which? earlier we spoke to former un ambassador nicholas burns. nicholas burns, you've been pretty critical of president trump's approach to american foreign policy, but when it comes to the issue of china as north korea, the white house is keen to say the chinese have signed on to more sanctions, the central bank of china is now putting pressure on loans to north korea. they've stepped up what they are doing in terms of helping america over north korea? that is correct. you have to grant to president trump. he's been able to work, apparently with xi jinping to convince the chinese it is in their interest to increase chinese economic pressure on north korea. so we have seen decisive steps by china of the type they have not taken before and that is encouraging

and that's what makes this visit by president trump to beijing so important, at this stage of the north korean crisis. and combined with the president's speech in seoul, you can feel the pressure ratcheting downjust a little bit as diplomacy becomes more the centrepiece. i think that is where it should be. is that the message he will get from xijinping, do you think, that you have to bring down the temperature, stop talking about destroying the country entirely and buy into a more regional approach? i would guess that will be the chinese advice to the united states. in fact we have heard that from the chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, pretty consistently, over the last 60 days. i think the chinese probably appreciate rex tillerson the secretary of state and james mattis, the secretary of defence, their message, because their message has been of course we will defend the united states, is attacked,

orjapan, or south korea, but we are really focused on diplomacy. i thought it was advantageous for president trump to parrot that line yesterday and to be consistent with what his cabinet secretaries have said, opposed to the bombastic rhetoric of the president over the past two months. where do you think the power balance lies at the moment because the president is obviously weakened at home and president xi has had quite a successful congress. he has been elevated to a position akin to where mao was. where does the power balance live this relationship? i think it is a unique moment in the history of the us — china relationship, going back to 1972. there is no question xijinping is the most powerful chinese leader since mao zedong and there is no question now that donald trump needs the chinese in order to convince the north koreans they ought to negotiate this crisis and not end up in a catastrophic conflict. i think china has a lot of influence to bring to bear. on the other hand, the chinese

want to see donald trump work with them co—operatively on north korea, because they don't want to see him go back to the very difficult and aggressive statements he made against china on trade, during our campaign a year ago. he has kind of put those trade demands in abeyance because he correctly perceives north korea is the more important short—term issue, so i think the influence works both ways, but the united states is dealing with a stronger china now than we ever have been before. to that end, does it mean donald trump has changed his strategy? we heard strong rhetoric about china during the campaign. does he now bet if he can cultivate mr xi as an ally and put their own differences on bilateral trade to one side, that is the best way to get something out of the chinese? i think for the time being president trump has concluded north korea is the priority issue. you see this remarkably positive tweets by donald trump, including today, after the visit

at the forbidden city the two leaders took together and i can't remember a time when the united states president has been so effusive in his praise for the chinese leader and so i do think we will see north korea as the focus, but the reality is trade is a major issue for our business community, particularly chinese violations of intellectual property. i don't think it is realistic if the president, president trump, can hold off impressing the chinese for ever. maybe he does that privately in beijing as north korea is the more public expression of where these two governments are trying to work together this week. ok, ambassador, nick burns, thanks very much forjoining us. a really interesting point, that they cannot hold off taking china to task for the abuse of trade practices and at some point they must get on with it. what about

those people who supported president trump and the kind of rhetoric we heard, what will they make of it pretty much during the election campaign wheni pretty much during the election campaign when i went round those old abandoned steel towns in places like ohio, the degree of knowledge about china and chinese trade practices and the wto was phenomenal, they knew exactly what china was doing and they knew exactly what they wanted. what they wanted was tariffs on chinese steel and steel dumping. it was such an important issue for these manufacturing workers that it is hard to believe that the president can put it off for much longer. he has this comic is caught between a rock and a hard place, he needs china north korea, he feels it is not the time to label them a currency manipulator and to be tougher as they may be resistance to that. but his base wants to see action on china and it is a critical issue for them. if they do not get

it, they will not be happy with excuses. equally they will not want him to retreat in the face of what pyongyang is doing. him to retreat in the face of what pyongyang is doinglj him to retreat in the face of what pyongyang is doing. i think they would like both, they want tough action on north korea but what matters in their daily lives is trying —— is china and trade and not so much north korea. this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news — the state that helped donald trump win the white house — a year on, do his supporters have any regrets or are they as fervent as ever? we've the view from wisconsin. speaking of — how's this for a view? we hear from the astronaut who's spent 12 months in space — why he describes it as a test of endurance? that's still to come. once again wednesday turned out not

to bea once again wednesday turned out not to be a bad day for much of the british isles. further north and west sunshine was in short supply. this frontal system coming in from the atlantic now bringing rain into scotla nd the atlantic now bringing rain into scotland and eventually northern ireland. overnight we have the prospect of thicker cloud moving south east. before that temperatures really fall away, maybe even some frost until the cloud just raises temperatures later on in the night. first thing on thursday morning, enough cloud still to produce some rain across east anglia and the south—east. north of that

brightening up pretty quickly in the morning across cumbria and northumberland. for northern ireland and the greater part of scotland a decent start to the day although windy from the start and remaining soul across the far north of scotland. plenty of showers rattling along on that westerly wind. through the afternoon those brighter skies moving down through wales and into the midlands. the very far south probably stuck with the cloud through most of the day. on friday, the very best of the sunshine north and east. still quite noticeably windy from any. that front really gets its act together friday night into saturday. once that has moved

away we open the floodgates to really quite cold air. pretty much from the word go, single figure temperatures at the weekend. in spite of the presence of some sunshine and some wintry showers on the higher ground and even accumulating snow in the voice of scotland. sunday pretty similar. this is beyond 100 days, with me katty kay in washington — christian fraser's in london. in the last half hour, britain's international development minister, priti patel, has resigned after failing to disclose all she knew about her unauthorised meetings with israeli leaders. american voters deliver a forceful rebuke to donald trump and his party with democrats winning the first state—wide elections since the president came to power. coming up in the next half hour — fresh allegations are levelled at the hollywood star kevin spacey — we hear from an alleged victim. why this astronaut describes 12 months in space as an ‘endurance' — but the view certainly made up for it. let us know your thoughts by using #beyond—one—hundred—days. another day, another crisis

in the british government. this time the international development minister, priti patel, has resigned after failing to disclose all she knew about her unauthorised meetings with israeli leaders. this morning the prime minister theresa may ordered her back from a trip in africa. she's the latest cabinet member caught up in a whirlwind of scandals rocking the government. let's go straight to westminster where our chief political correspondent, vicki young, can tell us more. have you got any more on this decision in downing street over wide to let her resign, rather than having has sacked? we don't. i presume that theresa mayjust

decided she would give her colleague the dignity of resigning. in the letter from priti patel, the dignity of resigning. in the letterfrom priti patel, it's clear she acknowledges what she's done wrong, saying that her actions were meant with the best of intentions but they fell below the standards of transparency and openness. she offers a fulsome apology to the prime minister and to the government and offers her resignation. i guess, having had so long to think about it on the plane, priti patel decided that was what she was going to do. the response from theresa may is interesting, pointing out that work has to be done formally, though britain and israel are strong allies. that is why you have a system in place, why you have the civil service, and why meetings like that are documented, so that it is transparent, so that everyone knows who ministers are giving access to. she says, i accept your apology and

i welcome your clarification over your trip to israel over the summer. now that's further details have come to light, it is right that you have decided to resign. so clear that she would have been sacked if she hadn't resigned. well, today, thejewish chronicle, quoting two sources, reported that number ten was told about ms patel‘s meeting — in august. just before priti patel resigned, we talked to stephen pollard — editor of thejewish chronicle — and to the political columnist with the sun newspaper trevor kava nagh. downing street aren't annoying —— are denying your report today. why are denying your report today. why are you so confident in its?” are denying your report today. why are you so confident in its? i have to separate sources who are com pletely to separate sources who are completely separate and are unconnected. both have told me pretty much exactly the same thing, which is that at a meeting before

the un general assembly in september, priti patel and theresa may discussed one of the ideas that priti patel had in turn discussed with israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu with israeli prime minister binyamin neta nyahu when she with israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu when she met him in august in israel, and there was reference made to wait trip to israel. downing street are insisting that the first that anyone knew about that meeting was friday of last week. my two separate sources tell me that that's simply not the case. i have another aspect of the story, which i now have a third source four, which is that the list that priti patel produced on monday of her 12 unauthorised meetings in israel, that it was apparently not full disclosure, and we learned last night there were two other meetings, one of which was an official from

the israeli foreign ministry who she met in new york when they were both there for the un general assembly. the fact that priti patel supposedly didn't tell number 10 about that meeting is what has done for her today. i have been told by my original to sources, but also by a third source, who has contacted me since this was made public, a very reliable source, to confirm that it's true that priti patel did tell number 10 on monday about that extra meeting, number 10 asked her, told her, not to put that extra meeting in her statement, for whatever reason they may have. mr pollard, this all sounds like an airport political thriller. what is your sense of the motivation for ten downing street telling priti patel that those meetings shouldn't mentioned to anybody. rb honest, i haven't got a clue. it bonkers. i'm

not making allegations. i'm not talking about conspiracies. all i'm doing is reporting what at first to sources gave me about this whole affair, and which since i went public today, a third source has now confirmed. let's turn to trevor kavanagh. this is a mysterious kettle of fish. why would priti patel need to meet so many israelis in the first place? she was being aided and abetted in this by one of the tory party's biggest donors, lord pollock, who has donated something like nearly half a million pounds to the tory coffers. she is very ambitious, as a would—be leader of the party, so you could add two and two together and make a link. but it's inexplicable, as stephen

pollard has suggested, that any of this has been done at all and has been done in the way it has. inexplicable. i think the government is reeling from the fact they cannot explain it. the cabinet is in disarray. the prime minister looks weak. how serious is this for the prime minister it couldn't be more serious, if indeed stephen pollard's sources are accurate, and i would trust the sources because they would be matchless. if there has been a cover—up, it takes this story beyond the fact that priti patel has been going to israel and having secretive meetings. it could be the beginning of the end if that turned out to be the case, but we are a long way of knowing for sure about that. we talk a lot on this programme about fake news. the spectators says this is

like fake government. in a way, her wea kness like fake government. in a way, her weakness is her strength, because they cannot get rid of her, and at they cannot get rid of her, and at the same time, they cannot have an election. they cannot have a leadership election, because it would be six weeks in the middle of the brexit negotiations. they can't have a general election because i suspect labour would sweep to power. so they will limp on for as long as they can with a crippled prime minister and a crippled government. some people would say that losing one minister is unfortunate but losing two is careless in the space ofa losing two is careless in the space of a week. we also have to other ministers who are under a cloud. at some point you have to say, the buck stops with the boss, and maybe she isn't very good about making

decisions about who to put in power. yes it's about making a fine balance between the brexiteers and the remainers. the committee for exiting the european union went over to brussels to meet michel barnier, the chief negotiator from the eu. you have the other countries in the eu sitting down together to talk about the relationship. is the prime minister and is hard government going to be in place when we get to the end of this process? it complicates the whole thing, and it's the last thing the prime minister wants to be concentrating on now. i think we said that strong and stable is not the word for anything right now. the hollywood actor and theatre director kevin spacey is facing fresh allegations of sexual misconduct tonight. the us journalist heather unruh has told reporters that her son was sexually assualted

by mr spacey last year. mr spacey has not responded to any of the allegations. the actors union equity told the bbc that the problems of sexual harrasment were endemic in the industry. our special correspondent lucy manning reports. injuly 2016, actor kevin spacey sexually assaulted my son. the tears of a mother in boston today, revealing what she claimed happened to her son. the victim, my son, was a starstruck straight 18—year—old young man, who had no idea that the famous actor was an alleged sexual predator, or that he was about to become his next victim. journalist heather unruh‘s tweet about kevin spacey last month triggered all the allegations against him. today, she went public and the police are now investigating. to kevin spacey, i want to say this. shame on you for what you did to my son. the bbc has interviewed

more alleged victims. chris nixon did not have to speak out, but wanted to make clear kevin spacey‘s behaviour was part of a pattern. it is notjust sleazy, it is predatorial. he did what he did, because he knew he'd get away with it. the one—time barman met kevin spacey in london in 2007, when he alleges the actor groped him. kevin spacey sat down on the sofa next to me, asked if it was my girlfriend, then reached over and grabbed... he then describes a sexually explicit action and words. a couple of weeks after the party at his place, he was in the bar, reached forward, grabbed my waistband and said something to the effect of, if i can make it up to you, let me make it up to you. so i went back upstairs, was standing behind the bar thinking, what the helljust happened again with that i was in work so i could not make a scene about it. i told him in no uncertain terms where he could go. the bbc also spoke to an american film—maker who did not

want to be fully identified. in the 1990s, he was a junior crew member on a film kevin spacey directed. he claims the actor sexually harassed him, something he mentioned to another man working on the film. he said, you too, how? i said, do you mean, you too? he said, he was touching you and flirting with you? i said, yeah, it was awful. he said, yeah, he did that to me. the first week we were all out at a bar and he grabbed my butt and i turned round and i said to him, kevin, if you ever do that again, i will kick your ass, so leave me alone. in the uk, the actors' union says sexual harassment in the industry is endemic. can those at the old vic theatre, where kevin spacey worked for 11 years, really have been in the dark? the theatre initially said it had no complaints against him, but it has now appointed external advisers to investigate. kevin spacey has not responded to any of the latest allegations.

previously, he said he needed to examine his own behaviour. lucy manning, bbc news. here's a confession — i am not one of those people who has ever dreamed of being an astronaut. actually the idea terrifies me. but i am totally in awe of anyone brave enough to lock themselves in a tin can and float out into thin air. which is exactly what astronaut scott kelly did — notjust for a week or even a month, but for 340 days. kelly went for a scientific mission to measure what impact being in space for that long would have on the human body. what made it particularly compelling for the researchers is that he has a twin, who stayed here on earth so the scientists could do comparisons. scott is back from space and he's written a book about it called endurance. i'm an astronaut. we go to space, and i think if we're going to go to mars some day,

we have to know how to live and work in space for longer periods of time. the space station is the perfect place to do that. we do a lot of work. we wake up at like 6am. the workdays are kind of broken up into three general activities. either you do a scientific experiment or you're repairing hardware that broke, or you're just kind of generally maintaining the space station — stuff we need to do on a regular basis to keep it operating. and also you do a lot of exercise in space. so i am not a scientist. i was a scientific subject. i was also the operator of a lot of experiments. i like to think that, years from now, when we look at the whole suite of experiments we did, whether it was research that was mischa and i, about us being in space for a year, or this comparative study with my brother, i hope that we learn things that will allow us to venture to mars some day. our planet is incredibly beautiful, brilliant blue in most places.

you get the sense that we are lucky to have this incredible place that we call home, but at the same time, certain parts of the earth are almost always covered in pollution. the atmosphere looks extremely fragile, so having this privileged position to look at our planet... it changes you. well, i think i learned that i can deal with a lot of hardship and still be able to function, but i also think, at the same time, i was changed byjust having this privileged view of the planet. astronauts call it "the overview effect", or this orbital perspective, when you look at earth, very peaceful—looking, very beautiful, but often not, and i think it makes you more empathetic to the human condition and the condition of our planet, perhaps. not convinced? the review is not

quite so shabby. i'm just not a very brave person. this is beyond 100 days. still to come — why these wisconsinites don't mind if president trump's a trifle unfiltered — we hear from those who voted for him, a year after the us election. the trial has begun of a woman charged with murdering her ex—boyfriend following a suspected acid attack. thejury has heard mark van dongen was left paralysed from the neck down and lost his left leg, ear and eye. he ended his life in a euthanasia clinic 15 months later saying he couldn't bear the pain any longer. he died in belgium at the start of this year — more than a year after attack took place in bristol. berlinah wallace denies murder. our correspondentjon kay reports from the trial in bristol. together for five years. mark van dongen, who was an engineer from holland, and berlinah wallace,

a fashion student from south africa. they lived in this bristol flat. the prosecution claims that she bought a bottle of sulphuric acid on the internet and threw it over him as he lay in bed. he spent more than a year in hospital. paralysed from the neck down, he lost a leg and an eye, and was said to be grotesquely scarred. the court heard he screamed when he saw himself in a mirror. before the jury was shown videos of mark van dongen speaking to police, they were warned they might be shocked and upset by it. in the footage, they saw the engineer propped up in a hospital bed, struggling to speak, with scars across his face and his upper body. he told a police officer that he'd woken up that night to see to see berlinah wallace standing there laughing. he claimed she was jealous about another woman he'd started to see, and that she threw the acid at him saying, "if i can't have you, no one will." the 48—year—old denies murder and throwing a corrosive fluid. the jury was told she thought

it was a glass of water, and her barrister asked them to keep an open mind. the prosecution said, after 15 months, mark van dongen returned to his family in belgium and asked to die at a legal euthanasia clinic. the prosecution argues he was driven to that point by his suffering, and that berlinah wallace is therefore guilty of murder. the trial continues. jon kay, bbc news. you're watching beyond 100 days... one year ago today we all watched in amazement as the us election results rolled in — upending predictions. nowhere more so than in wisconsin, where polls had predicted a clear win for hillary clinton. mr trump won the state byjust 22,000 votes. the bbc‘s laura trevelyan was at the trump victory party in new york on election night, and remembers that winning wisconsin was one of the biggest upsets of the evening. now, a year on, she's gone

there to ask his supporters what they feel now. welcome to wisconsin — trump country now. hillary clinton never even held a rally here — mistakenly believing this was her firewall. donald trump's victory in wisconsin was a stunning one. he turned the conventional wisdom that the upper midwest was in the bag for hillary clinton right on its head. his message of economic populism, strong borders and national revival resonated with voters here. so, one year on, how do they feel he's doing? at az30am, mike is up milking the cows on his wife's family farm in marshfield. a one—time obama voter, mike found donald trump's outsider status appealing, and he's got no regrets. i think pretty good, because my portfolio on the stock market has been hitting an all—time high. he's got an iron fist, i think, i mean, he says what he wants to say and doesn't care. he might make some people mad,

but i like what he's doing. for more than 100 years, this farm has been in the family of mike's wife, melissa, who grew up feeding calves here. this mother of four voted for obama, but was attracted by donald trump's stance on immigration. he is trying to put the wall up. i think he's defeating isis. health care, i think, though, that's kind of a touchy subject. i feel really good about what he's doing and i'm glad i voted for him. i sometimes wish he would maybe keep his mouth shut on twitter. there's also concern on the farm about rising health care costs. the entire family switched from obama to voting for donald trump. now, melissa's motherjulianne worries that he's ended the payments which kept her insurance costs down. your insurance has more than doubled? yes. and who do you blame for that? i don't really know the answer to that. because the subsidies were taken away, i guess

i have to blame trump, because he was the one who took those subsidies and put them on the insurance companies. over in one of the wealthiest parts of wisconsin, i met robin moore, a wine consultant and leading local republican. she says donald trump and his hyperactive twitter account are getting his views across. this is unfiltered. it's the unfiltered voice of our president, and so, on the one hand, yes, there's times i think, you know, the 3am thing should probably not happen, but for the most part i think he has a message that's resonating with people across the country and across winds content. back on the farm it's not the twitter feed that donald trump's record that will determine whether the family votes for him again. given his slim margin of victory here, he can't afford to lose much support. laura trevelyan, bbc news, wisconsin. our north america correspondent, nick bryant, has covered this presidency from the start.

one yearon one year on from that election day, which i think neither of us will ever forget, what surprises you about the trump administration? the thing that has surprised me the most is that he has changed the presidency more than the presidency has changed him. right from inauguration day, that kind of shrill and dark rhetoric that surprised many of us. another indication later that night, at the inauguration ball, where he danced to frank sinatra's my way. it has been that sort of presidency. he asked the crowd, shall i keep using twitter? that has been a sign of this kind of anti—presidency. people didn't vote for orthodoxy, and donald trump knows that, and he has delivered unorthodox. you wrote a

piece called the time when america stopped becoming great. it is a very long piece! it's great, but you trace back donald trump's victory a year ago to the end of the cold war, post—reagan era in america. why?|j came post—reagan era in america. why?” came here in 1984, the resurgence here. the iranian hostage crisis finally came to an end. it was the olympics. americans finally started believing in themselves again. i think you can divide the intervening period into two 16 year chunks. after, it was as if america caught a bug, 16 years of dissolution and decline, you had the 2000 election, 9/11, the financial crash in 2008.

donald trump was a product of a dissonance between those two periods of american life, one of great triumph and one of national decline. he exploited that in 2016. christian, this is your home work! . it will get me to sleet tonight! let's look at the year. i'm sure he would want more achievements than he has. realistically, what has he done that good? has. realistically, what has he done that good ? anything? has. realistically, what has he done that good? anything? legislatively, there isn't much to talk about. repealing or replacing obamacare hasn't happened. infrastructure hasn't happened. infrastructure hasn't happened. infrastructure hasn't happened. tax reform hasn't happened yet and will be a struggle to get through. that's failing has been made doubly noticeable because we haven't got a divided government in america at the moment. rarely, we have a republican party that

controls the white house, the sennett and the upper house. he hasn't been able to do that. donald trump would point to the stock market and say that unemployment is ata17 market and say that unemployment is at a 17 year low. he would say america is feared on the world stage by its adversaries and isn't taken for granted any more by its allies. he would say that's a record of accomplishment, but historically he's got the worst approval ratings of any first—term president at this stage, around 35%. amongst republicans, his approval rating is around 79%, and if the election were held again today, would you bet against him? in the rust belt, those three key states, wisconsin, michigan and pennsylvania, there there is support for him there. guess what barack obama was doing

today? turning up forjury duty. you can be president of the united states but you still need to fulfil your civic duty. his salary will be around $17 per hour. but he turned up around $17 per hour. but he turned up in around $17 per hour. but he turned upina around $17 per hour. but he turned up in a motorcade! wednesday has turned out to be a good day for many parts of the british isles. took time for cloud to break up to see any glimmer of sunshine. you saw more further to the north and west, but go too far in that direction and sunshine was in short supply. thickening cloud is now bringing rain with it into scotla nd now bringing rain with it into scotland and eventually through northern ireland. overnight, we will drag that prospect of rain over to

the south—east. before the cloud and rain, temperatures will dribble away across the south—eastern quarter, maybe with a touch of frost. as the skies clear across the far north, here again a touch of frost may be. first thing thursday, enough cloud from the weather fronts to produce some rain. maybe a bit through south—east england, wales, south—west england and into the midlands. north of that, things brightening very quickly. for northern ireland and most of scotland, a decent start to the day, they wind the right from the word 90, they wind the right from the word go, and it remains so across the far north of scotland, where there will be plenty of showers. through the afternoon, the prospect of brighter skies pushes down through wales, the midlands, parts of east anglia.

friday, the old frontal linkage is still there across the south western quarter. you have to be further north to see the best of sunshine on offer. still quite noticeably windy for many. still a bit northerly with that breeze. the front gets its act together overnight from friday into saturday. once that takes the heavy rain away, the floodgates are opened to the cold air. takes its time to get down to the south west, but pretty much from the word go at the weekend, single figure ill temperatures. sunday will be pretty similar. this is bbc news. i'm carole walker. the headlines at 8pm... priti patel resigns as international development secretary after meeting with the prime minister at downing street. theresa may says the decision was right. it follows controversy over

undisclosed meetings with israeli government officials. ms patel was ordered back to the uk from africa, where she'd been on an official trip. the scandal is the latest to hit the government as it battles with the allegations of sexual harassment and criticism of the foreign secretary. in other news, the actor kevin spacey faces another allegation of sexual misconduct as a woman comes forward with accusations he abused her son. the head of the nhs pushes the government for an extra £350 million per week — as promised by the leave campaign.