now it's time for newsnight. this is a special relationship, the relationship between america and britain and we are going to keep it that way. the special relationship is important. i'm grateful for the opportunity to reaffirm the importance of the special relationship. the special relationship will be stronger. as part of our relationship... and and this is not another only a special relationship, to me it is essential. that was then — this is now. where now for the special relationship? the fact that we work together does not mean that we're afraid to say when we think the united states have got it wrong and be very clear with them. and i'm very clear that re—tweeting from britain first was the wrong thing to do. after an extraordinary 2a hours of tweets and tiffs, we'll examine the future for london's relationship with washington and trump. also tonight, are the brexit talks threatening theresa may's alliance with the dup?

last night i reported on the uk government's ideas for solving the irish border question. today their northern ireland partners were in downing street. and... she is, at home, a typical teenager. but then when she leaves the house, everything changes. the anxiety disorder so severe it renders many children speechless. we have access to a therapy camp for sufferers of selective mutism in new york. it was phrase coined by winston churchill in 1946 — but 71 years later is there really a "special relationship" between america and britain and, if there is, how does a president promoting far—right videos and questioning the british prime minister on twitter affect it? this is now a very 21st century diplomatic conflict — with british government ministers taking to social media to attack

donald trump and the president responding in kind. today theresa may resisted calls to cancel a state visit to britain planned for mr trump and — choosing her words carefully — said that the president's retweets yesterday of britain first material was wrong. but can the uk really do anything to stay close to the world's economic and political super—power? and should it want to stay so close whatever emanates from the white house? here's our political editor nick watt. three very different prime ministers, but they all had one memorable moment in common. each had a run—in with a us president, and yes, that did has theresa may 'oined disagreement with donald trump? president trump igniting a firestorm. a series of tweets today.

what is happening and what you think the consequences are? over here, there was powerful condemnation of the president in parliament. offensive to all decent british people. donald trump is actively sowing seeds of hate in our country. the president of the united states and talks about fake news, actually re—tweeted fake news. injordan, theresa may made no secret of her irritation. britain first is a hateful organisation. it seeks to spread division and mistrust among our communities. i'm very clear that re—tweeting from britain first was the wrong thing to do. this row is all a far cry from the warm days of theresa may's first visit to the white house, when she followed the rule book of recent predecessors who have

hugged us presidents close. this prime minister moved that particular speed, because she had hoped the harness president trump's and used as for brexit to accelerate a new trade dealfor the us. that new era in the anglo—american special relationship was meant to begin here with the opening of the new us embassy by the river thames. who was supposed to perform the ceremony? that would be donald trump. but his visit across the pond is being delayed and delayed and delayed. this might all seem surprisingly bumpy but we have been here before. the building this one is replacing over the thames in grosvenor square, came to symbolise one of the most difficult periods of that relationship in the 19605. tempers flared at the height of the vietnam war, even though harold wilson had refused a request by presidentjohnson to send troops. at the height of the suez canal crisis... a decade earlier, anthony eden had incurred the wrath of washington

during the suez crisis. and then there was margaret thatcher who did occasionally stand up to ronald reagan in private. so how has theresa may handled her own row? give anybody credit for speaking up when it's required. and i think good for herfor doing that. i'm being careful about not criticising my president and favouring another over him, but, you know, i say good for her. i wish more republicans in america would stand up against a tweet like that from the president. i would not expect the prime minister to respond in the kind of chaotic twitter way that the president of the united states has attacked her, i think that would be completely inappropriate. but i would expect her to have an extremely firm behind—the—scenes response, because this is completely unacceptable from the president about what should be

our greatest ally. and he also needs to be urged to take the tweets down, and also to understand why it is so damaging to be promoting a far right extremist group like that, and i am concerned that really there has not been a clear sense from the government about what action they have taken from the white house on this. battered and bruised or living to fight another day? where does this row leave the special relationship? i think it is bigger than any one day or anyone fight. it has endured through however many prime ministers and presidents on both sides, and i think it still will. it is really built in our connections with each other as people and the country and values that we share. over so many years, our two countries together have stood firm against both far right extremism and jihadi extremism and will continue to do so, but we have to continue that special relationship through our institutions, throughout corporation —— through our cooperation,

and not think it means actually pandering at the individual level to a president who is behaving in a way that is really damaging to our communities. with its commanding views over london, a new us embassy should be the perfect base to usher in a new era in the anglo—american special relationship. first of all, there's riverside diplomats may have to work on a basic repairjob. nick watt there. and this story is unsurprisingly dominating most of the papers tomorrow. a couple here for you. the telegraph has a story which nick mentioned in his piece there — they're reporting that donald trump's 'working visit‘ injanuary has been cancelled. it says the president had been due to make a scaled—down trip to meet theresa may but that it's now been kicked into the longer grass. the mirror has a striking front page — a full banner with an image of mr trump. 'unwanted' is their headline.

our diplomatic editor mark urban is with me now. mark, it is quite remarkable, you have been covering diplomatic spats and rows and conflicts over many years. now this row over 240 characters on twitter. have you ever seen anything like this, and what is the challenge for the british government when they are looking at how the president is behaving? you could argue if you're being machiavellian that sometimes a bit of friction is quite useful. a lot of people in the foreign office, when you are covering a prime ministerial visit to the white house, they literally roll their eyes when the press start asking questions about the special relationship, they regard it as a media obsession. a lot gets debated between a special relationship and the special relationship which is the phrase churchill used. everyone would recognise that it is a special relationship, the connections of the anglosphere,

common economics and other things, but it is not the special relationship as it was at the end of the war. i think the real bastions of it is still in the areas where there are things which may deals can do with the uk. gchq signals intelligence, the trident nuclear submarine deterrent, those are areas where it has a real beating heart and it is intimate, that cooperation, but so many others, this type of thing can be helpful in undermining the poodle perception which people were so worried about under tony blair. is there more diplomatic risk. has donald trump cooled to britain and signalling his anger almost about theresa may and the way britain behaves on certain issues? is this simply badinage and does not matter much or is there something more significant underlying?

he is trying to say to the prime minister did school me, —— "don't school me," focus on your problem, as he would see it of islamic militancy, rather than having a go at me. in that sense it is a bad—tempered ea rly—morning typical trump tweet. but i can remember when president obama came, the feeling was because of his memoir about his father, his experiences in kenya, he had an ambivalent attitude towards britain and british power and he would be a difficult customer. i think in some ways, president trump's instincts are more instinctively pro—british. but in terms of it being a special relationship rather than the special relationship, the americans regard germans as being economic and political partners of choice in european matters. the french, in many of those military situations, for example i was talking about special forces cooperating in mali, iraq and syria, our special forces are uneasy about the degree to which those

are being cemented because ever since britain bailed early in southern iraq, the americans have had an ambivalent attitude towards the uk. and there is the issue about the visit to the uk. and the bastille day with resident macron. joining me now in the studio is baroness nevillejones, who was minister of security from 2010—2011, when theresa may was home secretary. in washington dc we are joined by mica mosbacher who was a national surrogate for the trump presidential campaign. baroness neville jones, can we start with you, do you feel theresa may has handled the situation well? should she have been more direct? sajid javid, the communities secretary, was very clear

about what he described britain first as being a vile hate—filled organisation, very aggressive on donald trump theresa may was more careful. she was right, she is the prime minister. sajid javid said he was attacking people like him. theresa may made her point effectively and i would advise that it as it as far as she's concerned. i don't think she should engage in a slanging match or demean herself by having a further round of an pleasant exchange. —— unpleasant exchange. there is too much at stake, apart from anything else, and i think that what we witnessed

with trump, is that part of his reaction has to do with the fact that this kind of tweet and this kind of comment has to do with sustaining his political base at home. i don't think it has much to do with foreign policy at all. i don't think he particularly cares about the effect on the outside world. that is not a luxury that is open to us here. i think that it is another reason for, in a sense, discounting it. i think get on with foreign policy. what mark said about the special relationship is absolutely right. it is an iceberg. there is something that is visible on top, and normally it is a good relationship between the president and the prime minister with two heads of government, and you have this great enormous activity which goes on which is largely unseen. that goes on now anyway. could it, if we had a long prolonged period of really frosty relations at the top, would that affect the relationship down below?

yes, i think it would. i don't think that is the situation we are in but we need to be careful. however insubstantial that tweets may seem , is it correct that despite the controversy that president trump is creating by retweeting be britain first video, true or not, as his spokeswoman said, should he be extended the courtesy still other state visit here? is that really the right approach? the public might not understand the politicking about this. heres a man who's done that and will ride on the coach down the mall. i think that the invitation has been extended. it may be a bit of an albatross, but it has been extended. i think that it's a very serious act then to remove it. it's an act of state

and very personal. i think you don't. that is something you don't go. i think it might give us a really nice catharsis, but i don't think it's a sensible act of state. the question of when and how he comes and in what circumstances... it does come up in the context of prince harry's wedding. so this is probably an issue anyway, even if the prime minister had not invited him. thank you. can i bring you back in. can you understand how the shock here, that the president of the united states has retweeted a far right organisation, the white house official spokeswoman has said it's not the point whether these videos are true or not, can you understand that on the side of the atlantic there is total shock and a high degree of anger and, frankly, disgust about what the president has tweeted? the president's tweets are strategic

and what he is basically saying is, theresa may, you've got a problem. according to the 2011 census we have over 2,660,000 muslims in the uk, you have had unprecedented levels of terrorist attacks under theresa may's watch. one of your leading terrorist experts has stated that over 47,000 muslim extremists have been identified. what the president is trying to do is elevate this problem into an international discussion. theresa may and the uk are like family, so what's happening here in a way is a sort of sibling rivalry. it has succeeded in elevating an international conversation and we are america first, but not america alone. now, those numbers will be disputed, some of the points about muslim communities here are disputed, but whatever the arguments about that,

is twitter really the right way to communicate for these delicate and serious issues? couldn't the president not simply have picked up the phone and spoken to the prime minister about his concerns, rather than this approach that critics have said is so incendiary? he is not politically correct and he is a businessman. he's hoping to come from a position of strength to protect american borders, especially in the fact that we cannot that certain —— vet certain individuals coming from five countries that are hotbeds for terrorism. and simply that is a problem in the uk. from what i understand you are bringing in syrian refugees seeking asylum. they can not possibly have been vetted thoroughly. the problem that is originating in the uk with terrorism is something that does concern the united states, especially in terms of protecting americans and that is why

he is including americans in this conversation and the general public worldwide, instead of appeasing enemies or not getting into a discussion. you referenced churchill earlier. remember president obama stored the bust of churchill in some dark closet and the first thing president trump did was to bring this bust out? that is actually disputed. thank you very much. we do want to work together with the uk. thank you both for your time. this week's movements in brexit can be summed up in two words — "money" and "ireland". the cash, it seems, for now is sorted — with britain's negotiators reportedly agreeing at least the outline of a divorce bill with brussels. the future for the irish question is less clear.

newsnight reported from dublin yesterday about the tricky questions which persist over customs and border arrangements between northern ireland and the republic, once britain leaves the eu. today there were reports of a potential breakthrough, but not, it seems, on terms which might meet the approval of the dup. they are partners of mrs may's conservatives in government, remember, and they responded by hinting that if they didn't like what they heard then they might pull the plug on the deal. nick watt is here. our political editor. tell us a bit about what the reaction has been to the initial idea that there was new progress on this idea of the irish border that actually northern ireland could have a slightly different relationship with the republic of ireland and the uk could still be in float of outside the customs and single union? last night i reported that the government was hoping

to use the principles of the good friday agreement to try to unlock the deadlock in this issue and they were talking about taking those elements of cross—border co—operation and embedding them into the agreement with the eu. ao animal health and the single energy market into the area of ireland. all fine. the times reported some of that but they went further and said there was growing confidence in dublin that there would be an avoidance of regulation array divergence between northern ireland and the irish republic. the dup was not amused. i spoke to ian paisley this evening and he said that idea in dublin is largely blarney and that a dup delegation went into downing street to see the chief of staff and they got an assurance that the uk government will ensure that northern ireland does not remain in the customs union and in the single market, it will go out of the eu with the rest of the uk. the point is, the uk government was never going to do that,

so it's a bit of a strawman. there is a very close relationship between the conservative whips and the dup whips, they are keeping the dup informed so in that element i think it was a bit of a confected anger. wouldn't the dup be angry even at the notion of energy and agriculture links? isn't that not the thin end of the wedge? the uk government view is this can be sold to the dup and that's because until earlier this year they were in government with sinn fein dealing with those cross—border issues. with animal health, you have to be careful, the dup would say, on how far you go on agriculture because there can't be complete compliance. thank you. the chancellor insisted in the budget last week that he was giving more money to the nhs in england and plenty of it. but the £1.6 billion he offered fell short of the £4 billion the nhs‘ chief executive simon stevens had asked for. today, mr stevens said the shortfall

meant the health service could neither fund nor meet its waiting times next year. and for the first time, the nhs will also ignore new best practice guidelines issued by the national institute for health and care excellence, unless funding has been agreed in advance. the health secretary, jeremy hunt, hit back, saying the nhs has enough funds to meet its obligations. a majorfight is building. here's chris cook. the nhs had some clear demands for last week's budget. £4 billion next year, just to begin with. but they didn't get what they wanted. we also recognise that the nhs is under pressure right now. i am therefore exceptionally and outside the spending review process, making an additional commitment of resource funding of £2.8 billion to the nhs in england. so why does the nhs seem to need so much money? nhs demand is a tide that comes in and never goes out.

since 2010, the number of people going to english emergency departments has risen steadily. we have an ageing and growing society which requires an ever rising quantity of care. since just 2010, we have 250,000 more people going to emergency every single month. today, the nhs england board says it thinks it can't keep up with this demand on this budget. the additionalfunding is obviously helpful, given the very significant financial and operational pressures that we face next year. but even with some pretty ambitious assumptions around efficiency, our assessment is that it won't enable the nhs to deliver all of the expectations which are placed upon it while living within its means. this will be a running battle, as nhs england re—negotiates its so—called mandate for next year. it's given money on the basis that it hits its targets,

but it's really hard to see how the nhs will do that again in the near term. let's look at the accident and emergency target. this graph shows how many patients are dealt with within four hours of arriving. the target is 95% of them. so, here's 2011—12. the graph starts at left, in the summer, moves through a drop in performance in the winter and then, at the right—hand side, it bounces back in the spring of the next year. here's a few years on. 2014-15. it's the same rough annual shape. but look... we start off lower down and the dip is much bigger. here, though, is 2015—16. a dip in the winter and then no recovery. that is how we got to where we are today. heading into the winter, a long way behind where we want to be. today, urgent care was listed as the top priority. first and foremost, people look to the nhs to provide safe and responsive urgent and emergency care services. so we've got to make sure

those are funded properly going into next year. a&e, though, isn't the only target. 92% of people should be dealt with by a consultant within 18 weeks of referral. now, let's look at how quickly the top 92% of patients are actually seen. this is the so—called 92nd percentile. if the line is below that dotted 18 week mark, we are meeting the target. at the moment, though, we are above it, by about two weeks. two weeks of 18 is a big miss. jeremy hunt this afternoon said that he expected the targets to stay in place. we will see. nhs england was founded in 2013 as an entity independent from central government, to take the politics out of health. instead, it's turned nhs england into a political force that can inflict damage as well as heal it. selective mutism is an anxiety disorder which can deprive children

of the ability to speak when they want. for the young people affected, and their parents, it can cause emotional heartbreak, leading to isolation and hindering development. finding ways to help the children can be controversial. a clinic in new york organises some an intensive therapy camps for teenage and older children who are sufferers, run over five days. critics say that puts too much pressure on those taking part and instead they should be helped and supported in a more gentle way. a bbc our world team was allowed inside to hearfrom parents, and their children, about living with the condition and to see the progress they can make in a short time. is it easier to talk to your mom or at school? or it's the same?

you see this fear overcome her. she is not talking to anybody in school. it's affected her whole life. it's very, very difficult. welcome to we speak! cheering all of you guys are here because in one way or another, anxiety is impacting your life. selective mutism is an anxiety disorder where kids have difficulty talking in certain situations, so they look like normal kids at home and when they are in a state of anxiety, then theyjust kind of shut down and freeze. for kids with sm, the longer that they go without talking, then the harder it is to start talking. we've got to work for our prizes...

annalisa is very funny. i wish people could see that, you know? she is, at home, a typical teenager. but then, when she leaves the house, everything changes. is your name annalisa, lexi or shelley? diagnosed at the age of five, i went home and googled it and then cried, because... sorry. because i realised she was different and it wasn't just shyness. and it's affected her whole life. i'm hoping that she'll be able to lead a normal life. get married, have children, have a job, go to college. but a lot of that hangs in the balance over will she be able to talk?

do we conquer anxiety by doing the thing that makes us anxious? the cause of selective mutism is kind of a combination of environment and genetics. and parents, they will kind ofjump in and either answer for the child or they might say, it's ok, honey, you don't need to answer. so through that process, the child is actually learning to avoid the situations that make them anxious. so, on video games, you can tell your parents, excuse me, i'm just trying to learn problem—solving skills here. james talks to me and his dad and his brother and my parents. and that's really it. nobody at school?

let's jump out! it's very hard. at points you feel angry because you don't know how to help him and when there is no help out there and no one knows what to do and the teachers think he is just defiant and just doesn't want to speak and you know it's not true. i feel like this week is make or break it. i don't want to say our last chance because i would hate to say that. but i really do think we need this right now and we need it to be successful. chelsea is going to ask you the question as yes or no. does that make sense to you? hand down. yes, beautiful. so, for annalisa, i can feed her a line of, you could ask me this, and then she will ask me back. but no spontaneous utterances thus far. you can ask the question here. where is the jalapenos? in the produce aisle, awesome. greatjob asking, that was so awesome and clear. did it feel a little

scary or really scary? you don't know. what i said was either sit down... sometimes i advise parents to write letters to their kids. because they don't have to do the interpersonal stuff, they can read it and reread it. people say, what's the researcher evidence for this? we're not quite there to be able to say, you can take it to the bank, this is going to work. but we are confident about tweaking the programme to make it work. this afternoon, our group is going to battery park, so all of the kids will be communicating with each other and with someone else out in the community. so this should be exciting! so just say, let's ask. just start it off. you're watching this child who i know can talk and i know he wants to talk and he just can't get it out. i've asked him before, where are your words? why can't you get your words out? and he will say, they're stuck in my head. i can't get it out. when his words get stuck in his head, my anxiety level really does increase and ifeel like i want to grab him and hug him and make it all better. we need them to actually experience the anxiety in these situations and get through it for them

to see that they can. what is it? statue of liberty, yeah! we would love forjames to have just a friend to talk to. i can't imagine going through life and not having a friend. annalisa blows me away. she was up there in front of an entire class. did you guys go to the museum with your parents or without your parents? without. without your parents. did you guys talk in the museum or were you silent? we talked about the flavours on the high line. we then talked about what flavours we love. everyone could hear her and she answered everyone's questions. applause. annalisa. applause. i'm so lucky to get to hang out with her.

we made a million bracelets together! if she is able to start the new school year able to raise her hand and say here, then the kids in the class know that she can talk. that would be the first time the kids in the class ever hear her voice. that is massive progress. i have to say, when i saw her little presentation, it almost brought tears to my eyes. i was very happy. amazing! we were being fully engaged and playing monopoly. i never thought that james would be able to stand up at the end. just even standing in front of 20 parents and getting a certificate, not speaking. i mean, that was impressive. i was concerned that he might not speak to his one mentor. it does look like they are tiny steps, but in reality forjames, they are huge, enormous, great leaps. this is not a cure for these kids. this is the start of theirjourney to overcome and challenge their sm. chris cook. that film by producer

harriet shawcross. and you can see a longer version of that film about selective mutism on our world on the bbc news channel next saturday and sunday evenings at 9.30pm and, of course, on bbc iplayer. increasing social mobility is a policy challenge that all governments tell us they want to tackle — yet we know that there are huge variations across the country in outcomes for the most disadvantaged. the television presenter june sarpong went back to her school in east london to see what they did there to help her get ahead. when theresa may spoke at the conservative party conference of reigniting the british dream, my hope was that her talk would lead to urgent action.

research by the london school of economics reveals diversity and social mobility has ground to a halt. only 11% of doctors, 6% of barristers, 11% ofjournalists and 12% of solicitors and from working—class backgrounds. these are all my contemporaries. here i am! myjourney and my experiences have given me the opportunity to take a 360 degrees view on this issue. sadly, my story is far from the norm, but i believe we can all be beneficiaries, if we do diversify. recently, the government released its race disparity audit, and as welcome as that was, and we know the problems, the things i found depressing was that there were not any solutions offered. i have come back to east london where i grew up, to show how i feel my story represent social mobility when it is done right. i'm here at my school

which is connaught school for girls, which is an ordinary state school, but what it did have was aspiration. our schools should be a microcosm of society. at connaught we all came from diverse backgrounds but we knew the best was expected from us and we strove to achieve it. good to see you! you did not do gcse textiles. you were good in the lower school. connaught‘s progress levels are above the national average. the alumni include asha philips in athletics. this is all from the school where they descent of pupils —— where 33% pupils receive free school meals. sally walker taught at the school and returned three years ago a head teacher.

how do you think in terms of social mobility? schools like this are the first stop. it is here that someone's mind is shaped to expect bigger possibilities then their background wouldn't ordinarily allow. really through our curriculum, our pastoral work and our assembly programme, by talking to girls in the school and the playground, we make them believe they can succeed through hard work. you do have to work with them but your world is your oyster and you can go out there and do something for yourself. i believe creating a diverse upwardly mobile workforce begins in the classroom. when you look at the outcomes that have been able to happen in this very small community, these are the sort of example is the government should be looking to replicate and scale throughout the country. you walk along the corridors and half of them have got no lights. paula is not alone in

the squalor of this estate, a relic of the 1960s. it is notjust education. how we live is a key factor in social mobility. i was raised in the '80s on this housing estate, at a time when people like us felt neglected and forgotten by the state. paradoxically the scheme to patch up the estate is only £30 million less than knocking it down and starting again. despite the decision blocking that, residents and councillors say they will continue their uniquely close relationship and fight on. this is the former site of the cathall estate. when i grew up here it was one of the roughest housing estates in east london. it was torn down in the early 20005 and replaced with what you see now. an example of social mobility done right when you raise living standards.

the close—knit and diverse community i experienced as a child in walthamstow helped shape my sense of belonging and also provided a support network. when i was growing up, this was the hub of the community. the market stall holders were mainly white working—class survivors of the second world war. they were community minded and they welcomed diversity and families like mine. walthamstow has changed considerably over the last 30 years. globalisation and gentrification have meant the incomes that these markets stallholders once earned are no longer what they were. and unfortunately, the community cohesion that i experienced growing up no longer exists either. do you think people still mix like they did before?... before it was english, yes,

and you have no space even to walk the street. but now, i think no english people in the market. orasian, turkish, indian. no english. why do you think there is no english? it is the main thing because the house prices are going up. they sell their property and they go to a different town. my friends were nearby, there must have been 20 of them here but they have all gone because they can't make ends meet. it is tough, very tough. they have all gone. people come up and they ask how much it is and unfortunately you have to do sign language, because they can't speak english. social inequality needs to be tackled by our institutions with the same vigour that segregation and races ——racism were in the latter decades of the 20th century. we need to charge the arms of our government machinery to work together and more effectively for the common good. and i firmly believe we need an education system that provides a clear pathway unemployment,

social mobility and financial stability for everyone. june sarpong there. and that's all we have time for tonight. emily is here tomorrow — goodnight. some more of this overnight across eastern parts of england. icy patches as well. fine towards the end of the night and into the first few hours of tomorrow, many of the showers will turn back to rain some less cold air coming in. rain, maybe hail as showers scattered about the parts of england go through friday morning after a frosty is dark in

the west, a lot of sunshine for scotla nd the west, a lot of sunshine for scotland and northern ireland as a cloud over. outbreaks of rain pushing southwards through scotland mainly through north and scotland. the temperatures are in single figures are a little higher than they were today. we had the wintry day of the week in the morning as we go through friday night into saturday morning there is more cloud around, not as much frost either, just a little bit here and there, especially early in the night rather than later. on saturday we start with atlantic air coming in. that means a lot of cloud around and a bit of patchy light rain here in there. sunny spells the eastern part of england and a spell of rain working south across scotland and northern ireland a mild weekend in the bag. this is newsday.

i'm rico hizon in singapore. the top stories: the special relationship under strain. britain's theresa may criticises donald trump for sharing tweets from a far right group. i'm very clear that retweeting from britain first was the wrong thing to do. is he out of the job? both the white house and the state department deny reports of plans to replace rex tillerson. i'm kasia madera, in london. also in the programme: pope francis urges the international community to take "decisive measures" to address the myanmar refugee crisis, but again avoids using the word rohingya.