if you look back over the last few years, there have been an extraordinary number of democratic moments, two referendums, two general elections, a host of others around the world. i think one of the real lessons of the last few years is you can't predict what's going to happen. you can't rely on either political predictions or polls, and that means for us we have to do what we're here for, we've got to make sure that people get a sense of what the choice is. you mention the need for the bbc to provide informed news about that issue, and there was a big accusation from many viewers that the bbc was in fact, during the referendum, too timid in calling out things, notably statistical claims being made by one side or another that just weren't true. there's no question at all, the bbc and, as a news organisation, a group of journalists, what we set out to do is to understand the world presented to us and make choices. in that there is no question at all that the bbc has to make judgments, and we do. i suppose that on the issue

of statistics, the specific question you're asking about numbers, actually, we made a very clear choice to try and challenge those numbers, question those numbers, and more than that, we didn't do it in a sort of ad hoc way, we took something called reality check, right, which was our system forfact checking, we really increased the resources, the number of people working on it and we've made that a permanent part of the way in which we cover politics and policy. so, rather than stepping back from analysing statistics and numbers, we've actually stepped into it. with hindsight, should the bbc have done representation of different political views differently? we've had many complaints from some viewers over the years about, for example, too much nigel farage. so, i think it's a really good and important issue, this, and one that we spend an enormous amount of time thinking about. so, if you got into the team, for example, on question time,

which would be a good place to start, we are really careful in trying to think about where we hold the programme, so we get the best possible spread of audiences, who's on the panel, notjust in the context of who's on the panel on a particular thursday night, but who's on the panel over the course of a year, over the course of an entire political or electoral cycle. so, we do really think about it a great deal. and actually if you look over time, if you look over all of the bbc, what we call output, all of the bbc programmes, it's something that we think really carefully about. actually, if it's all right with you, i think there's something different that is really worth thinking about. it's not about the representation of political parties, it's about the representations of views and personal points of view that are not necessarily captured by political parties but are captured by groups of people come individuals who feel

as though their voice should be heard on the bbc. one of the things we've really tried to do is change that, too. trust in bbc news has been eroded under your watch, hasn't it? well, actually, it moves, so the truth is with trust, it moves. i think that obviously i arrived here on the back of savile and mcalpine, and those were big issues facing the bbc and confidence in bbc news. actually, that trust and confidence was significantly restored. but you're right, there's also a very profound argument going on around trust in the media generally in the light of what's happening politically. i don'tjust mean party politically, i don'tjust mean brexit and trump, i mean the extent to which people feel as though they're seen by, if you like, the system. by politicians, by the media. in your resignation letter, you said you were going to set up a media company with a clear point of view. does that mean you think the bbc‘s aim of impartial news isn't working in the age of fake news? no, no, it doesn't, it means

exactly the opposite, it means that the bbc‘s offer is working and should be what it is, which is impartial, but not necessarily taking a position. the public funds, we are funded by the licence fee payer, and everyone who pays the licence fee, i think, has a decent expectation that the bbc should operate in such a way that it reports what's happening but doesn't take a position. doesn't take a stand in the way in which newspapers or websites or other individuals might do. no, actually, i really believe in it. if you look at the bbc‘s trust, the bbc trust levels are so much higher than any other news organisation. that's the simple fact. and we still have to keep on working on trust, but it is the thing that is the most impressive about the bbc and the public‘s relationship with the bbc. the first female political editor was employed under your watch, laura kuenssberg. why do you think she has been getting unprecedented levels of vitriol and hatred 7 i don't know, i think it's

shameful that she is, because she is an unbelievably impressive journalist. she is one of the most extraordinary journalists i've ever worked with. if you look at just the thoughtfulness, the diligence and the quality of the work, i'm just amazed that people are so personal, even if they don't like the politics they see in front of them. the fact they're willing to attack laura, the fact they're willing to do that, ifind is really shocking, and is bad for the way in which journalism is conducted and public debate. so, all i can say is that i know a few people do this. i do also have to say that i'm in a happy position that many people come up to me and say what an extraordinary job she's doing. we get lots of complaints from viewers that the bbc is anti—jeremy corbyn and focused on labour party divisions. do you agree that the bbc has collectively failed on the whole to treat him fairly and seriously? no, i don't think that, although i

do think there is a really interesting lesson in the coverage ofjeremy corbyn. there was obviously great disquiet, great opposition to him within the parliamentary labour party. and we reported that, we reported obviously notjust the opposition to him, but the efforts that were made to get rid of him. there were leadership contests that were precisely about that. the question is, did we get that mix right alongside the mix of changes that were happening within the membership of the local labour party, and people who were not members? so, i would say the in course of the 2017 general election, we really did capture that mood. if you go and you look at the way in which we were covering jeremy corbyn‘s rallies, we were the people saying the polls might say x, but look what's happening in terms of the rallies. we also, i like to think, really got to grips with the questions that were the heart ofjeremy corbyn‘s proposal to the country in the nature of the manifesto. once again trying to examine the choice, rather than the horse race.

but there is a question which is, from the time jeremy corbyn was elected through to 2017, there are obviously changes within some of those constituency labour party... parts of the constituency labour party, and a politics element of that that is also really interesting. but also to the mood of certain parts of the electorate, and particularly young people. and getting to that and making sure we continue to get to that i think is really important. briefly, do you have any regrets? oh, yeah, i'm sure i have a fair few. i'm not sure that newswatch is the most brilliant place to, sort of, unburden myself of all of them. i think it is. licence fee payers... all right, let's have a go at it. i think that the... the biggest issues i've got are the one i raise about how are we going to change an organisation when the behaviour of people around news is changing so fast? so, that's a long way of saying, we still have huge audiences for the 6pm and 10pm news.

the today programme, 5 live and newsbeat. yet we can also see people changing the way in they consume news. are we moving fast enough to make those changes? and notjust in terms of the devices, also the way we tell stories. your successor, fran unsworth, is an internal candidate. which some might say reflects the decision to go a different way for the bbc. do you have any advice for her? well, i chose fran when ijoined as my deputy, and she has been an extraordinary person to work with. for people who don't know her, fran has worked at the bbc for pretty much her entire career and knows and understands it. most recently she was running the bbc world service. what you see with fran is an incredibly thoughtful manager of people. a really intelligentjudge of news, and a fantastic ambassador for the bbc. but most of all, she has the capacity to enable great people to do exceptional work. and when you are the director

of news and current affairs, that's the thing you really want to do, it's not what you do. the leadership of the organisation is enabling other people to do great things and no—one does that better in my experience, than fran. so i think she will be a brilliant director of news and current affairs. i've loved working with her and a great many people in the bbc feel the same way. thank you, james harding. thank you very much. and that's all from us this week. if you want to share your thoughts on whatjames harding had to say or any aspect of bbc news and current affairs, you can call us on... or e—mail... you can find us on twitter... and do have a look at our website for previous interviews. the address for that is... we're off now till the new year, but do join us again onjanuary 5th. until then, from all of us on the programme, have a very merry christmas and a happy new year. it was a clear day and that is going

to lead onto a cold and frosty night tonight. different story in the north—east of england, showers coming in off the north sea coast. here are those showers through the deja vu also one or two showers through wales and into the south—west of england. this is where we will have some clear skies and a frost forming through the night. we will keep a scattering of showers through northern ireland into the far north of scotland. a touch frost, then, first thing in the morning which temperatures falling below freezing. a cold start if you are up early on saturday. with the

exception perhaps of the south—west of england, where there will be a bit more cloud. but it will be frosty elsewhere. so, a frosty start, with some showers across north wales and into northern ireland. here, not quite as cold. generally in scotland, not a bad day, really. it's going to be cold but predominantly dry. and we will continue to see some sunshine. so, the frost will lift, but look at the difference in the story where we have got the cloud. here, temperatures will hold up to around 6-8 temperatures will hold up to around 6—8 degrees. elsewhere, temperatures are likely to struggle. but that will be the last cold day for a few days, because a milder south—westerly wind drives in from the south—west, bringing that milder and with it, but unfortunately it can bring some rain as well. —— it's going to bring some rain as well.

and the rain might be coming a bit sooner and the rain might be coming a bit sooner than we first anticipated. that will ring a different story for some on sunday. starting off out to the west but as we go through the afternoon there is the potential for central and eastern areas to see some wet weather as well. but milder, double digits for many across the country. as we move into next week it will be mainly dry and milder than we have seen of late. rather cloudy at times. this is bbc news. the headlines at eight: brexit talks get the green light in brussels — they will now move on to the next stage. this is an important step on the route to delivering the smooth and orderly brexit that people voted for injune of orderly brexit that people voted for in june of last year. the second phase of our negotiations would not be possible without the unity of the eu 27. the hard work of michel barnier and the constructive effort

of prime minister may. a student is cleared of rape after police fail to disclose evidence which could have proved his innocence. ryanair agrees to recognise pilots' unions for the first time — in an attempt to avert strike action in the run—up to christmas. the date is set — prince harry and meghan markle will be married on may the 19th next year.