you're watching beyond 100 days. donald trump threatens legal action against steve bannon after his former aide is quoted in a disparaging book about the white house. the president's lawyers are now trying to stop the book from being published, but lots of people already have copies. welcome to the latest episode of the reality tv presidency. reporting in this book has angered the administration and taken everyone by surprise. what's it like to get hit by a bomb cyclone. well, it looks like this and it's freezing the east coast of america. also on the programme: if america first is the slogan under trump, and the us stops being the world's big brother, which country is waiting to step in its place? the winner will be in the first canister. and the fickle finger of fate in

virginia. the tide vote that came down to a lottery. finally, we have a result. get in touch with us using the hashtag, #beyond1000ays. hello and welcome. i'm katty kay in washington, christian fraser is in london. we are just four days into the new year and there is already full drama in the white house. donald trump's lawyers are furiously trying to stop the publication of a tell all book which disparages the president. in a dramatic statement, mr trump has dumped his former ally steve bannon for his quotes in the book. fire and fury, is byjournalist michael wolff and there are questions about his sourcing. but the image of a chaotic administration, where even the cabinet members don't think the president is up to the job, corroborates a lot of other reporting, which is why this book has triggered big loud alarm bells in the white house. here's our north america editorjon sopel. hell hath no fury like a bannon scorned, it it would seem. steve bannon, who was described as the brains behind donald trump, is now out in the washington cold

after his extraordinary attack. the warm words of last summer but a distant memory. i like him, he's a good man. he is not a racist, i can tell you that. he's a good person. he actually gets a very unfair press in that regard. but we'll see what happens with mr bannon, but he's a good person and i think the press treats him frankly very unfairly. but bannon was fired soon afterwards and has now had his revenge, rounding on the president and president's son—in—law during the campaign, saying: and that's provoked rage and fury in the white house. the president issuing this unprecedented statement about a close colleague. when he was fired, he not only lost hisjob, he lost his mind...

today at the white house, they‘ re lawyering up, orders to steve bannon to cease and desist. threats to the publisher too. and the response from mr bannon last night, why, to declare his unfailing support for the president. and that brought this response from mr trump today. he called me a great man last night, so he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. the white house is pushing back hard on the contents of this book, describing the author, michael wolff, as an unreliable witness and a fantasist. that despite him being given unprecedented access to the workings of the west wing and recording hours and hours of conversations. and even if only

50% of the book is accurate, it still paints a damning portrait of a white house that's dysfunctional and a president who's paranoid. no wonder donald trump is so angry. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. and for more on the fallout we are joined now by alexis simendinger, national political correspondent for the hill. thank you for coming in. there will be questions about the sourcing, and there will be questions about the tapes and whether he needs to corroborate his evidence, but how damaging is this book and the contents damaging is this book and the co nte nts of damaging is this book and the contents of it for the white house? in real terms, it is very damaging. notjust in real terms, it is very damaging. not just because in real terms, it is very damaging. notjust because the president gets upset when he is criticised or denigrated in some way, but it poses questions about what the president may have known or what his team might have known about the russian investigation. that is something the president is animated about. another

element of this that i think the president maybe has forgotten that there are more books being prepared. other books are coming, as we know, and will be treading the same ground and beat corroborating the same details, maybe not in the same way. the white house can stop one book, which is only selling more books, but it is not going to be able to rewrite the narrative about this administration with other books are following. one of the striking things about the claims in the book, a number of people close to the president question his capacity for thejob. president question his capacity for the job. this is something that has been described about president trump since the very beginning, since i started covering him in 2017, the beginning. one concern is, all president's have styles, this president has never been in government, what did he know about government? what did he know about the legislative roige? this book is very damaging because it describes

the president as incurious, not interested in learning more. we have seen the president combat his intelligence committee, thejustice department, this book adds more detail to the president's unwillingness to learn, even when other people are winning to teach. it was said the president is paranoid, but perhaps he is right to be. skimming through the reports, the number of people that have called the president stupid, an idiot, vacuous, or a description of that ilk, it is long. some of them, rupert murdoch, katie walsh, the treasury secretary, the secretary of state rex tillerson, chief of staff, if 50% of those said he was stupid, thatis if 50% of those said he was stupid, that is a problem. those are his closest allies. i cannot underscore how unusual this is. someone covering the fifth president of my career, i have covered presidents who described as the smartest person

in the room, asking the sharpest questions, it is very, very unusual to have a white house west wing team and a cabinet going one, two, three, questioning the president's intelligent and curiosity. it is one thing for your enemies to describe you in very low terms, but this is pa rt you in very low terms, but this is part of what is really, really unusual about this book. alexis simendinger, thank you forjoining us. simendinger, thank you forjoining us. that is one thing that is interesting about the book. if this was a book that said the white house was a book that said the white house was organised and calm, that the president was a good manager of the white house and informed about the process , we white house and informed about the process, we would say, wow, that is a departure. but this book corroborates the reports we have had during the course of the year. even if only some of it is proven to be accurate or 100% accurate, the portrait it paints of the president, as you suggest, is not flattering.

what about michael wolff? he puts it in the author's note, he went how he came by the information. he sat down and hoovered it all up, and because it was so chaotic, nobody noticed he was there for ten months. that is how the west wing operated. i was in there one day, somebody said to me, do you want to swing by the oval office and say hello to the president. that never happens, there is protocol for getting access to the president, but it is a fair reflection of how chaotic this presidency is. certainly in the first few weeks and months. from france to florida, winter is here with a vengeance. storm eleanor has killed three people in europe — two drowned in spain after being swept out to sea by an enormous wave. and a skier was killed by a falling tree in the french alps. the region is on avalanche alert, with many ski resorts closed for a second day. meanwhile, it is freezing here in america. you saw it onjohn sopel‘s face

early on. a massive storm with subzero temperatures is hitting the east coast. you know it's bad when it even snows in florida. gusty, snowy and bitterly cold. winter has hit america in a big way. a massive storm, which goes by the ominous name of a bomb cyclone is rolling up the eastern seaboard. millions of americans could lose power, thousands of flights have already been cancelled. the truth is, i have no idea what a bomb cyclone is. i had never heard of one before. all i know is we've been freezing for a week, and i don't like it. and the bad news is, it's about to get worse. that's because we're about to be hit by the evil weather twins, the bomb cyclone will usher in a polar vortex, which makes you wonder, are these tourists on washington's mall, hardy or crazy? it's pretty cold out. freezing! my nose is numb, and so is my right hand.

my fingers are frozen. i'm cold. we're from florida, so it's cold for us. yeah, we're not used to this. i think i'm wearing four layers. actually, things haven't been much better in the sunshine state, it snowed there for the first time in nearly three decades. but at least these students know it will get hot again soon in florida, while we in the north east still have months of bitter winter to get through. i hope it doesn't continue like this. it is miserable. it is colder in some cities in america than it is on mars. i saw that today! put that in your pipe and smoke it! the bbc‘s nada tawfik is in new york. she is the poor soul out on the streets to show how cold it is. look at it! terrible! tell us all! honestly, it is the wind that is

making these conditions even worse. authorities have thousands of ploughs and personnel out to clean it up. the wind blankets the roadways again with snow. those wind gusts are getting up to 50 mph at certain times in this city, so creating really, really cold wind chills. thousands of flights have been cancelled, two busy airports have had to cancel flights because of visibility. of course, with the cold temperatures coming in over the next several days and into the weekend, getting the city cleaned up is essential, so that all of this doesn't turn to ice. that is what authorities are focusing on now. we hope that tomorrow schools will reopen, and the city can get up and running. the storm hasn't completely paralysed the city, but has certainly slowed it down. the hot

chocolate ‘s are on us. go and get warm. well, to explain this streak of freezing temperatures i spoke a brief time ago to dr marshall shepherd, a former nasa scientist who is now at the university of georgia. remember i'm a layperson who does not understand the injury sees of weather technology, but what on earth is a bomb cyclone? this bomb cyclone, that's the new buzzword, it was polar vortex a few years ago, it's reallyjust a storm that intensifies really rapidly. it drops in pressure, 02a millibars a day. a minibar is how meteorologists measure pressure. when you hear the term "bomb", think of a rapidly intensifying storm. and it's something that's been around in our field for some time, but it seems to be quite new to the media and public. ok, so does that explain why it's so very, very cold up here in washington. it's cold in washington

for a couple of reasons. the simple answer is, it's winter and we certainly expect it to be this cold. but we have an arctic air mass that has been entrenched in the eastern part of the united states for several weeks now. and because of the differences in air mass between an arctic air mass and warmer air, we see the rapid development of a storm, the so—called bomb cyclone we have been hearing about in the media. it is the combination of a unique weather event, winter and an arctic air mass. ok, it's meant to be cold in winter in washington, but it's not meant to be cold in winter in florida, why have they got snow? again, this particular storm system was so unique and the arctic air mass moves so far south into florida that we saw snowfall as far south as parts of florida, into coastal savannah, georgia. that is unusual. it's not unprecedented. we certainly can see those types of events and snowstorms. it's just indicative of this particular system and the fact that it is intensifying so fast off the east coast and moving up into parts of the north—east.

last time we spoke, it was before the hurricane in florida, we spoke about global warming and the impact of global warming on extreme weather conditions, should we be looking at global warming when we look at this extreme weather pattern at the moment in the east coast of the us? the link between climate change, global warming and extreme cold is interesting, because you have some people that say, "what are they talking about climate change, look at the cold weather?" it demonstrates the misunderstanding between weather and climate. weather is your mood, climate is a personality. there is some research that suggests that the jet stream patterns, the dips and waves in our atmosphere, because of changes in the arctic because of warming, it may be causing an amplified or wavy jet stream pattern, and counterintuitively, that may lead to colder events like we see and extreme drought on the one side. my

personality is sunny, but my mood is rather blue at the moment because of the freezing to bridge! what can we expect in the next few days? we will continue to watch the bomb cyclone as it impacts, we are looking at a foot of snow in some places, perhaps more. strong hurricane force wind, coastal flooding, so more. strong hurricane force wind, coastalflooding, so people in those regions need to be aware. eventually, the storm will move into parts of canada and the cold air will stay in trench for a few days, then we will see a slightly moderating warm pattern. then we will see a slightly moderating warm patternlj then we will see a slightly moderating warm pattern. i feel bad for canada, but i cannot wait for it to go. thank you forjoining us, again. thank you. you have to deal with the slush when it goes on your shoes and in the car. terrible. what are you talking about?! it is freezing, there is no slush, there are icicles. there were icicles hanging from my eyelids when

i was filming earlier. not very attractive. the evil weather twins. i like it! one aspect of foreign policy on which donald trump and steve bannon certainly do see eye—to—eye is china. both are wary of beijing's growing clout and they want to punish what they see as china's unfair trade practices. china meanwhile sees mr trump's abdication of global leadership as an opportunity to expand its own role. a new report in the new yorker this week says china thought the opportunity wouldn't come so soon. perhaps midway through this century it could project its own values abroad. but in the age of "america first," that time has come far sooner than expected. and in case you doubt it look at the figures the new yorker published in that same article. in 2000, the us accounted for 31 % of the global economy, china accounted forjust 4%. today, the u.s.'s share is 2a % and china's 15 %. if its economy surpasses america's in size as experts predict, says the magazine, it will be the first time in more than a century that the world's largest economy belongs to a non—democratic country. the journalist who wrote

the piece is evan osnos and he is with me in the studio. this is a fascinating piece, you spend a lot of time in china, you say they see the trump administration as an opportunity for china. how? they didn't expect it to be, for one thing. they thought it would be a tough administration on them. they discovered that because donald trump is so determined, to pull back from global commitments, things like contributions to the un, participating in the paris climate agreement, this opens a runway for china. china has begun to invest in those kind of institutions and relationships. one of the first things that happened after the inauguration, xijinping said it was time for them to be the guarantor for global trade. he did not say it was because the united states is pulling back. no one disputes that the last century was the americans entry, and the question is who this entry, and the question is who this entry belongs to. if china expands its role around the world, is it looking to fill america's shoes as the global leader in the same way that america has done since the second world war?|j that america has done since the second world war? i would say was to bea second world war? i would say was to be a leader with the same footprint as america had, setting the standard

around trade and the things that matter to china. they don't want to have to be the global policeman, as they have accused the united states of being. it would be different. they have accused the united states of being. it would be differentm concrete terms, why does it matter if america retreats and china advances? in some ways, it is about which country will cast the longer shadow over the 21st century. the united states experiences have hardly been perfect. the truth is, if china set those rules, it will be up if china set those rules, it will be up to them to say, this is the emphasis we put on environmental protection, workers' rights or human rights. they stand to gain from this experience. and of course, they stand to advance very quickly in things that america has taken for granted like technology. reading your article, i was struck by the huge advances they have made in things like face recognition, even to the extent, there was one anecdote where you said somebody

went into a toilet, and their face was recognised. this was a way of stopping people stealing toilet paper. terrifying! one of the big questions is, who will shape the technology of the future. at the moment, the trump administration is proposing a 15% cut on research. china is not making those cut and stand to gain on that. you say they have a new cultural confidence as well. it is notjust about confidence, i thought it was fascinating. there is a swag of ayr that they didn't have a few years ago. they are managing to play donald trump by using their history and confidence. they discovered, if you go back to the 19th century, the playbook is there, the way you deal with barbarians, just meaning foreigners, the vanity and receptions you give. they quite literally laid out that playbook for donald trump when he came to

beijing, and it worked beautifully. one of the anecdotes you picked up from the chinese side was that when they went to the first meeting between xijinping they went to the first meeting between xi jinping and president trump, they were struck by how much he didn't know about the sensitive topics, things like taiwan, tibet, north korea, and they were able to exploit that. what they said was they expected him to push back in they expected him to push back in the way an american president usually does when china asserts its position. donald trump didn't have enough knowledge at his disposal to do that. he said as much. he gave an interview, and said, i learned after ten minutes that north korea was more corrugated than i thought. beyond 100 days, thank you for coming in. my pleasure. there has been a slew of reports here, all of them describing the same phenomenon of foreign leaders

that me donald trump and surprised about how little he knows about their area of expertise or their country. that has been concerning for some of them. ok, we will go more into that in the programme. there's been an explosion in the afghan capital, kabul, killing at least 20 people, according to reports. a spokesman for the interior minister has told the bbc that a suicide attacker on foot detonated explosive devices. local media say police were trying to contain a demonstration when the attack took place. at least 1a people have died and more than 200 injured after a train caught fire in south africa, following a collision with a truck. officials fear the death toll could rise. the collision happened near kroonstad city in free state province. the train had been travelling from port elizabeth tojohannesburg. you remember the local congressional race in virginia that christian and i got excited about before

christmas, the tie between republican and the democratic candidates. as we told you back then they were going to have to decide it by drawing names from a hat. well, a couple of hours ago they did just that. though actually, it was a rather tasteful blue potter bowl. the name that was drawn first was the republican candidate's and so he wins. but the democratic candidate — shelly simonds — who we spoke to last year — now says she could challenge the result of the lottery. maybe it goes on. the reason she might challenge is now, given the republican has won, and if he was seated, it would be 51—19. republican has won, and if he was seated, it would be 51-49. and if she had won, and when we spoke to her, she was making this point to us, it would have been a tie in virginia, the first time in 17 years that republicans had not been the majority in the virginia state house, and that affects a slew of legislation in what is a populist big state in america. and also a

swing state. virginia is a state that shifts from being reliably republican to more reliably democratic, and what shelly simonds's point was, if she got into office, it would have been easier for democrat in the state house to pass laws in virginia that were moored democratically leaning. this now makes that difficult. david yan ce isa now makes that difficult. david yan ce is a name that was drawn out. how crazy is that? drawn out of a blue ceramica bowl from the virginia easy fine art. and the little pieces of paper or were put in film canisters, so no one see what they were. paper or were put in film canisters, so no one see what they werem paper or were put in film canisters, so no one see what they were. it was like the world cup. i saw an interview with shelly simonds. i felt in my bones she would lose. yesterday, apparently, she offered a deal to the republicans, saying, whoever winds, that's it. and he didn't take it. now, all options are on the table. we have seen what the weather is like on your side of the

atlantic, this is what it is doing here. this is not far away. an inflata ble here. this is not far away. an inflatable christmas decoration came loose above busy oxford street. we have been watching this all day. it has been flapping around outside the bbc studios in london. like a giant gobstopper, it is lose. it is an tethered, possibly due to high wind. it has forced traffic to stop as repair work was carried out to make it safe. you have evil weather twins, we have funny... i don't know what it is, but it is a christmas decoration. excuse me. you have a big balloon, look at this, i am going to one up you stop this is what i have got. it is really, really cold in new york city. in my lap with, it is 80 degrees, in your language, it is minus six degrees. in honour of the freezing temperatures, i have done you a classic word cloud, cold,

fridge, freeze your nose off, and i am not —— i am the only person out it. you need to pull your head around your ears, you have to pull it tight. awful. this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news, we've more on donald trump's battle with steve bannon, and those explosive excerpts from a controversial book which the president's lawyers are now trying to stop. and sweden's very own fake news fight, with an election looming, security officials know who's to blame. we report from stockholm. that's still to come. good evening. our spell of

u nsettled, good evening. our spell of unsettled, wet and windy weather will come to an end to gradually over the next day or so as high pressure starts to take over into the weekend. there were a few princes of sunshine to be seen out there today, this in london, but not so in eastern scotland, saint andrews and fife with a soggy one. as we move through this evening and overnight, outbreaks of rain. across the southern half of the country, heavy and squally winds, windy conditions for a time across parts of the south—west of england, wales, too. friday morning, around two or three, in the north, five or six. icy stretches in northern parts of the country. tomorrow, a mix of rain, hill snow the country. tomorrow, a mix of rain, hillsnow in the country. tomorrow, a mix of rain, hill snow in eastern scotland, north east england, too. further south, showers moving from west to east. equally, sunshine reappearing.

northern ireland and southern england, too, temperatures for or nine. sunday, —— friday, hillsnow easing, overnight into saturday, fairly widespread mist and fog forming, and a sharp frost. the coolest night for quite a while. the odd icy stretch as well, to start up your saturday morning. a change in weather tight as we head into saturday. we see the wind coming from a north or north easterly direction, feeling bitterly cold around the east coast on saturday. sunshine reappears in the north, further south we hold onto more cloud, and a few showers. mild at six or seven, but temperatures two or three across scotland on sunday. saturday night, cold, temperatures below freezing, colder in the countryside. sunday, a few icy stretches and widespread frost around. high pressure will dominate

the weather as we move through sunday and into the start of the new working week, too. sunday, after the cold, frosty, potentially icy stock, a return to sunshine across the country. feeling chilly, temperatures around 1—7, but lighter wind than we have seen recently. the cold pressure continues into monday. goodbye or now. this is beyond 100 days, with me katty kay in washington. christian fraser's in london. our top stories: donald trump's lawyers are trying to stop the publication of a book containing explosive allegations about his presidency, revealed by his former chief strategist steve bannon. a severe winter storm is hitting the eastern us, bringing strong winds and blizzards. it's the tenth day of record—breaking low temperatures. coming up in the next half hour: we hear from the former british prime minister who's campaigning for a new brexit referendum. is tony blair too late? rare royal jewels owned by the qatari ruling family are stolen in venice in a daring

raid at a museum during visiting hours. let us know your thoughts by using the hashtag. let's get more now on our top story... lawyers for donald trump are threatening legal action against his former chief strategist, steve bannon, and trying to stop the publication of an explosive book about the president. mr bannon is quoted at length in the book. for example, he describes a meeting between trump's son, donjr, and a russian operative as treasonous. and that's just one of the things that's angered the white house. the book's author michael wolff also claims that trump

did not enjoy his own inauguration. he was angry that a—level stars had snubbed the event and visibly fought with his wife, who seemed on the verge of tears. the first lady's office rejects this claim. the book also ivanka trump has secret political ambitions. it says that she and her husband jared kushner accepted roles in the west wing over the advice of almost everyone they knew, and it says that if an opportunity arose, ivanka would be the one to run for president. this is what was said that the white house briefing. i a lot going to go through every single page of the book, but numerous examples, falsehoods, taking place. iwill give you one. it is really easy. the crime that the president did not know who some were, did not know who

some were, some of you have said that the president had not know them, he has played golf. it is pretty simple and pretty basic. ages of employees. super easy to fact check. i am of employees. super easy to fact check. iam not of employees. super easy to fact check. i am not going to waste my time, the country's time, going page by page, talking about this complete fa ntasyla nd by page, talking about this complete fa ntasyland tabloid gossip. by page, talking about this complete fantasyland tabloid gossip. sad. pathetic. the focus of the administration is moving the country forward. the bbc‘s anthony zurcher is watching it all unfold and he's with me now. the president's spokesperson said this is total fantasy. the president's spokesperson said this is totalfantasy. how the president's spokesperson said this is total fantasy. how seriously should we take this?” this is total fantasy. how seriously should we take this? i think we should we take this? i think we should have a somewhat sceptical eye. donald, critics could look at this and think this confirms suspicions. everything that we thought. and when you say that, you wa nt to

thought. and when you say that, you want to make sure that you have got substance behind these things. with that chaos in the white house, the staff top murder, the more gospey stuff, we' re staff top murder, the more gospey stuff, we're going to have to look at the tapes. anti—steve bannon has not said that those quotations are not said that those quotations are not true. that is damaging. it can undermine the defence is that the waitrose has constructed. calls to look at the tapes... some sort of verification progress. i am sure that the white house would like to be talking about the fact that the dowjones has broken records. first time ever that the stock market is booming. unemployment down. the economy is doing well. but the story derails that? absolutely. trying to get that message out. but this story

has derailed the message. donald trump's tweets about north korea, pakistan, hillary clinton's aides. and congress has got a lot of work to do this month. immigration solution. child health insurance. raise budget caps. and every day that they do not spend talking about that, advancing goals, going to get closer to these deadlines. we have just seen a clip of the press briefing. apparently the president was beamed in to talk about tax reform. he was 20 feet away! does that suggest he does not want to appear in front of the press?m that suggest he does not want to appear in front of the press? it was interesting. he was on the television monitor, essentially boasting about the economy. that is the message that they want to get

out. beat and control exactly what he says, pre—recorded messages, she does not have to worry about taking any questions. earlier today, does not have to worry about taking any questions. earliertoday, he does not have to worry about taking any questions. earlier today, he had comments some in the white house, questions if he communicates with steve bannon. he said he does not talk to her murder. that contradicts what procedure study, the conversation as recently as december. this was a controlled environment. thank you. i suppose the so what depends on how he reacts. he is furious. sometimes, those tweets are not controlled. depends how he keeps himself in check. that is interesting he appeared in that press briefing. dow getting to 25,000. big deal. it is

an important economic story. white house could tout it as a victory. but the washington press machine is talking about this book. so much drama. so much, surrounding this. they need to get back to talking about the economy. the danger they over—read. anyway... in the 18 months since the eu referendum, we have heard talk of a ‘hard and soft‘ brexit — we know there are both remainers and leavers on the conservative and labour benches but overall the two main parties say they are committed to honouring the referendum result and leaving the european union. but today, the former prime minister, tony blair said the labour party should back his call for a second referendum on whether the uk should stay in the european union, and said that the public should be allowed to "think again". is all that i am arguing for, it is extraordinary that this should be contentious. when we know the new relationship, and we could not know

that in june 2016, relationship, and we could not know that injune 2016, we should compare what we have just now and this new deal. i think the reason why the government do not want us to have this debate is because they know when they come up with terms of the new relationship it is going to result in either people saying we are not actually going to be much better off than inside the european union. going to have to accept most of the migrants from europe, end up abating by european rules. or... hard brexit. economic damage. my point is that you have different scenarios on the sprigs of negotiation. when you see what the government calls for we should be able to have our say. with me now is anand menon from the uk in a changing europe. he's watching every twist and turn of this brexit process. hgppy

happy new year. on my way home last night, i was reading something you wrote. you said the main reason that dossiers like the ones tony blair has produced are not trusted, not necessarily because they lie, it is because the country they refer is not inhabited by many voters. aggregate economics works as a basic for describing the economy but when the economy series slightly, it does not speak to everybody. we saw that. george osborne said it was doing well. for those suffering from posterity, wages falling, he was talking about a different country. secondly, the result of the referendum campaign is that people have become suspicious about forecasting predictions. people who believe we should leave can say that they had forecasted doom after we

left. wrong again now. that is something that the people who want to remain, are finding it difficult to remain, are finding it difficult to get a credible answer to. those who want to remain, losing sight of the people that people were not voting because of economic argument, but voting to take back control? that is what tony blair is trying to deny them? people voted for a week variety of reasons. many had nothing to do with economic. but even those who voted on economic issues, thought he was dead cash back, wages up, migrants leaving — morejobs. economic arguments on both sides. but many of us not necessarily cutting through the electorate, the way that the campaign hoped that

they would. for remainers. .. tony blair, the best messenger?” they would. for remainers. .. tony blair, the best messenger? i cannot speakfor blair, the best messenger? i cannot speak for everybody in the country. he has a reputation. some people because it is tony blair would think yes, he would say that. but he has still got a way with words. lovely phrase. one choice. he said it was later general election when you said ido later general election when you said i do not like the government, i do like the government. what are we voting for? he said when we get the dealfrom the voting for? he said when we get the deal from the european voting for? he said when we get the dealfrom the european union, the people should get the chance to vote on what is on the table. as it stands, it is a convincing case. the problem is partly the messenger. the country is so divided that you end up country is so divided that you end up with remainers talking to remainers. remainers have not been

able to talk to leavers. that is the critical point. thank you. after the 2016 election, donald trump said millions of people had voted illegally in america and that was the reason he didn't win the popular vote. so incensed he was he by this, that he set up a commission to investigate voter fraud. last night that commission was disbanded — it found no evidence to support mr trump's allegation. but the white house isn't taking that as proof that the president was wrong — indeed mr trump is pushing for stronger laws regulating who can and can't vote and says the only reason the commission didn't come up with anything is because democratic states didn't cooperate. actually blaming states. democratic but republicans as well. they have said that voter fraud is not a but republicans as well. they have said that voterfraud is not a big deal. the real problem has been the

small—town life. most americans do not bother to go to the polls. if you impose restrictions on how difficult it is to punch your ballot, you have to have certain forms of identification. you're going to diminish that even more. the minority groups might think that is the president's whole point. trying to expand these regulations, making it more difficult for people to vote, buy producing identification, that hits minority voters. they tend to vote democrat. many voters. they tend to vote democrat. ma ny states voters. they tend to vote democrat. many states would think it is getting people to vote in the first place that is the problem. theresa may has challenged the call by her local council leader for police to clear rough sleepers from windsor ahead of the royal wedding. the prime minister, who is a local mp, said she "did not agree" with the conservative council chief simon dudley‘s claim that beggars

on the streets could cast the event in a "sadly unfavourably light". thousands of people are expected to descend on the berkshire town when prince harry and meghan markle marry in st george's chapel in windsor castle in may.the bbc‘s adina campbell has more. it's been home to british kings and queens for more than 1,000 years. windsor castle is a popular tourist destination overlooking high—end shops in one of the country's most affluent areas. but, a stone's throwaway is stewart's home, a bus shelter where he's been living for the last four months. it's the royal borough, isn't it, the queen lives right behind me and the castle, i think they say with the royal wedding coming up, they don't want us on the street. now people like stewart are being targeted by the council. in a three—page letter to thames valley police, leader simon dudley says, "there's evidence that a large number of adults begging in windsor

are not in fact homeless and if they are, they're chosing to reject all supporting services." he goes on to say, "this is creating a concerning and hostile atmosphere for residents and the seven million tourists who come to windsor each year." but for those out in the cold, it's a different story. james has been homeless for the last 12 months. he says he never aggressively begs for money, but is grateful when people do. the council has said that they have offered support accommodation to people like you. why haven't you taken that up? it's only over the christmas period, forfour days. after the four days, you're kicked back out on the streets. windsor castle is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations and on the 19th of may, when prince harry marries meghan markle here, tens of thousands of people are expected. police and the local authorities will want to make sure everyone from all different communities are safe and secure.

for years, windsor has been home to the rich and poor, but some local businesses say begging is increasingly becoming a problem. there's been a large influence of these beggars coming in and, at the moment, it's becoming a little bit a nightmare. the thames valley police and crime commissioner says the homeless community should be treated with kindness, but today's letter has created more unease and uncertainty for those living here on the streets. still to come: guarding against fake news. as an election approaches in sweden — they aren't shy about saying who they think is behind the misinformation. here... the environment secretary, michael gove, has set out proposals for what farming might look like after brexit.

it would see the current eu subsidy, based on how much land you own, replaced with one based on what you do with the land. here's our business editor simonjack. for 45 years, those who work on this green and pleasant land had been regulated, protected and paid by the eu. 3 billion a year in subsidies is paid out to farmers, determined by how much land they own, that will change according to the environment secretary. what i want to do is to move away from the current method of subsidy which doesn't really reward efficiency to a method of agricultural support which make sure that good bombers have new markets for their products and at the same time that the natural environment is enhanced. under proposals announced today, the government would limit payments to the largest landowners. it would reward environmental protection measures such as flood prevention and support high standards in animal welfare. we are very pleased with the gove announcement today because it provides a level of certainty for the bombing. it gives is a chance to adjust our

businesses and study the impact of brexit and plan accordingly. farming is a long—term business. the cattle we have on the farm, many will not be sold until we leave the eu so any chance to plan ahead is really valuable. cut—price competition from overseas like chickens treated with chlorine from the us, is banned in the eu. some worry that in a rush to make new trade partners, uk farmers will be undercut. there is perhaps no other sector where opinion is so divided between those who think brexit will be the making of and those who think brexit will be the breaking of an industry. can you make an agricultural policy tailor—made for britain's economy and environment, or are you taking a massive gamble by stepping outside the fence of subsidies and protection? the farming landscape may change with brexit, but subsidies for farmers are not going anywhere for six years, proved perhaps of how hard some habits are the break. you're watching beyond 100 days.

western democracies are increasingly alarmed by foreign manipulation of information — particularly around election time. in an oped in the new york times, fusion gps, the company that commissioned a collection of intelligence reports about donald trump's campaign ties to russia, says: fusion gps also said: across the atlantic in sweden, where elections are being held this year, authorities are also concerned. our security correspondent gordon corera has travelled to stockholm, to find out more. as little one fake news and four in

paul ince start to spread, sweden has been the target. a general election is due here this year. officials have said the country is already under attack. head of the security service, its version of mi5, security service, its version of mis, told security service, its version of m15, told me where he thinks the threat comes from. we are not shy. we think the biggest threat comes from russia. if they want uncertainty, they will do that. we have seen that from different ministers. we have seen fake news. it has been going on for a long time. this is one example. supposedly about arms deals with ukraine, it used the forged

signature of the defence minister. allegations of russian interference have been growing and a number of countries, including the united states and united kingdom. but sweden views closer, with russia just across the baltic sea. it is thought that year, russian fears over sweden's closer relationship with nato could influence and even intimidate. it is notjust about disinformation. three years ago, a russian submarine was thought to have been seen in swedish waters. today, the concern is about fake news. this false story about a church being vandalised by muslims was spread by social media accounts known as bots. bart now proven link to russia. they monitor the risk and it has seen the problem extend beyond the country's borders. this story about a former swedish foreign minister, setting up a group to

battle you risk it takes was set up —— picked up weeks before the referendum. reading this article you can see the link. fake photoshopped page. from one of the major newspapers. swedish society is trying to confront the threat. media organisations are supporting independent fact checking. and the government wants primary school children, taught how to spot fake news. this year's collection could bea news. this year's collection could be a taste of how far this works. does evidence like that, and what we talked about, the stuff that we have got from the book this week, does that make it more difficult for these congressional committees to try to shop this then? clearly concerned about disinformation. looking at social media. trying to

put pressure on his part, google, to say where they advertise and the source of content. i think on the fusion gps, plenty of sceptics. especially those intelligence committees. they have said it is not a reliable organisation mrs sally and we do not created everything that they have as being the gospel truth. taking fusion gps with a pinch of salt, certainly the republicans. jewellery thought to be worth several million dollars has been stolen in a daring heist in venice. police say at least two thieves delayed the alarm system at the doge's palace, before breaking into a reinforced cabinet to take a broach and some earrings. the jewels had been on loan from the royal family of qatar. james reynolds has the details. the exhibition held at the doge's palace in venice was called treasures of the moguls and maharajas. the jewellery on display, some of it on loan from the ruling family of qatar, was worth millions of pounds. for one criminal gang, this was all too tempting.

at least two thieves helped themselves to a golden brooch and a pair of earrings. incredibly, they did so during normal visiting hours. translation: while the exhibition was open to the public, one of the glass cases ofjewels on display was open. some jewels were stolen and the thieves made their getaway by mixing with the public. officials suspect the gang may have spent several months planning the theft. investigators are now trying to work out exactly how the thieves managed to switch off the museum's alarm system and how they managed to walk away while hiding among visitors. experts from rome have been sent to help find out who did it. the police describe the gang, with some understatement, as very skilled professionals. james reynolds, bbc news, rome. beautiful venice. out of a movie! we

had been speaking about the weather affecting people. this is one rescue that ended well! it is a group of people in canada, coming across a moose! stuck in deep snow. grabbed shovels! freed the animal! it took about 15 minutes. i love this. just look at that. rescuing a moose! moose on the loose! before we go... a tweet from george sending them out!? the publishers

definitely want this to get out. journalists will carry on going through it. just what the white house does not want. see you monday. bye. good evening. our spell of unsettled, wet and windy weather will be coming to an end gradually over the next day or so as high pressure starts to take over into the weekend. there were a few glimpses of sunshine to be seen out there today, this the scene in london, but not so across eastern parts of scotland, the scene st andrews and fife with a soggy one there. as we move through the rest of this evening and overnight, we continue to see outbreaks of rain. across the southern half of the country, some of them heavy with squally winds, particularly windy conditions

for a time across parts of the south—west of england, and wales, too. by friday morning, temperatures around two or three in the north, five or six further south, could be a bit of frost and icy stretches in northern parts of the country. through the day tomorrow, we keep a mix of rain, with sleet and hill snow in eastern scotland, north east england, too. further south in the country, showers moving from west to east. but equally, a bit of sunshine reappearing, in the likes of northern ireland and southern england, too, temperatures four to nine. later on friday, we slowly start to see the rain in the north and east with its hill snow starting to ease. overnight into saturday, fairly widespread mist and fog forming, and a sharp frost. the coolest night for quite a while. the odd icy stretch as well, to start off your saturday morning. a change in weather type as we head into saturday. we see the wind coming from a north or north easterly direction, feeling bitterly cold around the east coast on saturday. sunshine reappears across the northern half of the country. further south, we hold onto more cloud, and a few showers. mild at six or seven,

but temperatures two or three across scotland on saturaday. saturday night, particularly cold, even in towns and cities, temperatures below freezing, colder in the countryside. sunday, a few icy stretches and widespread frost around. high pressure will dominate the weather as we move through sunday and into the start of the new working week, too. sunday, after the cold, frosty, potentially icy start, a return to sunshine across all of the country. feeling chilly, temperatures around 1—7, but lighter wind than we have seen recently. that colder, fresher, brighter theme continues into monday. bye for now. this is bbc news, i'm ben brown, the headlines at eight. more evidence of the nhs under pressure — one in eight patients taken to hospital in england by ambulance this winter faced a delay of over 30 minutes. lawyers for donald trump threaten legal action against his former chief strategist, steve bannon, after comments made in a book about his presidency.

the obviously changed his tune pretty quick! plans for an overhaul of farmers' subsidies, but current levels will remain for five years after brexit. one of britain's most prolific sex offenders, john worboys, who raped and assaulted women in his black cab, is approved for release from prison. and a huge winter storm is causing disruption over