this is and political high drama. bbc news. and soaring stock markets. we'll look at what the president is expected to say. i'm rico hizon in singapore. year in office. as his successes so far. nation to buy british. on a mission to get the world's most populous nation to buy british. from the european union. after a false alarm about a ballistic missile attack. out the alert by mistake earlier this month has at once. been sacked.

this is bbc world news. it's newsday. good evening. super moon, and total lunar eclipse. it's the first so—called ‘super blue blood moon‘ in more than 150 years. now on from donald trump's first state of the bbc union address. news — hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. britain prides itself on its system ofjustice. an international centre for dispute arbitration. but are the cracks starting to show in a system steeped in tradition? of the uk supreme court. does the british judicial system need a 21st century reboot? lord

neuberger, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. i dare say that makes it easier for you to speak in public. distant from the public they serve? i think, i can say many things about. impartial both in court and

out of court. society is going. into the law and very senior positions in the law. hugely important matters? to claim that i am perfect. and yes, you are right. by our background and more confident about the world we know.

have had the experience of. and its reputation reaching around the world. but it is quite a secretive and closed institutional framework. is that something that needs to be addressed? that is being addressed. you are entirely right. like a priesthood almost shunned away

from society. and explain to people what they do and why they do it. the parole board of the uk. of eight years. than eight years. to that decision.

is that day and age the wrong attitude? has acted in accordance with its duties. that's true as far as i know. which is very dangerous. be applied to the parole board too? i cannot pretend to be an expert on the parole board.

i am not hedging. as open as possible. a relatively closed system. to be the president? who is ultimately making their decisions? whether to accept or reject. it is not clear in this country at all. well, i don't entirely agree. the constitutional form act 2005. a panel is set up by the lord chancellor... but the public gets no sight

of this whatsoever. to the supreme court of the us is that the public is invited in. in the uk. it cannot, but what otherjobs? senior civil servants are not chosen in the public sphere. involvement in the selection or more publicity. to american judges, i would not want that to happen here. it is more honest though, isn't it? your culture and experience and i dare say your own politics too. nomination, that is more honest, more open. there is a difference between honesty

and openness. i don't think it is particularly honest. to vote in legal cases, that are particularly sensitive. by our party political views. we might come back to that. briefly a few statistics that seemed important. in this country.

7% of the overall population go to private school. of 12 are women. these are all damning statistics. i agree. but you have to break it down a bit more carefully than that. from barristers, from senior qc‘s. if you look at the qc‘s, 13% are women. successfully without reducing the quality. to keep their, to put it crudely, their noses out of politics.

major political ramifications? yes. that the system is at breaking point. justice. going on to the supreme court, your voice matters. and in terms of it.

job to deal with that. i need to follow this through. and other departments. justice has had to take much more of the pain. that is quite true. you think it has gone too far? sums of money on the court system. in some of them are absolutely appalling. here's one statistic. and the jail population has grown

by 82%. to be seen to get tougher on crime and criminals? guidelines on what sentences are appropriate. sentence is 14 years... i understand that. of consistency. in sentences, which has been part of the public demand. is that healthy or unhealthy for society? that sentences have risen by a third over 30 years? that is a matter of opinion. i want your opinion, that is why you are here.

i am dubious about the value of much longer sentences in many cases. they should spend there. a questionably long time. of being tough on criminals? and is that actually deleterious to doing the right thing? and sometimes minimum. in the sentencing process. in a damaging way?

out what the law is, personally i think are a bit harsh. politicians have to have a say because they are democratic. within those rules what the right sentence is. and the law, when you were president of the supreme court. article 50. by executive order, issue article 50. in the pro—brexit camp said afterwards, dominic raab.

of the british public. how alarmed were you by that sort of reaction? depressed, rather than alarmed. i felt that the general mood was feverish. and now they regret. they do look pretty extreme, these people. who are you referring to? i think the statement that you just read is one such statement. and through them, the government?

that is, those placed in such positions of power. there was an implicit threat, there. representatives. to decide whether to permit article 50 was to be served. that was an egregious statement. you have dealt with? i do think a lot of many of them. of the moment. a foolish person. but that was a foolish thing to say.

making it clear that she pro—brexit was "bad and mad. to express opinions, either. i don't think that's right. in the extreme. as for my wife, she has her views and i have mine. and i should have hers. idid, yes. so you obviously have personal views. on such important matter? it is very easy indeed. i have no difficulty with

political views. has been victimised unfairly, and the law appears against them. that is when you need to be careful. to get the right result. of a valuejudgement.

you are as subjective as you can be. —— objective. nobody‘s mind is a blank slate. who suffered terribly because he has this locked—in syndrome. he had no quality of life and was desperate to die. he did only die he was assisted by a doctor. that appeared to be illegal. through to the supreme court with his appeals. how much of a burden did you feel? because it was literally his life in the hands of your court.

of a very troublesome case. as well as before, which is a pointless thing to do. some of them do, yes. yes. that case was, again, parliament was clear. to be imprisoned for 14 years. would be committing a crime. his right to determine his own fate under the human rights convention. and the morality involved in the case?

had personal view. you are retired, now. the right to commit suicide? i think morally right is not... i think that i would have fashioned it to enable this to happen. but, um... many of whom had views, too, that i would not have decided... you must have been very dissatisfied with the outcome... touching on, here.

it to parliament. for individual countries. was appropriate to tell the parliament what to do. about this — to brexit. that the uk ship of state is sailing into choppy waters. you did. brexit in your mind. in the future, after brexit. the british government appears to have

fudged the relationship. how concerned are you by the confusion here? the present situation. is negotiating with europe. in negotiations. i am concerned that there will be uncertainty. affairs in the long—term after leaving the eu. is that realistic? it depends on the deal we get. it depends on whether we get the deal and what deal we get.

and whether it will be long—term. short—term involvement, and others long. but i'm sorry to be equivocating. what is likely to be on the table. in your voice. thank you very much were joining us on hardtalk, lord neuberger. thank you very much. thank you.

and it is going to turn colder. arriving on wednesday. is starting to set in. particularly because of the strength of the wind. in the south—east of the country. so here it's not too cold — around, say, 8—5 degrees. but the cold air has already set in across northern areas. you can see the white here — that's where the wintry showers are. in scotland, possibly northern ireland as well. with those wintry showers coming through, driven

by the strong winds. icy patches as well in a few places. to the south of that, it's cloudy with some rain. across southern areas. towards the east, and behind it, the skies are going to brighten up. but wintry showers will be filtering in with that wind. hail, possibly thunder as well, you are unlucky. but it will be quite windy and it is going to feel cold. these are the temperatures in the afternoon — 3—4 degrees. without the wind, it feels quite a bit colder. are on the way. — most of it will be in fact rain. how are we doing compared to the rest of europe? there on wednesday.

across parts of scandinavia. a little bit too mild for this part of the world for widespread snow. so what's happening on thursday then? so it is going to feel chilly. blustery, particularly on that north sea coast. but notice there's a shift in the wind here. is on the way for some of us this weekend. 00:28:45,102 --> 858993221:01:41,968 i'm 858993221:01:41,968 --> 1717986441:34:38,834 laura 1717986441:34:38,834 --> 2576979662:07:35,699 trevelyan 2576979662:07:35,699 --> 3435972882:40:32,564 in 3435972882:40:32,564 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 washington.