you're watching beyond one hundred days. a nerve agent was the weapon, say british authorities investigating the attempted murder of a russian spy and his daughter. the two remain critical after collapsing in a public park in salisbury, england on sunday. the kremlin continued to deny any involvement. another major departure at the white house. this time it is the president's top economic advisor who is stepping down after a rift over tariffs. also on the programme.. a private message is on its way from pyongyang to the us. we speak to a top american diplomat on whether this could be a breakthrough. i'm so glad i had a bad day at work. and i take up an unsettling new sport — axe throwing. find out about the new craze making its way from canada. get in touch with us using the hashtag ‘beyond—one—hundred—days‘. hello and welcome —

i'm christian fraser in london, jane o'brien is in washington. it's now known that a nerve agent was used in an an attempt to murder a russian spy and his daughter earlier this week. british counter terrorism police say sergei skripal and his 33—year—old daughter yulia were specifically targeted. the unnamed substance was so potent that a police officer who was first to respond is also now in a serious condition in hospital. moscow has denied any links to the attempted murder of the former double agent. and the uk government says it continues to keep an open mind while the investigation unfolds. but the method employed, in a public area, with such a toxic agent, will only fuel concerns that there was some state involvement. tom symonds reports. sergei skripal was a man with a shadowy past. relatives said he feared it would catch up with him but he was using his own name,

living a normal life, popping into a corner shop last month for milk and bacon. tonight, he and his daughter are gravely ill and now, the police have revealed why. in summary, this is being treated as a major incident involved attempting murder by the administration of a nerve agent. as you know, these two people remain critically ill in hospital. sadly, in addition, a police officer who was one of the first to attend the scene and respond to the incident is now also in a serious condition in hospital. counter—terrorism officers are being advised by public health agencies, they say there is no obvious outstanding risk and, they are trying to work out what the skripals

were doing in salisbury after arriving on sunday. police are investigating reports that sergei skripal had lunch with a woman at this italian restaurant. they were behaving strangely, she had dark hair, resembled his daughter yulia in this picture. but police have already seized this cctv footage from just before lipm. a man and a blonde haired woman heading to the area where the family were taken ill on a park bench. an eyewitness who saw that has told us... the girl was pretty, blonde hair, i couldn't see her face very well because she was leant on him. blonde hair, dark hair, detectives will need to sort through a mass of eyewitness reports and cctv, to establish the truth. the government was briefed on the inquiry today. we need to keep a cool head and make sure that we collect all the evidence we can, and we need to make sure that we respond not to rumour but to all the evidence that they collect. and then, we will

need to decide what action to take. but life in central salisbury is now dominated by the response to the suspected poisoning. at lunchtime this, after a woman appeared to have been taken ill at the offices next to the restaurant. police would not discuss why there was such a huge emergency response. but with two lives in jeopardy at the local hospital, it is clear why the risk has to be taken seriously. inafew in a few minutes we will speak to the former chair of the uk joint intelligence committee to get her thoughts on this developing story. here in washington, the revolving door of the white house is spinning again. the latest to go is the president's chief economic adviser gary cohn. last week it was one of his most trusted confidents, hope hicks, who resigned seeking new opportunities. she was his fourth director of communications. another to go was the political aide

rob porter who was removed following allegations of domestic abuse. gary cohn was always fighting a losing battle. when it came to trade he was the free—market globalist fighting the president's instinct for protection and tariffs. in the end something had to give. any other leader might question why so many people seem unable or unwilling to stay on thejob. but donald trump seems to relish the constant change. so many people want to come in, i have the choice of anybody. i could take any position in the white house and i'll have a choice of the ten top people having to do with that position. everybody wants to be there. and they love this white house because we have energy like rarely before. and joining us now in washington is our north america correspondent nick bryant. gary cohn was an interesting figure, seen gary cohn was an interesting figure, seen by some as a democrat in their

republican administration but plenty saw him as a moderating influence. exactly, this is the most consequential departure we have seen for that reason. gary cohn was seen by wall street is a reassuring figure ina by wall street is a reassuring figure in a white house in turmoil and moderating endurance as well, someone we and moderating endurance as well, someone we believe persuaded donald trump not to declare that china was a currency manipulator and persuaded him to renegotiate nafta rather than getting up the entire agreement. he has been trying to rein in the protectionist impulses of donald trump and of course those protectionist impulses have found expression in the past week with his plan to impose tariffs on aluminium and steel which have sparked the possibility of this global trade war. and that it was bought was the final straw for gary cohn. the lifeblood of the republican party is free trade and business, how much

influence will republicans now have on this in the white house without gary cohn? well over the past week boosting the triumph of the economic nationalist, the most well—known was steve bannon and he has gone of course. he was the former chief medical strategist and there are economic nationalist left. peter navarro was one of them coming he once wrote a book called death by china. and the republican party has long been the party of free trade. evangelical about capitalism. one of the reasons for the liberalisation of trade policy around the world is that if modes capitalism and the world and they believe free trade is good for business. many senior republicans made the case that a trade war is something the us consumers and manufacturers will pay for. in the supermarkets and car dealerships. but donald trump is not persuaded by that, he has vacillated

on a lot of policies including gun control that he has been consistent on this promise to renegotiate trade deals and to stop america being taken advantage of by foreign trading partners. that was the message that resonated during the 2016 campaign especially in the rust belt but got the presidency. with the promise that he is determined to keep with the intimidation of these tariffs. for more on the impact of gary cohn's departure we are joined now by douglas holtz eakin, who was an economic advisor in the administration of george w bush and is now president of the american action forum. thank you forjoining me. he went through all this with president bush. and teresita tried to impose work overturned. do you think that the same could happen to these? almost certainly, one of the most frustrating aspects of this episode is they will be costs, direct costs

in the steel consuming industries that will outweigh the benefits. costs in the form of trade retaliation and degradation of the world trading system and no benefits in the end because the wto will save these are a violation and have to go. even if they do go away can confidence in the us as trading partner the restored question mark i think it has been shaken, i think an enormous amount depends on the outcome of the nafta negotiations. if that lands successfully with a tripartite agreement with the modernised nafta that will be against a lot of the rhetoric from the president on the campaign trail. and for the betterment of the north american trading establishment. wilbur ross said today, commerce secretary, that he's not looking for a trade war but sensible relations. today i looked at the list that the europeans are providing and seems

they are already in the bunker. the provisional list that they will supply to eu member states, us goods that they will target, steel and industrial products, agricultural products, peanut butter, orange juice. it does not bode well. products, peanut butter, orange juice. it does not bode wellm does not and this is why their words does not and this is why their words do not match the actions. it is not that it do not match the actions. it is not thatitis do not match the actions. it is not that it is a hypothetical retaliation, it happened before and i was retaliation, it happened before and iwas in retaliation, it happened before and i was in the white house then, they put upa i was in the white house then, they put up a list and promised it will happen again. and it is a very measured retaliation. it takes a look at the scale of damage to europeans, it matches that damage on us exporters and says ok, do you wa nt to us exporters and says ok, do you want to go forward. if they were paying attention to that and wise enough to scale back or drop it, the europeans would also scaled back and that would be the right outcome. maybe donald trump will look at figures today, the american trade deficit swollen to its widest level

in almost a decade. so maybe he is correct and other countries are taking the mickey out of the united states. i think any sophisticated analysis of the trade deficit focuses on the mismatch between us investment and savings as a nation. that is the fundamental determinant of why we had the trade deficit. there's no tariff policy that would change that and some of the things that the president has accomplished, his big tax cuts, larger deficits and faster growth will almost certainly widen that deficit. so he's doing to frustration if he believes these policies will narrow the trade gap. — do to frustration. returning to our main story and be suspected poisoning of sergei skripal and his daughter. for more on this, let's speak

to baroness pauline neville—jones — she's the uk's former chair of the joint intelligence committee and was a security minister at the time of the spy swap in 2010 when sirgei skripal was transported from russia to the uk. what does the implication of the police saying that this is a nerve agent because i understand they're not especially easy to store or to move. i think we will have to have further analysis. but i think most people would conclude that it would bea people would conclude that it would be a very concerted and organised operation likely to be in the hands of state to achieve that kind of operation. so it does look like a russian effort. as the former security minister of course you would know which kind of groups have these nerve agents. i know that sarin gas is more commonly available

but this appears to be a very sophisticated and potent nerve agent and that is not something that crime groups would get their hands on necessarily? not easily. you have to be careful about making an accusation before we have full evidence. but it does point in the directions of being an operation by anna stayed. just to speak about the slight dashed this by swap, you are in position when what kind of negotiations went on in the background customer —? negotiations went on in the background customer -? seven protocols would have applied and you would not expect him to be the target of an operation of this kind. but we also have statements that appear to have been made by president putin about people who

fell into that category. so you cannot necessarily conclude that the normal protocol would necessarily operate. i suppose what will surprise some people are there are easier ways to kill someone who is considered to be a traitor of the state. you could push them out of the window, shoot them, whatever. it just seems to me using a nerve agent in public in a city really is like using a hammer to kill an insect. just a public way to do something. why would they do that? you could say the same about litvenenko. and i think there is a kind of right in a particularly sophisticated and unpleasant method of doing things. —— pride. if you're going to put this kind of thing into a country is easier than the kind of controls we have on weapons and knives and so

on. so i think it is part of the style. thank you very much. diplomats from north korea are thought to have the communication to give to the usa. yesterday resident trump said john yang seemed sincere in its willingness to discuss the possibility of denuclearisation. he claimed tougher sanctions had brought north korea to this point. well one man who has been at the table with pyongyang before is chris hill, the former us ambassador to south korea and he joins us now. is there anything different about this new overture customer it seems like deja vu all over again but what

is different is kimjung un has never said anything like this and suggested his nuclear programme is on the bargaining table so this is new. and out of respect and cooperation with the south korean think that the trump administration needs to hear this through and see if there's something there. what more could they give in order to facilitate the talks? for the trump administration first of all i think they made some harsh words but i think it is important to keep sanctions on. in fact there are some sense that perhaps the sanctions have had some role in perhaps changing the north koreans. so i would hold tough on those but be willing to work with the south koreans and possibly get some kind of conversation and even negotiation going. so it is very important that they be cautious but not churlish about this. you talk about having a conversation and i just wonder who

they would get to have that conversation. united states has lost its south korean ambassador who was really the expert and his supposed replacement has withdrawn his negotiation. — withdrawn his application. well that is correct, so application. well that is correct, so it is a good question. i hope they're not thinking jared kushner at this point but certainly they must start to staff up that state department and i think this special envoy should be in the state department and hope there is a real effort because you can't have diplomacy without diplomats. that is precisely what this administration has been trying to do. present trump said it is his rhetoric has done this, he could be correct and maybe the north koreans and chinese have

moved because of this. whatever happens he is going to claim credit and that is fine. i think the south koreans are working with him to give him credit so that is fine. the question is how to go forward, whether we can find something new in this and whether we can do something about this terrible situation on the korean peninsula. does the involvement of south korea help or complicate negotiations?” involvement of south korea help or complicate negotiations? i think south korea looks at north korea through a lens that is a bit different from the way americans look at the issue. it is different andi look at the issue. it is different and i think we need to be respectful of the fact that the south koreans live literally in the shadow of some 14,000 live literally in the shadow of some 111,000 artillery tubes. we need to understand when they talk about peace and security on the korean peninsula is something affecting them and their children. so they have a different vantage point and not at all helpful when americans call them week or whatever. we need

to stand close with them right now. thank you forjoining us. not much trust on either side but one to watch. a bbcjournalist has alleged that she was sexually harassed by the senior russian politician leonid slutsky. farida rustamova, from the bbc‘s russian service, is the third journalist to openly accuse mr slutsky of improper behaviour. the bbc is in possession of a recording of the incident, which was captured on a dictaphone. mr slutsky denies the claims. an outspoken archbishop of el salvador, who was shot dead in 1980 as he celebrated mass, is to be made a saint, according to the vatican. archbishop oscar romero denounced repression and social injustice in his country as it descended into civil war. no one was ever convicted for his killing. coca—cola is to make an alcoholic drink. the 125—year—old american company says it wants to cash in on a growing trend injapan for a fizzy, flavoured drink mixed with a local spirit.

and that it will be targeting a specific part of the japanese market. and some incredible pictures to share with you from a volcano in southern japan. a series of powerful eruptions has created a huge volcanic plume, which is now three—thousand metres high. authorities are warning people not to approach the area. we've been talking a lot about trade during this program — particularly when it comes to steel exports from canada. but there are a number of other things the canadians have introduced to the world — justin beiber, maple syrup for instance. and now we have axe throwing. it's a new trend that reportedly started with our neighbours in the north and is trying to — quite literally — find its mark here in washington. of course, i had to give it a try. if you've had a bad day at work

or maybe you've fallen out with your partner or burned a cake, i don't know. but what better way to ease the tension and get rid of some of that pent—up aggression than lob an axe at a wall! it's not like the normal thing to do. let's go do something i could end my life with today! so when it comes to this, everybody can kind of come and experience something new. it's a bonding experience. and it's a lot of fun. now, step on your right foot. give it a good go. take it up. step. well, i hit the target. you did hit the target. that's a start. it's really not that dangerous. as long as you don't throw like a crazy person. and just try to have some fun. axe throwing is becoming alarmingly popular in the us having made its way across the borderfrom canada. there's even an axe throwing league. that is quite a medal you've got there.

how did you win it? i threw it, i won this by throwing large axes at the wall eczema how did you do it, because i'm hopeless. what is your top tip for me? i go with the two—handed style, overhand. no wrist action, that's a common misconception. no risks involved in the throw. how does this make you feel? it makes me feel like a man, with a big hairy chest! clearly my technique needs a little polish. so after half a dozen throws, i promise i won't do anything bad with this. i'm exhausted. the axe is getting blunt and i still haven't hit the target. but, it's great fun. and i'm so glad i've had a bad day at work! and so the night wore on. come on! once you've mastered

the basics there's no limit to what you can do with an axe. and then there's that golden moment when it all comes together. yes! jane o'brien, bbc news, axe throwing queen of washington. are you serious, there's nothing you cannot do with the axe. promise me you will never show that video. i have this image of being pinned to rotating board with katty kay trying to throw it at me. well the last thing she said to me was to keep him in line. whatever it takes. axe throwing, you name it. and the last

time we spoke you with throwing pizza dough. so i think that i win. not a axe. was it fun? tremendous fun, realadrenaline buzz. i not a axe. was it fun? tremendous fun, real adrenaline buzz. i have to say ambassador chris hill left the studio rapidly. he was there a minute ago and suddenly he was not. ijust think you minute ago and suddenly he was not. i just think you should all minute ago and suddenly he was not. ijust think you should all be worried. i imagine it is a bit like screaming, scientists say it is good for you to scream and let it all out. the axe might be a good tonic. another story from china, state media encouraging men and women to settle for someone who is kind of ok when choosing to marry. what they're saying in newspapers is that people are picky and they need to be less fussy when it comes to picking a partner. apparently it follows

concerns about the low birth rate the country for that newspaper estate to many single people have an idealised view of love that leads them to reject people who are perfectly reasonable partners. what do you reckon, if you do not like them you could just get rid of them with an axe x mac. this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news — saudi's crown prince is on the charm offensive in london — with this visit to the uk although it is a controversial one. and the stormy daniels saga — how a legal technicality might allow this adult film actress to tell all about an alleged affair with donald trump. that's still to come. good evening. there is a bit of snow

in the forecast tonight. nothing like the snowfall we had a week ago. it will only be small areas of the country affected. but some parts of the midlands could see some additional snowfall tonight. the midlands could see some additionalsnowfall tonight. it the midlands could see some additional snowfall tonight. it does not look like much but it causes showers to darren together into a slightly more organised area of rain or snow. meanwhile we continue to see showers across parts of northern ireland and western scotland. but further south we have much of the rain and the snow. the snowfall mostly reserved for higher ground, the hills and mountains of wales, the hills and mountains of wales, the north midlands, parts of north england. but later in the night it may be that we see some snow temporarily to those lower levels. temperatures falling away to freezing or below across the

northern half of the country. further south not so cold. but we could see some snow across the midlands and the north of england and wales. that could cause some disruption of your bbc local radio station will keep you up to date. this area of snow and rain slides away this area of snow and rain slides r this area of snow and rain slides away very quickly and then not a bad day for many with some spells of sunshine and just a scattering of showers. and relatively mild compared with what we had a week ago. highs of seven in aberdeen, 10 degrees in london. then on friday dry weather around, some showers in the north, wintry over higher ground and data during the day wet weather pushing across the channel islands and into the south—west of england. pretty heavy rain developing courtesy of a frontal system pushing its way north during friday night

into saturday. all driven by low pressure. but with that out of the west we develop a southerly wind which brings in some pretty mild air as we go through the weekend. so for the weekend pretty mild, double digits in the south and some rain at times. this is beyond 100 days, with me christian fraser in london. jane o'brien is in washington. our top stories: police reveal that the former russian spy who collapsed in salisbury, england was poisoned by a very rare nerve agent. another major departure at the white house. this time, it is the president's top economic advisor stepping down after a rift over tariffs. coming up in the next half—hour: fishing and finance — the european council gives more details about what sort of trade deal the eu would like in a post—brexit britain. saudi's crown prince arrives in the uk. he meets the prime minister and has lunch with the queen, but there are those not rolling out the welcome mat. let us know your thoughts

by using the hashtag #beyond100days. the british government has set down plenty of red lines in this brexit negotiation. today, it was the turn of the european union. in luxembourg, they have published draft guidelines for the negotiations of a future relationship. the european council president, donald tusk, said the eu wants a free—trade agreement with zero—tariffs goods and reciprocal access to fisheries. but the document provides little detail on financial services. in london, the chancellor of the exchequer, philip hammond, said any deal that didn't encompass britain's service sector — which includes banks — would not be viewed as a fair deal. our uk political editor, laura kuenssberg, reports. a different mansion house. this time, in a luxembourg garden.

but there's strife ahead, even in this, the most tranquil surroundings. the european union revealed its response to theresa may's plans for brexit. it will make it more complicated and costly than today, for all of us. this is the essence of brexit. a pick—and—mix approach for a non—member state is out of the question. we are not going to sacrifice these principles. it is simply not in our interest. unfortunately, and we have to know, there will be be no winners after the brexit. both sides will be losing. the eu has been united with that gloomy message. but it was only on friday the prime minister said she wanted an ambitious trade partnership where the bloc but accepted

compromises would be made. so how do the two sides compare? the eu guidelines of a possible deal say there will be negative economic consequences. and, while the prime minister said all agreements mean picking and choosing, the eu insists the uk can't cherry pick the bits of the eu it likes. but the unions accepted the goal of a trade deal where there are no tariffss but controversially, only if the eu keeps access to fish british waters. crucially there is space to budge. the document says if the uk positions were to evolve, the union will be prepared to reconsider its offer, and there is the chance of brokering a limited deal over services, including the giant money machine of the city of london. where the chancellor shrugged off the brussels position. they are very skilled and disciplined in the way they carry out negotiation. it doesn't surprise me remotely that what they have set out this morning is a very tough position.

but labour claims the government's approach is all over the place. we can change the tone into one of mutual respect and we can get the deal that will protect the economy and jobs. there are big gaps between what the government wants and what the eu is willing to give. and it is clear, it is easier for brussels not westminster to call the shots, but in this long, tortured process, today is not a moment of political panic. it is clear from both sides and from these guidelines, there is a real conversation to be had. president trump is facing more pressure from within the administration and from outside. it's emerged porn actress stormy daniels is taking legal action to have a non—disclosure agreement about her alleged relationship with donald trump declared void. stormy, whose real name is stephanie clifford,

claimed to have had an affair with mr trump in 2006 and 2007. the president's personal lawyer has admitted paying ms clifford money before the presidential election, but denies the pair ever had a relationship. joining me now to discuss any legal jeopardy this could put the president in isjonathan turley from george washington university. thank you for coming in. this is a story that's been rumbling on for some time, so how does this court challenge change it? it really involves a couple of surprising details, one is that the president was using a fake name during these negotiations over what stormy daniels refers to as the hush money. his attorney, a man called colin, also used in a shoot name in all of these fake corporate entities to cut this deal. she is essentially saying

that the agreement is now invalid for two reasons, and one is that the president never signed it, in either his real orfake president never signed it, in either his real or fake name, president never signed it, in either his real orfake name, and second, and this is probably the stronger argument, that the president's lawyer has nullified the agreement because he spoke publicly. the agreement also says quite clearly in agreement also says quite clearly in a court document that she said she had a year—long affair with the president, something his attorney has denied. that isn'tjust some tabloid magazine, but a court document, where she is under obligations to be true. it all sounds a bit of a mess. what do you make of the way this has been handled by the attorneys in the white house? any controversy involving a porn star called stormy is probably not going to turn out well, so it's definitely not a good thing. this could be a serious threat. john edwards, who ran for

president, was indicted when a third party paid off essentially a woman he was having an affair with, and she ultimately bore a child with him. he was indicted and stood for criminal campaignfinance him. he was indicted and stood for criminal campaign finance violation charge. bill clinton followed the same path, you had the filing of a civil suit involving a relationship before he became president, and ultimately led to his impeachment because he decided he wouldn't tell the truth under oath. so these are precarious waters for any president. it was the lie that did for bill clinton, wasn't it, the lie that he told. what happens if robert mueller, the special council, but the president under oath and asks him about this specific subject and whether money changed hands. is that where this gets tricky for the president? it does, and that is the

high risk scenario. because this money has been alleged to be a campaignfinance money has been alleged to be a campaign finance violation, it falls within the bailiwick of the special council. he has been given a charge allowing him to look at the election and any crimes that arise in the course of his investigation. he could clearly ask the president not only did he have this affair, but whether this money was a quid pro quo, whether it was hush money. the president would need, like bill clinton, to answer truthfully, no matter what the embarrassment might be. the republicans in congress would be hard—pressed not to say that it was an impeachable offence, as it was for bill clinton. how do you think he has handled it? well, i think it's interesting, in that the political irony is that he might well have survived the scandal of an alleged affair with a porn actress.

he's handled allegations made against him by women and, of course, we had the tapes where he admitted groping women publicly. the problem he's in is any attempt to cover it up. that, as jonathan he's in is any attempt to cover it up. that, asjonathan is saying, is really the thing that is back to haunt him. had hejust tried to stick it out, there is all in indication that this wouldn't have affected his face, that women would have continued to vote for him, and it wouldn't have affected his standing in the polls. this is the sort of behaviour most of his supporters just sort of behaviour most of his supportersjust go, sort of behaviour most of his supporters just go, it's sort of behaviour most of his supportersjust go, it's donald trump. like he says, i could murder somebody on fifth ave and they wouldn't care, and maybe they don't ca re wouldn't care, and maybe they don't care about the consensual sex, but perhaps they would care if there was perjury or he walked into problems over campaign finance. exactly, and it's going to be an interesting legal tussle. britain and saudi arabia are

pledging to build more than $90 billion worth of trade and investment ties. the announcement comes as theresa may has met with mohammed bin salman, the crown prince of saudi arabia, who arrived at the start of a three—day visit to the uk. campaigners have been out in force today, protesting saudi arabia's record on human rights and the war they've led against the houthis in yemen. but the pair have agreed a political solution, say theresa may's office. she reminded mps the two countries have long—standing ties, our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, is with me now. i saw your interview with the foreign minister yesterday. the fact that mohammed bin salman is being given the red carpet treatment today, he had lunch with the queen andi

today, he had lunch with the queen and i think he's having dinner with prince charles and prince william tonight, does that suggest that, although it falls short of a state visit, it is hugely important to the uk? to both sides, and the mention is the united kingdoms. mohammed bin salman is 32. barring some unexpected development, and we a lwa ys unexpected development, and we always have to expect that in the volatile middle east, he will be king one day, and therefore britain will want to do with him. what better time than when he is young and when he is starting out. it is first trip to britain as crown prince, and he has been put in charge of a folio covering the in yemen and also social reform. i go to saudi arabia every few months and, in the space of a few months, so much changes, but a lot doesn't change, including the response to dissent, which is always suppressed immediately, and the war in yemen has dragged on longer than saudi arabia expected. but there is a close relationship. they are saying

it is more than a century long relationship. the bedrock of that is a tricky relationship, and most of that trade is that defence. britain would to be the major suppliers of arms, so it is controversial. dissent isn't tolerated and neither, it seems is bad pr. some extraordinary adverts. i want to show viewers a story in the god —— the guardian written by emily thornberry, and it was an attack on human rights, she didn't like the red carpet is being rolled out. but the advert at the somebody has paid for it, and if you drive from heathrow to central london today, all along the route of the mfor, you could see billboards, bringing change to saudi arabia, and they have gone to some effort to make sure it looks good. they were aware there would be billboards saying the opposite, and when i went to the saudi embassy earlier this week,

they had reinforced security measures and there was a fan going around the embassy with a picture of mohammed bin salman and say he should not be welcomed. the fact remains that he is popular at home. he is ofa remains that he is popular at home. he is of a generation, and the vast majority of saudis are of the same age as him, 30 or under, and he is bringing change, he is determined to push, to pole, to drag his kingdom into the 21st century, and it is things that we take as bog—standard, allowing women to drive and goodison on mars, allowing women to sit in sports in a mask, and we think, is that it? he wants to make economic change. he wants to diversify from oil. there is much at stake, because it is do or die. he knows that, if saudi arabia doesn't change, it will collapse. wedge he is coming to the us next week to continue the charm offensive, presumably. these are

long—standing relationships. why does he feel the need to consolidate them in this way? when he comes to washington, and i was in riyadh for president trump's visit, his first foreign visit as president, and the strength of the relationship was on the show. saudi arabia gave unconditional support to president trump ata unconditional support to president trump at a time where president trump at a time where president trump was being criticised for his travel ban, which was essentially against majority muslim countries, when he was being criticised for misogyny and everything else. i was in saudi arabia at the time, and he had across the board support, tinged with, thank god president obama is gone, because there were so many tensions. but income is president trump, who sees the main threat in the region as iran, that they need to work together to fight terrorism, and it is jobs, to work together to fight terrorism, and it isjobs, jobs, deals, deals.

president trump was so excited about how many arms deals he did when he was in riyadh, and that will continue, that kind shoulder to shoulder, the united states and saudi arabia. always good to have you in the studio. nice to see you. this is beyond 100 days. still to come — autonomous driving and electric superca rs. we head to this year's geneva motor show to take a closer look at the rides of the future. here in the uk, an 18—year—old asylum seekerfrom iraq has gone on trial, accused of planting a bomb on a london underground train at parsons green in south—west london last september. the jury has been told the device was designed to cause "maximum harm and carnage". 30 people were injured when the bomb partially exploded. ahmed hassan denies attempted murder and causing an explosion likely to endanger life. our home affairs correspondent, june kelly, has more. sirens. an autumn morning last year.

and today the old bailey heard how an improvised explosive device partially detonated on an underground train just as it pulled into parsons green station. the partial explosion created a large fireball in a carriage carrying around 93 passengers. some were caught by the flames and sustained significant burns. the teenager on trial for the attack was brought to court to face charges of attempted murder and causing an explosion likely to endanger life. 18—year—old ahmed hassan, an asylum seeker from iraq, is pleading not guilty. when he arrived in the uk he told immigration officials that he had been forcibly taken by the islamic state group and trained to kill by them. he said he had got away from is and was in fear of them. today the court heard that hassan left his device in a bucket on the train. it was said to be loaded with shrapnel to cause maximum harm and damage. and he had used the volatile explosive tatp.

the prosecutor alison morgan said of the passengers, many ran in fear and panic. they were fortunate. ahmed hassan had fitted the device with a timer. he got off at the station before. he was arrested 2a hours later. june kelly, bbc news, at the old bailey. you're watching beyond 100 days. it is hard to overstate the importance of the insurance and banking sector to the uk economy — over a million ukjobs, worth over £120 billion to the economy — and, as things stand, london is one of the most important financial capitals in the world. so what happens after brexit? in an interview with the bbc this

week, the french economy minister made clear that france does not think financial services can be part of any future eu—uk trade deal. in a speech today, the chancellor of the exchequer made clear he thinks otherwise. a trade deal will only happen if it is fairand a trade deal will only happen if it is fair and balances the interests of both sides. given the shape of the british economy, and our trade balance with the eu 27, it's hard to see how any deal that didn't include services could look like a fair and balanced settlement. so i'm clear not only that it is possible to include financial services within a trade deal but that it is very much in our mutual interest to do so. well, lloyd's of london is one of the oldest financial institutions in the city. for 300 years, it has provided insurance services across the world. katty and i have been chatting to ceo baroness inga beale about brexit, and i asked her about the plans to move

a subsidiary to brussels. over 80% of lloyd's business comes from outside the uk, and about 10% of that comes from the eu 27. so we've got a whole load of business that will continue to be traded in london, as it always has done. the reason we are having to set up a subsidiary in brussels is to service that piece of the business that is just coming from the eu 27, and that's about 4 billion euros of business, and we will set up a legal entity in brussels and we will have staff there, but a lot of the activity and expertise will still continue to sit in london. so the busy, bustling underrating in the trading room that you see behind me, that will still be in existence and it will be a key part of lloyd's business model going forwards. what does this mean in terms ofjobs, not

just at lloyds but in the insurance market? how big a shift could it be from the uk to the continent in terms ofjob from the uk to the continent in terms of job numbers? from the uk to the continent in terms ofjob numbers? we don't think it will be that large. for lloyds, it's a small fraction of the total employee base, or the total people that work in the market. over time, it could be that more people decide to have people situated in france or germany or italy, because they see business opportunity coming out of it, so that's the way we are trying to look at it, looking at it from the newly —— from an opportunistic point of view. you have repeatedly said you don't want any more uncertainty, and you would like the government to provide more certainty to your industry. what is it that you want the uk government to do, and how fast do you need them to do it? we have years and years of back policies, and the life insurance players and pension providers have long—term contracts. the issue is that, once we have exited the eu,

many of our firms are many insurance firms will no longer be licensed and they won't be able to service those contracts, so one of our big asks is to have certainty of being able to service those contracts. that could be provided by the regulator is right across europe, and by europe i include the uk regulators, they could solve this, and that is of our asks, if the government doesn't negotiate some access to a single market for financial services, the regulators could still come up with a rival option that would secure our ability to service those customers. you said that there are opportunities and new in europe. do you think there are worldwide? the us is by far lloyd's largest market, and we have long—standing relationships in the us, and we continue to see growth but, when we look further afield to other

markets, asia has a population of 4 billion. you just set out right there all of the worldwide opportunities. we believe there are, but we've got to be able to still look after our business within europe, so of course we spend, and i spent, as a ceo, quite a bit of time on brexit, i have to admit, and that's about defending what we have, but any business wants to turn everything they can into an opportunity, so we must be positive in our outlook. we believe there could be good opportunities for lloyds within the whole of europe, including the whole way through the eu countries, but also we must take our eye off the ball of the above —— of the other opportunities. we've been set up in singapore for some yea rs, been set up in singapore for some years , we been set up in singapore for some years, we celebrated ten years in china last year, we set up in dubai a few years ago, and those centres are becoming more and more important for lloyds overall global business. my

my cardidn't my car didn't start this morning, so i've got a vested interest in the next piece of news. let's take you now to one of the highlights of the car industry's calendar — the geneva motor show, which is on this week. maybe i could get a new car! even though the business may be worried about the fall in diesel vehicle sales and a possible trade war with the united states, there's still room to dream. our correspondent theo leggett is there and had a tour of how motoring might look in the future. here in geneva, i am surrounded by hundreds of cars which are either on the market already or soon to go on sale. but what i really like about shows like this one is you get an indication of what manufacturers think we'll be driving in a few years' time so let's take a look into the future... here we are in the future and what do we have here? this little machine is a robot taxi because people will be living in cities and they will want to get around. so come on inside. do take a seat because there is plenty of room in here.

now, one thing you might notice, looking around, is there is no driver, and that is because this is a robot taxi — it is the future, after all. it is electric, it's clean, it's green, it's an alternative to buses or trams or other forms of public transport. so in one sense it is a taxi but, remember, don't complain about the driving. how about this? it looks like something out of blade runner. it's a new concept from toyota and, because it's from the future, as you will see in the moment, it has funky internal lighting. it's also electric, self driving but at least it does have a steering wheel for when you really feel like taking control. or how about this? it's the new nucleus concept from italian designer house, icona, and as you can see, it is basically a living room on wheels. icona says this is not being planned for tomorrow, it's for the day after tomorrow, it's a distant future idea — but as you can see,

lots and lots of space, there's a bar over there, big seats — this one's so large, you can even lie down and have a sleep so that is what i going to do, goodnight. and if futuristic really is not your thing, don't worry, you can always come here to the david brown automotive stand where you can find a new take on an old classic. sighs. lovely. yes, that's more like it! my car is in black and white as well. not a jump in black and white as well. not a jump lead inside. all of the new toys at the geneva car show. before we go, take a look at these pictures of an amazing rescue in california. this is my nightmare, i'vejust come back from skiing with my children. a five—year—old skier lost consciousness after she was left dangling from a chairlift at the bear mountain ski resort in big bear lake. this makes my stomach turn.

a ski instructor, who's on the lift with her, is holding herjacket as people below gather with some tarpaulin to allow her a soft landing from the lift. well done to that skiing instructor. he held on for quite some time. extraordinarily well done. we'll be back at the same time tomorrow. join us back at the same time tomorrow. join us for that. goodbye. good evening. there is a bit of snow in the forecast for tonight. nothing like the snowfall we had a week ago. it will only be small areas affected, but some parts of the midlands where the snow is almost melted could see a top up tonight. it's courtesy of this little area of cloud on the satellite. it doesn't look like much, but it will cause the showers to gang together into a more organised area of rain for many but snow for some. all the while, we

see some showers across parts of northern ireland and western scotland, but it's further south where we will see much of the rain and snow the snowfall mostly reserved for high ground, the hills north wales, the high ground of the more midlands and parts of northern england, but it may well be that later in the night, we see bit of snow temporarily in low levels was just few centimetres. temperatures dipping to freezing or below. across the northern half, there could be some icy conditions. further south, not as cold. it is areas of wales, the midlands and northern england where we could see some snow, and that could cause some disruption tomorrow morning. your bbc local radio station will keep you up—to—date. this area of rain and snow will slide away eastwards quickly tomorrow, and not a bad day for many. there will be some spells of sunshine and a scattering of showers, especially across the north and west of scotland, and relatively mild compared with what we had a

week ago. we are looking at highs of seven in aberdeen, ten in london. friday, a lot of dry weather, some spells of sunshine and perhaps the odd mr patch verse thing. some showers in the north, wintry over higher ground, and later this area of wet weather pushing into the channel islands and south—west england, with some heavy rain developing, courtesy of a frontal system, which will push its way northwards during friday night and saturday, driven by this area of low pressure. with the low pressure helped them to the west, we a southerly wind, bringing some quite mild airas we southerly wind, bringing some quite mild air as we go through the weekend. to sum things up for the weekend, it will be pretty mild, easily double digits in the south, and there will be some rain at times. this is bbc news. i'm clive myrie. the headlines at 8pm... police have revealed that a former russian spy and his daughter were poisoned in an attempted murder using a nerve agent. this is being treated as a major

incident involving attempted murder by administration of a nerve agent. a teenager has gone on trial accused of planting a bomb on a london underground train last september. the chancellor has said financial markets must be part of any future trade deal after brexit, but the eu isn't impressed. —— financial services must be. a trade deal will only happen if it is fair and balanced in the interests of both sides. a pick and mix trade deal for a non—member state is out of the question. a second lorry driver has been cleared of causing death by dangerous driving following a crash on the m1 that killed eight people.