you're watching beyond one hundred days. a return to cold war expulsions. 23 russian spies are sent packing by the british prime minister. it the biggest number of diplomats expelled by britain in 30 years, as europe and the united states come out in support of london's response. poisoning of sergei skripal and his daughter has been formally tied to the kremlin which denied the deadline for information. they have traded the use of military grade nerve agent in europe with contempt. russia says the uk is engaging in a serious provocation. also on the programme. a month on from the school shooting in florida, students stage a 17 minute walk out across america in solidarity with the 17 who died. sometime ago i discovered black holes are not lack after all. and tributes to the visionary

physicist stephen hawking, who's died at the age of 76. get in touch with us using the hashtag ‘beyond—one—hundred—days‘. hello and welcome — i'm katty kay in washington and christian fraser is in london. forty per cent of the russian diplomats in the uk havejust been given their marching orders. they have a week to leave. it's the biggest expulsion of known intelligence agents since 1985, the year mikhal gorbachev came to power. and not since the cold war have relations between london and moscow sunk to such a level. the russian ambassador to london said britain was trying to concoct ‘an unfounded anti—russian campaign'. ‘we won't keep you waiting,‘ he added ‘for our counter measures‘. all high—level diplomacy between the two countries is forthwith suspended. it promises to be a long confrontation, in which the prime minister will need every bit of help from her allies. it was right to offer russia had the

chance to provide an explanation. but their response is demonstrated com plete but their response is demonstrated complete disdain for the gravity of these events. they have provided no credible explanation that could suggest they lost control of their nerve agent. no explanation as to how this agent came to be used in the uk, no explanation as to why russia has an undeclared chemical weapons programme in contravention of international law. instead they have traded the use of military grade nerve agent in europe with sarcasm , grade nerve agent in europe with sarcasm, contempt and defiance. so mr speaker is no alternative conclusion other than that the russian state was culpable for the attempted murder of sergei skripal and his daughter. and for threatening the lives of other which is systems in salisbury including

detective sergeant nick bailey. so here's what the prime minister has set in motion — among other measures. the expulsion of 23 diplomats — who have one week to leave. increased checks on private flights, customs and freight. the freezing of russian assets where there is evidence they may be used to threaten the life or property of uk nationals or residents. and predictably ministers and members of the royal family are to boycott the fifa world cup in russia later this year. russia has been crossing red lines, at home and abroad, with growing impunity recently. there's georgia, crimea, ukraine, the interference in the american election, in european elections, and the poisoning of not one but two russian exiles here in britain. is that why the west is taking the attack in salisbury so seriously? i have been speaking to the chair of the commons intelligence and security committee dominic grieve who says it's time nato allies woke up to the reality of the threat. when it comes to the behaviour of murdering people on other people's sovereign territory, it's very serious indeed. but because we live within a rules—based system, we do have a common lawful

and proportionate response to what russia is doing. and if we unite in doing it and sustain it we have the best prospect of actually getting them to change their behaviour. but i'm not sure at the moment that we are succeeding in that as much as i would like. can you suggest things that might be proportionate? well clearly more sanctions would undoubtedly be proportionate. visa restrictions on russian officials can be proportionate. in so far as the action we are taking in expelling russian agents in their embassy here in london, other countries can also do likewise in respect of russian agents who are present in the embassies in those countries. so i think we need to be acting collectively. but you will know that when the british government was pushing for more sanctions, tighter sanctions, after the enquiry into the litvenenko poisoning, the europeans were dragged really kicking and screaming towards sanctions. they have not been

particularly supportive. countries like italy for instance get a lot of their gas from russia. even the germans who do a lot of trade with russia. not particularly keen. yes and i can understand that but i think that in view of the seriousness of the threat and its brazen nature, i think we really do all have to think very long and hard about the collective action we can take as otherwise it simply is going to embolden mr putin and he will do more of it. and he will do it selectively in whatever country he chooses. and then trust that with the passage of time people will want to turn over a new leaf, reset the relationship and he can get away with it. and seeing that his activities are extremely dangerous i think we just need to try to focus on how we can meet this threat together. ordinarily you would expect our closest ally, and an american president, to stand behind the uk but he is not imposing

the sanctions that have been set why congress. and there is not much trust that president trump will fall in behind the uk in any meaningful way. i think it is a reflection of the curious way in which president trump conducts his policy. i think there's no doubt there are many around him who are very concerned about what russia is doing but for for a variety of reasons he doesn't seem to be taking a measured response and there is a sense that whilst he is supportive he does not seem to have a strategy. so of course that is the subject of anxiety but of course that could change with time. well let's pick up that final thought with matthew rojansky, director of the wilson center's kennan institute. we are reminded that america matters ina we are reminded that america matters in a global response to threat and the world is looking to washington. do you agree that perhaps they will not get what they want from

washington when it comes to retaliation against russia. washington when it comes to retaliation against russiam washington when it comes to retaliation against russia. it is unlikely washington will be the tip of the sphere in retaliation on this particular attempted murder because it was in the uk and the uk must be in the lead. i think there will be further were coming from washington in response to other actions by russia including what we are learning about ongoing election and other political interference. russian behaviour in the ukraine etc. the treasury secretary indicated pretty clearly that the administration intends to respond in some meaningful way to the congressional legislation despite the public report that rightfully was cited as being pretty thin. you spend a lot of time in russia and you know one thing that could have an impact is hitting russian money in london. one person that could be targeted as the deputy prime minister who has apartment buildings in the middle of london web around $50 million. if you're kate wants to

send a message to putin and those who support him would it be smart of them to go after the money. i've a lwa ys them to go after the money. i've always felt that sanctions are like any other weapon and you can fire that but there is a cost each time. in the case of the uk we see this clearly, the uk has benefited for a long time from the presence of significant amounts of russian money in the british banking system, in the london real estate market. secondary services including tailors, lawyers. some of that is pro—regime, some of it anti—regime and then hangers on who might literally be assassins. if the uk is willing to take on that problem as a whole and potentially willing to scare off some of that money then it can fire the weapon. but having your cake and eating it is probably not possible. if the russian state is involved then surely no coincidence that president putin has provoked a crisis with the westjust days ahead ofan crisis with the westjust days ahead of an election. i think the election

cannot not be significant for putin. so if he has ordered this and i do not say this to indicate that the russian state is not behind it but remember there are many actors in the russian state that may simply operate as a matter of course to ta ke operate as a matter of course to take out someone they consider to be a traitor, if putin ordered this and the question of timing is important for him, one week before an election he is looking for the narrative that the west is out to get russia. looking to mobilise his base and to build western leaders essentially into making exactly the kind of provocative and hostile threatening state m e nts provocative and hostile threatening statements towards russia that they have been doing, even if many consider them not to be enough, this is perfect material for putin. and after the election if he needs to roll things back and see better relations he has two or three fields of operation. ukraine, syria, north korea. and the west would have no

choice but to respond in a tough and helpful way. thank you very much for coming in. so interesting speaking about the domestic politics in russia and what is behind that. let's look at domestic politics in the uk. it would benefit the uk in or mislead if the body politic in the uk were united on the issue but it seems to be clear they're not. well a lot of focus today on jeremy corbyn who was loath to criticise putin much like the trap is that he said he wants evidence of the culpability of the russian state before he apportions blame. and today he added the uk does not have a good history when it comes to weapons of mass destruction, the intelligence not being accurate. but this time wmd has been found in a cathedral city here in england and we are very lucky that more british people had not been killed. so not a happy afternoon amongst labour mps.

our political editor in fact said that this motion was put down today and use the names scribbled at the bottom. and i think there is a possibility that some labour shadow frontbenchers could resign tonight over the statement today from their leader. so a lot of anger and the uneasy truce within labour seems to have gone. and exactly what russia wa nts. have gone. and exactly what russia wants. that division within the party. exactly. and that question about whether the uk is prepared to withstand the possible impact of sanctions against moscow. here in the us, students across the country left their classrooms today — in protest at gun violence and to demand restrictions on gun sales. the national school walkout came on the one month anniversary of the school shooting in parkland, florida which left 17 people dead. and today's events were scheduled to last 17 minutes — one minute for every life taken in the attack.

the action came ahead of an even bigger rally in washington later this month, that will bring students together from all around the country. our north america editor jon sopel reports. the last time we saw children pouring out of school it was with their hands up in terror after the florida shooting. today they came out across america at this time with their fists clenched demanding change on gun control. in washington at ten o'clock on a bracing cold morning with their backs turned on the white house ‘s students fell silent for 70 minutes, one minute for each of the people who died at the marjorie stoneman douglas school in florida last month. there's no doubting extraordinary success these young people have had in changing the whole terms of debate on the subject of gun control. their

problem is that the man who lives on the other side of that offence seems to have got cold feet. when donald trump met youngsters on the florida school at the white house he seemed to offer his support for tougher gun control measures like raising to 21 the age at which you can buy a rifle. and he later tried it lawmakers for being frightened of the national rifle association. some of you people are petrified of the nra. but he is now backed off those proposals and so the end people are intensifying their campaign. we want them to pass common—sense gun reforms and ban assault rifles. we do not want to be scared in school. we are tired of being scared. we wa nt we are tired of being scared. we want change. this is a curtain raiser to a mass demonstration in washington in ten days' time. they area washington in ten days' time. they are a long way from getting what

they want but the power of youth protest has got them further than anyone could have imagined and then not in any mood to surrender. dashed they are not in any mood. plenty of anger around the country. after six months of coalition talks, angela merkel has been sworn in for a fourth term as german chancellor. she'll lead a coalition of conservatives and social democrats. in italy, 223,000 people have been evacuated from a town on the east coast after an unexploded world war two bomb was found during the construction of a drain in fano. officials say the 225 kilogram bomb was british—made, and there was panic when it was accidentally activated. the device was removed and dropped into the sea. he bridged the gap between academia and popular culture — an extraordinary scientist who inspired millions. there have been tributes

from all over the world today for professor stephen hawking who has died at the age of 76. he was diagnosed with a rare form of motor neurone disease when he was just 22 and told he had only a few years to live. but he defied expectations and went on to become one of the most famous physicists in the world. our science editor david shukman looks back at his life. there is nothing like the eureka moment of discovering something no one knew before. stephen hawking had a gift for inspiration, a powerful spirit overcoming an ailing body to allow a mind to roam the cosmos. earning him a place as the most famous scientist in the world. it has been a glorious time to be alive and researching and doing theoretical physics. who else could draw crowds like this? the man who gazed at the stars became one himself. his story poignant and uplifting, his career involved concept so alien and complicated for most it was a struggle to keep up

but he explored the strangest of features of the universe, black holes, drawing together the science of the largest things in space with the science of the small, part of a quest to come up with a theory for the universe. he made these incredibly original insights that set up the modern theory of black holes. and made great contributions to cosmology, and so he was a huge figure. i was devastated, really upset. i met him a couple of times but he had an impact on my life. it is the passing of a great scientist who will be truly missed. as a student his intelligence stood out but at that moment he was given a warning that motor neurone disease would cut his life short. when i was diagnosed at 21, i was told it would kill me

in two, three years. somehow he kept going. in a high—tech wheelchair and a synthesised voice. communicating first by touch, then by twitching a single muscle in his cheek, a daunting burden for anyone. his children saw him as an example. people who live in extreme circumstances seem to find something inspirational in his example of perseverance and his ability to rise above the suffering and still want to communicate at a higher level. life was not straightforward, his first marriage ending in divorce, as did a second to one of his nurses. claims emerged that he had been physically abused, the case dropped because of lack of evidence. his book sold at least 10 million copies and everyone wanted to meet him from the pope in the vatican, to the queen. to president obama, who awarded him a medal of honour.

his fame reached beyond the world of science. your theory of a doughnut shaped universe is intriguing. even appearing in the simpsons. i did not say that. in an episode of star trek he had the chance to tease isaac newton. not the apple story again! astounding to think the lord created this in seven days. incorrect. it took 13.8 million years. more recently he was happy to play along for comic relief. he saw himself as an ambassador for science and in this interview told me of his hopes for the large hadron collider. he had a sense of adventure. i am very excited. i have been wheelchair—bound almost four decades and the chance to float free in zero g will be wonderful.

even braving a zero gravity flight. no surprise his death prompted tributes. founder of the world wide web tim berners—lee tweeted... and nasa said... if you reverse time and the universe is getting smaller. eddie redmayne played him in the film the theory of everything and today said, we have lost a truly beautiful mind. a scientist who delved into the realm of black holes offered an incredibly engaging story that achieved something remarkable, it touched a global audience. and joining me now is theoretical physicist — drjames gates, jr. you met stephen hawking is several

times. on many occasions. i would have loved to be there for these conversations. talking about things i would not understand? orjust two men who shared a passion. i would not understand? orjust two men who shared a passionm i would not understand? orjust two men who shared a passion. it was more a conversation of people sharing the same passion for science. stephen was an amazing person with a i referred to him once is the bravest physicist of all. i first met him in 1980 and there was a conference and i was attending and we interacted with stephen and he gave a speech and i was amazed that he rose to the challenge and just perform relenting. what about is what was that the fact, if stephen hawking had not been banned to a wheelchair he would still have been one of the greatest physicists ever? absolutely. he said the foundations.

the disease did not stop his mind from working at the highest levels that human minds can work and that was something to be admired. his body to one extent limited what he could do. he could not set out like other scientists mathematical derivations and equations and long form explanations so we had to be more concise and abstract in the way he explain things. is that what ought to the masses, you think?” think it is a story for the ages. it is the prototypical story of a hero, enormous odds against success, succeeding and then retaining his humanity and reaching out to people. something i think is a universal story. lots of people have got in touch saying could you explain what he actually did for the common man, what he did that was so good for

mankind. i know you are made of the same matter stephen hawking so i brought along my son and i will set you a little challenge. can you as concisely as he did in say 45 seconds explain the 1971 black hole mechanics. can you do that? i will make the attempt. so in the 1971 paper stephen pointed out something no one thought about before, there are these things, black holes, come the einstein theory of general with nativity and stephen looked at those and other physicists did as well. — dashed general relativity. and they figured out that these things are not exactly black. stephen figured out if you believe in a quantum mechanical universe that it has got to spit something out a bit like the

sizzle of bacon or the sizzle of space time if you like.” sizzle of bacon or the sizzle of space time if you like. i was getting stressed with the clock ticking, you handled it brilliantly. doctor gates is a great mind but i'm not. but it sounded really good to me. we did not even managed to get the clock ticking, that is how limited we are! if you were to say there was one thing that the world understands now that it did not understands now that it did not understand because of stephen hawking, if he had not lived amongst us, what would it be. i like to call them the black hole whisperer. he brought this piece of madness into the realm of reality and when it is finds it means that perhaps someday humanity will use these strange objects perhaps to our benefit.

thank you very much. he gave a something that we might be able to use in the future, not necessarily today because we do not yet have the technology but if we can develop that one day we may be able to use these things for the benefit of mankind. extraordinary how many tributes have come forward today especially in a society that does not easily celebrate its finders. it is not something you talk about often. but he certainly crossed the divide. a man with such unbounded imagination. this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. my my timing is all over the place today! we still have one minute until the break so let's just keep talking about stephen hawking!m until the break so let's just keep talking about stephen hawking! it is rare that i get extra time from you soi rare that i get extra time from you so i will use it all up. what is

remarkable about him coming here this interesting persona, clearly he was very humble about the work he did and everyone described in in terms of that humility. but also he was someone had clearly liked celebrity readings and none that respect he became an ambassador for science. we have a different view of physics, even if we do not understand it, he gave us something by popularising complicated notions of physics. 45 seconds! a pretty good explanation, well done. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news — the democrats are claiming victory in a special congressional election seen as a referendum on president trump's performance — should he be worried? and one of the founders of facebook thinks super—rich people like him should pay working people a guaranteed income. we'll be asking him why he wants to give his money away. once again it has been a day of

mixed weather fortunes across the uk. across the western side you have had some pretty wet and that times windy weather as well. thanks to the area of low pressure the rain has come as this weather front has gradually come to dominate many of those western areas. but eased it has been a much more acceptable sort of day, quite breezy but at the same time some sunshine and some spring one. through the evening the weather front still all over the south west, accompanied by gale force wind. the rainjust keeps on coming into northern ireland and becomes a little bit more of a feature perhaps across the western side of scotland. further east underneath those clear skies and for some in the far east, the greater part of the night temperatures will fall away. down to three or 4 degrees or so. up towards

the west rain just keeps on coming in northern ireland, becoming ever more present through wales and into the midlands and south east. making for a pretty miserable start to the day. the weather front makes progress further north, and following on behind we have brighter skies but there will be occasionally some sharp showers. underneath that front temperatures struggling. around six, 7 degrees or so. through into friday the onshore flow keeping things cool and we could see some wintry showers overnight on the hills of northern britain. and following on behind still relatively mild at this stage but still the prospect of some sharp showers and even a rumble of thunder. if you're getting used to this relatively mild speu getting used to this relatively mild spell of weather i urge you to cherish it because as we get towards

the weekend as the passion starts to look familiar, feeding in much colder weather across all parts of the british isles eventually. you can imagine if you fully exposed to that easterly wind it is going to be one of those and there will be more snow. archive stores. the british premise or expels 23 russian diplomats after blaming them for the poisoning of a former agent and his daughter. russia denounced pushed denounces the expulsions, calling the move hostile and short—sighted. the expulsions, calling the move hostile and short-sighted. coming up, an hostile and short-sighted. coming up, an emergency hostile and short-sighted. coming up, an emergency meeting of the un security council is being called, will be live there in just a moment. and what president trump's choice of the next secretary of state tells us about american foreign policy going forward. democrats declare victory in pennsylvania, and should republicans be nervous?

let us know your thoughts by using the hashtag #beyond100days. more on our top story now, the state of relations between london on moscow. arguably theresa may's best hope for hitting russia in a way that actually hurts is to make this an international issue. if she can get the us, the eu, even nato on board the power of the response will be much stronger. one forum for making this global is of course the united nations, which upholds that the use of nerve agents is unlawful. today the un secretary general called the attack on sergei skripal an unacceptable violation of international law. so, what's the un actually going to do about it given that russia sits on the security council? nick bryant is at the un for us. what kind of discussions of the having there, and what action will that lead to? the discussions had just gotten under way, they were delayed for an —— 30 minutes, the

russians were involved in some wrangling time wasting, and the ambassador here has just wrangling time wasting, and the ambassador here hasjust started his speech in front of this global forum. the british are trying to internationalize this, looking for solidarity from other members of the security council, not least are the european here —— european union members and the united states. we understand the key haley will be delivering a very hard—hitting speech. —— nikki haley. i'mjust struck by how extraordinary this is. here the united nations, what i normally talk to you both, we are talking about syria and places like north korea. but today we are talking about salisbury, an english cathedral town, and salisbury being linked with a chemical weapons attack. again, something we normally talk about only in connection with places like syria. this is an extraordinary event at the united nations. we will talk to jonathan

allen, the uk deputy permanent representative to the security council, and he is talking, as you can see. we can conclude that russia is in serious breach of the amoco weapons convention. this fact alone means you should discount any arguments you hear about the possibility of other companies —— countries having access to this technology. at russia at —— declared and destroyed their own programme, there may have been some truth to this. mr president, on the 4th of march, a weapon so horrific that it is banned from use in war, was used ina is banned from use in war, was used in a peaceful city and my country. this was a reckless act, carried out by people who disregard the sanctity of human life, who are indifferent to where this whether innocents are caught up in their attacks. they eitherdid caught up in their attacks. they either did not care that the weapon used would be tracked back to them, or mistakenly believed that they could cover their traces. russian officials and media channels have

repeatedly threatened those they consider traitors, even after the fall —— march four attack. russia has a history of state—sponsored attack —— assassinations, including that of alexander lived up... poisoned by radioactive materials in my country a decade ago. russia has a history of interfering in other countries, whether the botched coup in montenegro, repeated cyber attacks on other states, or seeking to influence others's democratic processes. russia has a history of flouting international law, most egregiously in crimea, flouting international law, most egregiously ii'i crimea, eastern flouting international law, most egregiously in crimea, eastern uk, and georgia. russia shows disregard for civilian life, we all remember flight mh for civilian life, we all remember flight mh 17, shutdown but the shot down by russian proxies supplied with weapons. russia has shown in its repeated protection of asad's chemical weapons use that it has different standards when it comes to the use of these terrible substances. we have notjumped to

conclusions, we have carried out a thorough, careful investigation which continues. we are asking the opcw which continues. we are asking the opc w to independently verify the nerve agent used. we have offered russia the chance to explain, but russia the chance to explain, but russia has refused. we have therefore concluded that the russian state was involved, and we have taken certain measures in response. in taking these measures, we have been clear that we have no disagreement with the people of russia, who have been responsible for so many great achievements throughout history. it is the reckless acts of their government that we oppose. jonathan allen making his opening remarks at the un security council. let's bring in that pride again. there is the chemical weapons convention, i suppose with the security council would like is for the organisation to go into russia, so the load test

laboratory, which we are told is in central russia, and see what happened? the british were talking about giving the opc w some of the substance use, so they can independently verify what the british have found. of course the un's british have found. of course the un's hands are tied on this, because to take action would require a vote, and the british will not vote through the security council while the russians have their veto. so with the british are looking for, not sanctions today, they're not necessarily looking for action. what they're looking for is a show of solidarity, and international shaming of the russian federation on the world's biggest diplomatic stage. thank you. that is one issue that will land on the desk of the new secretary of state. what will the appointment of mike pompeo as secretary of state mean for us foreign policy in the trump administration? as cia director he aligned himself with the president

and earned his trust. he is tougher on moscow than mr trump but on other issues has shown he is in lockstep with the president and, critically, he has his ear. he's confrontational on iran, unlike tillerson, and on north korea he is also more hawkish than his predecessor. it's a topic that robin wright has written about in the new yorker and shejoins us now. i want to get your reactions to what we just heard i want to get your reactions to what wejust heard in i want to get your reactions to what we just heard in the united i want to get your reactions to what wejust heard in the united nations from the deputy burnet representative of the united kingdom there. very tough language coming out of the united kingdom, will they get back up from a pompeo and the new secretary of state? will be very ha rd new secretary of state? will be very hard for the trumpet administration not to go along with its british ally. the question is, what will the united states do in the product —— broader issue of its own problems with russia? neither the president nor his new secretary of state had indicated they will take a tougher line or follow on sanctions voted on

by our own congress. so this is an extraordinary development, to have this play out in the west, the use of chemical weapons. it will put extra nerve pressure on the administration to at least be seen to say something, if not do something. say something, not do something, that maybe you where the appear on the issue of mike pompeo, at various points, rex tillerson has acted as a buffer for some of the president's more radical foreign—policy on the states. but mike bob —— mike pompeo lisicki will not play the same role? no, these are not play the same role? no, these a re two not play the same role? no, these are two men and a policy pot. they think a lot alike on similar issues. when he was in congress, he called for a regime change when he was in congress, he called fora regime change in iran, not just the scrapping of the nuclear deal. last summer at the security forum, he talked quite openly in front of a group, and

forum, he talked quite openly in front ofa group, and i forum, he talked quite openly in front of a group, and i was there, about the need for a regime change in north korea. so it will be very interesting to see not only him backing of the president, but what he suggests after the iran nuclear dear —— nuclear deal is scrapped he suggests after the iran nuclear dear —— nuclear deal is scrapped and made. you have to look at the whole national security team, and the president is deftly shaking it up. the word on the hill is that hr mcmaster might not be long for that job, and we don't know yet who will replace them. but it is obviously someone replace them. but it is obviously someone who will be in lockstep with the president. so what do you think that means? is it going to isolate secretary matus, the defence secretary, who has at times been a break on some of the more hardline approaches by the president? he was one of the adults in the room, the rumours thatjohn one of the adults in the room, the rumours that john bolton, one of the adults in the room, the rumours thatjohn bolton, the former hardline un ambassador, is likely to replace hr mcmaster. the striking

thing about this shake—up is that the president now seems very self confident about making those decisions himself. he brought in a lot of establishment figures to give him advice, and they warned him against things like declaring julep —— jerusalem the capital of the israeli state and moving the us embassy there, and when there was not a reaction in the arab world, he felt he was right. so he is feeling very much that he wants people who think like him, not wanting to challenge him or offer alternative ideas. thank you very much for joining us. a lot going on in washington and in the white house, as well as the country. special election on tuesday. pennsylvania's 18th congressional district was the bellweather in a bellweather state. and democrats are giddy with excitement today because they say they have just taken it. the special election on tuesday became a symbol of opposition to donald trump. and the reason they are so happy, is because this district was one of the most conservative in the country. the democrat conor lamb looks like he has snatched an area of the country which trump won

in 2016 by a whopping 20 points. mr lamb's opponent has yet to concede but republicans are calling this a wake up call for their party as they head into mid term elections in november. here to help us break it down is ron christie, former advisor to george w bush. how do republicans go in the space ofa how do republicans go in the space of a year how do republicans go in the space ofa yearand how do republicans go in the space of a year and a bit, from winning a district in the country by 20 points to losing it? i will break from conventional wisdom here and say this is not that big of a deal. connor lamb ran as trouble light, as a democrat. he is pro—life, which many democrats are, he said he opposed nato policy being the leader, he came out and supported president trump on tariffs. in a race that many republicans thought they might actually lose by five points, if we lose it by one point,

thatis points, if we lose it by one point, that is not such a bad deal, but it isa wake—up that is not such a bad deal, but it is a wake—up call and indicates that many people are looking at this as the first referendum on president trump. it also suggests that if democrats can find candidates who are matched to the districts, and in this case, they needed someone who was conservative, although he is prounion, prolabor, he has some very early classic democratic positions as well, but if they can find the right candidates for the district, they can overturn a 20 point majority, that is still a pretty important indication for what democrats can do around the country? no question about that. people i spoke to earlier this morning, they are worried, the democrats only need 23 or 24 seats to flip the house of representatives, and we already have 40 —— representatives, and we already have 40 -- 30 representatives, and we already have 40 —— 30 members who have indicated they will not run for reelection, republicans. don't let any republicans. don't let any republicans flew by saying this will be locked up and in the majority

after the november election, there is lots for them to worry about and lots of time for the democrats to raise the money to be competitive.” will put my pen down and challenge ron christie's unorthodoxy on the selection. i get that we lost to by one point, but they spent $10 million in this district to a seat which he will not do it —— be there, because they will redraw the electoral map and pennsylvania. and now surely, when you are circulating among friends on the hill saying that they will have to spend a lot of that war chest defending suburban districts, we would have to defend? several astute observations, let me unpack them for viewers and listeners. one thing as absolute certain, to spend $10 million on a seat at the pennsylvania legislator is going to drop out again is a body blow to republicans. now you have the prospect of not only having to find another candidate to run in several months, but that is millions

of dollars that murphy, the candidate who was the representative that left in scandal, he won the district by 20 plus points. now we need to spend more money, get more candidates, and we should be on the offe nce candidates, and we should be on the offence and not defence. and this will be seen across united states instantly districts, republicans we re instantly districts, republicans were feeling confident that now they're looking over their shoulder, they're looking over their shoulder, the object in the rear—view mirror seems a bit closer, and that is a democrat winning that seat. not to get to technological about this, but if connor lamb scares the goodness out of the party because he is conservative, they can also breathe a sigh of relief to some extent because he did not have to go through a democratic primary process. so he was not pulled to the left by ten other democrats wanting to win and prove their left wing liberal bona fides, he could just be appointed. so they could tailor make the candidate for the district, they will not have a democrat with a luxury —— luxury with the democrats and other races? they will not, and

thatis and other races? they will not, and that is something that gives republicans confident that this was a blip, and aberration. we see the press trying to receive an pub —— republicans, but they will have to run ina republicans, but they will have to run in a very crowded primary, spending lots of resources. and one thing important to realise is incumbent members of congress do not like supporting candidates in a jumbled primary, so these folks will have to battle it out on the own and raise money on their own until they become the eventual democratic nominee. toa become the eventual democratic nominee. to a republican in many cases that is running unopposed in the primary. thank you. quickly before we get onto the next tory, there is press this news coming out of the un, nicolet —— nikki haley has said that russia's crime is worthy of united nations security council action, and c but she actually means by that action. that is coming out of the un. one of those people is chris hughes.

what if the solution to income inequality was very simple, give poorer people cash? it's an idea that's gaining traction. the gap between rich and poor is growing throughout the west as the wealthy make more and more money from investments. one of those people is chris hughes. his life was changed when he went to harvard and became room mates with a young man called mark zuckerberg. together, they founded facebook and made their fortunes. now mr hughes is working on a project to redistribute that wealth, he writes about it in his new book fair shot, and spoke to me a short time ago from new york. i started by asking him how he made his fortune. i was one of the co—founders of facebook, alongside mark zucker bernard. we started in 2004, and the company took off, i was the nontechnical co—founder responsible for things like marketing and product, communications. for three years worth of work, i ended not making nearly half $1 billion, which is indicative of a fundamental unfairness in the economy, in a economy that we have created that is about winner take all economics, where a small group of people are

getting very fortunate, while everyone else really struggles to make ends meet. i think it is historically without precedent, we have a responsibility to fix that. you have become interested in this issue of income inequality, and you have come up with a plan to give people earning under $50,000 a year $500 a month. had with the plan worked, and is it politically feasible, given we just had a worked, and is it politically feasible, given wejust had a huge tax cut reform in this country, which has given the wealthiest people a tax cut, not an increase, which is what you are proposing is blue i think it is feasible because of that. but let me step back, here is what we know. the most powerful way that lift people out of poverty and stabilise the lives of the middle—class is through cash. with no strings attached, we have enormous programmes and our country called the earned income tax credit, which provides tens of billions of dollars to tens of millions of families to use that money smartly, to invest in themselves, kids, their

health outcomes, education outcomes improve, etc. we know that when you give people money, they user smartly. in my view, it also is a promise for a much more efficient way to provide economic mobility to people who need it. sol way to provide economic mobility to people who need it. so i think if you are making less than $50,000 in the united states and you are working in some way for your family or community, then a guaranteed income of $500 a month every single month is one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful way to combat income inequality and stabilise... the counter argument would be supporters of the welfare state saying let's boost the welfare state. you don't give them access, you give them better access to health care and education, so they don't have to spend so much? that is the older traditional idea, and the research base over the past few decades has suggested something different. people can be trusted

with cash, and once more, if it is much more efficient than creating new government bureaucracy and an new government bureaucracy and an new administration to adopt a paternalistic system that forces so many people to go here and there to qualify for a particular government —— government benefit. but instead if we provide people with cash that they can choose how to spend, what we know is that they go out and they workjust as much as they work before, and their kids do better. dizzy to the political question, i think we're in a transitional moment when we have the opportunity to make a very different case than the one that was made by trump and congressional republicans to pass la st congressional republicans to pass last year's tax bill. that bill gave cuts as we know on corporations in the 1%, but there is an —— another way. as the movement grows to repeal and replace, ithink way. as the movement grows to repeal and replace, i think a way. as the movement grows to repeal and replace, ithink a modernisation of the entered the earned income tax credit cannotjust of the entered the earned income tax credit cannot just help the of the entered the earned income tax credit cannotjust help the poor, but also help tens of them —— tens of millions of american families. i

don't know if you'll be next year, but i think it will come. you a nswered but i think it will come. you answered by blood question. thank you very much. thank you for having me. that is the question, whether republicans would be prepared to see a hike in taxes on the wealthy in order to give hard cash to people who are poorer, given that there has been quite a lot of suspicion among some conservatives about what happens to money when he just handed over to him at this idea of trust in people to spend their money well that chris hughes talks about so clearly, that is something that is missing from people who are in control that might have to give their money away. the problem is when it goes against the orthodoxy of any financial ministries, but when you tax the ritz —— rich, when in france they put a higher tax on rich people, the wealth left the country. that is the fear, if you tax the whip —— rich people, they simply disappear, not everyone wants to bea

simply disappear, not everyone wants to be a benefactor, and that is the problem. half $1 billion in three yea rs, problem. half $1 billion in three yea rs , we problem. half $1 billion in three years, we should have done that. we are in the wrong job, aren't we? talking adopt that would be suited to us, stephen hawking had a singular galaxy sized intellect. they prove that all matter within a black hole collapses to a gendered —— geometric point in space and zero volume. nine easy concept airhead around, but sir roger penrose is here to suggest —— explain what happens. in 1965 he came up with this mathematical theorem on black holes, and you collaborated with stephen hawking at a time when his disability was starting to take over? it was not taking over that time, it was known that he had it, but we can still communicate. he was like a normal person at that time...

well, normal in that respect. why would you collaborate? you obviously make giant strides on this theory about black holes, what was it about stephen hawking that made you want to share? the thing was that the idea of black holes came about from spherically symmetrical model studied in the area, and you know they have a single point where densities and everything are infinite right at the centre. but everything focuses to that point, is also surprising. people argue that __ my also surprising. people argue that —— my theory showed that even if it was irregular, it would still become singular, so that was the result. i did a talk on this, it was in london, and according to the film, stephen got sparks coming out of his head, but he was not actually there. but it's not so far off because i gave a repeat in cambridge where he

was. i talked gave a repeat in cambridge where he was. italked privately gave a repeat in cambridge where he was. i talked privately with george ellis about the techniques that i was using, and he did something similar but more general than george ellis. very quickly, he even showed how you could apply the result that i have the cosmological situations. he adopted it very quickly, and we collaborated on a much more complete result. i have a question for you, it is obviously not easy for two geniuses to work together, but is not a problem that christian and i have. but i can imagine you have two people of the calibre of you and stephen hawking can have a competitive relationship. as a person, what was he like to work with? you won't believe this, but the collaboration in detail was done almost entirely over the telephone. we got along very well, i don't

think it was competitive in that respect at all. the thing we did later was mainly independent. we proved an extension of what was known before, and in week communicated and found we did the same thing. we wrote a paper together which we got published in the royal society. do you miss him? that was a long time ago, and we we re that was a long time ago, and we were friends for a long time. and we parted our ways, we that we separated, we just got different views about things. i wish we could talk longer, but we are always out of time. we will leave you with some of time. we will leave you with some of stephen hawking's more memorable moments. goodbye. theoretical physics is one of the few fields in which being disabled is no handicap.

it is all in the mind. i hope my example will give encouragement and hope to others in similar situations. i hope my example will show disability can be no barrier. one can achieve anything if one is determined enough. never give up. it has been a day of mixed weather

fortu nes it has been a day of mixed weather fortunes across the british isles, if you spent the day across the western side, there is no doubt about it, you have had one of those, some pretty wet and windy weather as well. thanks to the area of low pressure, the rain has, as is weather front is gradually coming to dominate many of those western areas. out east, it has been a much more acceptable day. quite breezy, but simultaneously there has been sunshine and spring work. through the evening, we will find that whether front still accompanied by a gale force winds, while to the irish sea, the ranges keeps on coming into

northern ireland, and becomes a bit more of the future across western side of scotland. further east underneath clear skies, and for some in the far east, they will stay clear for the greater part of the night, but temperatures dribble away, awesomely getting down to three or 4 degrees. out towards the west, the ranges keeps coming in northern ireland, becoming more ever present there through wales and the midlands, eventually to the southeast which makes for a pretty making all—star to the day. the weather makes progress further north, a moderate burst of rain in there, brighter skies following behind, but in that brightness, there'll be the occasional sharp shower. mild across the southwestern quarter, but temperatures will struggle. around five or 7 degrees. through thursday evening into friday, the onshore flow still keeps things on the cool side, and overnight, we may see some wintry showers, that prospect on the hills of northern britain is there to be

had again during the course of friday, following behind is still relatively mild at the stage, but still with the prospect, some really sharp showers, there might even be a rumble of power —— thunder in there. if you're getting use of this relatively mild spell of weather, i urge you to cherish it because as we get towards the weekend, that pattern of similar high pressure area close by scandinavia feeding into much does feeding and much colder weather across all parts of the british isles, you can imagine if you are fully exposed to that easterly wind out of the eastern side of the british isles, it will be one of those and there will be more snow. this is bbc news. the headlines at 8pm... the prime minister says 23 russian diplomats will be expelled from the uk after moscow ignored a deadline to explain why a soviet nerve agent was used on a former spy in salisbury. through these expulsions we will fundamentally degrade and if they seek to rebuild it,

we will prevent them from doing so. theresa may has also cancelled an invitation to russia's foreign minister to visit the uk. sergei lavrov says britain is staging a political performance. police and the army have also sealed off several new sites — including in gillingham in north dorset — as part of the investigation. also this hour... scientists, politicians and actors pay tribute to stephen hawking.