‘ a ‘a mess. but whether it ‘ a mess. but whether it will much of a mess. but whether it will actually use the veto is a different issue. but the habit on the table, and whether the user or not we do not know but they have it, and gibraltar knows they have got it, and maybe that's why they are not in here. i think it will be sorted out. we would talk in a few months' time. this is an important week, coming up all of this. you thought things are broadly on track? they are broadly on track. there will be a council meeting at the end of this week, in march, when it looks as though it is highly possible that the council will actually agree to the transitional arrangements put in place. they had been negotiated already with michel barnier. and it looks to me as though we are almost there. a few concessions we do not like back—ups. there. a few concessions we do not like back-ups. i will listen and see what she's saying. the rest of the

war does not look good at all. a p pa re ntly war does not look good at all. apparently a bit war does not look good at all. apparently a hit it is because we did not get a lot of information. if this is supposed to be secret, i have no idea, but meanwhile are drifting out of the city and they say it is not because brexit but we do not why. that is what they said. i want to get one story in quickly, the sunday times from page, it is only short, but what is this transgender e—mail about? only short, but what is this transgender e-mail about? what is happening in universities is that people are being asked, what you wa nt to people are being asked, what you want to be called, he, she? young people now want to determine who they are and what they are in the world. universities are saying, at the end of your e—mail, put your name down and say how you would like to be addressed, and that is what it is about. that is what students want and what they deserve. is it

complicated? if people feel strongly about this, i have no problems about accommodating that strength of feeling. in other words, accommodating that strength of feeling. in otherwords, i accommodating that strength of feeling. in other words, i am accommodating that strength of feeling. in otherwords, lam not worried! it is what students want and how students see themselves, and thatis and how students see themselves, and that is most important of all. 0k, well, i am grateful to you both as ever. that is it for this hour. bonnie and ruth will be back 11:30pm for another look at tomorrow morning's newspapers. blake morrison has packed a lot into his career. a former newspaper literary editor, he became a full—time writer in 1995 and has gone on to publish award—winning novels, poetry and nonfiction. he's probably best known for his bestselling memoir, "and when did you last see your father?", which was turned into a film starring colin firth.

so, perhaps it is entirely fitting that his latest novel is about writers. the executor follows a man who becomes the literary executor of an old friend and poet and the moral dilemmas he faces when he uncovers unpublished and potentially explosive material. blake morrison, the executor raises a whole host of ethical issues, not least of which is what's more important, the right to privacy or the right to freedom of expression? what was the starting point for the novel? i suppose i have been very conscious in recent years of a lot of controversies about writers publishing stuff that other people perhaps, members of the family, feel is painful, exposing,

that they don't like. sometimes they seek legal action to stop such a book, or whatever it is, appearing. so, i think there are moral dilemmas for writers. and i think these days the rights of the written—about seem to have come to the fore. so, it is an old argument. but i think there have been lots of cases, particularly biographies, that have come out where members of the family really objected to them. this question has become fresh again. because what happens in this book is that the wife of the poet objects to some of the poems that the executor, matt, has found. i suppose what is at the heart of that is what's more important, the wishes of the living or the wishes of the dead? where do you stand? is it a case of publish and be dammned? well, i'm a bit softer on all that. i like to think i would consult members of my family if something deeply sensitive was about to be published. and generally ask people.

but then i know writers who are quite brutal about it. you know, they assert their right to write whatever they choose, and to hell with it. i think it's a balance to be struck. i think it's a matter of individual conscience. but certainly there are cases where you are going to expose other people by something you've written. and they're not always going to necessarily go along with it. i think i've been lucky, the memoirs i've written, i haven't had a huge comeback from my family, lots of people complaining or anything like that. but i am conscious of cases where that sort of thing has happened. there's a further twist in this book, if you like, in that it's notjust the reputation of the wife, it's actually the poet himself which could be damaged. i was very struck by one particular line, where you wrote, the life was one thing, the work another. a nasty man might still be a great poet. and looking at the, i don't know, alleged misdemeanours of someone like kevin spacey, i wondered how possible you thought it was to separate the art from the artist?

i think, again, if you look to the history of writing, you're going to come across many authors who were not very nice people. i'm very conscious, in my lifetime, because i met him, what a bad reputation philip larkin developed, the poet, after his death. and yet he seems to me one of the great 20th—century poets, and nothing that he wrote, for me, is tainted by the fact that he was accused of racism and misogyny and so on. so, i think this is a really difficult one. could i now watch a kevin spacey film and not be troubled, knowing what i know about him? i like to think that maybe, yes, the integrity of the film doesn't suffer from what we know about the man. but i would assert it all the more in the case of writers. yes, unless, isuppose, it implies tacit approval on our part, if we continue to read their work, watch the films etc? yeah, i think we can like the work and condemn the person for their actions in their private life. but the art, the work, it does,

for me, always stand a little apart from the life. there's another line in the book where the poet says there's no point being a poet now, if you're white, middle—aged, middle—class and english, you are a dinosaur. i did just wonder if there are white, middle—class, young english male poets watching this, are you telling them to give up now? no, i certainly wouldn't do that. you have to allow for the particular guy who is saying this, rob, who's just got to that point of becoming a grumpy old man. he feels a bit sidelined. he's had enormous success early in his career, and now he looks around and is a younger generation, a generation of people where gender and ethnicity are perhaps different from his, and he misses the success he had. so i think you've got to allow for his prejudice. no, i think any young, talented poet should just keep going. robert pope also says at one point poets should not get involved in politics. is that something that you think

writers should stay out of, current affairs? no, i think there can be a voice, i think in my own writing i've sometimes done something that could count as a sort of political intervention. because i think sometimes works of fiction, poetry, or different kind of nonfiction journalism can shed light on a public issue, a political issue, wherejournalists, and newspapers, and the media generally have presented it in a certain way, along comes a writer with a different kind of take, a different sort of insight. so, i've always had this argument with wh auden, who famously said poetry makes nothing happen. i think, in a very subtle way, poetry, like anything else, can make things happen. and you have had experience of this as well when you wrote your book about the james bulger trial, "as if". and i know in that book you said you felt that his killers shouldn't have been tried as adults, and you

received quite a lot of abuse for that view, as a result. did that make you more cautious about getting involved in speaking out on topics of the day? i don't think so. i mean, i recently reiterated my belief that ten—year—old boys should not be tried in an adult court. which is, you know, whatever horrible crime that was committed by the two boys, and i'm not denying that, i watched that court case, i was in that court, and i just felt the whole process of little boys being tried in court was wrong. i continue to say that. i don't think i'm very popular for saying that, and my son said to me, "don't go on twitter, dad. you don't want to read what they're saying about you on twitter." but, you know, writers have to be prepared to stick their neck out occasionally for something they believe in. and i do believe strongly that the age of criminal responsibility in this country is too low. it's much lower than the rest of the world, really. since 2003, you've been professor

of creative and life writing at goldsmiths university. and again, in the book, robert pope articulates the view that creative writing cannot be taught. which is interesting, given your position. what do you think? i think it can. do you? well, put it this way, i think skills can be learned, undoubtedly, skills can be learned. writers can be helped to develop, they can learn certain techniques. yes, in the end, perhaps talent is innate, talent is crucial too. but i totally disagree with robert pope on that one. i've seen how students have come along, been helped, gone on to be published and so on. they've acquired skills that, without going on a creative writing course, they might never have acquired. you're probably still best known for your memoir, "when did you last see your father?" do you mind the fact that it's a book that you wrote back in 1993 that people still most associate you with? it would be nice if i had a big success with something now. but, you know, it's inevitable

and i'm very touched, and moved, when people still come up to me and say thank you for writing that book, it helped me grieve over my father, or whatever they say. it does bring us back, i suppose, finally, to literary legacies, which is where we began. do you ever wonder how you will be remembered? i try not to think about it too much because it feels as if, if you're worrying about that too much at my age, you're kind of writing off whatever time is left to you. so, i haven't appointed a literary executor. i've no idea what will happen after i go and what will be left behind. and i try not to think about it too much. blake morrison, really good to talk to you. i've enjoyed it. thank you. good evening. winter returned with a vengeance today.

strong, cold easterly winds have been blowing across the country, and the winds have been bringing some snow showers. that was how it looked in north yorkshire. this was the scene a little bit earlier on in kent. and if we take a look at the earlier radar from today, you can see just how many snow showers there were. lots and lots of them feeding in from the north sea. and then some more persistent snow that's been developing down towards the south—east. two main areas of concern through the rest of this evening. met office amber warnings across parts of the south—east, the london area, also across yorkshire, lincolnshire and into parts of the north midlands. and then, into tomorrow, south—west england and the south—east of wales also covered by a met office amber warning because of this area of more persistent snowfall that is going to continue to drift its way westwards as we head through tonight. that could give 5—10 centimetres of snow in places, but perhaps a little bit more in the way of snow beginning to develop across the far south—west. elsewhere, still some showers, clear spells as well, a widespread frost and the potential for some ice to take us into tomorrow morning.

but the main concern for the first part of tomorrow really is the south—west of england and parts of wales because this snow will continue to fall, really piling up, and blown in on this strong easterly wind. the snow is going to blow around, it's going to drift. that could cause its own issues. and still this feed of snow showers across parts of north—east england and the eastern side of scotland, one or two into northern ireland as well. now, as we go on through the day, many of the showers in eastern areas will tend to fade. it will be quite a slow process but, by the afternoon, many places here will be dry, particularly down towards the south—east where we could see some brightness. but notice the snow continues for a good part of the day across the south—west of england, and that's why there is so much risk for disruption here. still pretty windy and still cold as well. but as we move through sunday night, we will lose that area of snowfall from the far south—west. high pressure taking charge. and we'll lose the cold, easterly winds, starting to bring in more of a northerly wind on monday. now, northerlies are never particularly warm, but they will not be quite as cold,

so temperatures of around 4—7 celsius. a largely dry day with some sunny spells. and as we head on through the coming week, those temperatures are going to climb back into double digits. by the end of the week, things do look pretty unsettled. this is bbc news. i'm nicholas owen. the headlines at 11:00: russia is expelling 23 british diplomats in the row over the nerve agent attack on a former spy. the prime minister insists the kremlin must account for its actions. will always do what is to defend ourselves, our allies, and our values against an attack of this sort. drivers are warned to prepare before setting out this evening as snow and ice grip parts of the uk. high wind and tide forces evacuation

of clifftop homes in norfolk amid fears that will fall into the sea during the night. officials investigate claims of political consultancy mishandled the data of millions of facebook users to support donald trump's run for the white house. also in the next hour, ireland celebrate a six nations grand slam on st patrick's day. they beat england at twickenham to complete a clean sweep for only