broke you're watching beyond 100 days... in one year and four hours, britain will leave the european union. what's been sorted and how much more is there to do? on a whirlwind tour of the united kingdom, theresa may tells the country she will make a post—brexit britain, "strong and united". i think there's a bright future out there, and, yes, ithink brexit i think there's a bright future out there, and, yes, i think brexit is going to deliver, a country that will be different, but i think there are real opportunities for us as an independent nation for the future. but what does that future look like? for trade, for the irish border, for immigration, forjobs — we'll attempt to find out. yes, the clock is ticking — yes, that's a cliche — we look at the language of brexit — cherry picking, cake eating — what's your favourite? also on the programme... russia is to expel 60 us diplomats — the same number as america's expelled in response to the salisbury nerve agent attack.

i often hear, usually women, saying will you please tell trade to do his hair? two republican lawmakers forge an unlikely friendship. now the real challenge is overcoming the division in washington with a little unity. get in touch with us using the hashtag... i'm christian fraser at westminster, jon sopel is in washington — on this day next year, iipm in london, midnight in brussels, the uk will no longer be a member of the european union. it will bring to an end a journey that started 45 years ago, when the uk joined what was then the european economic community. at that precise moment, brexit will be delivered. or sort of. the transition now on the table, which was agreed in principle last week, will mean that things stay pretty much the same, for the following 21 months,

until december 2020. during that time, the uk will no longer have a say in the eu rules it will follow. so what will things look like once we have left? we've heard from brussels that the uk cannot get a better deal outside the eu than in it, so doesn't that mean things will get worse? i put this to one of the senior brexit campaigners, and now the leader of the house, andrea leadsom. there are 27 eu member states, they are ourfriends there are 27 eu member states, they are our friends and neighbours, there are 27 eu member states, they are ourfriends and neighbours, they trade with us, we trade with them, we wa nt trade with us, we trade with them, we want to expand the business we do together amongst those different nation states. the fact that one individual might say we don't want you to have a better life outside than inside, it may be their opinion, but it is a negotiation and we are working very hard to get a great dealfor the we are working very hard to get a great deal for the united we are working very hard to get a great dealfor the united kingdom thatis great dealfor the united kingdom that is also a good deal for our eu friends and neighbours. when you say

we are negotiating the best deal, people keep saying we keep caving, we caved on the timetable, we were not going to pay the divorce bill, and then we are paying 35 to £40 billion. we don't know what will happen with the ec]. are we really getting the best possible deal?” think that is too misunderstand what a negotiation is, you don't cave, you negotiate. we have not caved on anything. because we want an implementation period for the sake of our businesses and our people, and therefore because we have committed to the multi—annual financial framework of the eu until 2020, we will continue to abide by oui’ 2020, we will continue to abide by our net contributions until then. what about in—house within the cabinet, i call you the brexit big beasts come yourself, borisjohnson, michael gove. are you losing some of the battles? fisheries is a good example, they say you are losing out

to the treasurer. i don't agree with that, i absolutely admit to being very disappointed on the common fisheries policy, that whilst we are leaving it, on march 29, 2019, we will be leaving the common fisheries policy, we will be out of the eu, but nevertheless because we want this implementation period, what we are having to agree to is continuing to abide by a number of the rules that are effectively rules that apply to eu members. but it is a red line to you? clearly, the big prize is after the independent that —— implementation period we will have oui’ implementation period we will have our own seat at the united nations, and bodies that disturbances tenable yields —— determine sustainable yields, so will be in charge of our own borders and our own fish and then be able to negotiate as a free independent country once again. you are the leader of the house, the government has promised a meaningful

vote on the deal brought back in 0ctober, what happens if the house of commons votes against it? we will get a deal the house can support, as we have shown through the eu withdrawal bill, we had 370 amendments put onto that at committee stage in the house of commons. we spent some time looking at them all, evaluating them, talking to members, trying to accommodate their views and wishes. certainly trying to take fully into account all efforts to improve the legislation, and then at the same time obviously resisting those amendments that just seek to time obviously resisting those amendments thatjust seek to damage and to kind of reverse the will of the people. but that is exactly how we will manage the withdrawal and implementation bill, which is the bill that gives that meaningful vote. but the amendment put forward by the so—called rebels, anna soubry at all, says that the govan should go back and renegotiate if they don't like it, if that amendment passes, it will cause real problems.

asi passes, it will cause real problems. as i say, working so closely. if my colleague anna soubry and i agree with a lot of things, on this one area we definitely do not, but nevertheless we work together, we are very good colleagues and we can have frank discussions and i know the government is determined to seek ways to achieve the desires of collea g u es ways to achieve the desires of colleagues to improve the working collegiate relationship with our eu friends and neighbours whilst at the same time making sure that we can actually leave the european union in march next year. andrea leadsom, the leader of the house and has a busy six months coming up. and i'm joined now by our brussels correspondent adam fleming and katy balls who's a political correspondent for the spectator. they have all headed for their easter break but the further when did you sense an extra bit of dried and optimism since the summit last week? i think there is renewed energy particularly with the

conservative party, we know it is very thorny for theresa may that eve ryo ne very thorny for theresa may that everyone accepts relations between the uk government and brussels are ina much the uk government and brussels are in a much better place than they we re in a much better place than they were several months ago. and also the compper misers that have been made so far aren't fatal. a lot of people are a bit annoyed but what is a may has done quite well is spread the annoyance out quite evenly among the annoyance out quite evenly among the different people in her party. when it comes to the vote in october it seems the real hang grenade hanging over the government is this a amendment of the trade and customs bill that would force the government if it passed to go back to europe and renegotiate. it is something the government doesn't want to give ground on. yes, and that is a big problem for the government, they are worried about losing votes and when it comes to this big vote, but we had a spectator event last night with david davis. he was very bullish and very confident. basically the government's view is if they have time they can run around everyone, and so far that strategy seems to have worked very well for them although a lot of people doubted that at the time.

adam was performing last night, hosting his brexit cast in front of a live audience at the radio theatre at the bbc. you are a good person to ask, do you think the british public has shifted any? when you look at the research being done, it says people are basically where they were when the referendum was held, in the same proportions, although there is lots of anecdotal evidence on social media, someone saying i spoke to my grandma who was a leave voter who i'iow grandma who was a leave voter who now has regret. the opinion polls suggest the faster where they are. the reason that is a case is because there has not been a moment of reckoning. tony blair says it will come down to mps when that legislation and deal comes to westminster, it will be up to mps to amend it. perhaps the only members of the public feeling the reckoning right now are the 3 million european

citizens living in the uk, i had a couple of them in the last hour, they were saying they are very anxious because they don't have any detail, even though the citizens‘ rights part of the withdrawal bill has been signed. there is a lot of detail about what will happen and what rights they have, the stock of people who are living in the uk now or living on the continent, the rightful beep preserved. the issue is that the areas that are unresolved. aitor quite often to the uk nationals living on the continent. what they are worried about is they going to have free movement to move from say france to germany after the transition area it? they are also very worried about the recognition of professional qualifications obtained in the uk but used in the eu. that will also bea but used in the eu. that will also be a phase two matter. thank you very much indeed. liam fox was on

the radio this morning, saying they will be able to talk trade and signed deals during the transition period, during that 21 months, and he hopes by the end of the implementation period they will have 40 trade deals ready to go, and some of those role of the agreements that they currently have while members of they currently have while members of the european union. but the political prize is that deal with washington, the united states. yes, thatis washington, the united states. yes, that is the prize, and of course donald trump has made it clear he hopes he will be able to conclude a trade deal with britain once brexit happens very quickly indeed. all i would say is that trade deals are fiendishly complicated. you have an awful lot of lawyers and the room arguing over the most minute point, and so at the moment britain is saying it will not accept chlorinated chickens from the united states. well, ithink chlorinated chickens from the united states. well, i think us agricultural producers will have something to say about that. this things are never easy and they a lwa ys things are never easy and they always ta ke things are never easy and they always take a very long time indeed, soi always take a very long time indeed, so i would not bank on anything just happening with the click of fingers,

evenif happening with the click of fingers, even if the political will is there. there are too many vested interests of people who want to have a say in it. and timing is of course of the essence, all of this is supposed to be signed off for at least a long way down the line. time is of the essence. absolutely. in the last hour, russia has said it will expel 60 us diplomats and close down the us consulate in saint petersburg. the diplomats will have a week to leave the country. meanwhile, yulia skripal, who has been dangerously ill since being attacked with a nerve agent 3.5 weeks ago, is no longer said to be in a critical condition. doctors say she is improving rapidly. the bbc understands she is conscious and talking. herfather remains critically ill though, and the investigation has also seen a development. police now believe the pair first development. police now believe the pairfirst came into development. police now believe the pair first came into contact with that poison from the handle of the

front door of their home. how do two men from completely different backgrounds come together to forge a deep and lasting friendship? that‘s what our next guests — two leading republican politicians — have managed to work out in a country increasingly marked by division and strife. senator tim scott and congressman trey gowdy both hail from south carolina and have released a book sharing the story of their bond — in the hope of inspiring a little more unity and even some compromise. and the two men are with us now. we will be talking about the book, unified in a few moments, but we would be remiss kid of the news we we re would be remiss kid of the news we were just reporting with from russia, if we didn‘t start there. what is your reaction to the russian reprisal, if you like, 60 diplomats being expelled from us diplomats, your consulate in saint petersburg being shut down? russia's not our friend, speaking from an american

perspective, they are not our friend, they tried to undermine the fundamentals of our democracy. whether or not that is tantamount to an act of war, i will let smarter minds figure that one out. but when i read articles saying we are going toa i read articles saying we are going to a cold war tension, i cannot think of anything more tense than trying to affect the outcome of one of our presidential elections. nobody plays the victim as good as they do, apparently it is great britain's point that two people were poisoned in great britain and they have denied any involvement, even though their fingerprints are all over the election meddling in our country. you can't be tough enough to them, they are not our friend. senator, you are the stand is much better than i do, but we have had consistent statements from the white house press department, from the state department, everyone is on the same page that it looked like the russian state was behind this nerve agent attack. we haven‘t heard a

word from the president on twitter, he has made no comment since the us expeued he has made no comment since the us expelled those diplomats. should we read anything into that?” expelled those diplomats. should we read anything into that? i don't think so, we are used to the president using twitter as a communications method, but i think this is a positive thing, he is using the forces under his disposal effectively to communicate what we will do. the best news is our action is undeniable. russians tried to meddle or did meddle in our elections. they did not have any success elections. they did not have any success but they certainly medalled in it. the other part is they are trying to find ways to sow seeds of discord in this nation, and they are using social media and technology as a way to infiltrate this great nation. and so our response to their meddling, our response to the poisoning of two folks in europe, is clear, and russia is responding to that. i think this is a good situation for us. to be very clear, they are not our friends, we will

have a decisive clear response and it is measured. let me turn to your book, unified. 0n it is measured. let me turn to your book, unified. on one level people say what is the big story, you have two republican politicians who get along fine with each other, one from the house and one from the senate, you are from the same state, south carolina, but you come from rather different back stories. let me start with this, one of the reasons i think it is such an important conversation to have, especially to folks, one black, one white, from south carolina, is the history of our great state. we have a provocative history on race from south carolina. the first shot of the civil war, charleston, south carolina. the first shot of the civilwar, charleston, south carolina. said to have two gentleman coming together after a racially motivated murder in south carolina... which is where the white supremacist went into that bible study class. exactly, and that is pa rt of

study class. exactly, and that is part of the genesis of this book. i turned to a white guy from my state, in spite of the fact that if you look at who we were, we have transformed. but that was the bases. if this is possible in south carolina, it is possible anywhere, and the fact of the matter is south carolina has evolved so much over the last 50 years that we are such proud representatives of a new south carolina. did you like each other immediately or was there a suspicion? you know, peoplejudge each other very easily, we work out what kind of the side of the tracks people from all their background, did you bond immediately or did it ta ke did you bond immediately or did it take time? here is impossible to not like. this is quite possible to not like. this is quite possible to not like me, he is impossible to not like. he is this perfect combination of skill, of leadership and humility. so i liked him from the moment i saw him, but keep in mind we met in this historically large freshman class that was elected in

2010, and he was far and away the best known, most popular member of that class. he was elvis presley in that class. he was elvis presley in that class. he was elvis presley in that class. so everyone liked him, it wasn'tjust me. i have read some of the excerpts from the book, it is fascinating to read, i willjust pull out a little section here because i want to comment on why you are stepping down. you say, to be honest, i am tired of the division, the disunity, tired of the people who manufacture reasons to fight. is that why you don‘t want to go on? who manufacture reasons to fight. is that why you don't want to go 0mm is part of it. i actually like unity, i would is part of it. i actually like unity, iwould rather ask is part of it. i actually like unity, i would rather ask spend our time finding out things we agree on, and quite frankly we probably agree oi'i and quite frankly we probably agree on about 80% of life, so why our political discourse runs towards that area of conflict? we don't do it in any other facet of life, we don't sit beside someone on the bus coming from the airport saying what can we disagree on? you talk about sports, family. i

can we disagree on? you talk about sports, family. lam really leaving because i am going back to a job where facts matter and process matters and fairness matters, and in politics winning is the only thing that matters. from over here, it is quite obvious the division there is in america, as we have already talked about, maybe some of that comes from the top. but if america is so politically divided at home isn‘t there a risk it becomes vulnerable to its adversaries abroad? i think you have hit the nail on the head. 0ne abroad? i think you have hit the nail on the head. one of the thing i was inferring in my comments about russia is the fact that russia decided to sow seeds of discord through social media and focus on the racial divide in this country. it makes us very vulnerable when you look at the reality that one of the missions of the russian meddling in the election was to take advantage of racial division that they could see. we hope to address that in our book, unified. 0ne see. we hope to address that in our book, unified. one of the things we talk about is bringing african american pastors and law in force meant together at round tables for

more than 18 months so we can discuss some of the incredibly important issues confronting communities of colour, and do so in a way where open dialogue leads to wrap orand a way where open dialogue leads to wrap or and credibility, so we can solve our problems together. if we missed that opportunity, outsiders are ina missed that opportunity, outsiders are in a position to take advantage of it. let me ask you this, another interesting quote not in the book but you said recently, vaguely ranked —— link to russia, about the robert mueller investigation as to whether there was collusion. you say when you are innocent, act like it, to donald trump. do you think the attem pts to donald trump. do you think the atte m pts to to donald trump. do you think the attempts to undermine the mueller investigation just make life worse for him? i do. by the way that is good advice if you are the president or not, if you are innocent, act like it. ithink or not, if you are innocent, act like it. i think the attacks on mueller, some of my college trying to put artificial time limit on his

investigation, trying to deprive him of resources. mueller's investigation is to investigate what russia did, and the second is to find out who they did it with. but numberone is find out who they did it with. but number one is what did they do, and it isa number one is what did they do, and it is a supremely important task. all american should be cheering on bob mueller, go and see what happened. i have found no evidence of collusion. if the president has said it fundamentally, you are innocent, act like it. everyone has enjoyed the book in the office, people have said how delightful to be talking about unity for a change in this town. good luck with it, thank you very much for spending your time with us. president trump has removed the veterans affairs secretary david

shulkin and nominated ronnyjackson — his personal physician to succeed him. mr shulkin described the atmosphere at the white house as toxic. he joins the ranks of several senior officials who have also resigned or been fired in recent months — including secretary of state rex tillerson and national security advisor hr mcmaster. so, doctor ronny jackson, so, doctor ronnyjackson, is he equipped to run what is quite a sizeable department? he is a very fine doctor, he has looked after three presidents, managerial executive experience zero. the size of the veterans affairs department, 377,000 employees. so it is a kind of curious appointment, one maybe not so much based on background as the fact that the president clearly likes him. you will remember there was a long news conference that the doctor gave at the white house briefing room, where he talked about the great genes that donald trump had, and that he is fit enough to go on and serve a second term and could live to be 200. yes. the problem for

david shulkin, he had quite an expensive travel bill. yes, exactly, andi expensive travel bill. yes, exactly, and i think he rather enjoyed wimbledon too much for the likes of the american taxpayer. now, there are political slogans that our politicians can‘t live without. build the wall, make america great again...i think you get the drift. but when it comes to the language of brexit — our politicians are in a league of their own. if the brexit debate has felt a bit repetitive to you so far, you are not wrong. here is our top five brexit cliches. first up, the overused tennis metaphor, the brexit equivalent of it is your move, not mine. the ball is in london's court. brexit is not a game. this is a game being played out. fairenough, we hearyou,

fair enough, we hearyou, we fair enough, we hear you, we can‘t just keep the good bits, but stop talking about fruit. the idea of walking away with no deal on brexit day also has its catchphrase, unsurprisingly. politicians have spent a lot of time telling us it is ok, we‘re not leaving the continent. now leaving the continent is impossible, but 0k. sorry to inflict this on you yet again. possibly the most tired cliche in the brexit debate, but who is

responsible? 0h, the brexit debate, but who is responsible? oh, yeah, borisjohnson backin responsible? oh, yeah, borisjohnson back in 2016, pro—cake and pro—eating it, he said. there were so may not in there, soft brexit, hard brexit, mad max dystopian fiction brexit, that was the one we were supposed to avoid. i was thinking back today, do you remember, we only used to have one cliche when it was david cameron and george osborne, the long—term economic plan. it is amazing how d rifts economic plan. it is amazing how drifts from the mind. fix the roof when the sun shines. that is another. what about your side, make america great again, build the wall. and obviously the kind of phrases that have been minted by donald trump, it is going to be huge. we

have got to do all of those as well, which are now passing into common parlance. who is going to build the wall? mexico! we have our pantomime charting well. i am fluent in the language, you don‘t think the language, you don‘t think the language is there that you wake up thinking about it, it is baked into your soul, honestly. there is no escape. this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news — what a fall from grace for the ashes—winning aussies — another member of the team is going after the ball—tampering scandal — we‘ll tell you who. and i‘ll have the latest from westminster, as we talk trade, the irish border and poland... that‘s still to come. hello, it was a fine start for many

this morning, a loss of sunshine around that very soon rain began to spread its way northwards across england and wales courtesy of this weather front you can see here. there was also another weather front across the north of scotland, producing some showers with some snow over the hill tops. this band of rain continued to spread northwards this evening and overnight to reach the far north of england, far south of scotland and northern ireland, again with someone treeless over the high ground of the north pennines. a quieter story further south, clear interludes, north pennines. a quieter story furthersouth, clear interludes, one or two showers and generally for most of us although the chilly it will be largely frost—free. for the all—important will be largely frost—free. for the all—importa nt easter weekend, looking very mixed, low pressure a lwa ys looking very mixed, low pressure always nearby, it will be cool with rain at times but not a wash—out. there will be some sunshine, the best of it on easter sunday. this is the picture for good friday, cloudy across northern england into northern ireland, outbreaks of rain, some snow over high ground. the window are fine and dry weather

before the next band of rain pushes into southern parts of england later on in the day. again on the cool side, temperatures of 49 degrees. for saturday, that weather front will be bringing some cloud and outbreaks of rain to england and wales, so quite a wet day to some. probably the best of the dry and brighter weather for scotland and northern ireland, there will continue to be some showers across scotland. another cool day on the cards. we are in between with assistance as such on easter day, sunday, it is looking the driest day of the easter —— in between weather systems. to the south we are looking to the next weather front, which will be arriving across cornwall and devon to bring somewhat weather here. this is the weather front responsible, it will slowly start to spread its way north across the country as we head into easter monday, but it will be bumping into some pretty cool air, lying across the uk pretty much during the whole of the weekend. if it does move its way northwards, we are likely to see a spell of snow. we think it will be

mainly over the higher ground, there could be some wet snow down at lower levels during easter monday as it spreads its way northwards, but it will quickly turn back to rain across the south as milder air begins to pushing. probably the best of the weather on easter monday will be across scotland, where we have some sunshine. but this now could be disruptive, particularly if it has accumulated down to lower levels, so keep tuned to bbc local radio and the weather forecast. until we leave the new prime minister may tells prospective pregnant that they will be strong and united. moscow says it will expel the same number of diplomats as the number of russian officials being kicked out of the us more on both of those stories shortly. also in the next half—hour. we have the assets and personnel in place to secure the city stop it has guided new secure the city stop it has guided n ew o rlea ns secure the city stop it has guided new orleans through natural disasters through disasters, but does the mayor have it in him, to lead a bruised democratic party? let us know your thoughts by using the hashtag... ‘beyond—one—hundred—days‘ let‘s get more on our top story ——

one year to go until brexit. if you‘re a business in the uk and you‘re looking ahead to that moment, what are your hopes and fears for the future? james hookham from the freight transport association and tim martin the founder and chairman ofjd wetherspoon. good to have you both with us. james, you first, your members, the hauliers cannot go around hard borders like banks