the headlines: the bbc has new evidence that china is building a vast network of detention camps in its western region of xinjiang. there are claims that up to a million muslim uighurs are being held indefinitely without trial. the chinese government says the camps are simply vocational training centres. donald trump has called saudi arabia's response to the murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi a total fiasco and "the worst coverup ever". the state department has announced that the visas of those involved in the killing will be revoked. mr kashoggi's son has met the saudi crown prince. at least 20 people have been injured — some seriously — in rome, where an escalator at a metro station ran out of control. it's thought most of those involved were russian football fans in the city for a european champions league match. it is reported someone jumping it is reported someonejumping up and down on the escalator before the accident. —— some were. now on bbc news, hardtalk

with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. turkey's president erdogan says the murder of saudi journalist jamal khashoggi was a savage crime meticulously planned in riyadh. he wants all those responsible to stand trial in turkey. as the pressure on the house of saud mounts, will the kingdom's partners in the west take punitive action? my guest today is alan duncan, minister of state in the uk foreign office. has the time come for britain to end lucrative arms exports to saudi arabia? siralan duncan,

sir alan duncan, welcome to hardtalk. top of the agenda of international affairs right now is what president erdogan of turkey has said about the murder ofjamal khashoggi, the saudi journalist killed in istanbul. does the british government except that he was murdered on orders that go to the very top of the saudi state? we can certainly take the first half of that sentence, he was undoubtedly murdered. president erdogan has outlined today how it was planned, and that is the question, how far up the line did it go? the foreign secretary is made absolutely clear that we are appalled by this incident, and there are many u na nswered incident, and there are many unanswered questions and explanations. so i think over the next few days, more facts will emerge which will allow us to have a

clear view about what further steps we might consider taking. you talk of fa cts we might consider taking. you talk of facts emerging all the time, the latest news reporting we have suggest that body parts have now been found. this is a truly gruesome exercise of investigation, but do you in the british government believe that the saudi arabian government is in any way co—operating satisfactorily with the turkish investigation? well, we have had some very, i think, unconvincing explanations, which started with denial and which now admit murder, the question is who was complicit as and clearly, the people who did this we re and clearly, the people who did this were pa rt of and clearly, the people who did this were part of the saudi government, theissueis were part of the saudi government, the issue is one of authorisation and basically who commanded at? and so and basically who commanded at? and so that is what i think has to be established as soon as possible. was complicit. you are suggesting there was some sort of mystery about it, but there was not really, was their? we have seen the names of various

individuals, they had been picture by the turkish government in cctv images and various other things. they are known to be close to crown prince mohammed bin salman, there was close communication with the office of mohammed bin salman me out. it is quite clear given the nature of the saudi government that authorisation could only have come from a very, very senior position. —— mohammed bin salman. from a very, very senior position. -- mohammed bin salman. you are right, that of course is very serious allegation. are you disputing any of what i have just said? there's no doubt about who did it because the faces a placemat, there is no doubt about the proximity to the government in the way you and so any further accusation has to be proven. they have just found the body parts, it is said. there is talk of there being tape recordings, or recordings of conversations, which if they were to be revealed could be absolutely conclusive, but we have not heard yet, so president erdogan has made a

statement today and i think it is quite clear that there is more information to come out and i think we have to wait for it to come out for perhaps countries collectively react to this, rather than ministers sitting in a studio, speculating about the latest report. some countries have acted already. germany has already, yesterday, angela merkel has already said that germany will end arms sales to saudi arabia, the canadian government has expressed a willingness, preparedness to freeze a huge arms deal that it has signed with the saudis, governments acting, why isn't the british government? yes, the germans are not in the same position as us and the canadians have already been a difficult sort of spat with the saudis over the last few weeks. because of their criticism of saudi arabia's human rights record. indeed, and we are very critical when we meet them, but we have to make a distinction i think between a long—term

relationship with saudi arabia, the kingdom, at the country, and our response to this specific incident, which is, as you rightly say, utterly repulsive and repugnant. which is, as you rightly say, utterly repulsive and repugnantlj am utterly repulsive and repugnant.” am just wondering whether you now feel a sense of regret for things you said in a fairly recent past about saudi arabia, not least in july this year, he said quite categorically, saudi arabia is not, not of the leadership. do you regret that now? well, i think historically, that is absolutely right. but actually, it does give rise to a fundamental question indeed, you may want me to answer even though you have not asked specifically, which is that habitually, the family has been the checks and balances of the royal family in saudi arabia, but i think the question is is that still the case or have too many of them being locked up or silenced? or had all their assets confiscated? locked up or silenced? or had all their assets confiscated ? is locked up or silenced? or had all their assets confiscated? is the saudi royalfamily their assets confiscated? is the saudi royal family is still that

collective unit that over the last 70 or 80 years it always has been? it is an intellectual question, it can be answered in due course, but i think that is a valid question. let's listen to the words of jamal khashoggi, the late jamal khashoggi himself. he wrote not long ago, of course it is no word is that we see ina course it is no word is that we see in a particular light. he said religious fanaticism that had tarnished saudi arabia's image for decades has now given way to a new and perhaps more pernicious fanaticism, cold wind loyalty to our leader. he said this is tragically the return of the arab strongman, at this time in the form of mohammed bin salman. do you agree with his very worrying analysis?” bin salman. do you agree with his very worrying analysis? i think a lot of people are worried about the direction which saudi arabia is going, there are conflicting strands of course in what is happening. on the one hand, women are driving, there are a form will stop on the

other hand, there is a massive concentration of power, which some people have labelled obvious state ca ptu re. people have labelled obvious state capture. now, i believe that at its best, the form of government that has taken root in a lot of arabia can work very well if the broader family are part of a more collective decision—making process, that does appear to be being eroded in saudi arabia. so i think it is a legitimate question to ask. yeah, i just wonder whether yukoner if you are honest, would not accept that over the years you have turned a blind eye to the abuses of the saudi regime, including internal human rights abuses and external policy decisions, which since 2015 have included waging a war in yemen which has cost thousands of civilian lives, and yet you personally, for example, took an all—expenses—paid trip to saudi arabia, one by the saudi arabian government in 2015, and you have continued ever since in public to defend the saudi arabian

garb. you can regret that now? after i was development minister, i had a period when i was on the backbenches andi period when i was on the backbenches and i let our conservative middle east council in the conservative party, and i think it is absolutely right that we have had engagement with the golf will stop i actually have some clear views on yemen. actually think it is a war that could have been prevented. —— with the gulf. some of the failure of the west to restrain, some of the result ofan west to restrain, some of the result of an initiative which removed a leader in hout and created a vacuum into which the houthis dan walker. there is also the point of view on the saudi side that the yemenis were firing missiles into saudi arabia and therefore, the saudis have the right to defend themselves and to defend the legitimate government of yemen, so this is a very complicated issue, as always, in the middle east. is not so complicated to be

the united nations panel of expert report which concludes that most of the documented civilian casualties, and we're talking about thousands of them, most of them are the responsibility of the coalition airstrikes, led by saudi arabia, and there are serious concerns, said this un panel of expert, serious concerns about the targeting processes used. that is a pretty straightforward proposition. the saudis have been bombing civilians, they have killed children in school buses, there is now a call for an international war crimes investigation, and the labour party opposition in the uk says britain must stop arming the saudis now.” think there are serious concerns. i never think, thought it possible to control yemen from the air, i have to say. but there is a legitimate foundation for the origins of the war, and the purpose behind it in many respects. we are not part of

this coalition, but where possible, we will give the sort of advice, be it legal and practical, to do this. now, politics in world diplomacy is not always straightforward and morally black and white, as you your question. —— is so straightforward. if they were not buying weapons from us, we would they turn to, china, russia? what kind of art images that? it is a decision to take on its own merits, on its moral merits, apart from anything else. —— what kind of argument is that? the labour party has been quite clear that they demand that those arms sales, which have been worth over £4 billion to the united kingdom, the labour party says never mind the money, there is a moral imperative to suspend those arms sales now. are you saying the government rejects that? what i am saying is that the labour party have the privilege of opposition without the privilege of opposition without the responsibilities of government, what we want to do in government is to start a proper political process

to start a proper political process to bring this conflict to an end, so that you can have government in yemen which is not supported by uranium backed missiles, which is not leading to the houthis firing those missiles into saudi arabia. we wa nt to those missiles into saudi arabia. we want to see an end to this conflict, whether houthis preferably go back to their traditional areas and would restore proper government in yemen. you are not prepared to do something that the german government has already done, which is enjoy list put a halt to those arms sales? you are not, it seems, prepared to accept what chrystia freeland, the canadian foreign minister hasjust said, when she said that there are very big questions about the relationship with saudi arabia and those questions need to be addressed now. it sounds to me you just want to carry on as normal. no, we keep this constantly under review, under a very, very strict set of rules for determining whether we supply arms or not. but the events of the last few days, the last three weeks, are

of course calling into question anyone's you have saudi arabia. and this impulsive murder in istanbul is not going to go uninvestigated and unsponsored to. a final thought on practical actions that could be taken. it is quite clear you are giving the message they will not be the halt and suspension of arms sales. in your party, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the house of commons, says if riyadh has murdered khashoggi or sanction the killing, there should be, it should be a downgrading of diplomatic relations now and they boycott of saudi arabia by uk ministers. you at least accept that the government must go that far? well, no ministers have gone to the business summit that is taking place at the moment. indeed, liam fox has pulled out of it, so to some extent, that very point has been answered. well, look, what happened after sergei skripal, we expelled a bunch of russian diplomats, intelligence

people from london, other countries followed suit in a show of solidarity. is it a scribble's poisoning merger that kind of action, surely the outrageous murder ofjamal action, surely the outrageous murder of jamal khashoggi meret action, surely the outrageous murder ofjamal khashoggi meret at action, surely the outrageous murder of jamal khashoggi meret at least action, surely the outrageous murder ofjamal khashoggi meret at least a similar sort of british reaction? well, i am sure there will be some reaction more broadly across the world but it is not an exact parallel with the use of military grade nerve agent british soil, killing one person in amesbury a few days later. -- merits. in what was directly traceable to stocks that only the russian state could have made, which were legal and which they should have got rid of years ago under international treaties. and the detective work was absolutely precise, with both us and by all of the people involved to really trace it absolutely to the kremlin without doubt, so it was, i agree the murder of the shot is absolutely heinous, but this was of absolutely heinous, but this was of a scale that also threatened

international treaties, where military grade nerve agent could equally have been used in madrid, paris, rome, berlin, orsomething. and it was on our soil, so we were in the lead in terms of the accusations and investigations in the yes, interesting use that phrase we we re the yes, interesting use that phrase we were in the lead on skripal and there is no question i think that over many yea rs there is no question i think that over many years the british government and your particular department of foreign office has prided itself on its influence, the dof prided itself on its influence, the d of dap —— degree of leverage it has in the international arena. let me change focus and talk about praxis, something taking up much of yourtime, praxis, something taking up much of your time, the government's time —— brexit. would you agree withjohn major, former leader of york party, former prime minister, who said brexit, much of the world will perceive britain, brexit britain, to bea perceive britain, brexit britain, to be a middle sized, middle ranking nation that is no longer

supercharged by its alliances, i.e., brexit is doing profound damage to britain's place in the world.” think there is a danger that it mightand we think there is a danger that it might and we have to make sure that it doesn't. and in order to make sure it doesn't, we do need to reach an agreement in the next few weeks with the eu which is mutually beneficial and not mutually harmful. and although some voices in our own governing party are very critical of the prime minister, my view is you've got to be 100% behind her otherwise you weaken her negotiating position. parliamentary arithmetic is very tight. and we have to back all the way to the point where i hopein all the way to the point where i hope in what will probably be the last minute that we end up with a deal which can determine our future relationship with the eu and make sure that we do not suffer the consequences that sirjohn major described. the point of all this is that the prime minister is being manipulated by the almost impossible pressures inside her own party. if one looks at her positions on things

like the northern ireland backstop, which the british government had signed up to, this notion that there will always be a safety net, whatever the status of a future trade agreement between the uk and the eu, there will always be a safety net which ensures that northern ireland and the irish republic will not have a hard border between them. that guarantee offered by the british as long ago as last december it now seems has been taken off the table because theresa may can't get it by the brexiteers and her allies in the democratic unionist party. no, ithink her allies in the democratic unionist party. no, i think you're wrong on this. i don't think that she is you no ducking and weaving. i think are great quality is that theresa may is unflappable and she does not get pushed around. there is no doubt that every waking day the poor prime minister takes in a lot of incoming fire from many angles, mostly of incoming fire from many angles, m ostly fro m of incoming fire from many angles, mostly from those who want a very ha rd mostly from those who want a very hard brexit, or no deal at all. but she doesn't budge and what she is doing is she is saying very clearly

that the union of the united kingdom, the four countries of the uk, must be held together and that the peace process behind northern ireland mustn't be interrupted by treating northern ireland differently from the rest of the united kingdom. now, she has stuck to that, but the problem we have got is to try and find a solution which squares the circle between the principles of the eu and the principles of the eu and the principles of the eu and the principles of holding together... these circles can't be squared and ifi these circles can't be squared and if i may interrupted was wet and have time but the irish foreign minister simon coatney said yesterday there would be no withdrawal agreement without the irish backstop, end of story. so all of this shuffling of papers and different positions for different people, in the end it's quite simple, theresa may is here, the eu position is here, the brexiteers, who appear to have the means to stop theresa may from making any more concessions to brussels, they sit over here, there is no way of making

this work. well, i think there will be away and actually once you analyse it, simon coatney, who is very smart, and you know very fair—minded, essentially have the same objective as we do, which is that we don't want to undermine the northern irish peace process, we don't want a high border between northern ireland and the rest of the island of ireland and that is essentially sort of more less the backstop. so we are all heading for the same thing. we all want the same thing. it isjust a matter of the same thing. we all want the same thing. it is just a matter of how we construct it so that it is consistent with the principles of the eu... with respect you say we wa nt the eu... with respect you say we want the same thing, not all people in the tory party want the same thing. no, of course they don't. we have 40 mps in the stand up for brexit group including your former boss boris johnson brexit group including your former boss borisjohnson who are adamant that theresa may's so—called checkers plan must be chucked and there must be a complete renegotiation based on a so—called canada plus free trade deal so you don't all want the same thing and

people like emmanuel macron in europe are saying, listen, your political problems, mrs may, at home, cannot be our business, just come to us when you've actually got an idea of what you want —— chequers plan. no, we did that in the chequers deal in the negotiations followed by the point about canada plus is it doesn't address the ireland problem, it is still a problem, so you know people can argue among themselves and adopt postures and positions but it doesn't mean that they want that in any way can be delivered. and you mentioned 40. this isjust a website. in the end we don't know the names are and the numbers mitel. 0f the names are and the numbers mitel. of course there are differences. that's why we had a different dad —— had to have a referendum because this has been going on for 40 years. they are tearing your party apart. nicky morgan a former cabinet minister said the other day this party, the tory party, your party, is now under "existential strain", friendships between colleagues are irreparably damaged because of bitter arguments over brexit. the

language has become toxic including talk of from brexiteers killing zones talk of from brexiteers killing zones for the prime minister, her carrying and use into a meeting so she can hang herself, a hot knife being turned in her body, what on earth is going on inside your party? well, i think that is disgusting language, and should be condemned totally. it is happening everyday. yes, i know and it has happened before in politics and i think i quite agree that some people's if you like sense of decency and decorum is getting out of control. but the point is your party, given the atmosphere, the toxic, poisonous culture within an hour over brexit cannot possibly deliver a coherent brexit deal. actually i think it can. because i think that in the next few weeks, if the prime minister gets a deal and comes back to parliament with it, the whole chemistry of all of this will change and we will have a vote in parliament which i actually believe

would vote for a deal. and i think that would... hang on, this is interesting, so you have a vision of a deal, it is a deal she has done with the eu 27 and you tell me it can get through the british parliament but it won have the support surely some of the people i have just referred to with the language they are using, so presumably you are thinking you can peel off some members at least of the opposition labour party, is that it? no, we will peel off a lot of those making noise against because in the end, you know, it is probably, or it will be, the only deal that's on the table. and this will be what, chequers, of a sort? yes, that is my belief and why think we should support it and if the prime minister reaches a deal in what will probably be november we must back 100%. i don't see how your party ca n must back 100%. i don't see how your party can survive that. your former boss the foreign secretary boris johnson, he says chequers is akin to a suicide vest being wrapped around the british nation. your response to

that was, it is one of the most disgusting things i've heard in mullen pollock —— modern politics, you said this is the end of boris johnson, if it isn't now, i will make sure it is later. i put it to you if you and people like boris johnson whom you used to work for are at war with each other even before this chequers deal is put back on the table before parliament at the deal with europe, your party is finished. no. the conservative party is always bigger than the event it has to cope with. in the case of borisjohnson he is as much a journalist as he is a politician so he uses these four florid language and what was happening is he wanted to go to the party conference in october with a wish to undermine the prime minister. you express and its plisson desire to finish him. —— and explicit desire. you can fire a bit of boris back at boris in order to try to just get him to back off ahead of the party conference. in the end actually that is what happened and think that the prime minister will be able to deliver this. i think talk by people

challenging her are much exaggerated. a final thought, if you are wrong, if parliament rejects the deal that theresa may brings back, for you, what's the best option then,is for you, what's the best option then, is it a change of leader in then, is it a change of leader in the tory party, and a different kind of deal, is it a general election, or is ita of deal, is it a general election, or is it a people's so—called vote, another referendum on britain's relationship with europe, including the possibility we actually stay in after all? well, i think, you know, to people's vote you need an act of parliament to make it possible and that ain't gonna happen at the moment, but if a deal was put to parliament and it was rejected that would cause far greater uncertainty than anything we have been discussing today. so you basically have no idea what would happen? no one does, we would be an unknown territory if that would happen and that's why i don't want it to happen which is why as an older member of parliament appealed to my party to stick together, to stop having a go

at the prime minister or the time and to realise that, you know, if we get all this wrong we might end up with the marquee star brexit of all plus a labour government led by jeremy corbyn which is like having fidel castro in downing street —— muckiest. alan duncan we have to end it there but i thank you very much for being on hardtalk. thank you very much. thank you very much indeed. hello there, good morning. this mild weather is not going to last forever, but yesterday we had temperatures of 18 in bridlington, and along the coast here in scarborough, beautiful sunshine from one of our weather watchers. gusty winds, mind you, and it's by the end of the week, as the wind direction changes to more of a northerly, that we'll really draw down some much colder air by friday. at the moment, though,

we're south of these weather fronts here, so we're in the milder air, this envelope of milder air with high pressure shaping our weather. around the high pressure, we've got a north—westerly wind that's drawing in a fair bit of cloud. it means the best of the sunshine, sheltered eastern parts of scotland, eastern england, southern england and south wales. more cloud towards the north—west, bit more rain gathering in the north—west of scotland. probably not as windy on wednesday. it may feel a little bit warmer. temperatures again up to 16, maybe 17 degrees. as we head through the evening and overnight, we may see a bit more rain arriving in the north—west of scotland, particularly over the highlands. away from here, though, most bases will still be dry, i suspect. we'll see some cloud coming further south in to england and wales and temperatures, five, six, seven degrees. moving into thursday, there's probably going to be more cloud across the uk, the sunshine a bit more limited. the winds starting to pick up ahead of this rain that's developing more widely in the north and west of scotland later on in the day. but ahead of that, those temperatures are going to be a little bit lower, so more like 12—14 degrees. the really cold air comes behind that rain, which is on that cold front there. does what it says on the tin. we've got colder air coming as we draw down the winds from the north all the

way from the arctic. as we move into friday, we soon see any rain clearing the south—east, then we're looking at showers, wintry in northern parts of scotland, a significant windchill here. most of the showers down the western side of the uk. further east, those showers arriving along those coastal areas later on. but look at the temperatures, significantly lower and they‘ re not going to be rising any time soon. we've still got high pressure around, but as we move into the weekend, it's sitting to the west of us, so we're drawing down this really cold northerly wind. again, more wintry showers across the northern half of scotland. fewer showers down the western coasts of england and wales, and indeed actually across northern ireland. most of them coming off the north sea to the eastern side of engaland and scotland.

another cold day, seven, eight, maybe nine degrees at best. looking ahead, more of a north—easterly wind from sunday and into monday, so most of the wet weather will be in the east. there'll be some sunshine around, but at least for the coming days, it's going to be pretty cold. hello. this is the briefing. i'm ben bland. our top story: the brexit border warning. the uk's own officials warn of customs gridlock if there's no deal. the migrants bound for america. president trump calls the exodus a national emergency. the moment an escalator runs out of control in italy. russian football fans are injured. making it to the mountains. amazon's delivering online shopping to the himalayas, but what does it mean for the people who live there?