he, like many, has been awake since well before 4am and we are grateful to you for that. we'll come to that ina to you for that. we'll come to that in a moment the let's start with the new york times and another senior trump administration official resigns and his letter setting out his reasons for doing so suggest that his view on policy when it comes to defence could not be further from that of president trump. well, i think it seems as if it isa trump. well, i think it seems as if it is a never ending stream of resignations and i think we are going to continue seeing those over the next few, and maybe actually, then the president will get the kind of cabinet that he actually wants. the theory is, i think this has also affected markets in the us a bit is that generaljim mattis was seen as one of the solid people that sort of the president in check. one of the grown—ups in the room. the president in check. one of the grown-ups in the room. one of the grown—ups. i do not want to use that term that since you have used it, i will use it to. the president has

just gone off without even informing jim mattis, i think he is thought thatis jim mattis, i think he is thought that is a step too far. he did not go quietly as some have done and he says that the president should get a defence secretary hughes is a better aligned with yours on these other subjects. that is really a sting against president trump. —— whose views. one of the key lines was about the importance of good relations with our lives. yes, and i think this all came about, i think the trigger was the president's withdrawal decision, to withdraw troops. and i think there is a feeling that this was premature, withdrawing from the theory and theatre. i think the feeling was that this was premature and that they had been no consultation with any of the allies and that this will affect america's relationships with affect america's relationships with a lot of key allies that had been so strong, especially throughout nato and doa strong, especially throughout nato and do a lot of organisations or the last 50 years. in so far, as things

currently stand, we do not know done no—one was going to replace in yet. the last two or three, you have had some are waiting in the wings but i think this month president by surprise. what is surprising is that we have not had the sort of torrent of three against the person residing, saying how terrible they were. so this has been actually quite respectful, so one wonders why that was but it is not usually the modus operandi of the president. —— resigning. this is the president said in generaljim mattis will be residing with distinction, it is not normally what people get when they resigned from the administration. let's move on, stating the, the arab news saying that the us is not the middle east's policeman, quoting president trump. this really underlining the more domestic looking presidency, the tone of it

much more, some would say isolationist. yes, ithink much more, some would say isolationist. yes, i think president trump during the campaign always stated that he was going to be america first. in some quarters, that has been interpreted as a withdrawing from the rest of the world of theatres in which america has been so important working with allies. another case in point, where the president has said he is not, it the president has said he is not, it the us is not the policeman of the middle east, and what the president is really indicating is that the region should sort out its own problems. and again, to align with the team we have just discussed, that this took allies by surprise, not least the kurdish group that has sought had some detection with us forces in the region, and so that will go, but also you have had comments from european countries saying that actually, we do not fully agree with that, including france, which is said actually, this isa france, which is said actually, this is a step that they do not agree

with. so once again, it seems as if this withdraw back into the us and thinking that the world sort out its problems. let's turn to the daily telegraph. its front page is our lead story of the briefing. the drone destruction at one of the uk's biggest airports, the second—biggest airport, gatwick, and this suspicion that it could be environmental activist behind the drone. i mean, it is speculation still at this stage and crucially, at this stage, they still have not managed to get they still have not managed to get the airport up and running the normal capacity. that is right, i meani normal capacity. that is right, i mean i feel terribly lucky because i went to gatwick about a day or so before the closure and this attack. it really also shows a number of things. first of all, the sheer chaos especially at a crucial time in terms of people going away because as holidays, a lot of children who are going to lapland to

miss their troops because of this. but it also highlights a number of things, one of which is the use of technology. —— trips. drones have been one of the key technologies over the last five to ten years and yet we did not see the dangers, and so yet we did not see the dangers, and so when this happens, it sort of highlights the fact that not everything is good about developments and new technologies. and as is often the case with new technologies, regulations then have to play catch up. that is right. to adapt. that is right, and if it is indeed eco— warriors that are to be blamed for this attack, if it is found to be so, we shall really be seeing in new front being opened up in using technology to fight environmental battle. there is an interesting story that caught our attention on the front of the financial times. china accused of global cyber offensive to steal trade secrets. this idea of stealing trade secrets. this idea of stealing trade secrets. this idea of stealing

trade secrets is not a new allegation in terms of being levelled against china, the us president repeatedly has accused them of intellectual property theft, but this seems to be on another level. i think the key thing about this particular story and this time is the level of detail we seem to be going into, and the group names apt ten is sort of names by the united kingdom and the united states and is said to have worked also injapan, and the figures are quite sort of startling, that the attack affected 45 united states tech companies, and 100,000 navy personnel that were affected by air some of these, by the stealing of these trade secrets, another, also affected on nasa computers. so the key thing is here

that although it is not a new theme is the level of detail that has been articulated and therefore, it looks as if both governments around the world will be taking action, given the level of detail that has been published. it is interesting that there is quite a range of industries that are apparently affected by this, aviation, satellites, finance and even consumer electronic. is the consistency, it looks as if it is right across the board. —— it is. and actually, industries that have come to be key industries in the world economy today, and so not only the defence side but also the, particularly on the tech side, i think that is the importance of the story. and this obviously all coming shortly after the hauwei situation. that is right, which was also of course mentioned in the news a short while ago. right, we have both been awake since well, it is still before

dawn here in london and apparently, we should be making the most of this time because liam, according to a report, is the most productive time of day. i have to tell you, it was not that i was coming on, i would not that i was coming on, i would not have been awake at 4am. not that i was coming on, i would not have been awake at 4amm not that i was coming on, i would not have been awake at 4am. it is interesting because what they identify, essentially what this report identifies is that a lot of the distractions which dropped a train of thought during the day, you can be midway through writing a report or reading something about that familiar king of the e—mail or the whatsapp or the text message, and the constant distractions mean that we perhaps take longer to get stuff done if we were doing it at four a.m.. -- ping. it also, it shows you how our world is today, how much we are attached to technology, how much we are attached to things that the attention immediately, as opposed to thinking that we can do it two days later or even an hour later. our world today is an instant one we feel that we must respond to whatever comes in,

so must respond to whatever comes in, so that is why... and so by saying that if you wake up at that time you do not have those distractions, i thought one the stinking that came up thought one the stinking that came up is that people such as tim cook, the chief executive of apple, is one of the early risers, but he is one of the early risers, but he is one of the early risers, but he is one of the early risers and some would say that he is responsible for some of the technology that is that we are of the technology that is that we a re really of the technology that is that we are really hook. that is true. it is are really hook. that is true. it is a bizarre cycle, it is interesting. not everyone agrees that the report, some people rather wittily replying on twitter saying things like what if your definition of success includes not having to get up at four a.m.? ithink includes not having to get up at four a.m. ? i think that will be martin. please continue to keep waking up that early, it is good to have you on the programme with as. it is good to have you with us as well, thank you for the early start. we will see shortly, goodbye. —— see shortly. really ridiculous

—— see you shortly. hello there. on thursday, most of the showers were across western areas, many eastern areas did manage to dodge them and actually had a fine end to the day. but as we head on into this morning, certainly for the early hours, it's looking wetter and windier as the next frontal system pushes up from the south—west, bringing outbreaks of rain to england and wales, and as far north as northern ireland, perhaps the far south of scotland. very mild in the south as well to begin friday morning, all thanks to this mild plume tied in with this weather system. now, the weather front straddling central areas will tend to linger on throughout the day, so it looks like northern england, southern scotland, and northern ireland will hold onto cloud and outbreaks of rain, whereas for the rest of england and wales, skies will tend to brighten up into the afternoon, with some sunshine developing. apart from a few showers for scotland, there'll be some sunshine here as well. quite a divide in temperatures. south of that weather front, it's very mild across much of england and wales, 11 to maybe 1a degrees in london. to the north of it, temperatures nearer normal for the time of year. so that's how it's looking through today.

now, as we end the day, it looks like the winds picking up further across england and wales, gusting a0 to maybe 50 miles an hour for cornwall and devon, and across the english channel. you can see the isobars blowing in from the west. as we head on into saturday, we'll see this brief ridge of high—pressure, which will bring a fine day for most. this next weather system, though, will bring some rain to some of us for sunday. so this is the picture for saturday then. we've got fairly brisk westerly winds, a little bit lighter certainly than what we'll see through today. plenty of sunshine. a few showers across the north—west, pretty normal temperatures for the time of year, but again, quite mild across the south. now, it'll stay dry through saturday night, before this next weather system begins to push up from the south—west of england, bringing the next spell of wet and windy weather, again to the southern half of the country, as we move on into sunday, but it's going to be a fairly mild start once again to sunday, a few chilly spots further north. the rain will be quite heavy for a time as it pushes its way eastwards. so, into sunday afternoon, i think we should start to see a little bit of dry weather, although it'll stay quite cloudy with a few showers around. the best of the sunshine for the northern half of the country.

nearer normal temperatures in the north, again pretty mild in the south, 12s and 13s. this weather front may return northwards again as we head on in towards christmas eve, but as a big area of high pressure begins to build late on christmas eve and into christmas day, it looks like things will settle down. so many of us will have a dry day through christmas day, with maybe a little bit of sunshine. but only clear spells overnight christmas eve means we could start with some patchy frost and fog in places. however, for most, it's going to be mainly dry. good morning, welcome to breakfast, withjon kay and louise minchin. our headlines today: flights are due to resume at gatwick in the next few minutes, but passengers are warned they face another day of severe disruption. a huge operation continues to find the drones that brought the airport to a standstill. police now say shooting them down is an option. over 100,000 passengers have been caught up in the chaos. i'll be looking at what rights you have if yourflight is cancelled, and whether you can expect any compensation. bill turnbull‘s decision to speak out about his prostate cancer has led to a big rise in the number

of men being tested. we catch up with bill as he meets one of them.