you're watching beyond 100 days. hanging up on huawei — the us delivers a crippling blow to the chinese telecom giant — effectively barring business with us companies. the move has the potential to slow 56 roll out around the world with big implications for the uk. the world's two biggest economies are already in a trade war — targetting huwei opens a new front. us lawmakers view intelligence claiming iran poses a heightened threat to america. the uk says it agrees with the assessment. also on the programme... theresa may gives us a timetable for her departure — borisjohnson says of course he will be running when the office becomes vacant.

meb keflezighi crossing the line for his 25th marathon. and he became the first athlete to triumph in the new york and boston marathons — we meet four time olympian meb keflezighi. hello, i'm jane o'brien in washington, christian fraser is in london. the trump administration has made plenty of threats against the chinese telecoms company huawei. but today the president went further. he's moved to restrict the company's access to american markets and american products. us firms like qualcomm, intel, and broadcom sell 11 billion dollars worth of microchips and specialist parts that go into huawei smartphones. those phones are powered by google android software. so potentially this has implications for millions of people using huawei worldwide. american officials have been warning the europeans for months that the united states would stop sharing intelligence,

if they use huawei and other chinese technology to build the core of their 56 networks. this week a senior huawei official spoke to the bbc, and denied they would ever be forced to hand over intelligence to the chinese government. all countries have a similar kind of law but there is no mandate in the law that we have to hand over customer data or intelligence that we do not wish to hand over or we think should be sensitive. it says you must cooperate with national intelligence work. all national companies have to coordinate with governments and if they operate in a country, even in britain, they will have to collaborate. let's speak now to charles clancy, cybersecurity professor at virginia tech and emily taylor, associate fellow at chatham house who's in oxford. charles, you have testified before congress on this. how does huawei pose a threat?

certainly, the connections to the chinese government are a big concern with respect to huawei but it goes beyond that. if you look at the origin story behind huawei, it doesn't build much confidence in them wanting to follow the rules or international norms. additionally, the uk oversight board pointed out significant problems with their softwa re significant problems with their software and recommended that there was a significant risk associated in using them in any critical systems. emily, wejust set using them in any critical systems. emily, we just set out why this has implications for those around the world, particularly those using huawei technology, but why is the uk more dependent on huawei than the united states? huawei has been providing critical telecommunications infrastructure in the uk for more than a decade, and also provides a lot of our existing 46 also provides a lot of our existing ag infrastructure and in this way, the uk is like many other countries.

5g we'll be riding on top of existing ag infrastructure so if you decided right now you were going to cut all ties with huawei and every chinese company, you would have a big job and they would be a big expense and delay because you would have to rip out existing infrastructure. so, what impact could this have for the global roll—out of 56? should people go straight to six g? there are conversations in the united states about whether we should skip 5g altogether but uk advertisers have already advertised advertisers have already advertised a start date for their 5g provision. vodafone announced it would be rolling out in five cities in the uk injuly. so it's happening right now and ina injuly. so it's happening right now and in a way, these announcements are coming quite late in the day for

countries who have already been working to launch their 5g. huawei has said it's already got contracts in a0 countries and expects to have shipped 100,000 in a0 countries and expects to have shipped100,000 base stations this month. charles, each generation of this wi reless charles, each generation of this wireless technology takes around 15 yea rs wireless technology takes around 15 years from early stage research all the way through to deployment. would you say from research you've done that actually western companies have been somewhat by the curve and we need to do a lot better when it comes to 66? 6g comes to 66? 66 has already started. the 15 year clock started a few years ago. huawei is waiting, given their large market share. we are going to be focused a lot on the opportunities of 66 but 56 is going to be transformative, globally. as jane was saying, you are part of

that congressional hearing. how will the ban work? will it be a blanket ban or is it up to the chamber of commerce or the commercial part of government to decide which companies are banned from operating in america and which countries have to take decisions not to use huawei technology? the executive order focuses primarily on equipment from companies who have connections to governments that could have an influence on the use of that technology. the prime target is china and huawei. we are still waiting for how the rules will work and the department of commerce has a period of time to come up with those rules but the impact on the us will not be that large and particularly the four main wireless carriers have indicated they have plans to use huawei in their networks and have no huawei in their networks and have no huawei equipment currently in their networks. the impact will be on the small carriers who do have some

huawei in their networks currently. emily, these networks are now so embedded in all aspects of our lives. is there a growing sense we are going to have to trade technology for security? hopefully we will be able to do both, but we have to do a lot better on the security bit, that's for sure. the three major risks that are called out with using any company, particularly huawei, as they could be espionage, disruption or termination. any network that is capable of being controlled remotely is also capable of being taken over. i think what's happened in the uk within the last ten years will provide some in insight in how to manage these, and we've been cooperating with huawei staff, using

an evidence—based approach and trying to get into the software code, into the equipment and really identify real risks rather than hypotheticals. 0k, emily and charles, thank you for your thoughts. they will be a lot of people in the uk and europe who think this is all part of donald trump's trade war with china and it will blow over. if he is replaced in 2020, the problem might blow away but look at this tweet from a senior senator in congress who sits on the judiciary committee and the armed services committee. that tells you that in fact this is going to be an american policy and there are implications in this. there is cross—party agreement on huawei for uk intelligence services and also for the uk government.

in fact, i think that's the news line right there, christian. there isa line right there, christian. there is a rare bipartisan agreement on the potential threat that huawei poses, and i think it raises larger questions about how do we deal with foreign countries like china and to some extent russia, who don't share us values or western values and yet oui’ us values or western values and yet our big trading partners. this isn't going to go awayjust with huawei. particularly when a company like huawei is involved. leaders — otherwise known as the gang of eight — have been getting a classified briefing today on iran. the trump admistration claim they have photographs and intelligence that show the iranians are plotting attacks against american interests in the middle east. the europeans remain largely skeptical, but today the british foreign secretaryjeremy hunt

cleared up any suggestion that britain is at odds with its closest ally. here's his tweet. it is reported that president trump is worried, members of his cabinet — read that asjohn bolton — are pushing him into a conflict he doesn't want. the national security adviser makes no bones about his hostility towards iran and his desire for regime change. iran says it has no desire for a war with the us. joining us is the former us deputy secretary of state bill burns, author of a new book, the back channel. thank you forjoining me. iran of course is one of the many troublesome countries, shall we put it that way, that came across your desk at the state department. how would you assess the current threat? i think would you assess the current threat? ithink iran would you assess the current threat? i think iran does pose a threat to the united states, the interests of oui’ the united states, the interests of our friends across the middle east in many respects but i think it was a colossal mistake for president

trump to pull out of the nuclear agreement. i think the problem today in the administration strategy as it is pursuing a peculiarform of coercive diplomacy, which is aiming maximum pressure not so much at producing another nuclear deal but producing another nuclear deal but producing the capitulation of this regime andi producing the capitulation of this regime and i don't think that is realistic. there seems to be some confusion about the strategy or policy itself. senator lindsey graham, a close trump ally who is also in charge of the committee who oversees funding forforeign operations the committee who oversees funding for foreign operations telling the white house that they are simply not communicating. let's have a listen. we can't actually have a listen, but his comments were pretty forceful. no, we do have it. and i will tell the administration, you should pick up the phone and

call members of congress so we don't have a microphone put in ourface, ask us why we are doing something when we have no clue. so, what do you make of that disconnect? how problematic is that? it's pretty problematic. it's never a good sign for any administration strategy when your closest allies in congress and abroad are confused. in this case, it's notjust a problem of communication that's part of it, it's a problem of basic confusion in the strategy itself. the book is very aptly named. donald trump is trying the back channel, asking the iranians to call him some time but they are suggesting they will wait. isn't it somewhat ironic that he is trying to back channel these talks when he had a back door through the jc poa? it isa through the jc poa? it is a little bit beyond irony in that sense but i think it

underscores this diplomacy, which is very much in the interest of the united states to test the seriousness of and send a signal that the 12 of secretary pompeo, which i think are unrealistic, are not carved in stone and we can see if we can't make some progress. the solution is, of course, may well flow through moscow. your deal deals a lot with this relationship in the united states and moscow. in your research, did you feel that you can have a diplomatic relationship with president putin? is it possible to maintain an open relationship with him? i think you have to operate without illusions. i think the reality is you look at relations with vladimir

putin, the us is going to be operating within a narrow band, from the sharply competitive to the nastily adversarial. that is the challenge of diplomacy. how do you manage these big power relationship? it is important to preserve guardrails in that relationship, which is why i worry about the near colla pse which is why i worry about the near collapse of the old arms control architecture. it is also important not to give in to put in‘s aggressiveness in the short term but also in the long term not to give up on the possibility of healthier relations with russia. there has been such an enormous shake—up in the top levels of the cabinet with regard of foreign policy. who in the white house do you feel is shaping policy and can manage all of these complex situations? there are two different questions. in terms of shaping policy oftentimes it is done within the para meters oftentimes it is done within the parameters of iao and 280 characters

in president trump's tweets. there are protracted crises in the us. that is where you need a team around you in whom you need some trust who can manage these issues, bring honest opinions to the desk of the president and make sure that choices are clear, that people look at second and third order consequences in trying to carry out policy. thank you very much, bill behrens. theresa may's is in power — but in truth she has not been in control for many weeks. and today, finally, we were given a timetable that sets out the route for her departure. after a 90—minute meeting with the chair of the 1922 committee, sir graham brady, the conservatives confirmed that the prime minister will stay on for the impending vote on the withdrawal agreement bill, which is due in the house week in two weeks' time. but we have agreed, wrote sir graham, that she and i will meet

after the vote to agree a timetable for the election of a new leader. the implication of all that is that if she wins the vote next month, then the pm will stay on to fight the next stages of the bill as it progresses through the commons. if she fails, which at this stage looks highly likely, then she would be gone, and the process of selecting the new leader will begin. let's speak now to our political correspondent nick eardley who's in westminster. nick, how will a new leader actually change the basic fact that they can't agree on anything to do with brexit? an excellent question, and one that many conservatives have been asking today. just chatting to tory mps over the last few hours since that announcement was made, i think there isa announcement was made, i think there is a real sense in the party that whatever happens, the crisis will continue. even if theresa may goes, another leader will face the same arithmetic that the prime minister has come up time and time again.

parliament quite dimly can't agree on anything. speaking to one senior tory this afternoon who said that evenif tory this afternoon who said that even if the prime minister's deal was rejected, as everybody is expecting to happen at the start of june with the exception of a few in theresa may's in a circle, they will face the same problem. what do you do? how do you persuade parliament to come up with an alternative? there is a constant warning coming from downing street that if you reject whatever theresa may brings back on the 3rd ofjune, be that the deal we've spoken about so many times or a tweaked version with labour's backing. if that is rejected, the only alternatives, the government says, will be revoking or bleeding without —— or leaving without a deal. the government is stuck in this agonising groundhog day. do you think there was a feeling from the 1922 committee that they've got to

create some time for the next person in to come up with an alternative? i think that's exactly what's going on. there is a feeling within the party more broadly that the fourth bat for the prime minister getting a brexit deal through parliament has to be the last one. i think even some of theresa may ‘s key supporters within the party are of that view at the moment as well so they are saying if it goes down in they are saying if it goes down in the first week ofjune, if you face that defeat, we need to get this sorted. at that point we sit down, pan out how many weeks it's going to ta ke pan out how many weeks it's going to take as we look at the various candidates putting their names into the hat at the moment and let them fight it out. get to a point when we can put someone else in charge who will potentially come up with a new vision. how many times have we sat here and talked about... it seems

sometimes insurmountable problem is that a new leader would face as well. even though we are now in the position where we are talking about theresa may being brought down by theissue theresa may being brought down by the issue of europe we are not talking about a solution to the brexit problem and a new leader doesn't necessarily mean an answer. thank you very much indeed. a certain inevitability about today. we've had record defeats in the house and cataclysmic results in the local elections. the prime minister's popularity with mps and the country at large as collapsed. the labour party probably looking forward to the prospect of a general election but look at this from yougov of today. only one poll, but why oh why is the opposition leader

jeremy corbyn less popular, only by a margin, but still less popular than an outgoing prime minister? both of them, as you can see from that, less popular than nigel farage, which has implications for the elections. and where is nigel farage in all this? top of the polls, and likely to do very well with his brexit party next week so that is the problem for the conservatives. there you go. a us middle school has closed for the remainder of the school year after authorities found it was contaminated with radioactive chemicals. officials say a nearby air monitor detected enriched uranium at zahn's corner middle school in piketon, southern ohio. more than 300 pupils and 25 staff attend the school. tributes have been paid to the former australian prime minister, bob hawke, who has died at the age of 89. he led the labour party to victory four times in the 1980s and ‘90s, making him the most electorally successful labour leader in the country's history.

charismatic and quick—witted, he also achieved the highest approval rating of any australian prime minister. come on in, the water is lovely. yes, we have another democrat who has entered the race to become president of the united states. he is the new york mayor bill deblasio — which it makes 2a. you can see we are almost running out of room on our crowded board of candidates. in his launch video released today mr deblasio labelled president trump a bully, while at the same time drawing our attention to the welfare policies he has championed as mayor of new york city — like the 15 dollar minimum wage. our correspondent nada tawfik is in manhattan. what makes him think he can win?

jane, he really had a two pronged approach to try to convince voters he was the best man for the job. first he said that as a new yorker he knew donald trump better than most. he called him con don, saying that deblasio can take you on. he is one of many candidates that has progressive ideas for this country but as the mayor of the nations largest city, he has a record of implementing progressive ideas successfully here so whether it be the programme that expanded the number of kids getting preschool education from 20,000 to 70,000 in this country or paid sick leave or a $15 minimum wage, he showed he was committed to these issues and he could expand it to the rest of the nation.

but there is a palpable lack of excitement in new york. three quarters of new yorkers don't want him to run, his own aides don't want him to run, his own aides don't want him to run, the city is 6—1 democrat. this is really problematic for deblasio because as much attention he is getting for announcing is the same amount of attention he is getting for people shaking their heads and screaming at him why? why are you doing this? new yorkers aren't really convinced that he is the best man for the job. they have had protesters greet him at his gym when he has gone to work out, telling him not to run. when he enhanced in an interview that he would run today, he was met with protests. they want him to focus on the unsolved issues in the city. the subways that he doesn't control, the governor does, and yet he has a part in that. homelessness is going up in the city. they feel these issues

will fall by the wayside if he is campaigning around the country. new yorkers may like him still but don't wa nt yorkers may like him still but don't want him to run and his harshest critics think he is just not up to thejob. thank you. of course, this is launch day. surely you can get some good headlines on your launch day, particularly in your own city. you would expect this paper to go ha rd you would expect this paper to go hard ona you would expect this paper to go hard on a democrat. oh, well. the only way is up. you think? it's a long way up. still has to beatjoe biden. i'm losing track of the names because there are so track of the names because there are so many of them at 2a. some diners at a restaurant in the north of england have had a spot of good fortune this week. they'd ordered a £260 bottle of wine. but the waiter at the hawksmoor in manchester accidentally gave them

a bottle worth £a,500 — almost 17 times the price. that never happens to me! never! never! me neither. the hawksmoor management announced the mistake on twitter. in fairly good humour, considering. and here is a picture of the two bottles in question. yes, they do look pretty similar. are we going to actually see them? no? plenty of people asking for the shift pattern of this employee then we can all visit and try our luck. what do you think? what is the most expensive bottle of wine you've ever had? a 240 bottle of wine is out of my league! this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news, we'll take you live

to the white house rose garden where donald trump will be laying out his immigration programme. it has been a good looking day with a lot of cloud around. most places remaining dry. high—pressure drifting northwards, allowing a stronger easterly breeze across the uk. some cloud feeding in off the north sea. it looks like the cloud will thicken up further with even some light patchy rain feeding in across central and eastern england as the night wears on. further north, lighter winds here and clear spells so another chilly one but further south, it will be less cold. friday, we start off quite a different feeling day. more cloud around with outbreaks of rain across

central and southern areas. a bit of sunshine around and probably the best of it will be across central and western scotland, maybe to northern ireland but there will be some low cloud with a few spots of rain and quite a breeze blowing along the north seacoast. feeling cooler here. thru friday night, it turns even wetter across parts of scotla nd turns even wetter across parts of scotland and northern england and quite windy here, feeling very different indeed. because of the cloud cover and also the breeze, not quite as chilly as it has been over the last few nights. into the weekend, it will be cloudier with some showers and longer spells of rain but there will be some sunshine at times in england and wales. here is the pressure chart, showing the wea k area is the pressure chart, showing the weak area of low pressure. we start saturday on quite a wet note in parts of scotland and northern england into north wales as well. bit of sunshine as well, certainly

for england and wales into the afternoon and feeling pleasantly warm i suppose. that could set off a fewer heavy and thundery showers. it will continue to be quite grey and cool along north sea coasts. on into sunday, we still have this area of low pressure at nearby so it will stay fairly cloudy with outbreaks of rain and showers across northern areas. the best of the sunshine will be across central and southern england where once again we will see a few heavy and slow moving showers. temperatures 19 degrees in the south—east and a little bit better in the north.

you're watching beyond 100 days. with me, jane o'brien in washington, christian fraser is in london. our top stories. china slams the us government's decision to blacklist huawei — and says it will take steps to protect its companies. us lawmakers view intelligence claiming iran poses a heightened threat to america. the uk says it agrees with the assessment. coming up in the next half hour. donald trump has pardoned the media mogul conrad black — who coincidentally wrote a book praising the president. and life lessons from a marathon champion — 26 for every mile and every race he's run.

right now people are gathering in the white house rose garden to hear president trump put forward a plan for immigration — one of the most divisive issues in the us. it reaffirms some of the things you'd expect — building a wall and improving the barriers already there. it also calls for a merit based system to attract the brightest and best to america. but what it doesn't mention may be even more contentious. there is nothing to address the plight of the so called dreamers — those young immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children. you'll remember they were given special status under the obama administration, a policy which president trump later overturned. the new plan will need cross party support, republicans are just as likely as democrats to find fault with it. there you see, they are all lined up, waiting to hearfrom the president.

let's talk to ron christie, former advisor to george w bush. is this a campaign manifesto or is ita is this a campaign manifesto or is it a serious attempt for discussion on emigration? good afternoon. this is dead on arrival even before the president has come to unveil it. the democrats do not want to give the president any legislative victory heading into his re—election next year and there heading into his re—election next yearand there are heading into his re—election next year and there are a number of republicans and democrats on capitol hill who are looking at that young people who came here through no fault of their own, there is no resolution to that, there is no appetite on capitol hill to pass a piece of legislation that does not have a fix in this. what is the point of this? theatrics, the president wants to go to the base and say, we are strong on the wall, we are doing what i campaigned on. this is something to give the republicans a little bit of cover. those who want to find a way to see

the president has his plan, the senator from south carolina has a slimmed down version of this, it will give the republicans the ability to see the president is leading on this, there to see what we can do in congress. leading on this, there to see what we can do in congresslj leading on this, there to see what we can do in congress. i had so many questions until you said it was dead on arrival. let us give it a go. let us on arrival. let us give it a go. let us kick out some of the elements. currently about 12% of the emigrants that qualify to enter the united states co m e that qualify to enter the united states come on the basis of their skills. around half are given permission to enter because of a family connection. as i understand that what he is going to set out would reverse those percentages, you would reverse those percentages, you would have much more chance of you had a skill and if you just had a family connection? good evening. that is exactly what they president and his allies are seeking to propose here this afternoon. what's the president wants to do is, what he said, bring the best and the brightest to america, not just because you have a relative, but because you have a relative, but because you have a relative, but because you have a skill, something you can give to the american

economy. there are people like me who are a bit more moderate on the republican conservative side who say, if you have a relative who is an american citizen you should have the ability to bring them here or there should be a party for them to come here, but the president and his supporters see a different path. this is a popular policy in europe as well. some on the populist right here want a means based system, skills —based system, that has been voted in the uk. one of the concerns with that as you do not get migrants coming to the country to fill those jobs that others do not want, albeit many in president trump's base say protect us from cats in our wages? indeed, many of the things i look at being a native californian, statistical full employment in the united states, what happens when the agriculture crop comes in the fall, what happens in one country when those grapes come in the fall, who will be there to pick these fruits?

who will pick these vegetables? the president would be wise to recognise that you really do need people who are willing to come to united states to work. the republicans... hang on. let us see if we can go to president trump. just before he starts speaking, is there anything he can see in the next few minutes that might offer some concession for debate? next few minutes that might offer some concession for debate ?|j next few minutes that might offer some concession for debate? i do not think so. i do not see any concessions. let us hear what he has to say. thank you very much. we are here on this very beautiful spring day, in the rose garden, to unveil our plan to create a fair, modern, and lawful system of immigration for the united states. it is about time.

if adopted, our plan will transform america's immigration system into the pride of our nation, and the envy the pride of our nation, and the e nvy of the pride of our nation, and the envy of the modern world. our proposal builds upon our nation's riches in immigration while strengthening the bonds of citizenship that bind us together as a national family. throughout our history we have proudly welcomed newcomers to our history we have proudly welcomed newcomers to oui’ shores. history we have proudly welcomed newcomers to our shores. out of many people, from many places, we have for people and one nation under god. we are very of it. —— we are very proud of it. we share the same home, we share the same destiny, and we pledge allegiance to the same great american flag. our policies have

turbo—charged our economy. now we must implement an immigration system that will allow our citizens to prosper for generations to come. today we are presenting a clear contrast. democrats are proposing open borders, lower wages, contrast. democrats are proposing open borders, lowerwages, and, frankly, lawless chaos. we are proposing an immigration plan that puts the jobs, wages and safety of american workers first. our proposal is pro—american, pro—immigrant and pro—worker. it isjust common sense. it will help all of our people, including millions of devoted immigrants, to achieve the american

dream. we are grateful to be joined this afternoon by a tremendous numberof this afternoon by a tremendous number of people from the house, senate, and my cabinets. and i love you all. you are all here. our plan achieves two critical goals. first, it stops illegal immigration and secures the border. secondly, it establishes a new legal immigration syste m establishes a new legal immigration system that protects american wages, promotes american values, and attracts the best and brightest from all around the world. the proposal begins with the most complete and effective border security package ever assembled by our country or any other country for that matter. so important. this plan was not

developed, i am sorry to say, by politicians. we have a lot of politicians. we have a lot of politicians. we have a lot of politicians. we respect the people who have developed this plan. it was designed with significant input from our great law enforcement professionals, to detail what they need to make our border, which is 100% operationally secure. 100%. everybody agrees that the physical infrastructure on the border, and the ports of entry, is underfunded, and inadequate. we scan... there we have president trump talking about his immigration plan in the rose garden. both sides agree that the system is broken. republicans could not get any meaningful change through when they controlled the house, the senate and the white house. it seems that this is now an issue that they prefer that this is now an issue that they p refer to that this is now an issue that they prefer to talk about, and bat down the road for another day. indeed.

this has been an issue in the united states since 1986, the last this has been an issue in the united states since1986, the last time there was a comprehensive immigration reform package was signed into law by president ronald reagan, since then republicans and democrats have been at odds at coming together to say, how do we address this, address the border, address this, address the border, address those who are here illegally, how do we move forward to make sure we get the best in the brightest in the country? it is interesting that we have still not a resolution to that. thank you very much forjoining us. the other element is that 2020 is looming fast, i cannot see republicans or democrats wanting to do anything with this because it is politically too risky. the campaign on immigration, that is what it was in 2016. i am sure it will be a feature but as we have just heard, this is dead on arrival, this is more about rallying the base, getting republicans behind a message that they can adopt and use to

campaign with. let us look at your side of the pond now. the uk government now agrees with the united states's assessment that iran poses a heightened threat to allied security forces in iraq, according to foreign secretaryjeremy hunt. earlier in the week the uk defence ministry had distanced itself from the trump administration's claim that an imminent threat had emerged from iran. what changed ? a short while ago we spoke to tom tugendhat mp, who chairs parliament's foreign affairs committee. what intelligence hasjeremy had seen what intelligence hasjeremy had seenin what intelligence hasjeremy had seen in the last few days that persuades him uk needs to change its threat status in the middle east?|j threat status in the middle east?” do not see intelligence. one of the things that has been clear for a long time is that the iranian government has been extremely hostile in the region. look at the that work of irgc in iraq, and

syria, a separate foreign policy to the iranian government. something has come out which has led both the uk government and us government to react. are you worried about the amount of pressure that the us is putting on iran? is that the way to get iran back to the negotiating table? the problem we have with iran as we have pretty much tried everything and the reality is that this is a regime that has murdered more of its own citizens than many other countries around the world, almost every other country around the world. that consistently conducts hostile acts, sponsors terrorism, has been participant in and enabling of massive human rights violations in countries like syria, and even now is supporting organisations that are launching missiles in civilian areas in saudi arabia. this is not a regime or a

country that is dealing with the re st of country that is dealing with the rest of the world in any formal sense. we have been given a timetable of sorts. for the departure of the prime minister. when you look at the timetable that the 1922 committee has set out would you hope there can be hustings and the new leader in place before the summer recess so that may be a plan b can be under way? i think we need a new leader as soon as possible. i think all of this is delaying the inevitable. whoever the new leader is needs as much time as possible before the deadline of 31st october, to get whatever alternative they have ready, and to seek to influence, or to shape the negotiations, so that what we end up with something that we can all rally behind, rather than something that has failed to get over the mark three times. i want to on that, the

conservative membership do not want another coronation, they were frustrated last time. they want hustings around the country. but we are against the clock.” hustings around the country. but we are against the clock. i quickly cannot be done? i am not the expert on the timetable but what we do need isa on the timetable but what we do need is a competition. notjust because the opportunity to vote but people's ideas need to be tested. these hustings, as you put it, these debates are extremely important, they are essential if we are going to have a strong leader going forward. we are grateful for your time. thank you. that tory membership much more pro—brexit perhaps in the rest of the country. they want to see a deal done as quickly as possible, those on the brexit side of the party will properly come to the fore. we talked about timings, i was looking at the calendar, all the way to the deadline of october 31, the deadline that the eu has set, only 12 weeks,

if it is not this deal, it does not give much time to negotiate a different way forward. time is of the essence. i'm going to expunge the bad rap you got. that's what former media mogul conrad black, says president trump told him when he granted him a full pardon this week. canadian—born black — who is also a british lord — was jailed for three—and—a—half years in 2007 for obstructing justice and defrauding hollinger international shareholders of $6 million. but last year he published a book called donald j trump: a president like no other. and in 2015 after reading a flattering piece by conrad, mr trump tweeted. .. conrad black spoke to the bbc‘s today programme about his call from the president.

he said he was going to give me a good —— going to give me a full pardon that his legal staff had gone through very carefully the submissions made on my behalf, and they concluded that this authorised me to see this, it was an unjust verdict, i should never have been charged. all of which is true. joining us to discuss this is chicago—based journalist susan berger — who covered conrad black's trial in 2007. i think you sat through all of it. did you sense when you were in court that it was in any way unjust? no. we did not. most of us who covered the trial, it was a four—month trial, i was there every day except for three days, most of the evidence pointed to some fraud. we felt, most

of the journalists felt, it was very just. president obama pardoned a lot of people, there was controversy about some of that, why is this different? president trump is just a different person than president obama. much of what we see from donald trump seems to be driven by his ego, not by the rule of law. the fact that there was a flattering book written about donald trump, that kind of seals the deal. that really helped. this case was reviewed by the supreme court. but he was banned by the united states. does this make a material difference? there a pardon give him something he does not have? obviously he has served his time.

right. the pardon will help. it will be good for him. i think he was banned from the united states for quite a long time. 30 years, i do not know if that is right. i imagine that all goes awake now. thank you very much indeed forjoining us. the pardon of conrad black. this is beyond one hundred days. still to come — life lessons from a marathon champion — we speak to the great meb keflezighi. this time next week voters will be heading to the polls across the uk, for the european parliament elections. our correspondent alex forsyth reports now from the campaign trail. the newly formed brexit party has been targeting leave areas and lever heartlands, tapping into anger about how brexit has been handled.

nigel farage knows how to pull a crowd. he is competing against the brand he helped create, ukip, which is campaigning and canvassing in these elections, saying it as the authentic party of leave. with its own battle bass, ukip has been out on the road trying to maintaina been out on the road trying to maintain a eurosceptic support. but pro—eu voices are pushing to be heard. in norwich earlier this week that green party was promoting its anti brexit stance. let me explain. the tories and labour know they are under threat from the smaller parties which have a clear brexit message but there is a battle among those trying to capture that remain her vote. at bristol university yesterday the lib dem leader was rallying students. for 50 years that

lib dem is... trying to build on their success in the local elections, activists and councillors seem comfortable with a quieter campaign. change uk, another new party, is seeking its breakthrough moments, trying to reason with remainers and bath. it's campaign is driven by brexit. whatever the tactics on the trail... the outcome will depend on who's message can cut through. as a runner meb keflezighi became known as one of the sport's greatest athletes and ambassadors. the four time olympian was the first person in history to win both the boston and new york city marathons. born in eritrea, his family fled conflict there and he later

became a us citizen. meb ran his last professional race in 2017 when many lined the streets of new york to cheer him on. now he has written a new book looking at what he has learned about faith, identity and, of course, running. it's appropriately named 26 marathons — the number he's completed and meb joins us now. what makes marathons difference, what makes each race difference, what makes each race difference, what can you learn from running that you can apply to the rest of your life mr mac running as a metaphor for life and life teaches you a lot about patients. it is not a sprint. it does not happen overnight. if you believe in yourself and never give up believe in yourself and never give up on yourdreams, believe in yourself and never give up on your dreams, eventually dreams to become reality. there is apps and downs in life. sometimes you go through good patches and bad patches. if you focus on the moment

that you are in, get to that finish line, when you do cross that finish line, when you do cross that finish line it is a magical moment. in your book you describe a horrible moment of food poisoning in the new york marathon. what lesson did you learn from that apart from to stay away from that apart from to stay away from chicken? sometimes unexpected things happen, not only in training, but when you have done two months or three months of training, when you least expect that things happen. you have to learn that, it happens, move forward. i completed the race. it was not my best race. 20th place. 2.23. i never gave up on the race. it eventually helps me that i could still dream big and my david cameron everything would turn out the right way. we are looking at pictures of boston, you were the first american to win the race in many years, you

got a call from president obama. it was the first year after the bomb in boston. what were you thinking on the start line? going through that boston 2013 moment, i was there just watching my fellow runners. usually there is a press conference. i was there. i was hoping to win it. i had an appointment. i left five minutes before the bombing. in 2014, i wanted to be first. with that boston strong slogan i came into win. i was very motivated. i wrote names of the victims on my invest. i wanted something positive from that day. that marathon spirits, they wanted to revive it, i was grateful to be able to take their lead at mile five, which you never do, i kept pushing and pushing, i remember going through the halfway point, i

was so much in the zone. ijust kept pushing and pushing. angels pulls me through. to be able to come through the finish line and be the first american to win in 31 days, a great day. it was an honour. 36,000 other people came across the finish line. that said, the tragic moment in 2013, we changed it into something positive. you are still running but you are not competing. somebody told me that you ran around new york sometimes and you pick up people who arejust running. sometimes and you pick up people who are just running. suddenly they realise who you are. you see, i will run with you. they are obviously bold over that they are running with the great meb. do they stay with you? i the great meb. do they stay with you ? i have the great meb. do they stay with you? i have visions of them running

out of breath on the sidewalk. how does that work? the great thing about sport is the camaraderie. 26 marathons, people ask how far is london marathon, boston marathon? some are flat, some are hilly, some are downhill. when you go for training, whether central park or elsewhere, people still want to run with me. i have to slow sometimes, especially now as i retire. i am not doing intervals or tempo runs, pushing the pace. when someone says hello, we get to talking, what they like, how many marathons they have done. connecting with people is a special moment for me as well. it isa special moment for me as well. it is a great pleasure to talk to you. thank you for coming on the programme. have a look at the book. plenty in there for budding runners. iam glad there for budding runners. i am glad i am not running with him

though. stay away. we will see you on monday. it has been a good—looking day again. a lot of sunshine. more cloud than earlier in the week. most places that remain dry. high pressure has been drifting northwards. that has been allowing slightly stronger easterly breeze to develop across the uk. cloud feeding and from the north sea. cloud will thicken up further. light patchy rain moving in across parts of central and eastern england as the night wears on. further north, lighter winds here. clear skies. a chilly night in the scottish lines, further south it will be less cold than of late. friday, a different feeling day. more cloud. outbreaks of rain. there will be a bit of sunshine, best of the sunshine

across central and western scotland, it into northern ireland. there will be some low cloud. if you spots of rain. a breeze on north sea coast. it will feel cooler here. a cooler day because of less sunshine. friday night it turns wetter across parts of scotla nd night it turns wetter across parts of scotland and northern england. it will feel different indeed. because of the cloud cover and also that but he's not quite as chilly as it has been the last few nights. into the weekend, a low—pressure nearby. it will be cloudy generally. showers and longer spells of rain. but there will be some sunshine at times particularly england and wales. this area of low pressure influencing our whether to bring cloud and outbreaks of rain. saturday starts with quite a wet note for scotland, south—east england. into the afternoon that sunshine will make it feel

pleasa ntly sunshine will make it feel pleasantly warm. but there may be heavy and thundery showers. it will still be cool across north sea costs. sunday, this area of low— pressure costs. sunday, this area of low—pressure nearby. it will stay fairly cloudy. outbreaks of rain and showers across northern areas. best of the sunshine again will be across central and southern england and wales. if you heavy and slow moving showers. temperatures 19 celsius in the south—east.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 8. next month the prime minister will hold talks on her departure from downing street with the chairman on the conservative backbenchers — whether or not she wins that brexit vote. following that second reading, she and i will need to agree a timetable for the election of a new leader of the conservative party. that's the position agreed by the prime minister and the 1922 executive. and boris johnson — one of the front runners to succeed her — officially confirms for the first time that he'll be a contender for the leadership. also coming up on the programme, more harrowing testimony on day eight of the london bridge attack inquest. dramatic evidence from a nurse who was caught up in the attack. helen kennett tried to save the life of this man — and was stabbed herself.