you're watching beyond 100 days. the uk supreme court opens a three day hearing into borisjohnson's decision to prorogue parliament. the prime minister stands accused of misleading the queen in order to silence mp's. but legal councel for the prime minister argued the suspension of parliament was a ‘political‘ matter and there are no legal standards against which a court can judge it. it's quite clear the reasons for seeking to exercise prorogation may be political. the united states says it has identified locations in southern iran from which a combination of drone and cruise missile attacks were launched against saudi oil facilities. also on the programme... in israel polls are about the close

in one of the closest election races in years benjamin netanyahu is fighting to hold onto power. with a salsa and a neon green blouse sean spicer makes his debut in dancing with the stars. yes, this is life in 2019. hello and welcome, i'm christian fraser in london and michelle fleury is in washington. the uk supreme court has today begun hearing a case that has the potential to reshape the british constitution and charge forever the relationship between a parliament and a prime minister. within a few days the highest court in the land will decide whether borisjohnson was acting within the law when he suspended parliament for five weeks longer than usual. at the heart of the case is the question of who has greater authority parliament or the prime minister. the 11 judges sitting in the case were told that his act was "improper" and intended to "avoid scrutiny"

of the government over brexit. but a government lawyer said it was within the prime minister's rights and not a question for the courts. our home editor mark easton reports. the tim tebow did to leave, didn't they? latest power at live in this troubled land. but the brexit rest and noisy evidence outside of the uk's supreme court today... inside the ii uk's supreme court today... inside the 11 most seniorjudges in the lands that the mac sat in courtroom number 12 answer that question and made it clear they were not there to judge the merits of brexit. the determination of this legal issue will not determine when and how the united kingdom leaves the european union. a month after becoming pm, that was boris johnson's union. a month after becoming pm, that was borisjohnson‘s requested

the queen a ruse to silence mps opposed to a new deal brexit? scottish judges opposed to a new deal brexit? scottishjudges did opposed to a new deal brexit? scottish judges did think it stymied the house of commons, and was unlawful, others disagreed arguing it was a matter for politicians not judges. representing that remain campaign against the government, they told the court borisjohnson acted unlawfully. no prime minister has abused his powers in the matter which we allege and at least the la st 50 which we allege and at least the last 50 years. without a written constitution, the relationship between the three pillars of uk government has always involved. parliamentary power of course, they survey their opinion of the government's power, focus and downing street, beyond the halls of whitehall and then you have the courts, here at the supreme court and what we are seeing this week is that balance of power being tested.

the geography of westminster reveals the triangle of power at the heart of the estate and lord panic focused on the relationship between parliament and government, describing ministers as a junior partner and the courts were entitled to rule on the legality of suspending or corroding parliament. a prime minister's motive was to silence parliament for that period because he sees parliament as an obstacle. he quoted from this bbc interview to suggest that the real purpose was not a queen's speech but achieving brexit by halloween stop the best way to do that is if our friends and partners over the channel did not think that brexit can be somehow blocked by parliament. i went to bed and a democracy and i woke up and a dictatorship. you are pointing at parliament rather accusingly there. move it to birmingham. in the form

of the advocate general for scotland... the prime minister will ta ke scotland... the prime minister will take all necessary steps to comply with any declaration made by the court. he came with an undertaking from the prime minister but also referred to westminster‘s and balance of power suggesting the supreme court would be meddling and what were political matters if it ruled against the government. the court is not equipped to decide what isa court is not equipped to decide what is a legitimate political consideration and what is an illegitimate political considerations. the legal arguments may seem dry but there are deep passions at play as judges unpick the complex relationship between political power and... so what are the implications of this week's ruling? there are three broad options the ii judges have before them.

the first to quite simply say that the government's decision to suspend parliament is not justiciable or more simply it's none of the court's business. the second option would be to say that it is the court's business, but that in this case the government didn't behave unlawfully. or the court could say that not only is this the court's business but that the government behaved unlawfully by suspending parliament. this would have the most significant consequence as it would likely mean parliament is reconvened. let's speak now with catherine barnard, professor of law at cambridge university. cell, can we take each of those scenarios one by one so we can fully understand what is ultimately at sta ke understand what is ultimately at stake here? let's start with the first one, it is notjudicial bull, what would that mean? if they say that, the court has no power to rule on it, that is essentially what the high court of england and wales said, completely contrary to what the scots court say and it would be

a huge sigh of relief for boris johnson but it would make the scottish administration really very ci’oss scottish administration really very cross because it would pave the way for nicola sturgeon, to say, scottish courts are ignored in england and therefore we should be thinking about having a further referendum. the second option, if it rules that it is just visible but lawful? i think this is the route they may eventually go down, it means the court will check that in extreme cases that there should not be an abuse of power but they may say that a five point corrode is... not which because there is a recess big stomach to cover at the recess season. big stomach to cover at the recess season. what about if it is unlawful? that is pretty serious stuff, but very serious for the prime minister because he has been

told that he cannot do the very thing that he has done and furthermore he has dragged the monarchy into this really dangerous political minefield and i think it would be very serious indeed if they go down that route. if it is not final say it that scenario, could he prorogue again? recall parliament but then he could say i am now doing it again because i want a green‘s speech. it is possible because not least because he does want a speech and he has a new prime minister with the new priorities so he does want to do that and of course by definition it is likely to be shorter, where he to do it again. the question is if the court is to find against them both on the question of the point at substance, can he really stay on as prime minister and as downing street is playing that down at the moment, but it would be a serious crisis for

him. because he was prevented light to the queen or... nobody knows what he actually said to the queen but the fact is that he has implicated and not being straightforward. thank you very much. in case you were wondering there has been plenty of reaction in europe to yesterday's extraordinary press conference in luxembourg. here's a tweet from our europe editor katya adler. "many in eu today distancing themselves from the outburst by the pm of luxembourg not seen as "helpful" in current #brexit situation. that said mr bettel‘s frustration is shared by most eu leaders." you can read katya's blog on the bbc website. fair to say looking at the european press there's not much sympathy for boris johnson. nothing achieved host snubbed said der spiegel of germany, le monde saying mrjohnson‘s strategy is unreadable.

do you know what i came across today though, and my tour of the french press ? though, and my tour of the french press? a lexicon of how they treat brexit overseas, so the different terms we use. so are you michelle fleu ry terms we use. so are you michelle fleury of rands? what is the french for backstop? i do not know. it sounds quite tasty. perhaps it served cold and they picked up an english acronym. board of brexit.

may be a belly of brexit. speaks french. moving on. back to the schoolbooks. us officials say they have identified the exact launch positions from which a combination of drones and cruise missiles were fired at saudi oil installations at the weekend. they are all inside iran at the northern end of the persian gulf. their trajectory was from the north of the abqaiq oil plant so they evaded saudi air defences which are all facing the threat from yemen in the south. iran's supreme leader has ruled out negotiations with the us "at any level". the us administration is considering its options. we have been told that mike pompeo will be in saudi arabia tomorrow. france says it has seen no evidence yet that the strikes came from inside iran. the french foreign minister said "there must be a strategy of de escalation" and has supported saudi proposals to involve the united nations in the investigation.

for more we'rejoined by hagar chemali the former spokesperson for the us mission to the united nations. thank you forjoining us on the programme and in your expert opinion, who is behind these attacks? you have us officials saying they know it was launched from inside of iran and what is your take? having been on the inside, at the last mission of the un at that treasury, i am the last mission of the un at that treasury, iam inclined the last mission of the un at that treasury, i am inclined to believe the us administration. it is not surprising given where we are intentions and the persian gulf between united states and iran and the regional countries there so that type of measure is not surprising. i expected iran to take other provocative measures in addition to

measures they took recently where they struck a us drone and sees the british tanker so it is not surprising that it is iran. i also do not think that they are capable of such an attack with such possession, so they needed help from iran. what is the appropriate response for the us and is not likely to be a military response?” do not expect a military response from the united states because such a manoeuvre it would be on behalf of saudi arabia and that is not an ally of the united states and there are no defence pacts between the us and saudi arabia and that would be a stretch too far. donald trump in the oval office when he said the united states was locked and loaded, but that he also did not want to go to war with that he also did not want to go to warwith iran, i that he also did not want to go to war with iran, i think is being truthful but it was a message to the iranian leadership and focus on deterrence and it was not meant to

be showing that he is wavering between the decisions. i think it would be unlikely if you were to go to warand would be unlikely if you were to go to war and that is on my sources in the white house say. we were talking about yesterday about whether this isa about yesterday about whether this is a reflection on iranian weakness and there were three things out of washington that i read today and in fa ct over washington that i read today and in fact over the next 90 days, things are getting critical for the fact over the next 90 days, things are getting criticalfor the iranian economy and do you take much store by those briefings is yellow absolutely, when it comes to the iranians at the end of the day, they are seeking leverage and this is a brazen attempt and i will say i was not surprised by another manoeuvre that was provocative, but i was surprised by how brazen it was, this is an attack on territory for saudi arabia and it is a very bold move. at the end of the day if it is all true, that iran did those attacks which i am inclined to believe, it is another step to gain attention and leverage and what they want is

ultimately for sanctions relief. sanctions are hurting them particularly the us oil sanctions and things started to get really tense with iran, not so much when the us walked away from the deal that that was a milestone but in particular when the united states reimposed oil sanctions and in particular when the united states refused to allow waivers for countries to continue importing iranian oil. 0nce countries to continue importing iranian oil. once the us made that decision this summer, things ratcheted up in terms of pressure. you are seeing the effect and pressure on iran, absolutely. we have to leave it there, thank you for your time. there aren't many world leaders that would openly embrace donald trump as part of a re—election strategy. in israel it is different. benjamin netenyahu is in a fight for his political life. and he is putting his close friendship with mr trump front and centre. back in april, his likud party failed to win enough seats to govern, denying him a working coalition. so here we are again.

the competion is benny gantz who is running him close in the polls. the former chief of the arming forces, is leading the centrist blue and white alliance. ahead of the election mr netanyahu has stated that if he remains prime minister, he will annex thejordan valley and all settlements pending consultation with the united states. let's cross tojerusalem and speak to the bbc‘s barbara plett usher. she will be watching for us this evening. less than 15,000 votes separated them back in april, and this is around two. is it possible given how close the polls are that we might even be going to election three? you cannot rule it out, that is fresher and the polls are closed, between the two main parties and the difference this time is that the third element, this is his nemesis, used to be his ally but would not

join his collection last time around and he has only grown in popularity since then since he has taken up issues that mean a lot to many israelis, he wants to curb the power of the ultra 0rthodox israelis, he wants to curb the power of the ultra orthodox and dollar, government. if he comes out with the ct is projected to get, he could play the role of kingmaker and acted tipped the scales to getting a government formed and assist israel, the election is the starting point for a long and nasty coalition negotiations that will have to wait and see how that happens. what about corruption charges that netanyahu is facing, are they weighing on his support? they are not weighing on his support from his right wing base at least according to polls and it does not really figure and that much in terms of their assessment on whether they would vote for him or not but it does perhaps in figure n for opposition votes because the argument an accusation is that he

has been having an assault on democratic institutions because he has been trying to get away from prosecution so curbing the power of the judiciary prosecution so curbing the power of thejudiciary for prosecution so curbing the power of the judiciary for example, that is something the opposition has played up. what is interesting is how that might play in the coalition negotiations because it is widely believed that he wants to form a government which could then pass a law which we give him immunity from prosecution and in order to get those kinds of promises from coalition members you have to get something and i think that he is wea ker something and i think that he is weaker in that sense in terms of forming the coalition.” weaker in that sense in terms of forming the coalition. i was reading about panic campaigning, the idea that you go out and tell voters that you are losing in an effort to try to push voter turnout. talk more about that if you could? this is something that has a yiddish phrase, the get out and vote or we are going to lose which is something that

happens every election but it is happening at super—speed this time around perhaps because he feels his political survival is on the line but i tell you today he was an absolute frenzy and popping up everywhere in the market and bus station and live streaming from his facebook page and saying we are having an emergency because we are hearing not enough people will vote and go out and vote or the left wing will win or he would use scare tactics with the arab—israeli section of the population, there are a lot of arabs boating and do you wa nt a lot of arabs boating and do you want ben and government? that sort of scare tactic was used quite a lot today. maybe because he thinks he is using or maybe it is a way to get the voters out. we have to leave it there, thank you. with me in the studio is the former middle east peacy envoy ambassador dennis ross. he's author of the new book, be strong and of good courage. how israel most important leaders

shaped its destiny as the subtitle. will neta nyahu have shaped its destiny as the subtitle. will netanyahu have the chance to try to form another coalition government? it will depend entirely on turnout. 0ne government? it will depend entirely on turnout. one of the things you are hearing was that he is out everywhere and i think trying to motivate the right wing voters to come out and vote for him or at least for the right wing parties. if he is ina least for the right wing parties. if he is in a position where he could with the smaller right wing parties across the threshold of 61, 60 is not good enough. that is where he was an april. he has to get to 61 so he could put together a government, if it falls short, he will still be asked by the president of israel to form a government because it could be the reading vote getter over blue and white but at that point he will move centreleft because he wants to remain as prime minister precisely because he is facing corruption

charges and the threat of an indictment by the attorney—general and he wants to deal with the attorney—general as the prime minister. he wants a fifth time and one of the things he is invoking is his great friendship with donald trump, iwant his great friendship with donald trump, i want to bring up a treat from the last 2a hours saying thank you my dearfriend, president donald trump. thejewish state has never had a greaterfriend in the white house. i look forward to our meeting at the un to advance a historic defense treaty between the united states and israel." clearly a good bond between these two political leaders but does it make sense in political terms?m may be because i think the essence of his message is especially to some on the right and to some perhaps who would not be his normal voters to say look, he is able to manage this particular president who everyone knows is unpredictable. in this president is talking about at mutual defence treaty which is something that has never happened, we do not

have a formal treaty with israel. he trust me and i will do these annexations and i will manage donald trump andi annexations and i will manage donald trump and i can do that others on the right cannot do that. so vote for likud. is he a pivotal part of that or izzy despite the french class with the white house, is an obstacle class with the white house, is an o bsta cle to class with the white house, is an obstacle to it? it is a very interesting question because one of the right wing parties, a smaller right wing party, the last several days has been running against the donald trump peace plan and heating, cutting out what the map would look like and trying to suggest that netanyahu like and trying to suggest that neta nyahu is like and trying to suggest that netanyahu is part of this and will cave to it and they need to get a larger boat so they can basically keep them honest. so i didn't think he probably has been in the midst of the development of the plan so i am certain that the security division

of the planet have probably been run by hand and i think it probably helped shape them. ip annexes the jordan valley and settlements, what then? did you hear me? if he annexes then? did you hear me? if he annexes the west bank, what then?” then? did you hear me? if he annexes the west bank, what then? i did not think he will annex it, he is annexing the settlements in the jordan valley. a lot will depend on what he actually does that if he ta kes a what he actually does that if he takes a unilateral staff and the us does not oppose it it will mean that sunni arab leaders who look at israel as a bulwark against the main threats, they would be tacitly and quietly supported of it will disappear and they will be robbed of their political space, they are not going to go along with what is really annexations. palestinians will say this proves that the donald

trump plan is designed to basically and any possibility of peace not to promote it. thank you so much for coming in today. let's lighten the mood a little. and is easy to forget that there are some good people in the world and here is one of them. and here is one from james anderson, a plumberfrom my home town burnley who is fixing boilers free of charge for vulnerable people, many of them old age pensioners, free of charge. james says he's helped thousands of people in need, since shutting down his private firm and launching a not for profit company. his acts of kindness has gone viral after a picture of his bill for zero pounds, sent to a 91—year—old woman with acute leukaemia, was posted online. it reads call—out to boiler with two leaks. no charge for this lady under anycircumstances. isn't that incredible? really

incredible. i was reading the piece on this on the bbc website and he i’u ns on this on the bbc website and he runs a company and you know he is a passing and quit out of pocket so he is doing this out of the goodness of his heart and at his own expense. that is the sort of thing, maybe there is a viewer who can help the £8,000 belt because he wants to expand the operation and there are plenty of old age pensioners with dodgy boiler is sitting through the cold in the winter and it is guys like this man who is doing a good turn andi like this man who is doing a good turn and i think we should support that. this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news 18 years into the war in afghanistan and violence continues to have an impact on everyday life. we'll take a look at a snapshot of what life was like in the country in august of this year. and italy's former prime minister matteo renzi has re entered the political spotlight, with an announcement that he plans to launch a new centrist party.

can he win from the centre? good evening, cool in the shade yes but many of us had seen my brief spells of autumn sunshine over the last couple of days and there is more to come. today we did get a little more in the way of crowd spilling into the far north and this isa spilling into the far north and this is a weather fund that is arriving but elsewhere it is beautiful for many of us, temptress responded eventually into the south and we do mike saw highs of 20 degrees and cooler along the east coast and going along with the clear skies temperatures will likely fall away and that means single figures for all of us and most single figures and in sheltered roles spots in rural england. high—pressure is staying with us and that weather

front pushing across the top of the high and we will start to introduce a little bit of showering rain and we keep the cloud generally three scotla nd we keep the cloud generally three scotland and maybe a little more cloud into northern ireland but we keep some lengthy spells of sunshine and temperatures around 19 or 20 degrees once again. almost a repeat performance as we move into their estate but it will move to the far east of scotland and dry and settled in sunny and if anything a degree or so warmer and he willjust slowly eastwards and the wind direction change a little and then eventually we move into the weekend and that will guide and more warmth eventually more humidity. 0n will guide and more warmth eventually more humidity. on friday a breeze your day but at least the winds are coming from that warm source and temperature will peak at 19 degrees perhaps in scotland at 21 or 22 across much of england and wales. we do need to keep a close eye on the frontal system moving in but i had a bet, again as they say,

some warmth and in fact some humidity started to build across the country so anything saturday, warmer still and we could see again some sunshine and temperatures peaking in the mid—20s but we do need to keep a close eye on what is happening out into the west because we could see sharp boundary downpours which will guide their way and overnights on sunday we will see some wet and windy weather moving its way from west to east and some welcome rain for gardeners and growers out there and it may well spoil your outdoor plans and behind it somewhat brighter conditions and around 15— to 23.

this is beyond one hundred days with me michelle fleury in washington, christian fraser is in london. our top stories —— did borisjohnson act unlawfully when he suspended parliament for five weeks? today the uk's supreme court started hearing the arguments in this landmark case— no verdict is expected before thursday. as suicide attacks in afghanistan kill 48 people today, we'll be taking a look at the true human cost of the world's deadliest conflict. coming up in the next half hour..... former italian premier matteo renzi quits the ruling democratic party to go his own way. it's a risky move that further weakens the shaky coalition forged just weeks ago. plus, the new documentary that charts the story of donald trump's mother mary anne ,

her life, the epitome of the american dream. 7a men, women and children were killed every day in afghanistan during the month of august. the violence is relentless. today there were two more suicide blasts — 26 people were killed at an election rally in north kabul — another 22 died in another blast in central kabul. the taliban say they were behind both attacks. it comes just a week after donald trump called off the peace talks. the bbc has taken a ‘snapshot‘ of the ‘human cost‘ of this 18 year war — tracking every conflict—related death that occured last month. the research shows the war in afghanistan is deadlier than previously thought. 473 civilian deaths in august outpaces those in yemen and syria combined.

joining us is sethjones, who once served as an adviser to the commanding us general in afghanistan and is now at the center for strategic and international studies. thank and international studies. you for coming in. we h. talked thank you for coming in. we have talked of pulling out troops. donald trump has made it clear that is his goal. what does that mean for afghanistan? if the us were to pull out troops, and there was a lot of pushbackin out troops, and there was a lot of pushback in the us government, particularly from the military and intelligence about the impact of pulling out, what it would lead to is not an end of the but almost certainly tell ban advances on the battlefield, including what they haven't done right now, which is to control major cities. when you look at this, we are talking well over a decade this has been going on, is there any relief in sight for the people there? not really, and u nfortu nately, people there? not really, and unfortunately, the afghan people are

caught ina unfortunately, the afghan people are caught in a much bigger game. every major country in the region, including other great powers, are providing assistance to various sides. the afghans are notjust caught between a government and taliban war but are part of a much bigger one. do i understand from your first answer that what the taliban actually did during these peace talks was use that period to amass even more power, more territory? i read today that they are now stronger than at any point in the post—9/11 period. is that true? there is no question that the taliban is the strongest in terms of its territory in the battlefield thanit its territory in the battlefield than it has been since the start of the war. we are talking about 16% of the war. we are talking about 16% of the population, but it is growing and they are in a stronger position. they have used the talks to gain some political legitimacy as a potential future government. there has been a lot of debate in

washington in the last week about how, if there was a drawdown of troops, how would the us maintain its counterterrorism capability. do you leave cia in the country supporting? what is the best way to prevent the counterterrorism efforts that we have seen in afghanistan chris mike at the end of the day, the us will have to keep at least a small military presence in afghanistan, a cia presence alone loses a lot of assets that the military has, including intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, the ability to fly planes. so a small presence has to stay if the us continues to be concerned about the threat of terrorism. you talked about the different actors involved. that has been the case as far back as when you look at the russian and us involvement in past conflicts with

afghanistan. this is what makes afghanistan. this is what makes afghanistan what someone called a graveyard of empires, because it pulls into the fight various outside actors. it is interesting that the war continues for the most part in afghanistan, but the biggest actor assisting the taliban is pakistan, where the taliban's leadership continues to operate and generally have not been targeted. the battlefield is pretty big. what might we have to leave it there, but thank you so much. —— might we have to leave it there, but thank you so much. -- we have to leave it there. just a week after it was formed, italy's fragile coalition government has been seriously undermined by one if its main architects. this man— former prime minister matteo renzi— was a lead force in helping create the new government— a coalition between his party, the centre left democratic party, and the populist five star movement. but just days after the government was sworn in he's abandoned his party to form a new centrist grouping. there are concerns in government that his departure could lead to its collapse— and the return of this

man — that populist leader matteo salvini. until earlier this month mr salvini's party— the league— had been in coalition with the five star moment. mr salvini pulled the plug hoping to force a general election. but the move backfired. instead the five star movement joined with the democratic party — leaving the league, and mr salvini, out in the cold. let's speak to politico correspondent silvia borelli, who's in our rome bureau. there is huge concern around europe about the state of the italian economy, and nerves were settled somewhat when this coalition was put together some weeks ago. does this undermine it? it does. buti together some weeks ago. does this undermine it? it does. but i don't think the government is in peril, at least not yet. it will be hard for the current government to last until the current government to last until the end of the parliamentary term in 2023, but at the same time, renzi needs time to consolidate a voter

base and become more popular than he has been for the past few years. he would have no interest in pulling the plug on this government too soon. the plug on this government too soon. he will have a golden share on it because if about 30 lawmakers follow into his new group, he will have the power to tip the scale of this government and way in on policy. it makes it weaker, but it is not close to collapse just yet. he says he is leaving to form a new centrist force that would do politics differently. it is very emmanuel macron. can you win in italy from the centre? i think that would be a very hard task. i also believe renzi continues to be a very unpopular political figure in believe renzi continues to be a very unpopular politicalfigure in italy. italian voters are now very polarised between the populist left and the nationalist anti—immigration right. there is a space right in the

middle, but i'm not sure it's a space big enough to actually win an election and govern, so here we would be talking about a party that can aim at around ten or 12%, and thenit can aim at around ten or 12%, and then it would have to be part of a coalition, regardless. you said renzi was unpopular. in your reporting, you said he warned the culture minister —— the culture minister warned he would become irreleva nt minister warned he would become irrelevant and was making a mistake. the leadership is concerned by this move because it is clear that if renzi leaves the party and takes many lawmakers, or at least 20 or 30 lawmakers with him, considering that this majority is quite weak, and especially in the senate, it has a very slim majority. the democratic party is worried that he could pull

the plug on the government any minute, just like matteo salvi needed with the previous coalition. i don't think it is true that this move makes renzi irrelevant. he lost the party leadership about two years ago, andi the party leadership about two years ago, and i think his breakfrom the democratic party has been on the cards for a long time. doing it now actually put him back at the centre stage of italian politics, for the time being at least. thank you so much. christian, we were talking earlier about the israeli elections, and in some ways it is amazing how fragmented it is. there are 31 parties competing, and only nine of them are going to advance to the kinetic. is it the same in italy?

i remember covering the italian election years ago, and i remember that there were ten parties in one coalition. they put this truck outside the headquarters, and they we re outside the headquarters, and they were all meant to stand on the trailer with their flags, and there we re trailer with their flags, and there were so many trailer with their flags, and there were so many that they couldn't put them on. they were tipping over the edge. it lasted about a year. and that was really why berlusconi did so that was really why berlusconi did so well, because he was able to anchor the right in around two or three parties. he was the centre. 0ther three parties. he was the centre. other parties came alongside, but he was really the force. there wasn't really anything like that in italian politics at the time. it looks like it is getting more fragmented. while the uk parliament is suspended — all brexit focus — for now — falls on the party conference season. the liberal democrats have been meeting these past few days in bournemouth. today their leaderjo swinson closed the conference —

her first as leader — by pledging to stop brexit. she told party members she is standing at the next election to win it, and if the liberal democrats are returned with a majority, article 50 will be revoked she said without further any public vote. a liberal democrat majority government will revoke article 50 on day one. because there is no brexit that will be good for our country. europe makes our united kingdom stronger, but brexit hurt our family of nations. so, what do you do ahead of a leader's speech if you are in bournemouth? you go down to the sea, of course, so that is what they did

today. they took their shoes off, wandered down the beach, into the sea, like reggie perrin. there are splits in the party. i will resist the temptation to say they were all at sea today, and focus instead on who it is in the press offices in political parties who think things like this are a good idea. do you remember the headline a couple of weeks ago — boris with the ball? there is this idea of trying to humanise politicians and make them relatable, but it always seems to backfire. you don't even need the headline with that one. former trump campaign manager corey lewandowski is appearing before the housejudiciary committee this afternoon for a hearing that is considering whether to impeach the president. lewandowski is the first witness

to appear before the committee since special counsel robert mueller testified injuly. mr lewandoski has remained a close adviser to the president even though he has no formal role in the trump administration. but white house counsel has informed the committee that mr lewandowski — who is thinking of running for a senate seat in new hampshire — will not be addressing any conversations he had with the president unless those subjects were already mentioned in robert mueller‘s report. we're joined now from new york by criminal defence attorney caroline polisi. throughout it all, and to the best of my recollection, i don't ever recall having any conversations with foreign entities, let alone any helping to manipulate the outcome of an election. as i have said publicly many times, anyone who attempted to illegally impact the outcome of an election should spend the rest of their life injail. election should spend the rest of their life in jail. president trump was among those listening to that statement, and he tweeted such a beautiful opening statement by cory

lewandowski. thank you, corey. no surprise, fireworks from the get go. and lewandowski is living up to his reputation of speaking fluent trump. many would say it was an audience of one that he was speaking to today. it was clear today when the white house counsel sent a letter to the chairman of the house judiciary committee, saying lewandowski wasn't going to speak about anything outside the muller report. the hearing is already under way and it is actually in embarrassment, the way it has evolved, and the level we have gotten to. it is a tale of two

hearings. nothing is getting accomplished and there is no more information we are getting out of lewandowski. there was a question asked demanding to see the route —— where lewandowski demanded to see the report the question i was referring to. how can the white house... the white house has really taken an aggressive stance towards this issue of executive privilege, and two of the witnesses didn't even show up today because the white house counsel told them not to. that is because they were employed by the white house. lewandowski never served a day in this administration, and yet the white house counsel is asserting this executive privilege.

it isa asserting this executive privilege. it is a questionable privilege. the contours of the privilege haven't been fleshed out in court. we will have to get to a court to say whether or not executive privilege would cover these types of conversations, but certainly in the traditional sense that we know it in the united states, executive privilege wouldn't cover conversations like this. when you say nothing has been accomplished, i thought they voted on new impeachment rules last week, formal rules which gave them greater powers. can't they cut through this? that's right. if you've been watching the hearings thus far, there has been a lot of procedural technicalities involved, a lot of stonewalling on lewandowski's park. he is answering questions from republicans, but when democrats asked question, there are a lot of points of order being called. the republicans are upset and are calling this a rebranding of an impeachment enquiry when it was just

going to be the oversight function. now they are invoking new rules, and the republicans are not pleased with the republicans are not pleased with the democrats on that one. we will have to see where it goes, but in terms of information, we are not really getting any new information, which was the point of the hearing. caroline, thanks for talking us through this hearing. this is beyond 100 days. still to come —spicing up the salsa... we'll take a look at the former white house press secretary's debut in the world of dance. swimming the english channel is no mean feat, but a cancer survivor has become the first person to swim the english channel four times nonstop. 37—year—old sarah thomas from colorado completed the challenge this morning after more than 5a hours in the water. robert hall reports.

exhausted but triumphant, as the first rays of sun lit the shore line ahead, sarah thomas reached out towards the end of herjourney. friends who had willed her to succeed during moments when her spirit kept world there on the pebbles to greet her. well done, sarah. i was sick. pebbles to greet her. well done, sarah. iwas sick. she pebbles to greet her. well done, sarah. i was sick. she said, you got this. my husband said, keep going. the story of determination and stamina began in the early hours of sunday morning. sarah thomas said she used swimming to cope with her cancer treatment. she dedicated this challenge to those who have survived the disease. 5a hours and ten minutes crossing the world's busiest shipping lanes. the four legs of the journey should have totalled 84 miles, but the channel currents forced sarah to swim in a series of loops, so the actual distance was closer to 130 miles. kevin murphy, a

cross—channel swimmer himself, was one of the official observers of board the support boat and said this new record is an extraordinary achievement. you can train as much as you like, but if you haven't got the power to withstand the demons in your head which say you can't do this, if you can't fight those, you never will do it. sarah thomas has been known to sleep for 24 hours after her swims. the physical and mental effects of this one will determine whether she can set her sights even higher. when mary anne macleod embarked on the 3000 mile journey from the outer hebrides to new york nearly a century ago, little did she know her yet—to—be—born son would go on to become one of the world's most powerful men. it's that very tale that's the focus of a new bbc documentary which airs

tonight on bbc gaelic, which traces the life of donald trump's mother, from humble beginnings in scotland's western isles to a glamourous life in the big apple. in a moment we'll hear from the journalist who did a lot of the digging for the film — but first — here's a clip. certainly be watching that tonight. there has been a lot written about maryanne mcleod. she left scotland in the 1920s for a new life in america, the matriarch of the trump family. what have you learnt about the journey she family. what have you learnt about thejourney she made family. what have you learnt about the journey she made and what effect she had on the president?”

the journey she made and what effect she had on the president? ijoin you in english, first of all! trump is such a huge figure, and his politics are so such a huge figure, and his politics are so controversial that they often mask his own history. his grandfather was a migrant, his father a property mogul, and donald inherited the business, but little is talked in the biographies about the role of his mother. she was born maryanne mcleod on the isle of lewis in 1912. i have a personal interest in her. his mother comes from the same village as my mother in the hebrides. my grandparents were part of that big migration to america after the great war. they came back, she stayed. she went from poverty in scotla nd she stayed. she went from poverty in scotland to domestic service in america, to domestic goddess. she lived the american dream in gaelic. is almost as remarkable as the rise

of fred and his grandfather. —— fred, his grandfather. there is a lovely pa rt fred, his grandfather. there is a lovely part of the film where you focus on her teenage friend, agnes, from the same village as well. they went their separate ways. tell us about that. donald trump has relatives still in the village, but they are private people and don't wa nt to they are private people and don't want to be involved in the famous cousin circus, so finding out about maryanne mcleod's background was difficult, but we were lucky. we met the grand daughter of her teenage pen pal. they corresponded in the 20s when they were both teenagers, met up in glasgow, exchanged beautiful photos that give us an intimate portrait of the young maryanne, who went from the wild atla ntic maryanne, who went from the wild atlantic shore of scotland to the u pstate atlantic shore of scotland to the upstate long island swimming pools that make her look like something out of the great gatsby. it is just stunning. we had this memoir and these photos that give an inside story of intimacy. how did they come

back together? they met each other in glasgow as they parted, then war separated them. maryanne went in 1936 to marry her fiance, fred trump, in america, and the rest is history. agnes was a german language student and married a german student in germany and ended up being bombed bya in germany and ended up being bombed by a roadside in world war ii. the war ended, but so did her marriage, so war ended, but so did her marriage, so she came back to britain with her children and lost touch, so their lives went on until one night in 1995, 61 years later, agnes was sitting up in bed when a documentary came on about donald trump, the new york property mogul. donald being donald, couldn't help boasting and the camera swung to this very elegant, upright woman. agnes in england recognised her friend,

elegant, upright woman. agnes in england recognised herfriend, her teenage pal, from the way she folded her knees, and they got back in touch and met up. they loved meeting up. i wasjust curious, what was the most surprising thing when you were researching this project? what coat you by surprise that we didn't know about? the duality of her personality. americans will know her asa personality. americans will know her as a millionairess with firs, diamonds and the upper east side of manhattan, i guess. she went home regularly, returned to her island roots to see her relatives. when we speak to the people in the village, they say that you would never thought she had left. she never lost her accent and the gaelic language.

it's on this evening, a great story. how do we find bbc gaily?m it's on this evening, a great story. how do we find bbc gaily? it is on free view, on iplayer. for the american audience, there is an international version that we hope will find distribution in the states. is reality television a right of passage for former press secretaries who've served in the white house? anthony scaramucci on big brother, and now sean spicer‘s having a go on the us tv show "dancing with the stars". his dance partner is lindsay arnold. he gotjust 12 marks out of 30 for this performance. the judges said he looked like he was being attacked by a swarm of wasps. he looks like 0rville the duck. that lime green — i think that is the least of his worries on this show. it is all downhill when you have been on beyond 100 days. this is where it started, after those performances in the briefing room. when you leave, this is what

happens. it is all downhill. the foxtrot awaits you! thank you very much for watching. we will see you at the same time tomorrow. goodbye. cool in the shade, but many of us have seen lovely spells of autumn sunshine in the last couple of days, and there's more to come. we got more in the way of cloud in the far north today, a weather front arriving. elsewhere, beautifulfor many. temperatures responded eventually. in the south, highs of 20 celsius, always a bit cooler along the east coast. through the night, with clear skies, temperatures will fall away stop the green tones descend across the country, meaning single figures for all of us, low single figures in rural spots in england and wales. a chilly start to wednesday morning. patchy mist and fog around as well. that weather front pushing across

the top of the high will introduce showery rain into the western isles infar showery rain into the western isles in far north of scotland. we keep the cloud generally through scotland, and may be a little more cloud in northern ireland. elsewhere, lengthy spells of sunshine and temperatures up as high as 19 or 20 celsius. it's almost a repeat performance as we move into thursday, but that weather front will ease away from the far north of scotland. dry, settled on sonny for all, and if anything a degree or so warmer. the high pressure will drift east and the wind direction will change to a south—easterly and then a southerly as we move into the weekend. that will drive in more warmth, and eventually more humidity. 0n warmth, and eventually more humidity. on friday, a breezy day, but at least the winds are coming from that warm source. temperatures will peak at 19 celsius in scotland, 21 or 22 across much of england and wales. we need to keep a close eye on this frontal system moving in through the weekend, but ahead of it, some warmth and some humidity

building across the country. if anything, saturday will be warmer still. temperatures could peak in the mid 20s, but we need to keep a closer eye on what is happening out to the west. by the end of the afternoon, we could see sharp, thundery downpours. they will drive you so thundery downpours. they will drive you so one thundery downpours. they will drive you so one sunday, we will see wet and windy weather moving from west to east. some welcome rain for gardeners and growers out there, but it may spoil your outdoor plans. behind it, brighter conditions are not quite as warm, 15—23dc.

this is bbc news. lawyers give evidence at the supreme court on the first of three days of hearings to determine if borisjohnson broke the law by suspending parliament. the court is not equipped to decide what is a legitimate political consideration and what is an illegitimate political consideration. no pm has abused his powers in the manner which we allege in at least the last 50 years. feelings run high on both sides as some of those bringing their cases to court face the crowds outside. also tonight. at the lib dems conference the new party leaderjo swinson says