the headlines... prince andrew speaks publicly for the first time, about his friendship with the convicted sex offender, jeffrey epstein. in an exclusive interview with bbc newsnight, the duke says it was wrong to stay at epstein‘s house, and admits he let "the side down". that's the bit that, that, that, um, as it were, i kick myself for on a daily basis ‘cause it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family. prince andrew also said he had "no recollection" of meeting virginia roberts, who claims she was forced to have sex with him when she was 17 after being groomed by epstein. he denies any inappropriate conduct. an investigation is under way into the cause of a fire at a student accommodation building in bolton after more than 200 firefighters spent nine hours putting it out. competing on climate change

policies, the conservatives say they will plant 30 million trees a year by 2025 if it wins the general election but the libdems say they can plant twice as many trees. meanwhile, leading labour and trade union figures are meeting to decide which policies will be included in the party's election manifesto. now it's time for brexitcast with adam fleming, laura kuennsberg, chris mason and katya adler. well, it's the first full week of the election campaign, which means, of course, laura's in the back of a van in a car park. again. i'm in a car park on the outskirts of edinburgh because, in dalkeith today, we've been talking to labour leaderjeremy corbyn. do you know what today was the one—year anniversary of? what was happening on 14th november, 2018? do you remember? was it one of the meaningful votes? no. was it the signing of

the brexit withdrawal agreement with theresa may? yeah, something to do with theresa may getting a deal with the eu. yes, it was after the eight hour long cabinet meeting where the cabinet signed off on the withdrawal agreement and it sounded like this... i know there will be difficult days ahead. this is a decision which will come under intense scrutiny and that is entirely as it should be and entirely understandable. the choice was, this deal, which enables us to take back control and build a brighterfuture for our country, or going back to square one with more division, more uncertainty and a failure to deliver on the referendum. happy birthday, theresa may's initial withdrawal agreement. welcome to brexitcast. no one has a bleep clue what brexit is. we are particularly relying on the day dover—calais crossing. i met borisjohnson once. that doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters, they are going to get it wrong again.

remainers and leavers, that's going to end well. a process i can only describe as a dog's brexit. it's laura in a car park on the outskirts of edinburgh. and, it's chris in brexitcast hq. with two friends. katya is by your side, which is quite nice, by my side. and it's me, adam, by your side. so, right, the big story. you're all together. we are. you're here in spirit. and in van. the big story on the election campaign today, of course, has been immigration, free movement. who will do what after brexit? i think it was summed up, the conservative position, by steve barclay, the brexit secretary, who was talking about football.

had the feel of it of, it's a week into the campaign, we'd better do some social media. so he has his bone on record and that he is in a constituency office. then talking about the premier league, i'm not sure i was all that much wiser by the end of it as i was at the beginning. curiosities in terms of what the conservatives have been saying about immigration and labour. one of the consequences of the imminence of brexit is that parties have to decide

what they want to say about immigration and the two big parties are both kind of picking their language pretty carefully around it, whether it be steve barclay, borisjohnson, priti patel on the conservative side, orjeremy corbyn on the labour side in scotland where you are. that is absolutely right. the really interesting thing about immigration this time round is the two parties genuinely have very different approaches because the tories, who want us out of the european union after brexit in january would be able to come as they would say, take back control and have a system of the uk is making decisions over who will come in and who cannot. they would end freedom of movement. on the other side, you have the labour party saying they want to have another brexit referendum. if that referendum meant we stayed in, then, of course it would mean unlimited eu immigration because that's part of being in the european union but if not, they still kind of believe in freedom of movement and they want to make it easier for people to bring family members here to do so called family reunion.

exactly as you say, chris, both parties have been kind of getting a bit snarled up talking about it today. we asked jeremy corbyn loads of times today if he thought immigration should be higher or lower, he wouldn't say. a colleague of ours from itv asked priti patel if the tories really wa nted priti patel if the tories really wanted to cut immigration. she kept going on about control. labour doesn't want people to think... really interesting. the tories sent out a press release over nights and idid want out a press release over nights and i did want to cut immigration. the tories don't want voters to think they are mean and hard edged. labour doesn't want voters to think they would open the door to everyone. they are both tripping over it a bit because they know it is such a big issue to loads of voters. the phrase about the australian point system for immigration which keeps being wheeled out on the conservative

side. does everybody understand, do you think, in the general public what is meant by that? there is quite a lot of controversy around the phrase as well. there is a smidgen of detail about what might account for getting points and what might not they were saying last night into this morning that having a decent grasp of english for working and living was important and it was about skills gaps in the economy. on the hand people talk about unskilled immigration but if the government were to conclude it needed people to pick fruit, for instance, that could be a skill that was required or a labour market that needed filling rather than itjust being a super qualified brain surgeon. being a super qualified brain surgeon. wasn't there a salary limit at one point? that is in the mix. everyone is punting all the difficult decisions to the boffins. he mentioned you'll big interview withjeremy he mentioned you'll big interview with jeremy corbyn in scotland today, which we call a sit down in

the trade. what is the big thing he said? i think the most interesting thing is how he did not want to go there on immigration, as we were discussing. i wanted to put to him the point on brexit and the agony over how labour had moved to this position of offering another referendum but not wanting to say which way they would go round. it is important right now because we are in an election. in the last election labour is the phrase in their ma nifesto labour is the phrase in their manifesto that they accepted the result. i wanted to ask him if he thought he was breaking a promise. the 2070 manifesto also said labour accepts the referendum result. now you are offering people another referendum and you do not accept that the result is inconclusive. doesn't your change of heart undermine people's trust? what we have done is a sensible approach. i recognise why people voted to remain

and why people voted to leave in different parts of the country and for different reasons. in my own community where i represent and across the country. they also recognise deal exit from the eu would be catastrophic in many ways. there was a deal on the table you could have voted for. he made people a promising 2017 and you have not stuck to it. doesn't that matter? i promised was we would respect the result of the referendum. we had done and therefore we have had many meetings with the eu about the issues and what would be the possibilities on remain and reform and so on as well as leave. what we have come to the conclusion is, we put to the electorate the principle that the labour government elected oi'i that the labour government elected on december the 12th well, within three months, negotiate with the eu and arrangement by which we could leave the eu but protect market rights and the good friday

agreement, which are absolutely crucial and put that alongside remain ina crucial and put that alongside remain in a referendum. if you are a labour candidate, try and explain that on the doorstep. lots of labour candidates i spoke to before the election and in a campaign are getting it back on the doors and leave the voting areas. some people perceive that they went back on their promise and i could be a big problem for them in this campaign. we were asking people on social media today for their questions for us on media today for their questions for us on the whole issue of the election and brexit and what might happen afterwards. election and brexit and what might happen afterwardsli election and brexit and what might happen afterwards. i think we can ta ke happen afterwards. i think we can take a quick listen now. i am sammy, 25, from aylesbury in buckinghamshire. i wondered 25, from aylesbury in buckinghamshire. iwondered how likely are the eu to accept a new renegotiated deal if the labour government gets in? the other week, jean claude janker told me government gets in? the other week, jean claudejanker told me he did not think it was very realistic. he said it would be up to the new

commission, and up to eu leaders to decide. —— juncker. the commission, and up to eu leaders to decide. ——juncker. the eu said it would change its red lines if the uk changed its red lines and it is a lwa ys changed its red lines and it is always an interest of the eu to have the uk as close as possible, if not inside the eu then as close as possible to the eu. if labour comes along and says we think we need to negotiate a brexit deal anyway and put it to another referendum, we would be in favour of a much softer brexit, much closer to the single market and so on. i think eu leaders will say ok. the fact they have said they will not reopen, they have a lwa ys they will not reopen, they have always said they will not reopen. i will keep this brief but i will illustrate it. at school i had to wear a school uniform and we hated it. we always wanted to get rid of school uniform. there is a uniform is so you can rebel against something quite minimal as minimal as well as having lots of freedoms. if the uk says it will not open the

bejewelled agreement and it does then they have broken their word. on then they have broken their word. on the substance so far they had not given away that much. -- their withdrawal agreement. this is why i cannot wait for the labour ma nifesto, cannot wait for the labour manifesto, when it comes out that the details of what the labour new deal will look like are sketchy. they know the big schemes of a single market, relationship and the customs union but how that will work in practice, can we know about the points—based system but not specifics as to what will get points and the timeframe. a word of warning, guys, i am and the timeframe. a word of warning, guys, iam not sure and the timeframe. a word of warning, guys, i am not sure the ma nifestos warning, guys, i am not sure the manifestos are going to be encyclopaedia like stott i think they are going to be more like a pamphlet and war they are going to be more like a pamphletand warand they are going to be more like a pamphlet and war and peace. on freedom of movement, it is worth pointing out that even if the conservatives win a majority can come into government, pass this

brexit deal and put an end to free movement, when it comes to trade negotiations you can expect it right back on the table. what does the eu wa nt back on the table. what does the eu want from the uk when it comes to trade negotiations? the eu wants access for their fishermen to uk waters and they want access to the uk labour market as well for their workers. you may say goodbye in the end of january of that comes to pass and you will say hello again to the issue when it comes to trade negotiations. and negotiations on future trade deals around the world. other countries might bring immigration into the issue as well. will no one think of the low—paid global international football players? what do we know about the brexit party and what they are doing and are not doing in this election? they have said they will not stand in since the conservatives won last time that they will stand elsewhere, subject to the odd local candidate

deciding they're not that keen on it. we will find that pretty thin when we had the full grid of who is standing wear. let's listen to nigel farage. we had seen three and a half of former prime ministers, the labour party, the liberal democrats they may want to effectively overturn the latest democratic exercise in the history of our nation. we are not having it and we are going to stand up and we are going to fight labour in every seat in this country, no doubt. the curiosity here, laura, is there was a logic to the brexit party saying they are going to stand everywhere because we think that borisjohnson brexit deal is rubbish and i would bea brexit deal is rubbish and i would be a logic in saying we are not going to stand anywhere because borisjohnson is a majority in order to get brexit delivered. the concluding position seems to sit halfway between the two. ministers have been saying if he really wants to get brexit done, why is he not

pulling out of marginal seats? i would not be surprised if some more brexit party candidates actually stood down in the next couple of weeks. nigel farage is really cross. i think the brexit party is disappointed because a couple of months ago they were promising to shake up the whole system and com pletely shake up the whole system and completely transform everything. they came first in the european elections. there we are at this moment in the general election campaign, as sirjohn curtis said a seat where it looks like the brexit party might win, paraphrase. and i just ask something? considering that a lot of people who moved towards ukip, orthe a lot of people who moved towards ukip, or the brexit a lot of people who moved towards ukip, orthe brexit party, are former labour voters. if people are turning away from them, if people are in favour of brexit, are they likely to go to the conservatives or are they more likely to go back to

their original home, labour? how can one know which way they go if they leave? it is curious. nigel farage has been making a big play in the last few days about how dangerous he can be to labour. on the other hand, a lot of number crunching has been done by people in the past around desks suggesting the brexit party and ukip took more votes from the conservatives than they did from labour. the curiosity of some of these opinion polls look like they we re these opinion polls look like they were going to be standing the brexit party everywhere in england, scotla nd party everywhere in england, scotland and wales pretty much and we have learned that is not going to be the case. you wonder how much you can read into that. you have the unite to remain, the alliance of remaining parties can read into that. you have the unite to remain, the alliance of remaining parties, plaid cymru, lib dems and the greens. you have individual races with high profile people standing as independents. then people from the parties he had done deals or not deals and some of the rejected

people standing as independents. —— who had done. that may different elections. all of that makes this elections. all of that makes this election completely fascinating and unpredictable and very hard to read. that said, it is clear the brexit party is more likely to take votes from conservative turning voters than labour voters but it is central to the tory strategy by trying to get hacked off disgruntled labour neither in places like bishop auckland and parts of the midlands and parts of the north—east. that is their target and that is a gamble. in numberio and their target and that is a gamble. in number 10 and tory hq, they reckon we might be living through this big alignment where people recognise more leave the assets remain banned tory against labour. it isa remain banned tory against labour. it is a huge gamble, isn't it? this is from izzy. my name is izzy. i am

20, from huddersfield in west yorkshire. if the result is a hung parliament with the conservatives as the largest party, would partnering with the dup be much harder because they are strongly against the boris johnson brexit deal? by the way, i think you guys are amazing. always good to up the yorkshire count. a ha rd good to up the yorkshire count. a hard question. i am going to duckett. sounds like you had any insight. i think my answer to that, it is hugely speculative, isn't it? wouldn't it be virtually impossible for a tory party government without a majority to now do a deal again with the dup when the dup is so unhappy about what happened to the island protocol and a deal again with the dup when the dup is so unhappy about what happened to the islands protocol and the original agreement? it would be virtually... the current situation would be

virtually impossible for them to team up again, wouldn't it? unless borisjohnson said, team up again, wouldn't it? unless boris johnson said, ok, team up again, wouldn't it? unless borisjohnson said, ok, i will undo the deal that i just borisjohnson said, ok, i will undo the deal that ijust got the election based on and go back to brussels with arlene foster. i think thatis brussels with arlene foster. i think that is pretty tricky. there is a lot of bad feeling. never say never in this process. never say never to anything rattle. you know who remain not hear from ever again? anything rattle. you know who remain not hearfrom ever again? donald tusk. he did a big speech in bruges last night before he leaves the euro building in brussels at the end of the month. the only words that come to mind today...

more football. almost like he knew what we were starting the podcast with. donald tusk had given up hope. clearly he has not. he went on again about staying with delectable, how after brexit he said the uk would become a second—rate player and he did notjust leave become a second—rate player and he did not just leave that become a second—rate player and he did notjust leave that in his own words. he said he heard that when he we nt words. he said he heard that when he went to india and listed a whole load of other countries as well. donald tusk, in his parting words, he did notjust give it full brexit, he did notjust give it full brexit, he had a go at emmanuel macron as well. what is he saying about their french president? probably another cast, considering we had so much to talk about. donald tusk was polish and france and poland had very different ideas on defence relations with nato, relations with russia at

the moment and how to approach vladimir putin. that was wednesday night. on thursday night, as we are recording s, a bid breaking news about the absent, invisible uk nominee to be their next commissioner. —— recording this, a bit of breaking news. you to a communique saying the uk would have toa communique saying the uk would have to a new commissioner if it was still in the block. even if the uk we re still in the block. even if the uk were to leave on the 31st of january, we were supposed to say this is our suggestion for a new commissioner. jean claude janker is about to leave and you are about to have a brand—new commissioner. —— juncker. boris johnson said have a brand—new commissioner. —— juncker. borisjohnson said he cannot do that, we are in the middle ofan cannot do that, we are in the middle of an election campaign. the guardians of the law is said eu law trumps uk law and you need to give asa trumps uk law and you need to give

as a commissioner. it will get legal. more than a smidgen of politics in all of this. from the perspective of the government of the conservatives want to be able to say we will be shot at this lot soon and can hide behind this thing about purdah in an election campaign and say it is a political appointment. it would be wrong for us to send out a political appointee and we might lose the next election and it would be up to the next candidate. boris johnson has said we will never send a commissioner. what i do not get about it is the cabinet guidelines that say in black and white, page 36 paragraph ten connect the uk will say we should not do it during an election period. and as i understand it, other countries have also made a similar decision in years gone by. so the thing i don't get is why it took so long either for the uk to find that convenient rule orfor the eu to say, oh right, ok. i don't really know other than maybe both sides wanted to have a bit of a row about it.

and the other side, it is only 11 days. so i think maybe it suits both sides to continue having a bit of a spat about it. but it is interesting. it takes you to also, which is more important? the uk law, that says you can't do this by uk government regulation or the eu law? where have i heard that before? we can answer that, it is eu law. it is something for the courts to fight out if it ever gets to the courts. i was teasing! and i was taking it very literally! we have no humour, the brussels crowd, don't you know that, laura, we have no humour! this is also partly the incoming commission, they are embarrassed anyway. it is notjust the uk, the fact that they are delayed in taking their position, there has been all sorts of embarrassments and complications around different countries' commissions, including france. there is an element of theatre and the commission would be able to work without the uk. by the way, the lisbon treaty look at narrowing down

the number of commissioners anyway to two thirds of the number, even though i won't go into the law about why that is not relevant right now. don't do that! i have a quick point to make an important point to make. about big phil? about big phil, phil hogan will be the commissioner for trade in the incoming commission. he is from ireland, very outspoken, seen as a tough guy. he said something yesterday to rte help —— that helped on the one hand boris johnson and on the other didn't. he said we could definitely start free trade negotiations by saint patrick's day. yes, it could be conducted really quickly because we've got so much in common already with our rules and regulations. a big tick for boris johnson but less good for him, he then added, breezily, because, of course, the uk would be signing up to eu norms and regulations. because, you know, uk voters wouldn't want to, sort of, reduce their rights and everything. of course, that's not necessarily

what boris johnson wants to do, because, remember, all that talk of level playing fields and so on. you cannot do a quick trade deal when the devil will be in all of the detail, realistically speaking. before we clear off, let's do that traditional thing of looking ahead. 0h! we've lost laura, by the looks of it. laura, i think we've lost you, the car park has given up on you. i think i lost myself by now, to be perfectly honest! but i will be back next week. it is manifesto week next week, it is a big one! bye! adam can wear a manifesto. it is like the brexitcast equivalent of strictly, isn't it, next week it is halloween week! it will be good, though. even if it is quite then, as laura was saying. actually getting in the detail and underlining bits. and about immigration, like as we started. other things happening in the very near future, on saturday we will see task force 50,

the european commission's negotiating team become the uk task force focused on the negotiations for the future relationship. weirdly starting on a saturday. also on a saturday, labour getting together to nail down what is in the manifesto, a proper meeting where they have to mail all —— nail all of that down. it could be interesting to hear what noises off in terms of priorities. that is the clause v meeting. i am getting used to this domestic politics lingo. anything else? possibly we might find out as we talked about the commission that jean—claude juncker will see the year out with us rather than handing over to the new commission with the new uk commissioner or not. another extension? it has already been extended, my friend. another one. it should have started on the 1st of november. kicking that can. and nearly all of those days, you will be able to listen to a fresh episode of electioncast, the almost daily podcast about the election campaign. right, bye, everyone. bye! goodbye. i'm sitting between you.

most m ost pla ces most places have been dry today. a few spots down into wales and the far south—west. tonight very little change. we will hold on to the weather front. at the clear spells in the midlands and south east where it could turn chile by the end of the night. outbreaks of rain and snow on the hills. with more clout it should be less cold than last night. tomorrow a similar sort of picture. we hold on to the weather front in wales and the south west was that some of the rain could be heading in the north—east of england

as we move through the day. increasing sunshine in scotland and northern ireland as high pressure builds in that it will be chilly for most. building on four monday and tuesday next week. we will see two fine days. cold and frosty mornings with mr and fog. midway, to low pressure m oves with mr and fog. midway, to low pressure moves of the atlantic. the winds are coming up from the south.

this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines at 3... prince andrew speaks publicly for the first time, about his friendship with the convicted sex offender, jeffrey epstein. in an exclusive interview with bbc newsnight, the duke says it was wrong to stay at epstein's house, and admits he let "the side down". i admit fully that...that...that...that my... ..judgment was probably coloured by my... ..um, tendency to be too honourable, but that's just the way it is. prince andrew also said he had "no recollection" of meeting virginia roberts, who claims she was forced to have sex with him when she was 17 after being groomed by epstein. he denies any inappropriate conduct. an investigation is under way into the cause of a fire