this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines at six... 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 he was wrong to stay at epstein‘s house — and admits he let "the side down". i admit fully that myjudgment was probably coloured by my... tendency to be too honourable. but that's just the way it is. prince andrew said he had "no recollection" of meeting one of epstein‘s chief accusers, virginia roberts. miss roberts claims she was forced to have sex with the duke when she was 17 after being groomed by epstein. prince andrew denies any inappropriate conduct. the education secretary orders

universities to review fire safety in all their buildings after 200 firefighters spent more than nine hours tackling a fire at a student hall in bolton. jeremy corbyn is leading a meeting of leading labour and trade union figures to decide which policies will be included in the party's election manifesto. competing on green issues — the conservatives promise to plant 30 million trees a year by 2025 — but the liberal democrats say they can plant twice as many. prince andrew has told the bbc he categorically denies having sexual relations with virginia roberts — who says she was forced to have sex

with him when she was 17 years old. in an interview with bbc‘s newsnight, he's answered questions for the first time about his links with the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. the duke of york said a sense of honour led him to continue his assocation with the disgraced financier. our royal correspondent nick witchell reports. the year is 2010. prince andrew is in new york. he is videoed staying at the mansion of a convicted child sex offender called jeffrey epstein, who'd just been released from an 18—month prison sentence. andrew's presence gives rise to questions, put to him by bbc newsnight‘s emily maitlis. you were staying at the house... yes. ..of a convicted sex offender. it was a convenient place to say. i mean, i've gone through this in my mind so many times. at the end of the day, with the benefit of all the hindsight that one could have,

it was definitely the wrong thing to do but, at the time, i felt it was the honourable and right thing to do. and i admit fully that myjudgment was probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable, but that's just the way it is. and then there's andrew's alleged contact with the then 17—year—old virginia roberts, was on epstein‘s payroll. she has alleged that andrew seduced her. that is something, andrew says in the interview, that never happened. she says she met you in 2001. she says she dined with you, danced with you at tramp nightclub in london, she went on to have sex with you in a house in belgravia belonging to ghislaine maxwell, your friend. your response? i have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever. you don't remember meeting her? no.

it was in 2001, according to virginia roberts, that she had sex with andrew on three occasions, including one orgy. the palace has denied that. in 2008, epstein was convicted of procuring for prostitution a girl under the age of 18. he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. it was in 2010, after epstein had been released from prison, that andrew visited him in new york and stayed at his mansion. i stayed with him, and that's the bit that, as it were, i kick myself for on a daily basis, because it was not something that was becoming of a member of a royal family, and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices, and i let the side down, simple as that. but nothing about this story is simple. jeffrey epstein can't answer questions. he took his own life in august.

as for andrew, lawyers for virginia roberts want him to make a statement under oath. the us authorities would most certainly like to hear his account of everything he witnessed. nicholas witchell, bbc news. earlier i spoke to the pr agent mark borkowski and asked him if prince andrew had been his client, whether he would have advised him to do this interview. i would have said no, don't do it. to me it's a gamble and you don't gamble in this day and age with reputation. particularly when the whole social media universe can judge you. i listened to a couple of extracts from the package and i suspected... i agree with nicholas witchell, you can'tjudge an interview until you've seen it, but there are a couple of tones in his voice where he felt the questions were quite wearisome. and i think he finds the whole situation wearisome. and clearly this is a man who wants to do a lot of good for the country,

has a lot of charitable interests. i suspect he is looking at his diary for next year and it probably isn't as full as it has been in previous years. and he wants to rid himself. so it's a desperate act. and when you are categorically saying you do not remember this woman, when there is lots of photographic evidence, and this woman is saying you definitely did meet me and we had an intimate relationship of sorts, you know, you better be absolutely sure that that isn't going to come back and haunt you as the allegations of monica lewinsky came to haunt bill clinton. this is not a situation he is in control. we've heard that clearly he wasn't given any prepared questions, it wouldn't take a person with rudiments of public relations to understand what questions are coming his way, but this is a high—risk gamble. and when previous members of the royal family have taken high—risk gambles, princess diana

with the martin bashir interview, and of course, prince charles, they ended up not going the way that the royal family wished and created massive disruption. clearly, this is an attempt to put a line under it. i would have thought that he woke up to see the papers and see the news across the world and would have been getting indigestion before his breakfast. the alternative, i suppose, following your line of argument, is that you stay quiet, you don't deal with the issues head on and you hope they go away. to an extent, that's a gamble as well, isn't it? we live in a world of sort of short—term amnesia and long memory loss. you know, i would suggest that this is not one of the premier members of the royal family. clearly, meghan has been at the centre of attention and has probably deflected away from this.

i am not aware of the issues surrounding this that's going on below the water line, and clearly stuff is going on that might have crowded his judgment. but there is also the opportunity to put your best foot forward and suggest an interview, but you need to be able to have all your cards on the table and understand that risk. maybe they have. but again, nicholas witchell suggesting that official channels in buckingham palace have not been across this, it has been a personal decision. and sometimes people who don't have the greatest relationship with the media and don't have the greatest respect forjournalists, and he hasn't got many friends and has been quite belligerent in the way that he has not interacted with the media, so going in now with all that history isn't altogether a sound situation. and you are correct, you can't let this run on much longer. but i think the timing of it at the moment, there's so much going on with the election

and the issues in america where story resonates with trump, and possible impeachment, it is not a bad time to do an interview and hope that it buries it. i think he'll open up quite a lot of questions. and ultimately the man, you know, is not guilty of anything, he's not been charged with anything. there's a huge amount of speculation. i guess it will come the day that the way to answer it is in a court of law. at the moment, this man is presumed guilty and is defending his innocence, which is clearly why he feels he has to strike back. and you can see the full interview in a bbc newsnight special on bbc 2 — and here on the news channel — tonight at nine oclock and also on the iplayer. an investigation is underway into the cause of a fire at a block of student flats in bolton. witnesses say the blaze spread quickly to the upper floors, prompting concerns about the cladding on the block. two people were injured. from bolton, 0livia

richwald reports. these videos are posted on social media show and intense fire which spread rapidly, sending chunks of burning cladding and sparks to the ground. at first, some of the stu d e nts ground. at first, some of the students ignored the alarms. there isa girl let students ignored the alarms. there is a girl let my girl, who came running and was banging on doors and shejust running and was banging on doors and she just started screaming saying, there is a fire, get out of here right now. we were running down the stairs and it was getting higher and higher. the cladding on this building is not the same as that which has been blamed from exacerbating the fire at granville tower in 2017, which 72 people. the stu d e nts tower in 2017, which 72 people. the students have been reassured it was safe. pictures posted on social media has raised alarm bells. this is not a grenville scenario, it is a

different type of material. it is a material that is combustible. as we have seen from the footage, once it ta kes have seen from the footage, once it takes hold with a fire, it has the potential to impinge on the evacuation of the occupants. this afternoon, the prime minister visited a shelter to meet affected students. and then to the scene where he met firefighters. the university of bolton says it is finding new accommodation for its stu d e nts finding new accommodation for its students and offering them support. all of my belongings, there are all gone. and how are you feeling? traumatised. tonight, there is a warning from the fire brigade's union, he described the video is as alarming and say urgent action is needed. there have been skirmishes in paris, between police and yellow vest protesters, a year on from the first of the movement's weekly demonstrations. demonstrators threw projectiles at riot police, who responded with tear gas. they first took to the streets

to protest against president macron‘s fuel tax hike, but the movement went on to challenge his wider reforms, even demanding his resignation. hugh schofield has sent this report. one year on, not the champs—elysees time, but the place d'italie in the east of the city, and the rioters are out again. maybe they are only a minority among the yellow vest protesters but they are certainly setting the tone. this was supposed to be the starting point for a peaceful march for gilets jaunes through the centre of paris. instead, we have burning barricades, clouds of tear gas, project has been thrown at police. scenes are very reminiscent of this time last year. earlier, a group of protesters tried to block the paris ring road. noticeably, many of them are no longer wearing what was their uniform,

the high visibility vest, that is because they say it makes them identifiable more easily arrested. they have come, they said, to march. instead, they have been bottled in by riot police and stifled. their one goal is quite simply to pick up the demonstrations before it even begins. we are here to we demonstrate. we don't agree with what macron says. we are fed up, we are working just to survive. today is one year since gilets jaunes took to the streets to demand social, tax and economicjustice. one year later, nothing has changed. we are still angry and we're still here. and they gas us and still they beat us. one year on, the yellow vest certainly can't have the numbers are used to and with this policing is proving effective. but from many people in france, the spirit of resistance lives on. the headlines on bbc news...

the duke of york says he "let the side down" by staying at the home of convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein in new york. (00v)the education secretary orders universities to review fire safety the education secretary orders universities to review fire safety in all their buildings after a blaze rips through a student hall in bolton. competing on green policies — the conservatives say they will plant 30 million trees a year by 2025 — but the libdems say they can plant twice as many. meanwhile, leading labour and trade union figures are meeting to decide which policies will be included in the party's election manifesto the snp leader nicola sturgeon has called on the scottish people to deny boris johnson the ‘majority he craves'. speaking on the campaign trail on the east coast of scotland, she said that evidence suggests that brexit will hit the north east of scotland harder than anywhere else. 0ur news correspondent alexandra mackenzie sent this update. nicola sturgeon has been out campaigning across the north—east of scotland.

she was here in arbroath, the home of the arbroath smokie. her main message today has been about brexit. scotland voted to remain within the european union and nicola sturgeon has said today a vote for the snp is a vote against borisjohnson‘s hard brexit. in her words, a vote for the snp is a vote to stop scotland being taken out of the european union against its will. there are 13 tory mps across scotland and nicola sturgeon has said that the snp is the main challenger in all of those seats. she has said that this election is probably the most important in her lifetime. nicola sturgeon has also said, again, she would like an independence referendum in 2020. she said that scotland would be better if the power was within the hands of the scottish people. now, we are here in arbroath. this is where the declaration of scottish independence was signed in 1320.

so possibly no coincidence that nicola sturgeon was here earlier today. elsewhere, the conservatives and the liberal democrats are both promising to plant millions of trees to tackle climate change — if they win the election. the tories said there would be 30 million new trees every year by 2025. while the lib dems are pledging to plant twice as many. 0ur news correspondent danjohnson has been on the campaign trail with the prime minister in mansfield — he sent us this update. the prime minister has been out and about on the streets of mansfield this morning, knocking on doors, trying to get the message across about getting brexit done. it is the slogan on the side of the bus. not the place you would expect to see a conservative prime minister. farmer a industrial area and mining town. in 2017 for the first time, this seat switched from previously i was

having a labour mp to having a conservative mp. then bradley is seeking re—election here. it is a sign that the conservatives are determined on defending the gains they have made at the last election. we have had a very extensive meeting of our party's national executive, shadow cabinet and other people as well. we have reached unanimous agreement on the contents of our ma nifesto, agreement on the contents of our manifesto, which will be published next week. that manifesto is a transformative next week. that manifesto is a tra nsformative document that next week. that manifesto is a transformative document that will change the lives of the people of this country for the better. it will bea this country for the better. it will be a once in a generation opportunity to vote for a more egalitarian society who cares for more, andi egalitarian society who cares for more, and i am very, very proud of the contents of it and i can't wait to ta ke the contents of it and i can't wait to take the contents and its promise ofa to take the contents and its promise of a better britain to everyone, all around this country, during our election campaign. thank you very much indeed. during mac. that was

jeremy corbyn speaking after the meeting this afternoon. as you heard him saying, unanimous agreement on the contents of that manifesto that will be published next week. he is describing it as a transformative document. let speak to our political correspondent who has been waiting for some hours outside that building for some hours outside that building for news. so, a short statement from jeremy corbyn but he says unanimous agreement. . it is set unanimous agreement. . it is set unanimous agreement. they did get unanimous agreement. they did get unanimous agreement in the end and one of the reasons that individual policies that some of them don't like, but it only get to vote on the whole document, more than 100 pages, and attempt to reach agreement in the end. they tend not to have big arguments in public during the course of a general election campaign. it was no surprise he said it was unanimous. that is not to say they were i meant is in there. ——

there were not arguments in there. it was contentious over freedom of movement, where the grass roots at the conference wanted a commitment to extend free movement, notjust to protect or maintain it. it has been a lot of talk about how they handle this particular issue, whether they would alienate voters worried about immigration. the emphasis seems to be on strong regulation to reassure people they will not be undercut by migrant workers. i spoke to one of the left—wing members of the group, he said, we'll have to wait until next week to see the manifesto but the arguments, the issue, have been resolved. there were some other arguments to over whether the party should be committing itself to net zero carbon emissions by 2030. some of the trade union is not very happy on that point, did not think it was realistic. i am told, it likely that

commitment to be in the manifesto but the wording around it might suggest more of a target a deadline. there are people now coming out of a meeting. there is the party chairman. how of the meeting go? the meeting was very good. this is the best manifesto. the new policies very exciting and i look forward to seeing you on thursday when i would be revealed. just wait that little bit longer. did you sort out the tensions overfreedom of bit longer. did you sort out the tensions over freedom of movement? everybody was for it. good discussions, good debate. it was a fantastic meeting. very lengthy because we have great policies. much longer than we thought, six hours. six hours to decide the future of the country? six hours to transform society? that is what it is all about. everyone is that make eve ryo ne about. everyone is that make everyone was on the same page?l

great discussion, great debate. excellent environment. we are really pleased with it. we are looking forward to releasing the manifesto on thursday. just bear with us and you will be as excited as what i am. are you abolishing private schools? we will be releasing our manifesto on thursday. more radical than 2017? more radical. that was the party chairman saying it is a more radical ma nifesto chairman saying it is a more radical manifesto than 2017, 2017 was talking about nationalising the water industry, this time partial nationalisation of bt. radical policies, but we are not supposed to see the details until thursday, which is when they will have the ma nifesto which is when they will have the manifesto launch. he said thursday, didn't he? we have thursday marked out for labour. are we going to see other party manifestos in the next seven other party manifestos in the next seven days? yes, very likely.

nothing has been officially confirmed. i would expect something from the liberal democrats mid week. the conservatives are possibly not until the week after. we will leave you for the time being but thank you very much indeed. ian watson outside the labour party meeting which has just ended there in central london. the environment agency is warning of high water levels in the west of england as water continues to flow down the river severn and avon. 0ne place particularly susceptible to flooding is tewkesbury in gloucestershire, where properties have already suffered damage. andrew plant is there for us and sent this update. they call this the island and you can see why. people see this every year. the bit in the middle isjust a field for about ten months a year.

it isa field for about ten months a year. it is a lake. that happens every year. the problem is when it sweeps into the areas where people live. that is beginning to happen already this year. the worst flooding was in 2007. hundreds of homes were flooded. they are talking about this year possibly being the worst since then. everybody you talk to on the streets say they are keeping one eye on the water levels, people taking precautions, people who are willing to admit putting up floodgates. those will be. we have already seen a couple of basements that are covered in water. people are putting the pumps on to get rid of that. they have pumps that are ready to get rid of the water if it does start to come into the homes. the environment agency see it as it delayed reaction. the rivers swell with the reins from the past few days. the meat here and they reach a peak. the are expecting that to

happen. everybody keeping a very close eye on what happens with the waters here. we all know sir rod stewart for his husky voice and big hits like ‘sailing' and ‘maggie may‘ — but did you know he also has a big passion for little trains? sir rod has spent the last 23 years building an epic model railway, which he unveiled for the first time this week. he's been telling david farrell, from bbc scotland, how the project has helped him relax while recording a new album. action. action!

sir rod stewart, it is a pleasure to chat to you. we're gonna talk about one of your passions, celtic and football, but if we talk about that now, we're gonna use use up the full ten minutes, i believe, but one of your other passions has come to light this week — the model railway. 23 years in the making. where did this start? i built a house in beverly hills at the turn of the century, in the early ‘90s, and i dedicated — i knew i was going to build this model railway. so at the top of the house, i built a special, huge room, like a big attic. i have always been into trains, always, since i was a kid. does it help you switch off? it really does. it'is the finest hobby, it's three—dimensional, it'is wonderful, you get to be a carpenter and everything. now, that's not the only tracks you are making — your new album is coming out in the next week. you have teamed up with the royal philharmonic orchestra for this. yeah, it's — i'm not the first one to do it. you'll remember elvis has done it, i think fleetwood mac have done it. it is all the classic standards that have made me, you know, famous over the years. and itjust brings out a new light. # you stole my soul but i love you anyway. you spoke out about your cancer diagnosis.

yeah. what was it that made you want to talk about that after you had got the all—clear? um, simply to help people. i was doing a show with ronnie wood for prostate cancer, and i said to ronnie "this might be a good place to tell everybody, now that i have sort of got the all—clear". he said "yeah, go ahead and do it" and, you know, "i'll be right by your side." so i told everybody and everybody was aghast, you know, that i have been with it for 2.5 years and i had worked through all of that time — which was very helpful. did you, at that point, think "do you know what? i'm going to have to slow down and take it easy?" no, not at all! not at all. it's — i love what i do. i know it's gonna end one day, but i'm gonna make the most of it while i can. your other passions, of course — music, model railways and football. well, you'd better put my kids and my family in there or else, i will get into trouble! what comes first? football... ? no, the kids come first. yeah, absolutely, they really do. my two young — all my boys are celtic supporters, and i havejust started a junior celtic team under tens, for my little boy. they all come out in their hoops

and their hoops tracksuits and it gives me so much pleasure! just before you go, we have got something for you, because i hear you like to wake up the kids back home in a different manner. you use bagpipes, i believe? oh, man! that is great! so we've got you your own set of bagpipes, so that you can wake the kids up — because you play them on cds, is that right? ido! when they are late for school in the morning, i put a cd on and turn it up! i do not know if you have played the bagpipes before but... no! i can make the noise! do you want to just have a try? show me how to put ‘em on. right. so you need to put it underyourarm. yeah. there we go. that's it. blow into it. and then... imean... we were on a budget when we were buying it, sir rod. bagpipes squeak. so we felt... and then this — that here, so if you put that, so into your mouth with the... just talk amongst yourselves, will you? we don't need to worry about that bit. put this over here. right, 0k. put it round here, like that? you could wear it as sort

of a scarf almost. thanks, man! that's great! nice to meet you. thank you. oh, i can't wait to wake the boys up with this! that's fabulous. cheers, mate. thank you. the bagpipes are a work in progress, let's say. let's have a look at the weather. this weather front bring increasing showers. not quite as cold here as it was the previous night. some patchy rain to central and northern england and into wales, the far south—west. where you hold on the cloud, not lower than three to six celsius. sunday, a similar picture. we could see some bursts of rain across the north—east. quite wet year through the day. glimpses of greatness across the south. it is going to be another chilly day. then

this area of high pressure really built environment and tuesday across the uk. a nice winter of fine weather. plenty of sunshine. very cold. frosty mornings. from midweek, and settled again. strengthening wind.

hello this is bbc news with julian worricker. the headlines. prince andrew speaks publicly for the first time about his friendship with the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. in an exclusive interview with bbc newsnight, the duke says he was wrong to stay at epstein's house and admits he "let the side down". that's the bit that... as it were, i kick myself for on a daily basis because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family. prince andrew said he had "no recollection" of meeting virginia roberts, who claims

she was forced to have sex