you're watching bbc newsroom live — it's11am and these are the main stories this morning: in the next few minutes labour will jeremy corbyn launches launch their election manifesto — labour's election manifesto, promising the biggest council house calling it the most ambitious plan building programme in decades. in decades to transform britain. the party promises to build 100,000 this is the scene at the launch in birmingham, new council homes a year, we'll bring it to you live shortly. and a windfall tax on oil companies. votes for this manifesto of hope. the former first minister of scotland alex salmond appears it is time for real change. in court charged with sexual offences against ten women. he denies all the charges. thank you. lawyers representing the victims we'll be assessing of the sex offenderjeffrey epstein labour's promises, and whether they‘ re affordable. say prince andrew should put himself also this lunchtime... forward to be interviewed by us prince andrew in authorities, after his statement windsor this morning, amid growing calls for him to talk saying he would step down from royal duties. to american investigators. he should volunteer to cooperate alex salmond appears in court

with law enforcement without any accused of sexual offences condition and without any more delay. the number of people being sectioned by police in england and wales increases by a fifth in two years. regardless of who is the biggest band in the world is, you have to realise that you're going to be polishing ed sheeran‘s boots. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. labour will unveil its general election manifesto as the party sets out

its plan for government. jeremy corbyn says the programme represents the "most radical and ambitious plan to transform the country in decades". it's expected to include proposals for a windfall tax on oil companies. labour says it wants to shift the uk towards a low—carbon, green economy. they say they'll set up a new green transformation fund, worth 250 billion pounds, to be paid for through borrowing, creating hundreds of thousands of ‘green apprenticeships‘. housing is another core issue in the manifesto — the party says it will expand social and affordable housing, building 100,000 council homes a year in england by the end of the next five—year parliament. they've also promised to build 50,000 affordable homes. the conservatives, meanwhile, have put forward their own proposals to boost the housing stock, help first—time buyers and spend more on social care. 0ur assistant political

editor norman smith is in birmingham for us. what can we expect? what do you think the promises, the pledges in this manifesto, what will be the most eye—catching and gain the most traction? we are told there will be more headline announcements in this ma nifesto. more headline announcements in this manifesto. an awful lot is riding on this document, they were trailing theresa may at the last election, and that was the beginning of the game change, when the manifesto was released and jeremy corbyn began getting traction. they are hoping this manifesto will repeat that trick. fully costed, other details, they say, there are in here, but a lot is riding on this. they are hoping to shift the dynamics of this election away from brexit and onto what they regard as cora

bread—and—butter traditional labour issues. housing, jobs, the health service, local communities. that is what this document is all about, thatis what this document is all about, that is why we had the trail this morning of that plan to build 150,000 council and housing association houses every year, because that underpins their views that the private sector in many areas of our life has failed, and is failing, and the way to rectify many of the difficulties we face is by handing over responsibility to the state. so, in terms of housing, they ta ke state. so, in terms of housing, they take the view that many local families simply can't afford local houses, they can't afford private rents. the solution is to rely on the state to build council houses, and local authorities will also have the power to buy back council houses that have been sold off. similarly, if you look at an area like job creation, they are hoping that

through their £400 million transformation funds, they can kick—start job creation transformation funds, they can kick—startjob creation in parts of the country which face massive deindustrialisation. so, places outside of the south and metropolitan britain, and some of those areas where they used to rely on coal mines and the steel industry to try and please state back to jobs, and also to various, and they claim that they can create a million green jobs, claim that they can create a million greenjobs, and claim that they can create a million green jobs, and that claim that they can create a million greenjobs, and that is part of an overall pitch which is to say the way the country moves forward is for the state to step back from the economy, step back into the society and peoples lives. you mention the costings for all of these. how much detail is there on how all of these proposals and pledges will be paid for? well, that is going to be one of the key issues, because there is a huge bundle of promises, many of

the massively expensive. labour say that 95% of voters will see no increase in their income tax, vat or national insurance. in other words, it is the top 5%, they say, who will be hit. at the moment all we know is that they are proposing a 45p rate for those earning more than £85,000, but clearly they are going to have to find money from elsewhere. 0ne but clearly they are going to have to find money from elsewhere. one of the ideas i think you're finding here is a proposalfor a windfall tax on the oil companies, and that has potential to be a big revenue earner. the rest of the cash will come, bluntly, from borrowing, and labourers relying on the fact that interest rates at the moment are low. in other words, interest rates at the moment are low. in otherwords, it interest rates at the moment are low. in other words, it is a cheap time to borrow. the difficulty is if the city of the bond markets decide, actually, they are not so keen on

lending to a labour government, racking up massive debts, and interest rates start to rise. then it becomes much more painful. all the details are in here, and that is what we are going to have to go through, line by line, because many of the commitments are hugely expensive. things like, for example, scrapping tuition fees. 0ne expensive. things like, for example, scrapping tuition fees. one of the headline proposals. also the suggestion of providing free personal care for those aged over 65. there is also the suggestion of reintroducing free prescriptions. you can just see reintroducing free prescriptions. you canjust see members of reintroducing free prescriptions. you can just see members of the shadow cabinet now are taking to the stage, led by diane abbott. it is a massively expensive set of proposals that labour is outlining, but they believe that this represents real change and that many, many people feel that politics is just carried on as usual, despite the promises of politicians, and they are hoping they will be a desire for their

radicalism contained in this document, and certainly, when you look at the language, the words that mr corbyn is expected to use in launching this speech, it is red in tooth and claw. they will talk about how labour's programme will be opposed by the billionaires, by the establishment, by the wealthy and privileged. how he says the political establishment has for decades thwarted real change in this country, and that is what he said this manifesto will at long last bring about, but it is all based on the calculation that there is now a genuine appetite for change, in part, they think, because of the impact of austerity and the sense of austerity fatigue, notjust in working class communities, but middle income families who have seen their local facilities, middle income families who have seen their localfacilities, hospitals middle income families who have seen their local facilities, hospitals or libraries, or even the local bus

service, denuded of cash. so, they think there is now a real hungerfor a radical change. that is going to be put to the test, because really you have to go back to, i suspect, michael foot‘s 1983 manifesto to find a labour party going into the election was such a radical ma nifesto. election was such a radical manifesto. forgetting about the pose for a second, what is your sense on the ground of how labour feel they are doing? especially in those really closely fought marginal constituencies? i think there was a degree of nervousness before the live television debates, when there was a view that mr corbyn actually put upa was a view that mr corbyn actually put up a much better performance of people expected. i think if he had done badly and that debate, or there was a view thatjeremy corbyn failed to land his blues, then i think real nerves would begin to grip, i think the reason, frankly, it's because of

the reason, frankly, it's because of the enormity of the issue of brexit, and this document is in part about getting the focus away from brexit back onto those bread—and—butter issues that i was talking about. namely, housing, transport, the health service. it wants to make this an election about ending austerity in public services, and if they can do that then it is game on, but we all know brexit is such a massive issue, and mr corbyn has face real issues when he was directly challenged about what his viewers, are you for the eve or do you want to remain? he has only been able to say, well, i want to leave it up to the british people, and that has been weakness which he has been unable to escape from, because the brexit strategy is a balancing act to try to keep on board labour remain as well not alienating those

in the west midlands here and in the north of england that have been targeted by boris johnson. north of england that have been targeted by borisjohnson. so, mr corbyn has been having to pursue this very precarious balancing act, and that has been awkward for him, and that has been awkward for him, and that has been awkward for him, and that is why, in here, you will find on the issue of free movements, the conference motion which suggested that they might extend freedom of movement. there would be no talk of freedom of movement. the shadow business secretary is now going to introduce jeremy shadow business secretary is now going to introducejeremy corbyn. let's just say what she has to say. everyone here in birmingham, it is an absolute honour to speak to you. it's an important moment in our election campaign, the launch of our radical, exciting, transformational manifesto. it is fitting that we are here today in this great city to

launch labour's manifesto. birmingham, like salford, where i am from, was the engine room of britain's first industrial revolution. matthew boulton and james watt's steam engine freed people from slow handwork and unleash productivity and factories across the world. this innovation ushered in a new era of technology. also social changes. the creation of the labour party being one of them, as workers began to organise for better conditions. it is here in birmingham today that we remember this proud history of innovation and hope, as labour sets out its vision for a hope, as labour sets out its vision fora green hope, as labour sets out its vision for a green industrial revolution.

this we stand at the brink of unstoppable change. we must confront the climate environment emergency was dealing with growing inequality and insecurity right across britain. but the tories sat by as industries packed up and shipped overseas. they wasted a decade serving the interests of big polluters. the tories and their billionaire friends planned for their own futures at the expense of hours, and now labour is on your side, and the future is ours to make. we won't leave our fate up to market forces. instead, we are going to use the might of government to support

oui’ the might of government to support our people, our industries and our businesses. just as the first industrial revolution brought jobs and pride to our towns, labour's green industrial revolution will rebuild them with whole industries for parts of our country that have been neglected for too long, and these new industries will bring with them rewarding, well— paid jobs. these new industries will bring with them rewarding, well—paid jobs. take them rewarding, well—paid jobs. take the west midlands, where we gather today. this region is home to one of the uk's biggest success stories, the uk's biggest success stories, the automotive sector. a sector under siege from the tories' lack of ambition. as we act, other countries will lead the way, while our factories and workers are left high and dry. labour's green industrial revolution will invest 14 billion to accelerate the electrification process, creating and safeguarding

220,000 jobs. at the same time, on the move to electric cars will slash oui’ the move to electric cars will slash our omissions, tackling the causes of climate and environment emergency head on, and this is what real change looks like, and that isjust the start, because there is a lot more where that came from in our manifesto, and we have got the perfect person here to tell you all about it. so, without further ado, i would like to introduce someone you can really trust to make real change happen, because he has got a track re cord happen, because he has got a track record of standing strong over decades, of never being swayed from his principles. someone who, with a little help from his friends, has already transformed politics in this country, and that before he is in downing street. friends... please welcome our next prime minister,

jeremy corbyn.

cheering thank you. thank you, others stu d e nts thank you. thank you, others students in this wonderful university to help us launch our ma nifesto university to help us launch our manifesto today. big thanks to birmingham city university for hosting us for this wonderful building, for the launch of our ma nifesto. building, for the launch of our manifesto. thank you so much to all of you. labour's manifesto is a ma nifesto for of you. labour's manifesto is a manifesto for hope. that is what this document is. a manifesto that will bring real change. a manifesto thatis will bring real change. a manifesto that is full of popular policies. that is the political establishment

is black for a generation. you can't have it. at least, that is what the most powerful people in britain and their supporters want you to believe. 0ver their supporters want you to believe. over the next three weeks, they are going to tell you that everything in this manifesto is impossible. that it is too much for you. because they do not want real change in this country. why would they? the system is working just fine for them. it is rigged in their favour. but it is not working for you. if your wages never seem to go up, and your bills never seem to go down, if you are public services

only seem to get worse, despite the heroic efforts of those who work in them, then it is not working for you, and that is why so many people in britain have given up on politics. that is why you hear people say about politicians, they are all the same. well, not any more. because this party, this movement, this manifesto, is different. labour is on your side, and there could be scarcely a clearer demonstration of that than the furious reaction of the richest and most powerful. if the bankers, billionaires and the establishment thought that we represent politics

as usual, then we could be bought off, that nothing was rarely going to change, they wouldn't attack us so ferociously. why bother? but they what we say. they know we will deliver our plans, which is why they wa nt to deliver our plans, which is why they want to stop us being elected. they know we will go after the tax dodgers, the bad bursaries, the big polluters, so that everyone gets a fair chance polluters, so that everyone gets a fairchance in polluters, so that everyone gets a fair chance in life. that's where they threw everything they have at us, because they fear change, they are not on your site. one third of britain's billionaires have donated to the conservative party. the billionaires and the super—rich, the tax dodgers, the bad bosses and the big polluters, they own the conservative party, but they don't own us. they don't own the labour

party. the people own the labour party, and iam the people own the labour party, and i am proud of that. that is why the billionaires attack us. that is why the billionaire owned media mix things up about us. the us presidents who led his country out of the great depression, president roosevelt, had to take on the rich and powerful in america to do it. that is why he said they are unanimous in their hate of me. and i welcome their hatred. he knew that when you are serious about real change, those who profit from a

rigged system, those who squirrelled away the wealth created by millions of people, won't up without a fight. so, i accept that the opposition is inevitable. i accept that the opposition of the billionaires, because we will make those at the top pay theirfair share of because we will make those at the top pay their fair share of tax to help fund the world—class public services for you. that is real change. i accept the hostility of the bad bosses paying poverty pay, because we will give britain a pay rise, starting with a real living wage of at least £10 an hour, including four young workers. that is real change. i accept the implacable opposition of the dodgy landlords, because we will build a million homes,

empowering tenants and control rents. that is real change. i accept the hostility of the big polluters, because we will make sure they pay theirfair because we will make sure they pay their fair share because we will make sure they pay theirfair share of the because we will make sure they pay their fair share of the costs of their fair share of the costs of their destruction, and create a million climatejobs, their destruction, and create a million climate jobs, and their destruction, and create a million climatejobs, and build the healthy green economy of the future. that is real change. i accepted the fierce opposition of the giant health care corporations, because we will stop them sucking profit out of oui’ will stop them sucking profit out of our national health service. that is real change. i accept the hostility of the privatised utilities companies, because we will stop there a great rip—off by bringing rail, mail, water and energy into public

ownership. running down for the people. that is real change. here is a brand—new one. i accept the implacable opposition of the private internet providers, because we are going to give you the very fastest full fibre broadband for free. going to give you the very fastest full fibre broadband forfree. that is real change. you can trust us to do all this, because we are opposed by the vested interests, for standing up for a different kind of society. these policies are fully costed, with no increase in vat or income tax, or national insurance, for anyone owning any less than £85,000 a year.

there is no decrease for 95% of taxpayers. we will deliver real change for the many, not the few. that is what this manifesto is all about. you really can have this plan for real change, because you don't need money to buy it. you just need a vote, and your vote can be more powerful than all the wealth in the world. so, the first step is to make sure you are registered to vote. don't miss out. this is your chance.

if you are not registered, do it today. if you are registered, get your friends and families registered, too. because what the powerful fear is that you will hear what we are offering this manifesto and votes for yourself and your family. that you will find out what is actually in this manifesto, not what the billionaire press claim is in it, and votes for your community. that you will see this manifesto and votes for the person who is struggling, who you do not even know. votes for the young person who cannot even go to the new centre after school, because it has closed its doors. that has nothing to do but hang around on the street. vote for the on falling into debt because she has to fork out for her kids to

go to university, and for her own pa re nt‘s go to university, and for her own parent's care. but for the older person, too afraid to walk down the street because violent crime has doubled under the conservatives austerity programme. but for the soldier who served in the armed forces for years, soldier who served in the armed forces for yea rs, now soldier who served in the armed forces for years, now sleeping in a doorway on a freezing cold winter night, because the mental health services were not there when they needed them. how can any government claim it cares about our country when it cares so little about the people who live here? no one can deny the thirst for real change in britain. i believe that

was a driving force behind the eu referendum vote in 2016. but boris johnson is trying to hijack brexit, to sell out our national health service and sell out the working people of this country. the conservatives want to use brexit to unleash thatcherism on steroids, to inflict more pain on the very communities so viciously attacked by margaret thatcher's government in the 1980s, to benefit the billionaires and the vested interests that they represent. that is why mrjohnson is preparing to sell out our national health service for a united states trade deal that will drive up the cost of medicines and lead to the runaway

privatisation of our health service. 500 million a week of nhs money, enough for 20,000 new nurses, could be handed to big drugs companies as pa rt be handed to big drugs companies as part of a deal now being plotted in secret. if you watch the tv debate on tuesday nights, you will have seen me hold up the sensor had blacked out reports of secret talks between british and american officials. about opening up our health service to us corporations and driving up the cost of medicines. you will have seen mr johnson lose his cool, because he has been found out. let's be clear, labour will never, ever use our national health service as a bargaining chip in trade talks. we

will never let donald trump get his hands on our nhs! not for sale! thank you. as ever, the audience is ahead of me. i was about to say, let's be clear about it, our nhs is not for sale! applause

if you watch the debate, you will have have had a borisjohnson claim he will get brexit done over and over and over and over again. he might still be seeing it for all i know. but you know what, that claim isa know. but you know what, that claim is a fraud on the british people. as a solo deal will be just the beginning of years of drawn—out, bog down negotiations and broken promises. —— his sell—out deal will be... three years, maybe more, according to michel barnier. and has toxic deal with it donald trump will ta ke eve n toxic deal with it donald trump will take even longer. with labour, it will be very different. we will get brexit sorted within six months, because we're not going to rip up main trading relationship. we will

secure a sensible deal that protects manufacturing and the good friday agreement, and then put it to a public vote alongside the option of remaining in the eu. so, if you want to leave without crushing our economy are selling out our nhs, you'll be able to vote for that. if you'll be able to vote for that. if you want to remain, you will be able to vote for that. so, let's take us out of the hands of politicians, and give the british people the final say. it's time to bring our divided country together! and i want to bring our divided country together so that we can get on with the real task of delivering the real change that britain needs. you all know that in your own

communities and societies. to drive the change, we will unleash a record investment blitz, getting the economy moving in every corner of our country. there will be no no—go areas for the investment strategy that we have. that is about their jobs at the end of your god, it's about breathing new life into your area, dividing your high street, that wonderful sense of community that wonderful sense of community that used to be dear in every high street all over the country. our investment blitz will upgrade our national infrastructure in every region of england and every nation of the united kingdom. and it will rebuild our schools, our hospitals, ca re rebuild our schools, our hospitals, care homes and of the housing so desperately needed. this will be

investment on a scale you've never known before. in every town, every city and every region. and with devolved budgets allowing the welsh labour government to build on its success , labour government to build on its success, with huge new projects like the swansea bay tidal lagoon. applause and putting an extra 100 billion into scotland to boost the scottish economy and secured the future of industry, and properly fund our public services. labour will tra nsfer public services. labour will transfer our economies, so no one is held back and no community is neglected. and that transformation will be a green transformation. we can no longer deny the climate emergency. we can see it all around

us. as the recent floods and yorkshire and the east midlands have shown, we have no time to waste. the crisis demands swift action, but it isn't right to load the cost of the climate emergency on to the north, the builder, or the energy worker. so, a labour government will ensure the big oil and gas corporations that profit from heating up our planet will shoulder the burden and pay theirfair share planet will shoulder the burden and pay their fair share through a just transition of tax. north sea oil and gas workers have the in this country for decades, often working under extremely dangerous conditions. we wa nt extremely dangerous conditions. we want hang them out to dry. there is a future for their skills and their

communities come up with new careers and secure, well—paid jobs. the scale of the climate breakdown is huge. 0ur response must be on a scale to match it. so, as it says in a manifesto, labour will create 1 million new greenjobs a manifesto, labour will create 1 million new green jobs as part of our green industrial revolution. 1 millionjobs from a building wind turbines to insulating homes, from re —forest in turbines to insulating homes, from re—forest in their great countryside of this country, to manufacturing new electric vehicles. margaret thatcher posh government wiped out absolutely huge swathes of british industry. the next labour government will rebuild it as a green industry, the cutting—edge industry of the future. places his identity and pride were steeped in the skills of

the people who love there will thrive once more. applause because with this manifesto, labour put to the government on your side. if you are a patient or a nurse, labour is on your side. we will rescue our nhs, make dental checkups free, recruiter thousands of nurses and doctors and to bring down waiting lists. if you're a student, labour is on your side. we will create... cheering we will create a national education service, make lifelong education it

right, and value technical education as highly as academic learning, and will bring back maintenance grants... applause and yes, let's be clear, we will scrap university tuition fees. cheering thank you. if you are reaching old

age, labour is on your side. you see, were inclusive. very inclusive. we will protect pensions and provide free personal care for those who need it. if you are living with a disability, labour is on your side. we will update the equality act. and labour brought the scrap universal credit. cheering —— labour will scrap universal credit. if you are a tenant, labour

is on your side, because will launch the biggest council house building programme since the 1960s, and cap rents. and if you are a new parent, labour is on your side. we will guarantee 30 hours of free childcare for all to market to two to four—year—olds. these ideas haven't come out of thin air. they have been developed by people like you working together, because labour is a party of experts. i mean, the people who produce the goods and to deliver our

services, at the sharp end— carers, teachers, train drivers, engineers, tech workers — all experts in their fields. and today, as a carers apostrophe day. let's think about them for a moment, the huge work they do to care for people, that they do to care for people, that they are not properly rewarded for. they do a fantasticjob. they are pa rt they do a fantasticjob. they are part of our community and part of our society. that is why when labour wins, the nurse wins, the student wins, the nurse wins, the student wins, the nurse wins, the student wins, the pension at once, the te na nt wins, the pension at once, the tenant wins, the young couple wins, we all win. this manifesto is, and i am proud of it, the most radical and ambitious plan to transform our

country for decades. in an election offering a once in a generation chance for real change, we can enter privatisation and rescue our national health service. we can get brexit sorted and bring our country together. we can tackle the climate emergency that threatens us all. and we can rewrite the rules of our economy to work for the many, not the few. ignore the wealthy and powerful who tell you that not possible. the future is ours to make together. as the great, brilliant chilean writer pablo wrote so beautifully, you can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep a spring from coming.

applause vote for this manifesto of hope. it's time for real change. thank you! cheering a standing ovation for a jeremy corbyn as she brings has a speech to an end at the launch of the labour party manifesto in birmingham. standing ovations too, unsurprisingly, and that university location, foreheads pledged to scrap tuition fees, and also what has become a pretty common theme in his speeches, the idea that the nhs is

not for sale. —— four has pledged to scrap tuition fees. an emphasis and that speech on talking about real change. he talked about a system rigged in favour of vested interests, and trust, he said, who we re interests, and trust, he said, who were deeply afraid of a labour government. and we are expecting jeremy corbyn to take your questions now, and we are going to listen to the responses to those. can ijust say that's fast, before becky takes questions? 45 years ago today, 21 people were killed and scores injured ina people were killed and scores injured in a terrible act of violence in the city, the birmingham pub bombings. it reminds us that the peace in northern ireland is a priceless, and something we should

never, ever take for granted. we have got some time for questions. i will take them and advance of a three. i don't need to tell this well— behaved audience, that three. i don't need to tell this well—behaved audience, that the people who are putting the questions is forward the full opportunity to have your questions heard, and please give jeremy the opportunity to respond in full. and you will get a gold star at the end of the day. you will get my angry face. you don't want that. first up, we have got the bbc. laura kuenssberg. no, no. sorry. we don't do that. all journalists will be hard with

respect. thank you very much. you have said by your own admission, this manifesto is even more radical than your last one. it is also very popular in the show, but i do think the whole country once much bigger spending and a much bigger state, because this manifesto has put rocket boosters and what you promised in 2017, and it didn't convince the country to give you a majority then? thank you. next up, sky, beth rigby. thank you. jeremy corbyn, you have a radical plan for britain, but the selection is happening because of brexit, and on at this crucial issue, you were laughed at in the tv debate overdue

repeated refusal to say what you personally believe. for many photos, someone who wants to be prime minister but won't answer for that they backed leave or domain is perhaps a bit of a joke. can you give usa perhaps a bit of a joke. can you give us a straight answer today? is it leave or remain? thank you. and then itv, robert preston. it is ok, he is an arsenal supporter, it's fine! it has been a difficult a few weeks, as you know. you have announced a remarkably ambitious programme i a series of industries, and a series of nationalisations. now, much of that will almost certainly be contrary to european union rules on state aid

and competition. so, after the election, is it really possible that the labour party would come out in favour of the men —— remain if that means putting at risk your economic industrial strategy?” means putting at risk your economic industrial strategy? i will deal with those of the first of all. yes, it isa with those of the first of all. yes, it is a radical manifesto, but if you travel around this country and you travel around this country and you talk to people, radical answers are what is necessary. when you have... applause when you have a mental health crisis that disfigures the lives of so many come up when you have so many people in work having to rely on and work benefits, are in some cases even

access food banks in order to survive. when you have so many children in oversized classes, when you have so many children being taught by unqualified teachers, when you have so many people who cannot get a council house, can barely afford a deposit for the private rented sector, and have no hope whatsoever of buying their own home, then you begin to realise the scale of depression that is across the country, and that the scale of unrequited personal as well as collective ambition is there. and when you live in a community that once had a proud industrial bases to it, be it a steel a coleman, a manufacturing plant, many other things like that, and then you walk down the high street now, and you see roller blind shutters covered in graffiti as business after business is gone. when you walk past a library that has been closed, a swimming pool that has been close, a

youth centre that has been sold off, and you just see that skill of depression and ignorance of your needs by governments and others, i think you begin to recognise the scale of needs all across our society. and yes applause it isa society. and yes applause it is a radical manifesto, and i am very proud of that, because i do think that we have to change your ways in this country. the levels of poverty are horrific, and poverty is such a waste, such a waste of the abilities of people. how many children going to an underfunded primary school, living in overcrowded accommodation, not doing terribly well in school, doing less well in secondary school, and only able to achieve the ambitions of wa nt only able to achieve the ambitions of want for themselves? —— and

unable to achieve... how many dragon doctors and engineers are we losing out on because of so many kids growing up in poverty in this country? yes, that's a radical ma nifesto country? yes, that's a radical manifesto is about unleashing all that potential for the future, and that potential for the future, and thatis that potential for the future, and that is why i am so proud of the investment strategy we have put forward , investment strategy we have put forward, bringing those good quality manufacturing jobs and service jobs to all communities across the country, because the levels of difference between spending by central government in london and the south—east compared to the midlands, northeast, north west and yorkshire, is absolutely massive. we cannot go on with first level of inequality across our country. so, our national investment bank will invest for all regions of the country. and if you say, well, we didn't quite win the

lasse schoene election. no, i know that every single day. i know that every time i do an advice bureau and are constituency. i see the problem is getting worse for ordinary people day in, day out and afterwards. and so, iam day in, day out and afterwards. and so, i am absolutely determined that we will get our message across of the radical change that is necessary to deal with the inequalities within our society. and it is, i believe, about bringing people together. best, you a question about the eu, and robert's question was in a similararea. we had and robert's question was in a similar area. we had a referendum in 2016, and the result was what eve ryo ne 2016, and the result was what everyone knows, 52—48. parliament has spent a lot of time discussing brexit, and indeed the shadow cabinet all around me will confirm that the shadow cabinet has spent a great deal of time discussing

brexit. the only chair i ever got at the shadow cabinet meeting when i said brexit isn't on the agenda today. but it is obviously an extremely serious issue. my whole strategy has been to try to understand why people voted remain and why devotedly. because actually there are people in london, the south—east who may well have voted remain who live difficult lives — bad housing, and securejobs and worried about their children's future. they voted remain. there are people living in other parts of the country and exactly the same condition. they voted leave. they actually have the same interest at heart, and that is of a government that will actually do something about the injustice and inequality that they face in their lives. and so, i had made it very clear that we will negotiate with only three

months of taking office, a credible option of leaving the eu that doesn't tear up every trade agreement, and does protect a trade this country has with europe. after all, roughly 50% of 02 is whether your opinion. that would obviously be protected, but it would be an offer to leave the european union with a trade agreement. 0ne offer to leave the european union with a trade agreement. one that doesn't damage all of our public services and our rights in it work. we will put that alongside remain and a referendum, and our government, my government, would accept and carry out the result of that. i think it is responsible to try to bring people together. i think it is a responsible and serious approach to it. the tenor of the questions that you gave me is that they got to carry on forever being divided by the results of 2016. the tenor of what i am saying is, let's get together on this, the

british people have the final say, our government will carry it out what's about the result of that vote is. and the point that robert made about competition rules and state aid rules, we have obviously looked into these extremely carefully. we have had numerous meetings with the eu over the years on a number of issues. so far as we are concerned, this is all possible, otherwise we would not be putting it forward. and i think we have to recognise that across europe, there are many communities that face exactly the same issues as it left behind communities in this country and do it. in northern france and eastern parts of germany, in central europe, people are going through exactly the same problems of a post—industrial society where there is not enough

net investment. 0ur society where there is not enough net investment. our government will a lwa ys net investment. our government will always be one that is arcing for public investment to improve communities. we will never be arguing for tax giveaways at the top, because all that does is increase the levels of inequality, anger and despair within our society. 0k, next up from channel 4, we have got gary gibbon. thank you very much. some bits of the manifesto happily echoes of the 19705. not everyone we old enough to remember the high street spending back then. do you think it actually is misremembered? it gets a bad press? tell us what you think about the 19705. tell us what you think about the 1970s. channel five, tell us what you think about the 1970s. channelfive, andy bell.

thank you. a lot of people listen to your plans for more tax, more borrowing, spending. what do you say to those people who run businesses, ordinary businesses, people who are employed in those businesses, who say they have lots of ideas on how to spend the money but no idea how it is created. —— receipt you have lots of ideas... and lastly, the daily record. jeremy, you talk about a green industrial revolution which would be powered by wind farms of the scottish coast. these wind farms are being built in indonesia, in spain, in belgium and in france, and 1400 workers used to work and for life or think that your green industrial revolution is fanciful. and while we are talking about scotland, the scottish labour party don't want an independence

referendum either sooner or later or ever. so, it's your manifesto a labour manifesto or a scottish manifesto? 0k. first of all, the question from channel 4. we are proposing public ownership of what are obvious monopolies. the royal mail is an obvious monopoly. we will bring royal mail back into public ownership, where it should never have left. we will merge it with the post office, to help create a poster bank on every high street around the country. and we want to treat royal mail delivery workers and the awful weight they are at the present time. talk to your post it next time you see them, and you will find they are relu cta nt to see them, and you will find they are reluctant to even stop working because they have got a machine that tells the office back on that they

have got to carry on walking fast. you can continue to watch us on the bbc news channel, but right now we are saying goodbye to our views scratch viewers on bbc two. and so a company that will take millions of pounds as a golden hello to a chief executive and inserting the working conditions of all its workers, i think that company ought to be in public hands and run responsibly for the benefit of the whole community. and i do say this is a throwback to the 1970s, our public ownership proposals, yes, also cover water and rail, are about bringing natural monopolies into public ownership. think of waterfor a monopolies into public ownership. think of water for a minute. the water industry is in private hands thanks to what the tory government did. it is one that has ripped off a

lot of the public assets that they had. it relies entirely on infrastructure that was brought through public investment. it is making very large profits for hedge funds and overseas owners, and goodness knows who else, and is not terribly well maintained in many parts of the country. indeed, we fill loch ness every year with the weight of water from leaks of our pipes all across this country. i think we can do better than that. and i also think... the rail system isa and i also think... the rail system is a product of our own investment, andi is a product of our own investment, and i think we should get the benefits of that, and also extend those benefits into a proper bus service all across the country. and so, our public ownership model will be one where there is consumer involvement in it come its workers involvement in it come its workers involvement in it come its workers involvement in the running of it whether as local government involvement in the running of it, whether as a regional voice and all of those companies. so, it won't be

top—down in nationalisation with a board appointed by the government. it will actually be something that is more dynamic, more consumer orientated, and more community orientated. and i think it is actually a sensible and responsible way to go forward. i just think for a minute on the way in which our ra i lwa ys a minute on the way in which our railways have been treated. there are railways have been treated. there a re lots of railways have been treated. there are lots of stories told about what british rail was or wasn't like. there are some people in this audience you cannot remember british rule at all, because they are too young. i remember it, and i remember the way it was under resourced by central government, and i now look at the figures and find we are giving more money in subsidies to private rail operators than we have ever given to british rail point it was in public ownership! thanks for your question, andy. thanks for your question, andym isa thanks for your question, andym is a very good question. 0ver thanks for your question, andym is a very good question. over the past year since i became leader of the party, i have spent a lot of

time meeting the british chambers of commerce, the cbi time meeting the british chambers of commerce, the cb! and the federation of small businesses and a lot of other small business associations, andi other small business associations, and i speak to small business owners around the country. they are actually very hard—working, innovative people, who have a very ha rd innovative people, who have a very hard time, because they have great difficulty accessing capital to expand their businesses. they have great difficulty over business rates in some parts of the country, where they are very high on high streets, and they have a hard time in general. so, we are absolutely on their side for the innovation of small business enterprises to grow the economy. many of the most innovative people are those in small businesses, and we are absolutely happy and delighted to work with them all across the country, because they are part of the motive for change. what they tell me is they wa nt change. what they tell me is they want broadband. they want bosses.

they want trains. they want good quality roads. they want access, in order to develop their businesses. —— they want buses. they will transform whole areas of their country. as a result, no business wa nts to country. as a result, no business wants to go there, because every business relies on broadband in orderjust to buy, sell, trade, orderjust to buy, sell, trade, order and delivery. so, orderjust to buy, sell, trade, orderand delivery. so, ours orderjust to buy, sell, trade, order and delivery. so, ours are actually the most up—to—date, modern, forward—thinking, most brilliant ideas you have heard anywhere in election campaign! applause thanks for question from the daily record, and what you said about the wind farms off the scottish coast is absolutely true. potentially 5% of all the uk cosmic electricity needs could be met by wind farms of the west coast of scotland, and scotland has an

incredible tradition of manufacturing and very, very high school days in society, but it hasn't had the investment it needs, and company after company has been put under threat. scotland needs an industrial strategy, which scottish labour are putting forward. i was at demonstration, a rally, in support of workers in fife, and bifab is a great company that could make a wind farms of scotland needs. they get annoyed when they see the ships coming from indonesia ringing the parts from wind farms that will eventually be erected off the coast of scotland. these are a strategic need and asset, and i think they should be made in scotland and the rest of the uk, and this green industrial revolution creates great

job opportunities. a few weeks ago i was near southampton, where there was near southampton, where there was oil powered power plant, which has been replaced by a manufacturer of wind turbine blades. that is part of wind turbine blades. that is part ofa of wind turbine blades. that is part of a green industrial revolution, and will be repeated all over the country. we will invest £100 billion in scotland altogether, and will be a combination of capital investment and form the consequential is in scotland, and it will bring about the transformation of scotland. it is not absolutely our priority to have yet another indie referendum in scotland. that is not our priority. 0ur priority is dealing with the levels of inequality in scotland. after all, glasgow has the lowest life expectancy in the uk. the pollution levels are awful in a number of cities. the housing and property needs have to be addressed, andi property needs have to be addressed, and i think they are best addressed by the kind of investment that we

we re by the kind of investment that we were put into scotland. just to be clear, for the record, we are fighting this election to win. we are not fighting the election to go into coalition with anybody. applause next, we have the daily mirror. jeremy, some voters, white working—class men in particular, don't see this patriotically is that fair? 0n social care, the tories have challenged labour to work cross party to find solutions. would you do that? next we have the times, francis elliott. i wonder if you agree with the lawyers forjeffrey

epstein's victims that prince andrew should have voluntarily given a statement, and whether this should trigger a wider review of the royal household. from the guardian, heather stuart. jeremy, voters don't just need to agree with your diagnosis of britain's social and economic problems, they also need to believe you are the right person to tackle them. with the tories also promising significant public investment, how can you persuade the public to trust you? thanks for those questions. first of all, you asked a question about patriotically. .. do asked a question about patriotically... do support this country, i am patriotically... do support this country, iam patriotic patriotically... do support this country, i am patriotic about this country, i am patriotic about this country and all the people in this country. that means patriotism is

about caring for the entire society. not walking by on the other side of the homeless and the poor. and it also means standing up for values, justice, human rights, democracy, and taking those values out on the world stage, as well. our government will be one that i want all the people of this country to be proud of. a government that governs fairly for all the people of this country, that does recognise the challenges of inequality and injustice, and, around the world, become that voice for environmental sustainability and justice around the world. we cannot ignore the fact that there are six million people around the world there are millions of refugees. let's be proud of what we can do, and when i have spoken to members of the armed forces that went to west

africa to deal with the ebola crisis, or members of the royal navy who plucked drowning refugees out of the mediterranean, they told me how proud they were of the work that they had done. i want us to be proud of all of the work we do all around the world, as well as in this country. patriotism is about supporting each other, not attacking somebody else. i love our literature, our history, our communities and society, and people get bored of me always telling them about the history of the parts of the country visit. they can admit it now! francis, thank you for your question. the revelations aboutjeffrey

for your question. the revelations about jeffrey epstein are for your question. the revelations aboutjeffrey epstein are appalling, and we should start on the principle that there are victims here, desperate young women, who were abominably and appallingly treated. they should be first and foremost and consideration, and the second consideration should be bluntly and clearly this. nobody is above the law, and anybody who has committed something should submit to an investigation. heatherfrom the guardian, thanks to your question. 0ffer guardian, thanks to your question. offer is made by conservatives on spending ever since boris johnson became prime minister are, sometimes, how should i put it... i'm trying to be generous, but if i say... i'm a very generous person! they are inaccurately sourced, in that he arrived in parliament today after he became prime minister and grandly announced it was going to be

40 new hospitals. which was a surprise, mainly for the people behind him. it then turned out, a bit later, it was actually 20, and that then turned out a bit later after that, when parliament was convening in recess, it was six. it then turned out that the six were going to get seed funding, it was something we might do in the future. i'm just saying, it wasn't 40, and he did say it was 40, so that seems like an odd way of enhancing your future expansion of our national health service. the proposals that have been made in other areas, police and other funding, have been made in other areas, police and otherfunding, don't have been made in other areas, police and other funding, don't even match up to the cuts that the tories and the liberal democrats put into operation in 2010. so, yes, our proposals are bold, and i'm proud of

that, and yes, the need is a very great all across the country, but we are very serious great all across the country, but we are very serious about how we're going to do this. this grade book here, funding for real change, goes into a great deal of detail about how it will be done, because i think you have to level with the people of this country, what the tax implications, what we are doing, will be, but the benefits will be, and the benefit that we get of a developing, cohesive, happier society as a result of it. if we carry on on the road that we are on at the present time, what will be the levels of inequality in five or ten yea rs the levels of inequality in five or ten years time? what is the level of homelessness going to be? what kind of public provision of health and housing and education will there actually be? what we are going to do is invest for the future for everybody in this country, for every society in this country. i'm proud of this document, i'm proud of our ma nifesto, of this document, i'm proud of our manifesto, and i'm proud to put our

message out there in the next three weeks so that on the 12th of december, people have got a very clear choice. with us, you get investment, you get hope, you get opportunities. with the other side, what you get? a party funded by billionaires that really isn't offering very much at all, other than same old, same old, more and more inequality, unachievable ambitions for many because of the poverty in which they live. let's turnit poverty in which they live. let's turn it around and value everybody. we have got time for one more final round, and from birmingham city university, chloe. somebody will come up with a mic. so, those are all the questions from media organisations. the q and a session now broadening out, but we will pull away from that at this

point. jeremy corbyn asked a number of questions, including, again, whether he would say clearly whether he would support remain or leave in the event of another vote on eu membership. he did not really digress from answers that he has given before, except to say that the tone of most of those questions, he thought, were quite divisive and actually he thought it was responsible and serious for labour to try to bring people together on this by offering another vote. well, let's explore one aspect of that ma nifesto let's explore one aspect of that manifesto that has been launched by labour this morning, because jeremy corbyn has promised the biggest affordable house—building programme since the 1960s. his pledges include... to put that into context, it has been unusual recently to see hundred

and 50,000 homes built by anybody let alone by local authorities and housing associations. they have managed it in just two of the past ten years, and as is through a combination of council housing, housing associations and the sector. as you can see from this graph, most of those houses built were in fact by the private sector, the blue colour, there, on the graph, taking up colour, there, on the graph, taking up the bulk of the building. joining me down is cbbc‘s statistician. let's talk first of all about that graph, because i think it is important to put that into context. how many houses are being built currently in order to look at what promises are being made parties now? the bulk of the work of house—building is been done by private companies, and what the labour party is promising is council housing and social housing, those of the green and yellow areas, and they account for a much smaller

proportion. of the roughly 150,000 homes bought last year, about 50,000 we re homes bought last year, about 50,000 were built by housing associations, and he is looking to get that from 30,000 up to 50,000, but the really big number here is for council houses. so, that is the green area that can only really see on the far right, because ever since the 70s and 80s it is really dwindled away, and 80s it is really dwindled away, and lastly we were talking about fewer than 5000 houses, and that is a member the labour party are promising to bring forward, five of 200,000. so, the first questions you ask statisticians, is this a big number? yes, this is a big number of council houses. it is a big increase. how a government go back make that happen? are there enough builders to do that? the plan is that they are going to be paying for that they are going to be paying for that directly through council housing, and the federation of master builders, the trade

association, when they asked our members, about half of them are having difficulties recruiting bricklayers are carpenters and joiners, so it may be a tight labour market, about 5% ofjobs in construction, there are about five vacancies running, so with that kind of tension, either you will have to bring in more trained people, train them up, oras bring in more trained people, train them up, or as some of the local authority and council housing that we are talking about, that will have to swallow up workers that in private housing. tell us how labours plans look like alongside other parties. i love the liberal democrats are aiming to get about a hunch... the conservatives who they are on track to build about 200,000

houses a year. that is including conversions, so if you turn an office block into 20 flats, that is included in the conservative figures, and they said they are on target to hit that. let's go back to birmingham. give us your thoughts on what you have heard and the response to it. well, this is a massively ambitious manifesto. you would have to go back to michael foot or clement attlee to find a manifesto to packed with so many huge pledges. among the ones we know, the nationalisation of the utilities, the railways, the internet providers, huge council house—building programme, a million new homes, a million newjobs, created primarily across the country

through a so—called transformation fund, a 5% rise in public sector pay, so hundreds of thousands of nurses, teachers, doctors, police, they will get pay rises of around £1200 a year. on pensions, they are talking about scrapping the rise of the pension age beyond 66, and review for those involved in hard manual labour. they haven't written off student debt, but they have confirmed that they would abolish tuition fees and reintroduce the maintenance grants, and it isjust every page you turn, there are more and more big and costly promises and i suppose that is the rub. how would this be paid for? the answer is by higher taxes on the wealthy, on business and the city, so labour say 95% of people will not see any rise

in income tax, vat or national insurance, but the top 5% well. they will see their income tax go up. business, corporation tax changes reversed, and the city, they are talking about financial tax, reversing changes to the bank levy, bad but perhaps the biggest surprise tax is what is called the transition fund tax, which is an £11 billion windfall tax on the oil and gas companies. that is a huge burden to place on the oil and gas companies. mr corbyn saying that it is part of, if you like, transitioning to a greener economy. so, massively, massively ambitious, and the hope of tea m massively ambitious, and the hope of team corbyn is that this will provide them with the momentum to

start to eat into borisjohnson's lead in the opinion polls. in other words, this manifesto could be a turning point in the election for labour. thank you. the conservatives are also talking about building houses today. borisjohnson will announce plans to deliver a million homes in five years, with extra help for first—time buyers. the proposals include an overhaul of the planning system. let's talk now to nick eardley, who is on the conservatives' election bus in bedfordshire. you're spending a lot of time on that bus lately. tell us more about the conservative's plans on house—building, and how big an area is this for the various parties to try to win votes on, in contrast to the big issue of brexit? it is really interesting, isn't it? we are talking about is big, bold policies thatjeremy corbyn has come up with, and quite frankly the tories don't

wa nt to and quite frankly the tories don't want to be left behind, so they are coming up with big, bold policies of their own to try and counter what jeremy corbyn is offering. in housing, the big pledge boris johnson is making is a million new homes over the next five years. there is various schemes that he is suggesting will help them achieve that target, but it is a big one, it is not going to be easy to do. the other thing he is talking about todayis other thing he is talking about today is how to help people who run the rental market by homes. again, some schemes in place to try and do that, like 5% deposits and long—term fixed term mortgages. again, though, not easy to do, and there are big questions about what that would mean for things like interest rates for first—time buyers. i should point out, it such as housing on the agenda for the tories. yesterday we had the drip feed of the national insurance policy, today we are getting a bit of a drip feed when it

comes to their plans for social care. so, what we have had at this morning that the party is going to pledge £1 billion extra a year for next five years in england. that extra funding will be until 2025. they also want to look for some kind of cross—party initiative to reform the social care system in england. that sounds like an interesting policy, we will be asking the premise are a bit more about that when we speak to him later, but one thing to bear in mind is when boris johnson took over in downing street, the words are used, we are going to fix this crisis in social care once and for all with a clear plan. we have prepared. it sounds a bit like this cross—party initiative is saying, well, may we have not quite go to saying, well, may we have not quite gotoa saying, well, may we have not quite go to a point where there is a fully formulated plan. we will ask him later. enjoy a bus journey. in the past hour,

jeremy corbyn has launched labour's manifesto. he said in government, the party would target bad bosses, big polluters and tax dodgers, and increase spending by 83 billion pounds a year. housing is another core issue in the manifesto — the party says it will expand social and affordable housing, building 100,000 thousand council homes a year in england by the end of the next five—year parliament. joining me now is lulu shooter, policy and public affairs adviser for the federation of master builders. big policies, on house—building. how difficult will it be to deliver on those? just on the commitments themselves, the federation of master builders has been calling for that to bea builders has been calling for that to be a national priority and at the forefront of this, and we are pleased to see these commitments. it will be a challenge to scale up the construction industry to meet these targets. we will be working with the

next government to make sure we had the resources in place, things like the resources in place, things like the available land, making sure that the available land, making sure that the planning systems are invested m, the planning systems are invested in, and making sure we have the skills available to build these homes. you talk about scaling up, how big a scaling up are we talking about, and compare the number of houses the big parties are talking about. in terms of the council homes that were built and the social homes that were built and the social homes that were built last year, there was around 4000 homes, so that it is a huge scaling up according to labour‘s figures. huge scaling up according to labour's figures. so, from 4000 a year to 100,000 a year according to labour. yes, and a vital part of ensuring that we meet these targets is that we reverse the decline in this small building sector. today, they are producing around 12% of our

homes. if you want to meet these targets and ensure that the houses we are building on high quality, we need to reverse the decline in the small housing sector. why has that sector been in decline? there have been a number of key barriers. a disproportionate barrier within the planning system. they tend to focus on larger strategic sites which may be to do with having a lack of resources which makes them unable to pick out smaller sites in their plans. it is harderfor them to find. in terms of the skills, the has been concerned that there has been a drop in the number of premises recently. why is that happening, and how much is brexit affecting workers who might have come to the uk with the skills from actually being in employment here? l or across the board, smalls construction businesses trained two thirds of all the princesses in the

business, so there will be more localjobs and practice opportunities. on immigration, we are calling for a fair and balanced immigration system to ensure that we have the skills needed to build his house. we found in the third quarter of this year that more than half of voters are struggling to hire bricklayers, and more than half were struggling to hire carpenters. there is obviously a lot of work that needs to be done to make sure we can deliver on these homes going forward. thanks for the detail. and throughout the election, we are putting your questions to all of the political parties. at half five this evening, the green party co—leader, sian berry will be here on the bbc news channel answering your questions. so, if you have something you want to know, please do get in touch on twitter — using the hashtag #bbcyourquestions — or you can email us on yourquestions@bbc.co.uk. and do remember to leave your name

and where you're from. just time to let you know a bit about what bbc news has planned for tomorrow. throughout the election campaign, we are looking closely at the places where the final result could be won and lost, and asking people in those places what questions they may have. tomorrow, we will be reporting from norwich, all day, on tv, radio and online, starting with bbc breakfast, and radio 5 live. dojoin us for that. now it's time for a look at the weather. high. we are looking at rather cloudy conditions again to take us through the rest of the afternoon. brighter spells towards the north—west of the country, some rain around, as well, affecting parts of south—west england and southern wales through the rest of the day today. chilly when, quite a bit of rain, temperatures struggling. seven or eight celsius very widely.

0vernight tonight a band of rain pushing northwards across the midlands into northern ireland. some heavy showers and southern wales and southern counties of england, perhaps the odd crack of thunder. frosty nights, but if we see any lengthy breaks, a trust touch of frost developing. rain was start to fizzle, but then through friday afternoon we have more heavy rain on the way, particularly south—west england and wales, and in cornwall the rain will last a good chunk of the rain will last a good chunk of the night, as well. could cause one or two issues here. that is your latest weather.

hello, this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines: labour launch their election manifesto, promising to target bad bosses, big polluters and tax dodgers. vote for this manifesto of hope. it's time for real change. the former first minister of scotland alex salmond appears in court charged with sexual offences against ten women. he denies all the charges. lawyers representing the victims of the sex offender jeffrey epstein say prince andrew should put himself forward to be interviewed by us authorities, after his statement saying he would step down

from royal duties. lawyers for women who say they were sexually assaulted by the convicted paedophile jeffrey epstein have urged the duke of york to give a sworn legal statement about his links to the american financier. prince andrew said yesterday he was willing to help investigations into epstein "if required". he's also withdrawing from public duties because of what he called his "ill—judged association" with epstein, who killed himself injail. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. he and buckingham palace accepted his position had become unsustainable. in a statement, prince andrew said... he went on...

and finally and significantly... all i can say is he should volunteer to co—operate with law enforcement without any condition and without any more delay. the tone was notably contrite, something of a contrast to saturday night's broadcast. any sense now of guilt, regret or shame about any of your behaviour in your friendship with epstein? as far as mr epstein is concerned, it was the wrong decision to go and see him in 2010. do i regret the fact that, that he has quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming? yes. unbecoming?

he was a sex offender. yeah, i'm sorry, i'm being polite. buckingham palace will be hoping that andrew's statement and his withdrawalfrom public duties will stem the criticism. they will be hoping, too, that the epstein allegations have now run their full course. 0ur royal correspondent nicolas witchell joins me now. tell us what you know about it background to this too searching for the prince to withdraw from public duties. who would have been behind making that decision, and what will be the practical effect of it?|j think, by tuesday, it was becoming very apparent to the palace that his position was becoming unsustainable. i think the queen took the initiative in conjunction with the prince of rose, who of courses in new zealand. and i would imagine that the prince of wales which have been quite assertive in that

decision. he, as we know, believe that the monarchy should be smaller, that the monarchy should be smaller, that there should be less people actively involved with it. i am sure that they have sympathy for prince andrew, but i think that by tuesday, asi andrew, but i think that by tuesday, as i say, there was a meeting between andrew and the queen, senior advisers what i would imagine the prince of wales are perhaps on the telephone. and then a final decision taken yesterday. and i think two things will have been decisive, the ebbing of support from commercial organisations for pitch@palace. i think the other thing that will have to stop the queen was the fact that it became a question during the prime ministerial debate on tuesday night, and she is a punctilious

about ensuring that during a period ofa about ensuring that during a period of a general election, that the royalfamily should of a general election, that the royal family should not in any way become an issue in that. and it was clear that if they hadn't taken action, prince andrew might have become somewhere an issue, a debating point for candidates and the election, and they would have been extremely anxious to prevent that. so, final decision yesterday, we are told that prince andrew was allowed to write this statement in his own words, which was issued just before six o'clock. and i suggested these pictures are from this morning. the latest pictures that we have of prince andrew leaving winter this morning. he talks in that statement about helping investigators if required. a lot of lawyers asking, what exactly does that mean? what might happen? i get the impression again that the onus is upon the americans to now ask for him. i don't think he is going to volunteer. i don't think is going to

get on a flight to new york and say, here i am, iam get on a flight to new york and say, here i am, i am available to help. i think the initiative has got to come from over there rather than home taking the initiative here. but lawyers for the victims have said, he really should now demonstrate that what he has said, he is prepared to take action, notjust words, but i don't think he is quite at that point. this qualification, if required, well, clearly he is required. but they have met quite a considerable way, because on tuesday night, they were still seen that requests would be considered and all of that business about that he would have to take legal advice on that sort of thing. they have now moved to that position of, of course, i am willing to cooperate, if required. but i think that the americans are going to have to ask. thank you very much. the former scotland first minister alex salmond has appeared in court charged with fourteen

sexual offences against ten different women. he denies all charges against him. this is what he said outside the court in edinburgh after the hearing. i'm not permitted to say too much today, save that we have lodged our defence statement with the court. it pleads not guilty to all charges and explains some of the circumstances in which they have come about. i'm also conscious we are in the middle of a general election campaign, and i am not going to say anything which would influence that democratic process. we are now into our second year of court actions, first civil and now criminal. it is over ten months since we won the civil action. iam innocent, and i will defend my position vigorously. but the only place, the only proper place to answer criminal charges is in this court, and that is exactly what we intend to do next spring.

now, i would love to take your questions, but you will understand that that will have to wait for another day. so, if you forgive me, i am going to go with my legal team over to parliament hall for a consultation. thank you very much indeed, thank you. 0ur correspondent lorna gordon is outside the court in edinburgh. yes, alex salmond, the former first minister of scotland, a leader of the snp twice, and the man who led scotland, secured a referendum on scottish independence, as appeared at the high court here in edinburgh for a pre—trial hearing in relation to charges he is facing to do with serious sexual assaults. he is facing 14 charges, one of attempted rape,

one of intent to rape, ten counts of sexual assault and two of indecent assault against ten different women. it is alleged that these assaults took place in a variety of locations. those locations include bute house, the scottish parliament, bute house, of course, being the official residence of the first minister here in scotland, so bute house, the scottish parliament, a nightclub, a restaurant and in a car. it was a short hearing in edinburgh, it lasted just a few minutes. it dealt with procedural matters. we learnt of the date that this trial will go ahead, that will be around the beginning of march, and the trial is expected to last four weeks. well, shortly after that hearing here, mr salmond came out and made a statement to the waiting media. he said he wasn't permitted to say too much, but he was not guilty of all the charges. he said, this is entering, now, for him, the second year of court actions.

the first, of course, being civil actions that he took against the scottish government, and an enquiry they held into sexual harassment claims their enquiry was found to be flawed, and they ended up paying mr salmond £500,000 in legal costs. now, of course, following that civil action, this criminal action, which will take place in march. he said he is innocent, and he will defend his position vigorously. well, as you've been hearing all morning, labour launched their manifesto in birmingham today. they've put housing at the centre of campaign to be elected. let's get the view from ceo of the homeless charity shelter, polly neate. give us your thoughts at shelter on how many homes need to be built to

address homelessness. just to be really clear first of all, there is no way of solving the housing emergency that we are in as a country unless we build social housing. so, that is a genuinely affordable homes for people on low incomes, council housing, housing association homes, that sort of home. we are saying that it needs a 20 year house—building programme, which would deliver 3.1 million social homes. so, there are other forms of housing that are needed. people want homeownership, absolutely right. but the real housing crisis is about the lack of social housing. and that equates to around 90,000 social homes, our homes with a social rights of rent. social rent levels per year. and do you think... you clearly don't think thatis you think... you clearly don't think that is deliverable in the immediate

future. you're talking about a 20 year plan. looking at the proposals being put forward by labour today, andindeed being put forward by labour today, and indeed the conservatives and other parties, do you think this is achievable, what they are talking about? yeah, i do. and i think we are now seeing two of the three main parties commit to a programme of social house—building that would be transformational if it happens. what we need to though, we are talking about a long—term plant here. this is not about left or right, this is about the future of the country, and it actually needs all parties to sign up to the need to build social housing. in order to solve our housing. in order to solve our housing emergency, because it is a long—term solution. housing emergency, because it is a long-term solution. labour to do my talking about 100,000 new council homes, but these new social homes aren't necessarily council homes, we should point out. and labour also talking about at least 50,000 affordable homes a year. you're

talking about 90,000 be needed a year. there is a difference between the usual definition of affordable and the social rent homes that we are talking about. that would be good to get into, because we want to be absolutely clear what you mean by social homes at an affordable social rent level. at the moment, affordable, the definition as a base on the housing market. what we are seeing is that the definition of affordable needs to be based on what people on low incomes can afford locally. so, and a local area, we must have homes that people who are on low incomes can't afford to rent for a long period as well. we need stability. and that does mean a social housing. 0ther editors brought by councils of the housing association, it needs to be genuinely affordable to people on low income in that area. that is what labour out meaning by building social housing, but we need to be

really clear that when parties are committing to affordable homes and banding that term about, that is not what is going to solve the housing crisis. what is going to solve the housing crisis is housing for people on low incomes, many of whom are at risk of homelessness. ok, good to get your thoughts on that today. thank you very much for taking us through that. the made—for—tv drama series is gearing up for its final episode. the impeachment hearings in washington, broadcast around the world, will have heard testimony from 12 people in all — as the inquiry into whether to impeach president trump gathers pace. can this last day match wednesday's testimony, when a senior ambassador told the inquiry mr trump had directed efforts to get ukraine to investigate his political rival. the white house claims that gordon sondland's evidence

exonerates the president, but it has created quite a storm on capitol hill. david willis has the latest. defying orders from both the white house and the state department not to testify, gordon sondland provided the most stunning evidence at this inquiry so far. a wealthy hotelier who was made ambassador to the eu on the strength of a $1 million donation to donald trump's inauguration committee, he told of the campaign led by the president, orchestrated by his personal lawyer and known to the most senior members of the trump administration. i was acting in good faith. as a presidential appointee, i followed the directions of the president. we worked with mr giuliani because the president directed us to do so. we had no desire to set any conditions. set any conditions on the ukrainians. the president has repeatedly denied withholding millions of dollars in military aid to ukraine in return for an investigation

into his political rival, joe biden. gordon sondland provided a direct link between the two. was there a quid pro quo? as i testified previously, with regard to the requested white house call and the white house meeting, the answer is yes. and according to mr sondland, everyone was in on it — his president, the chief of staff, the vice—president and the secretary of state. everyone was in the loop. it was no secret. everyone was informed via email onjuly 19, days before the presidential call. one source of comfort to the white house — mr sondland conceded he never heard the president directly connect aid money to the biden enquiry, a fact seized on by mr trump, who had his scripted lines carefully prepared. ready? you have the cameras rolling? "i want nothing. " that's what i want from ukraine, that's what i said.

"i want nothing. " i said it twice. republican assertions that ukraine wasn't aware of the withholding of military aid until two weeks before the hold was lifted were called into question by another witness, defence department official laura cooper. she said staff received a query about it the day of the fateful telephone conversation between president trump and his ukrainian counterpart. my staff showed me two unclassified emails that they received from the state department. one was received onjuly 25 at 2:31pm. that email said that the ukrainian embassy and house foreign affairs committee are asking about security assistance. the second email was received onjuly 25 at 4:25pm. that email said that the hill knows about the fmf situation to an extent, and so does the ukrainian embassy. two more witnesses are due to testify later today, whereupon no further public hearings

in this impeachment inquiry are scheduled. david willis, bbc news. now, the business news. government borrowing in october rose to its highest level since 2014 — that's according to the office for national statistics. borrowing has increased dramatically since last year and it is likely to rise again after the election, with all major parties making costly spending pledges. more on this in a moment. dozens of british airways flights into the uk have been delayed or cancelled after what the airline has described as a "technical issue". the airline has suffered three major computer failures since 2017, the latest of which seriously disrupted operations in august. flights from the us, india and japan were showing up as delayed.

two in five adults would fake a sick day if they needed a day off — that's according to a new com res survey for the bbc. the most usual reasons for calling off work in 2018 were the common cold, issues like back pain, mental health conditions and "other" problems. the average worker takes around four sick days a year. let's return now to our top story. uk government borrowing in october rose to its highest level in five years. that's according to the latest figures from the 0ns. public sector borrowing in october was £11.2 billion, £2.3 billion more than in october 2018. that's a 25% increase, and total uk public sector debt stood at £1,798 billion.

that's 80.4% of gross domestic product. and both the conservative party and the opposition labour party have promised big increases in spending on health, schools, police and infrastructure ahead of a general election on december 12th. joining us now is emma wall, head of investment analysis, at hargreaves la nsdown. how did we get to this enormous number? if you think of it like your household income. it is the income that comes from your investment and taxes, and then outgoings, things like education, health, the interest rate on debt, and the social services, and benefits. and for the month of october, this has revving to 11.2 billion which is the highest in five years. normally there is a bit of a peak towards the end of the calendar year when it comes to

government expenditure, which drops injanuary, government expenditure, which drops in january, february, government expenditure, which drops injanuary, february, march. but even taking into consideration that drop we should see we are still on track to be about 10% more for the annual borrowing in this financial year than the last one. that is without taking anything into consideration that is upcoming, such as brexit, if we have it, and indeed the policies of the incoming government. yes, both prime minister borisjohnson conservative party government. yes, both prime minister boris johnson conservative party and the labour party have just delivered the labour party have just delivered the manifesto. they are all promising really big spending on infrastructure, and schools, and health. according to the think tank the resolution foundation, if those promises do come to fruition, public spending could grow to its highest level since the 1970s under either party. can we afford that? it is important to consider what the spending as a process borrowing. borrowing for the year is about 46.3

billion, and it is taken into consideration what we expect on the three months, we are still way off the highs of 2009, 2010. so, spending that rise, but as long as our income rises with that, it should be manageable. we don't yet know the new parties are going to gather that income in order to offset that spending. gather that income in order to offset that spendinglj gather that income in order to offset that spending. i wanted to ask you, do we know how labour or the conservatives are planning to find this increase in spending? we have had some hints. borisjohnson said he might not go ahead with cuts in corporation tax, labour are thinking of a higher income tax for the top 5% of earners. could those are plans for the funding gap? the two men without any public party can gain income is by raising taxes and through investments, and so we will see further details ahead of the general election, but it is yet to have that calculation. if you look at the addendum at the bottom of

this report, the author has a little note not dancers, eu withdrawal agreement, and it does say that the details are insufficient to work out what that cost will be, and i expect the general election falls into that camp as well. we just don't have the details to work at the cost, but we do know there is going to be a sale of railway arches, which should impact the public purse. we are going to have to leave it there. good to talk to. we have just had the labour party manifesto. no great change, to be honest. british gas owner centrica is the top riser on the ftse today, despite announcing that it's lost 107 thousand energy customers in the four months to october,

but says the rate of decline is slowing. sterling inched higher on thursday after two days of losses as financial markets. that's all the business news. you may have seen our report yesterday on the rescue of a seriously injured koala from a bushfire in australia. now toni doherty, who came to his aid in the fire in new south wales, has been reunited with him. she's been visiting him at a koala hospital — the only one of its kind in the world — and named him lewis after her grandson, as keith doyle reports. this is the koala who was plucked from the flames, now recovering in a koala hospital in port macquarie in new south wales, 240 miles north of sydney. these distressing pictures show the marsupial rescued from certain death and doused with water to help treat its burns. these shocking pictures have been viewed widely and shared on social media.

the woman who rescued the koala, now named lewis, was reunited with him at the hospital. i knew if we didn't get him down from the tree, then he would have been up there in amongst the flames, so just immediately thought, just get to him, put the fire out, and as soon as i caught him i realised we had some water in the car. and, yeah, just natural instinct. he's got really badly burned hands and feet. he's got burns under his arms, his nose is burned, and a bit of his private parts are burned as well. and he's singed all over. but look at him, he's eating really well. it's thought around 350 koalas have died in the fires, which have spread from the east coast of the state of victoria. six people have died and 500 homes have been destroyed by numerous fires across three states. smoke has shrouded

sydney for another day, and while firefighters have brought blazes under control in some areas, the hazardous conditions are exected to continue for some time. in a moment, it will be time for the news at one with ben brown. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. the weather is often going to be pretty cloudy over the next few days. some going to come as well. the rain is affecting the south—west of the uk. this is a weather front, with showers just behind the front. this afternoon, but weather extending towards dorset, hampshire, and towards the southern parts of wales as well. in northern ireland, the rain will fall away. cooler than yesterday, and for many of us a cloudy day. some breaks in the cloud with brighter weather at times,

particularly in the north—west of scotland. 0vernight, cloudy. rain and the north west of england for its own, followed by showers and wales and southern coastal parts of england. temperatures overnight three to six celsius, similar to last night. we could be looking at patches of rust. friday is really cloudy, with the chilly winds. later in the day we will see general brea ks in the day we will see general breaks suffering pushing into wales and as england. the rain turning progressively heavier here. friday night, the focus of the zone of heavy rain looks to be across south—west england, particularly into parts of cornwall. you could see some surface water issues dogging up through friday night. at the weekend, it is a weekend of two hearts. saturday, cloudy with outbreaks of rain. returns a little bit milder at particular across england and wales. sunday sees a drier weather. there will be a few showers are run. 0ften cloudy, and later in the day, we will see rain

and the south—west. saturday's weather picture, i break suffering, heavy at times. not great news given that the ground is saturated after 5°99y that the ground is saturated after soggy autumn. the place properly missing out on the rain on saturday as northern scotland, people have dry and bright condition. temperatures rising a little bit, so mother. for scotland, bc have your bands of rain through saturday night, which will bring a few issues to eastern areas of the country. sunday, the area of edinburgh bought into the far north of scotland. drier and brighter condition for its own, but often cloudy with a few showers. later on on sunday, is zone of heavy rain returning to southern 01:58:42,917 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 wales and south england.