of the republican national convention in florida in august following a spike in coronavirus cases there. mr trump said he would give a speech ahead of us elections as planned, but in a different form. the american secretary of state mike pompeo says the us is now hardening its stance in its dealings with china and called on other nations to triumph over the threat of what he said was a "new tyranny" from beijing. mr pompeo accused the chinese of exploiting the freedom and openness of american society. researchers say the amount of plastic ending up in the ocean could nearly triple in the next 20 years, unless urgent action‘s taken. but the global study said that amount could be reduced by 80% using methods available today, including substituting plastic for paper and other material in some cases. the latest headlines. now on bbc news, hardtalk.

welcome to hardtalk with me, zeinab badawi. she is arguably the most famous lawyer in the united states. she has represented more women's rights cases than any other private firm in the country and for decades, her name is been synonymous with feminist causes. my guest is veteran lawyer gloria allred. she is currently representing victims in thejeffrey epstein case. what motivates her and how has she really helped bring about change in america? gloria allred, welcome to hardtalk. let's start with the jeffrey epstein case. you are representing 20 women who claim they were sexually abused and exploited by

the late convicted paedophile. what does success look like to you in this case? yes, i do represent 20 victims of jeffrey epstein and we are looking for accountability. we are looking forjustice and so far, there has not been any justice for the victims ofjeffrey epstein. jeffrey epstein of course was convicted and entered a plea of guilty to soliciting an act of prostitution — that was ridiculous to allow him to enter that plea in 2008 in florida. ultimately, he was arrested in new york last year on felony charges of sex trafficking underage girls, but then of course he was found dead in his cell, and whether that

was suicide or homicide, we do not know that, but here's what we do know. we do know the victims ofjeffrey epstein had wanted to confront him in a court of law and they were deprived of that by the fact he was not kept safe in custody. his former girlfriend, the british socialite ghislaine maxwell, who has been detained in new york, awaiting trial in july for allegedly assisting and helping procure girls forjeffrey epstein. but it seems like that she has only been found guilty by trial by media and public opinion. does it strike you as though that is what is going on? maybe that is the position of her defence team, that she has been convicted in the court of public opinion, but what is important is the court of law. she will get a fair trial. i have no doubt that the judge will make sure that she gets a fair trial. my question is will the victims get a fair trial as well?

can ijust come in there... she will be afforded all of her due process rights. she has been denied bail. she has entered a not guilty plea and we hope and expect that she will be kept safe in custody at the metropolitan detention centre in new york, and not allowed to become deceased, as was the case with jeffrey epstein. you say that her lawyers are saying she may not receive a fair trial, and i put it to you that her lawyer mark cohen has told the manhattan federal court that people have been threatened and lost theirjobs simply because of their association with ms maxwell. so is your confidence that she will get a fair trial founded? it is, because she is before a federaljudge and that federal judge will afford her all of her due process rights. due process means it is a constitutional right and it's notice and opportunity to be heard, and she also will enjoy other

constitutional rights, such as to confront the witnesses. you say there are thousands and thousands of documents. do you believe that there are video files, video evidence, as has been rumoured? we do not know what evidence the prosecution has because of course they keep evidence very close to their chest. having said that, of course there is evidence of what she has stated under oath, in a deposition, in a defamation lawsuit that was filed against her by virginia roberts, and in which she testified, and that most likely will be evidence presented at the trial because she is also, in addition to being charged with conspiracy to recruit and abuse underage girls and traffic them to jeffrey epstein, besides that sex trafficking allegation, she is also charged

with perjury, and the perjury is in reference to statements she made in that deposition, under oath, where she had sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but the prosecution argues that she did not. either way, i want to say, it is very interesting because she admits in that deposition that she, that she did provide adult.... which is not a legal. ..which is legal. that she is vigorously denying that.... she is providing underage girls.... crosstalk. i am just saying that ghislaine maxwell vigorously denies those charges. and somebody else you are very keen to provide sworn testimony to the fbi is a member of the british royal family, a former acquaintance ofjeffrey epstein, and that is the duke of york, prince andrew, and his lawyers have said repeatedly that he is not

a target of the department ofjustice investigation and he has repeated his willingness to provide a witness statement. and yet, you have hired a school bus, drove around central london, including past buckingham palace, sending a message, urging prince andrew to speak to the fbi. was that a bit of a publicity stunt really, gloria allred? well, what i had done, first in december was sent a letter to his home, to the duke of york's home in the uk, and i have evidence that it was delivered, and in that letter, i urged prince andrew to speak to the fbi, to provide an interview, because the victims really need to have the truth. they need everyone who may have any evidence who is relevant to whatjeffrey epstein did, to provide it and obviously, the prince has such evidence. he may not know everything...

crosstalk. can ijust say, can ijust interrupt... he did do a bbc interview for an hour, he seemed to have no trouble doing that, but of course he didn't have any duty to tell the truth when he did that, although i certainly hope he did so. he... but he does have a duty to tell the truth if he does speak to the fbi. to date, he has not yet done that and we still urge him to do that, and even the prosecutors just recently again urged him to do that. either way, they have not said

publicly whether he is a target or just someone they would like to provide evidence. sure, all right. he has not done it. this foot—dragging by prince andrew must stop. his lawyers have said any depiction of him not cooperating is not accurate and he is willing to co—operate with investigations. statements bought out on his behalf deny categorically any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors, saying these are categorically untrue. just to go back to your point... it may be the kind of cooperation he wishes to provide, or is willing to provide, is not the kind of cooperation that the fbi and prosecutors want. for example, he may be willing to answer written questions that they provide, and then he would have the opportunity to consult with his lawyers as he gives those written a nswe i’s. but the homeland security, the fbi prosecutors, have repeatedly said they would like an in—person interview, and that may be what he is not willing to provide, but it is what he should provide and he should do it without delay, without conditions, without further excuses as to why he is not doing it. he's trying to portray himself as the victim, in my opinion. he is not the victim. the 20 clients i represent are the victims ofjeffrey epstein , some of ghislaine maxwell, and he needs to stop excuses

and appear for the interview. you have just put the duke of york's name in connection with ghislaine maxwell, who is being detained and has been charged with conspiring to recruit underage girls and that is not the case, categorically, with prince andrew. one of your clients has described being assaulted by epstein at his ranch in new mexico when she was 15, and she has said that andrew's prestige and reputation were directly touted with epstein‘s also engaged in further harm, but that has nothing to do with the duke of york, that if a friend or associate chooses to use his status in that way — that is not the fault of the duke, is that? we do not know be allowed his name to be used or not and i do not have that information one way or another. but i will say she is not the only client that i have that has allegations that involved prince andrew.

i do have other clients — and i'm not going to speak though about what their allegations are — but i willjust say they are not because of an associate. they have to do with prince andrew. and i have to say because we cannot. . . i will go through that another time. i will say that not everyone who has contacted me has gone public. most have not. and most do not intend to do so. i am protecting the confidentiality. the reason why i now have so many more clients who were victims ofjeffrey epstein than i did previously is because there is a claims process that is open now which is going to be funded by the estate ofjeffrey epstein for the victims. it is a completely confidential process where we can apply for the victims to be compensated without a public lawsuit, without their having to speak publicly, and they will have complete confidentiality. the only people who will know

the content of their claims is myself, their attorney and the attorneys on my team, the claims administrators. none of it will become public, so more people are coming forward because they have confidence in the confidentiality of this process and they do not wish to be public, but they do wish to be compensated and they should have every right to be compensated for the therapy bills, for the medical bills, for the pain and suffering, for their lost wages and the abuse they suffered as a result of coming into contact with jeffrey epstein. and i should say that, again, prince andrew repeatedly says any suggestions of impropriety with underage minors are categorically untrue. the fact of the matter is thatjeffrey epstein, who we know is a convicted paedophile, is dead, and there are accusations or suggestions that perhaps there are those who are seeking to find guilt through proxies.

one british lawyer, ben keith, has said american prosecutors like prominent cases. i wonder whether having a british royal scalp will keep the case as high—profile as it can be. fair point? no, it's not a fair point, because any prosecutor wishes to have evidence from anyone — whether he is a prince or a pauper — he needs to provide it, from anyone he may have evidence that is relevant to a criminal investigation. many of my clients — not all — who were victims ofjeffrey epstein willingly volunteered to speak to the prosecutors and to law enforcement and they have done so. now, why the prince thinks that somehow he has an excuse not to do it, or to delay doing it, or to only do it in the way he wishes to do it, rather than in the way that prosecutors wish to have him interviewed, only the prince

can answer that question. but to cast aspersions on the motives of the prosecutors is just really ridiculous. his case is high—profile, with or without prince andrew being involved in it. what we need is his testimony, not his excuses and not his attempts to have others portray him as the victim and cast aspersions on the motives of the prosecutors. all right. you have been involved in many high—profile celebrity cases in connection, tiger woods, golf champion, bill cosby and that sex scandal, and he represented many of his victims, and i have to say you did a pro bono, without any payment. you have been in the case of the hollywood mogul harvey weinstein, of course now in prison for sexual abuse and rape. when that story broke, the harvey story broke, you said that this justice was a long time coming. and the point is this —

how important do you think that high—profile cases shine a spotlight a light on the abuse of women in general? very important point. it is important that the rich, the powerful, the famous, no matter who they are, whether they are in the entertainment industry, the sports world, the business world, religious world, educational world, any world at all. those who are powerful, who prey on women and girls, who are child molesters or take advantage and sexually abuse, sexually harass, sexually assault women, they must be brought tojustice, and that is what i have been doing for 44 years in ourlawfirm. we are the leading women's rights law firm in the united states, frankly if not the world, we have won hundreds of millions of dollars

for victims, we won $258 million against a billionaire for one victim of sexual harassment, and that was after a jury trial in los angeles, and we want justice. it's not just the high—profile wins. and the point i want to... anyone who is powerful, it might be a stepfather, an uncle, the boyfriend of the mother, who has victimised... that is the point i'm making. if i could just come in here... whoever it is, there must be justice. that is the point i want to put to you, which is the african—american activist who founded the #metoo movement, and she did it primarily in the first case to expose sexual abuse of girls in the african—american community, girls and women, she was struck by the case of a 13—year—old, but it wasn't until hollywood really got interested in the #metoo movement that it really gained traction, and that's a point i am putting to you. do high—profile hollywood cases really make a difference to wider society?

to cases involving abuse of women in non— celebrity cases? can you say that your work has really filtered down to the grassroots? it has, and even before it was a hashtag on the internet, a few years ago, we were bringing women out and their voices were being heard, ever since i started practice, 44 years ago, so yes, hollywood is imported because a—list actors, women, when they say that i have been the victim of sexual harassment, it gets more attention, it does shine a light worldwide, but worldwide, women are becoming empowered as victims and they are saying, we're not going to take it anymore. we want accountability, either in the justice system,

or similarly through a civil trial or a lawsuit, or both, or a confidential settlement. we're going to act to bring change and that is the only way that can change. nobody ever gives women anywhere in the world, including the united states, their rights, and i make that point and fight for them every day. this criticism, it is what you are familiar with and i would like to know to what extent do you feel it undermines the work that you have done, and that is your use of non—disclosure agreements, have been used in the harvey weinstein case, and you know there has been criticism of this from the likes of the writers megan twohey and jodi kantor, who wrote a book about the harvey weinstein case last year, critical of you drawing up nda's. they said ndas have been used as an instrument of hiding sexual harassment and assault in industry after industry. they have allowed alleged predators to go on and hurt more women, they have basically been used as a tool by which these people can cover their tracks. how can you defend

your use of nda's? i'm so glad you brought that up because of two things here. 0ne, even if there is a confidential settlement, a victim is always permitted to go to the police. the fact that they did not go to the police is, it's up to the choice of the victim, nobody can compel a victim to go to the police, if she has been raped or sexually assaulted. nor can any non—disclosure agreement prevent a victim from going to the police. so that is a mistake, to suggest that somehow, these agreements prevent law enforcement from knowing about it, from prosecuting, from convicting sexual predators, and it is against the law and it is not part of any valid non—disclosure agreement that a victim is prevented from going to the police.

as reporters, i understand they want to know everything, they don't want non—disclosure agreements, they don't want victims to be able to. i have to interrupt you here. understand, a victim has a right to choose. if we can get multimillion dollar settlements, or we can get hundreds of thousands, she should be able to have that settlement, and if she doesn't want... i have to interrupt you here because the damaging part of the criticism is the point that professor scott from the university of southern california said that nda's can exacerbate serious harm is because they facilitate continued depredation. that's the point, you facilitate these perpetrators going on to commit more abuse. it's not a question of one particular victim getting her compensation or recognition. 0k, well, obviously, he is seemingly unaware of her rights to go

to the police if she wishes to do so. by the way, if she does that, there will be a public trial if the district attorney chooses to prosecute. so, that would all be public. but apparently, he is not aware of that, and obviously, the writers who criticise either are not aware of that, which they should be. the criticism was whether it facilitated future abuse. obviously it doesn't because she could go to the police! future abuse of other victims, it allows the perpetrator to carry on, that is the point, abusing other women, not that particular woman. again, that ignores what ijust said. a victim has the right. you, gloria allred, you were born and grew up in philadelphia, yourfather was a door—to—door salesman, money was tight, you married young, became a mother at 20,

and gave birth to your only child, lisa. you have worked as a teacher at the beginning, in a school for african—american boys, then you represented teachers and the teacher's union, and where does the fire in your belly come from? what motivates you? i understand the injustice that has been perpetrated against women worldwide, and still exists today where women are viewed as second—class citizens, deprived of their rights, denied their rights, not afforded equal protection and equal rights under the law. my commitment to women, and justice for women and helping them become empowered, to know they have more strength and courage than they ever realise they had, that comes from my own life experience, because i have not been spared some of the injustices that women suffer worldwide. for example, when i was a single mother, i had difficulties collecting

court—ordered child support on time, and the amount that was ordered, and in addition, i was raped, so became a victim of gender violence when i was in my 20s, and also when abortion was a crime for a doctor to provide it before the supreme court decision, rowe versus wade, i had to have an unlicensed abortion that left me to haemorrhage, and i would have died, except that i was taken to the hospital at the time, with 106 degrees fever and had to be packed in ice. you became pregnant as a result of that rape which is why you needed the abortion, and the nurse made a comment to you which was? yes, she said, when i was being packed in ice, because of my fever, she said this will teach

you a lesson, but my response is yes, it did teach me a lesson. the lesson is that we have to keep abortion legal because more women have died from illegal, unsafe abortions then men were ever dying in the vietnam war, and we appreciate their sacrifice, those soldiers who were so brave and died, but women must always have their lives protected as well. you turn 80 next year, gloria allred, and you have maintained your fearless reputation for all of these decades. what would you describe is your greatest achievement, and why are still going to carry on? i am carrying on, and i always say to everyone, fighting injustice is good for the health, and we have a statement in the women's movement that the women's movement is unique, the only movement in which the participants become more radical as they get older, so yes, as we get older as women, we look back at our life experience, we know how we have been treated, so unjustly in family

law, employment, every aspect of life, and it makes us more radical and more committed. gloria allred, thank you very much for coming on hardtalk. my pleasure, thank you very much. goodbye. hello there. for many parts of the country, friday will be a drier, brighter, and warmer day. for a while on thursday, the rain was actually quite heavy. it has since eased off, but there is still some cloud around in more southern parts of the uk. the next area of cloud is looming large in the atlantic, and that will bring some rain eventually. but for much of friday,

we are in between two weather systems, and hence that drier theme. eventually this next area of cloud and rain on those weather fronts will come into some western areas. but ahead of that, quite a range of temperatures — a bit cooler in scotland where we've got clear skies, but quite a warm and muggy start for southern parts of england and wales. there's more cloud around, and there may still be 1—2 showers around on friday. still for a while, there'll be some showers running into the far north of scotland, but elsewhere a lot of dry weather with some sunshine at times. it will cloud over in northern ireland from mid—afternoon onwards, and we'll start to see some rain coming in from the west. but ahead of it, 18 celsius in northern ireland, a bit warmer in eastern scotland, widely in the 20s in england and wales, 25—26 celsius in the southeast of england. now for the test match, it's the third test match, england against the west indies at old trafford again. the first day looks like it'll be dry. but over the weekend, we may have to dodge some rain. the weather is turning much more unsettled, particularly for saturday.

there'll be some strong winds over weekend, warmer when the sun comes out but there may well be some heavy, perhaps thundery downpours. and we'll see some rain pushing its way eastwards on friday night into saturday to clear away. then as it brightens and we get some sunshine, we introduce some more of those heavy, perhaps thundery showers with the chance of rain coming back into some southern and southeastern parts of england. now the detail may change, but you can't really rely on any lengthy spells of dry weather on saturday, and temperatures will be 18—21 celsius and quite breezy, as well, staying that way into sunday. perhaps some stronger winds arriving in the northwest of the uk closer to that area of low pressure. that's where we will see most of the rain. there'll be some sunshine on sunday with some showers around too, more likely across northern and western areas, perhaps merging at times to give some longer spells of rain in scotland, particularly in the west. temperatures on the whole may be a little bit lower for much of the country on sunday, but a drier day for eastern parts of england, and those temperatures may be a little bit higher.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm david eades. cancelled by coronavirus — president trump calls off the republican convention in florida, one of the party's biggest pre—election events. the amount of plastic ending up in the ocean's set to almost triple in the next 20 years. that's the warning from scientists who say urgent action‘s needed. the cracks appear in the president's crackdown on portland, where a judge limits the powers of federal officers deployed to deal with the ongoing unrest. a new life for istanbul's iconic landmark, but controversy continues as the hagia sophia reopens as a mosque in time for friday prayers.