the first manned mission by a private company to the international space station has safely returned to earth. the spacex dragon crew capsule splashed down off the coast of florida. nasa's administrator said the mission‘s success marked the beginning of a new era in human space flight. one of president trump's top medical advisers has warned that the us is entering a new phase in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic. deborah birx said the disease was "extraordinarily widespread" and a greater threat than when the outbreak first began. an investigation by the bbc‘s persian service has found that the number of people who have died with covid—19 in iran is nearly three times higher than the government has admitted. they also show that the first coronavirus death happened injanuary, nearly a month earlier than had been originally claimed.

now on bbc news, it's hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i am stephen sackur. in ireland, all the talk earlier this year was of a political earthquake, a radical nationalist party sinn fein won the most votes in ireland's general election. they promised to smash the status quo. well, so much for that. in fact, ireland's two old established parties formed a grand coalition and they are guiding the country through a global pandemic and brexit. my guest today is mary lou mcdonald, the leader of sinn fein. has her party missed their moment?

after the february election, when you and your party did remarkably well, you won the most first preference votes in ireland's general elections, you talked about a revolution at the ballot box. well, five months on, what has happened to the revolution? five months on, we are into uncharted and unprecedented times, no more than yourselves with a global pandemic, with a public health emergency here, on our island and that has caused considerable disruption to people's daily lives but also to political life, but i'm happy to report that, all of that disruption notwithstanding, the appetite for political change remains very strong across ireland, north and south, and i still hold firm of the view that we are living through changing and changed times

and times where i believe that significant movement in ireland, progressive movement, is possible and will happen and i include in that, of course, the constitutional question of a united ireland. yes, and i do not doubt for a second that you want all of that to happen but i'm looking at your words back in february after the election result came out. you talked about an era of new politics, better government. you said, "sinn fein will be at the core of that and i may well be the next taoiseach," that is, the irish prime minister. well, you overpromised, didn't you, and have under—delivered? no, i reflected the facts as they were then, and the scenario, frankly, hasn't changed.

i still believe that the appetite and the mandate for change, for changed government, for sinn fein in government, exists. of course, you will know, because you follow these matters very carefully, that after the election, the political establishment set about their work to keep change out and to keep sinn fein out. and, unfortunately, they succeeded on this occasion, but they're not going to succeed on every occasion, and our commitment to deliver the type of change that that we were mandated on at february's election remains absolutely strong. i lead an incredibly strong, bright, energetic young team here in the dail, in the parliament in dublin. the scene is absolutely set for big political change, and i believe that will include sinn fein in government in ireland north and south. but let's talk about... it will mean a referendum on unity and constitutional change. right, but let's talk about some other missteps that you may have made along the way. i mean, for one, a lot of irish people are wondering why you didn't field more candidates, cos there are a lot of political experts who say, given the swing to sinn fein in february's election, if you'd actually put more candidates up in this multiparty, quite complex

constituency system you have, you might well have been able to form a government. so that was a big mistake. it was. i'm not pretending any differently. i mean, the context of it was quite a difficult set of elections the previous year in the european and the locals. so i suppose we were endeavouring to cut our cloth according to what we considered would be our measure. but you're right. i mean, we should have, i should have seen to it that we ran more candidates, and all i can say to you is, i won't make that mistake again. oh, well, 0k, that's pretty frank. let's talk about perhaps something that's a deeper issue. that is you, after the election, had to try to figure out how to form a government, and you had to at least consider whether you would work with the two old established parties in ireland, fianna fail and fine gael. the truth is, what we saw was that both of those old parties regard you as still — sinn fein as still — a deeply toxic political

organisation, and you did virtually nothing to reach out to them. so let me take that question in two parts with an answer in two parts. firstly, despite the propaganda to the contrary, fianna fail and fine gael do not regard us as deeply toxic. they regard and know that, in fact, increasingly, we are a deeply attractive political option for a growing section of irish society. they wish to keep us out of government, not because they don't believe that we are, or as they say, that we're not fit for government, but rather because they know full well that we're more than fit for government, they know that we are ready, that we have the policy platform, that we have the people, we have the talent in the team that i lead, and increasingly we have a strengthened mandate. mary lou mcdonald, i have to put to you the words of the current prime minister, taoiseach, micheal martin,

who said this, at the time of the government formation crisis — he said, "the fundamental issue that we and fianna fail have with sinn fein is that they do not operate to the same democratic standards held by every other party in irish politics." well, anybody who is familiar with fianna fail, with the party that the now—taoiseach leads, will appreciate the very profound irony of that statement. fianna fail is a political organisation that has been deeply embroiled in controversy and profound corruption, the tab for which has been picked up by the irish public, and we're not likely to forget all of those episodes. let me restate the position again. the facts are that sinn fein has grown. we have grown in stature, we have grown in numbers. our mandate has grown across the island,

just as it did, actually, a century ago in previously historic times. and that is, the thing, in all truth, that unnerves the our now—taoiseach micheal martin and our previous taoiseach, and that's politics, and be that as it may, it's not going to deflect or deter me or my colleagues from the very substantial political work that we have to do. right, but haven't you, in many ways, made it easy for micheal martin and other irish representatives of the old guard, the establishment, because even now you fail consistently to come clean about sinn fein‘s relationship with the ira? that is the fundamental problem, and it remains so today. no. in fact, i think the nature and origins of the conflict, which of course, are contested as to what happened and why it happened, much less, you know, who was right or who was wrong, and the conflict in ireland is very, very well chronicled.

i think that there is no secrecy around the fact that sinn fein is an irish republican party, that we are for a united ireland. there is no mystery around the fact that there was a war in ireland, that the ira participated in that. none of that is shrouded in mystery, and i'll tell you what's very clear also, is that for more than 20 years now, we have carved out a vibrant and enduring political and democratic pathway for everybody — people from all persuasions and backgrounds to participate in politics and to ensure that the political dispute, the constitutional dispute, is mediated peacefully and democratically. and, can i say, that along with others, as you know, sinn fein and successive sinn fein leaderships now have been involved in fostering and nurturing that very valuable peace. as you know, ireland has been following the fallout

of the funeral of a very senior ira man, bobby storey, who was the head of intelligence for the ira in a period that began in the mid—1990s, an extraordinarily important figure in the irish republican army. you went to his funeral. how carefully did you consider, before you decided to go to the funeral, which clearly, cos we all saw reports of what happened, clearly broke all of the regulations and guidelines in northern ireland about covid—i9 and how people should gather or not gather? well, you're right to record the fact that bobby storey was a very significant figure in irish political life, and i think will endure as a name in irish political history. he was a person much beloved, not only in his native belfast but across the island. and, not surprisingly, there was a very big send—off, a huge funeralfor him, as you say... well, beloved by people like you, mary lou mcdonald, not beloved by the unionist

community in northern ireland, and you know that much better than i do. well, yes, that is true, but you find in it in any part of the world, much less a part of the world where we have deep and... ..we‘ve had deep and entrenched political conflict, you will have public figures who are loved by one section and not so by the other. i don't think that's a uniquely irish thing. but the point is this. i mean, leave aside what you think of bobby storey and what others think of bobby storey in northern ireland. the point is this — do you think you're above the law? because, quite patently, many, many dozens of people turned up at that funeral in close proximity. they broke all of the rules. arlene foster, the head of the devolved administration in northern ireland, says it's completely unacceptable. and her deputy, the sinn fein leader in northern ireland, michelle o'neill, she says should not have been there. "it is entirely wrong that people like you and she flouted the rules." well, i don't believe

that i'm above the law. far from it. and as to the virus itself, i actually had been sick myself with the virus. i was really quite ill. so i, better than anybody, understand the value and the necessity for public health restrictions and for respecting them. and for what it's worth, as you ask, on the day in question, the cortege was limited to 30, as per the regulations. i was asked to read in the chapel at the requiem mass. i was happy to do so. we were masked. we were socially distanced. the difficulty arose, because bobby was a public figure, that a huge number of people came out onto the streets. and that was to be anticipated. in fact, the organisers of the funeral, at the family's request, live—streamed the event and it was watched by a quarter of a million people. so the numbers were big, but they were potentially much bigger. and i happen to think that

the organisers of the funeral, working with the family, did their best to maintain the public health standards. but i will accept absolutely that it's very difficult when people come out onto their pavements, onto their streets, to pay tribute to someone. and we've seen it in other instances. that becomes extremely challenging... well... ..not least in terms of social distancing. let's just think about what you did and the impact of it. one unionist commentator described it as, in effect, a state funeral for gerry adams‘s loyal right—hand man at the top of the ira. he said it was a state funeral, organised by a state within a state. now, you are the leader of sinn fein. you chose to go. you wanted to be the leader of the republic of ireland. you wanted to be taoiseach. if you had managed to become taoiseach, would you still have gone to that funeral? yes, i would. bobby was, apart from anything else, a person that i counted as a friend. he was a person that i respected deeply and that i held in very high esteem

and high affection. why would i not have gone? as to the unionist commentary you read... what message...? .."a state within a state" — that, frankly, is rubbish. it was a funeral of a very well known, very prominent person. it was also the funeral of a husband, a father and a grandfather, and there was and remains a grieving family in the midst of this scenario. bobby happened to be extremely, exceptionally popular, and that's why people came out — notjust sinn fein people, by the way, but the people of west belfast and belfast more generally — to clap him on and to give him a send—off. they loved him. that's it. i'm just wondering what many people in ireland will make of a leader who wants to lead the country, also thinks it's entirely acceptable to go to the funeral and laud an ira man, who many see as having the blood of dozens of people on his hands. well, i'm not sure that people see that, and i would

challenge you on that. but i would also say to you that the entire logic of the irish peace process was to create a forum and a platform for inclusive politics, and that means everybody being involved in a political route. and that includes former combatants — republican, loyalist and unionist. and state actors, by the way. so the fact that somebody like bobby storey was involved in politics and a political programme, i would suggest to you, is the measure of the success of our peace process and nothing else. i asked you if you were really coming clean about your relationship with the ira in sinn fein right now. you said you were. what do you make of the fact that the irish police chief appears to believe that, actually, the military command of the ira is still calling the shots over people like you, the political leadership of sinn fein? well, that's wrong, and they're

not, and i can assure you that anybody who knows me or who has had any dealings with me will absolutely appreciate that i'm not somebody who allows others call the shots for me, or overwhelm my judgment or my actions. the report that you refer to actually said the following — intelligence reported from former ira persons unnamed, that they believed that that was the case. so it is... we have an expression in irish, in our own language, and it goes, "duirt bean liom go nduirt bean lei" — "a woman told me that a woman told her," and that's the quality of that particular allegation. it's false. it's wrong. the guard, the commissioner stands over the report in which that content features, and i'm not surprised at that. i mean, he was in the psni at the time, and i respect that he will defend that position. but bear in mind, i'm

the leader of sinn fein and i speakfor myself and i'm accountable for my actions, and i'm a very clear—headed, single—minded... yeah. but... ..individual and nobody pulls my strings, stephen, i can assure you. well... but the point is, how much authority have you got? you said that one of your own key politicians in the north of ireland, conor murphy, was going to retract words that he issued years ago about the murder of a 21—year—old in northern ireland, and he had said that 21—year—old had been involved in criminal activity and smuggling. he went on to deny he'd ever said it, but the tapes show he did say it. you, in the midst of a controversy about this this spring, said you would force conor murphy to retract his words. he hasn't retracted his words. it suggests to me that people like him don't actually take your authority that seriously. well, i think you're stretching things by quite a level, there. why? in that case, conor withdrew the remarks that he had

made in respect of that unfortunate young man... no, no, he... ..who lost his life so brutally. he did not retract in the way that you said he would. can ijust remind you — and if you've researched the matter, you will know this — that, similarly, a former taoiseach, a former prime minister in dublin, had similarly made remarks similar to what conor had said, and he also withdrew them. well... that's where that matter stands, and i'm very hopeful that the quinn family will meet with conor at some stage, because i do believe that where hurt has been caused, that those matters need to be mended to the best of our ability. and it proves challenging at times but, nonetheless, it's an important matter. some would say that your words are more emollient and better at bridge—building than other senior figures in your party, which again brings back the question of your authority. just one more question on that.

francie molloy, a sinn fein mp, another senior voice in the party, he tweeted this month, "we were sold a pup no commitment there from either dublin or london to deliver for nationalists or republicans. it was all just a bluff." is francie molloy‘s contempt for the good friday agreement shared by you? no. and in fairness to francie, i think he was articulating a frustration that i've heard from a number of people, from nationalists north and south. and it's this that the political establishment, whether in london or dublin, content that now is not the time to talk about unity, now is not the time to set out, as they should, the criteria for the calling of a border poll. and i won't mislead you — that has caused a level of frustration amongst people. but it brings us back to the basic point —

you're not in power. micheal martin is currently in power, sharing power with leo varadkar. they've both made it plain that they think your view of when a border poll might happen is completely unrealistic and deeply divisive. and the truth is, if you look at polls today, sinn fein is no longer the most popular party in the republic of ireland, and the government is deemed to be doing well on the most important pressing issue of all, which is handling covid—i9. your moment appears to have passed. well, see, the wonderful thing about a democracy and about political life is that, you know, we set out our stall, political leaders, rival political actors will make all sorts of assertions and will have their debates, and then the people decide. and that's at the core of the journey to irish reunification. the people will ultimately call this one. it is entirely legitimate and it is entirely in accordance with and in keeping with the good friday agreement to say out loud, we want a united ireland, we want

an end to the partition of our island, which has been so injurious to our social, political and economic fortunes, and we want to talk about that. and, yes, we want a referendum. but you know better than i that, right now, there's more to politics than just talking about a border poll, and the irish people, like all others, have had to struggle with covid—i9. and the fact is, if you look at the impact on ireland, the central bank has just warned that the crisis is going to blow a 20—billion—euro—plus hole in the state's finances, growth is gone, the economy might shrink by 8.3%, half a millionjobs may be lost. ireland's economic crisis is as deep as most countries, and yet sinn fein is still wedded to a massive, massive spending plan on health care, on 100,000 new homes. isn't it time for sinn fein to wake up and smell the coffee, and realise that the programme you took to the irish people is no longer relevant post—covid? well, we're wide awake and it's a long time

since we smelt the coffee. and, in fact, the covid emergency highlights the absolute imperative and urgency to deliver those very things that we discussed in the course of the election campaign. with whose money, mary lou mcdonald ? you raised the issue of housing, and let me address it. we have a housing crisis on the island. we've a whole generation locked out of homeownership. we have people who can't make their rent, who have no prospect of a secure roof over their head, we've people living in awful overcrowded conditions, and one of the lessons of this public health emergency is that not alone is a secure roof over your head a human right and a democratic right, it's also a public health imperative, because your home now is your shelter. it's the place where you self—isolate. it's all about stimulus, it's about repairing economies through growth. ireland's not unique in that — far from it. and sinn fein is certainly not unique, although we were very

much ahead of the pack in recommending and advancing that type of economic recovery long before others. but the proposition surely is that at a time of covid—i9 crisis, with the reality of brexit and the end of the transition looming at the end of this year, what the irish people appear to believe and want right now is the stability of this grand coalition they've got, rather than the radicalism and the uncertainty that might come with sinn fein. that is a political landscape you're going to have to adapt to. well, i mean, you're making an assertion there that certainly i would contest. i would suggest to you that the government that we got was certainly not the government that many, many people envisaged or voted for. but the truth is, also, that irish people expect that the basics are gotten right. they expect that they can have decent public services to rely on.

they expect that they have stable, secure work and a decent level of income, not to live an extravagant lifestyle, but to live a decent and a good life. and i believe that all of those things are deliverable. and i would suggest to you, if they're not deliverable, if there are people in political life who say that those things are a bridge too far, that those are ambitions that are too high for working people, well, then i would suggest to them that they shouldn't be in political life. and if you're not in government to deliver those things, well, then i think you've no business in government. final very quick point — do you think your window of opportunity, your moment, has slipped through your fingers? no. i think we're just beginning. and i think there are those who would say to you, for purely self—interest, that the moment of change has gone in ireland, that it's over. but i would say by response, well, watch this space, because it's only just beginning. mary lou mcdonald in dublin, thanks very much for joining me on hardtalk. thank you.

hello there. it took until the last day in july for temperatures to get above 30 degrees celsius. we only have to wait until thursday or friday this week before we see 30 degrees in august. but it won't be for the start of the week. we've got a little ridge of high pressure building in, which has been easing the showers back overnight. so, actually, it's going to be quite a chilly start this morning, but with plenty of sunshine before the shower cloud gets bubbling away. so, there will already be a few showers in north—western areas anyway, and with a weak weather front brushing past here, that will tend to merge those showers a little bit. but plenty of drier weather

for the south east of scotland, possibly fewer showers than sunday in northern ireland. and, again, just a scattering for england and wales, but by the afternoon, particularly in eastern areas, they are likely to turn heavy with some thunder around, slow—moving downpours. but away from the showers in the sunshine, feeling pleasantly warm, but the wind will be picking up in the north west of scotland. why? because we've got our next weather front on its way in. so, through the course of the night, it's likely to turn quite wet through northern ireland and also quite mild with lots of low cloud around, so a very different feel to our weather, i think, across north—western areas as we head into tuesday. in fact, through tuesday and wednesday, it does look wetterfor a time, some significant rain around and some stronger winds. but, again, it doesn't last. so, this is the low pressure which will be responsible for that rain, 50—60 mm over the highlands of scotland, tightly packed isobars denoting some stronger winds for many through tuesday and wednesday further south as well. the rain looks it'll be a feature mostly for scotland and northern ireland,

but there will be low cloud and drizzle setting in across northern england, wales, the south west, whilst southern and eastern areas may well stay largely fine and dry and warm with some sunshine around. clearly not feeling warm further north despite the mild air here and all the moisture. which will continue to fall, that rain, as we go through tuesday night and into wednesday. some uncertainty as to how far south it's going to come, but again the high pressure‘s closer to the south. so, if those weather fronts do come southwards, the likelihood is they won't produce much rain, they'lljust fizzle out. and then the high pressure builds later in the week, just pushing those or nudging those weather fronts further north again and allowing the temperatures to rise, mostly for england and wales, but some warmer, drier weather coming in further north for scotland and northern ireland as well. bye— bye.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm lewis vaughan jones. splashdown! nasa astronauts splash down to earth after the first ever commercial crewed mission to the international space station. residents of melbourne, australia are waking up under the country's toughest coronavirus measures yet. a bbc investigation has found the number of deaths from coronavirus in iran is nearly three times higher than admitted. and a dramatic end to the british grand prix