welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines. after weeks of chaos, liz truss leaves office, becoming the shortest—serving prime minister in british history. i cannot deliver the mandate on which i was elected by the conservative party. i have therefore spoken to his majesty the king to notify him that i am resigning as leader of the conservative party. the race is now on to find a successor, with a new prime minister due to move into downing street by the end of next week. we'll examine whether the conservative party can find a person capable of repairing the damage, and all the latest reaction.

also on the programme. in beijing, the chinese communist party congress continues, but some parts of the city are back under a covid lockdown. and a jury in new york clears the actor kevin spacey of making unwanted sexual advances on a iii—year—old. hello and welcome to the programme. the uk is set to get a new prime minister by the end of next week, after the conservative party announced details of a fast—tracked contest to choose its leader following liz truss�*s resignation. she stepped down afterjust six chaotic weeks in the job, by far the shortest tenure in british history. her leadership foundered when the markets took

fright, the pound crashed, she sacked her chancellor kwasi kwarteng and was forced into a humiliating series of u—turns. we start our coverage with the bbc�*s political editor chris mason. lunchtime in downing street — and the lectern is back. six weeks and two days since liz truss stood behind it as she became prime minister, she was back too — this time to resign. i came into office at a time of great economic and international instability. families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills. putin's illegal war in ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent. and our country has been held back for too long by low economic growth. i was elected by the conservative party with a mandate to change this. we delivered on energy

bills and on cutting national insurance, and we set out a vision for a low tax high growth economy that would take advantage of the freedoms of brexit. i recognise, though, given the situation, i cannot deliver the mandate on which i was elected by the conservative party. i have therefore spoken to his majesty the king to notify him that i am resigning as leader of the conservative party. so what on earth happens now? this morning, i met the chairman of the 1922 committee, sir graham brady. we've agreed that there will be a leadership election to be completed within the next week. this will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our country's economic stability and national security. i will remain as prime minister until a successor

has been chosen. thank you. what an extraordinary moment. just three and a half months since borisjohnson stood at that lectern and resigned himself, now his successor has done just the same. the chaos deepens. enter, then, this man, sir graham brady, who the prime minister mentioned, who will oversee the race to replace liz truss. what's he got to say? good afternoon, everybody. there's not a great deal i can say at the moment. i have spoken to the party chairman, jake berry, and he has confirmed that it will be possible to conduct a ballot and conclude a leadership election by friday the 28th of october. do you accept that this is a complete dog's dinner? it's certainly not a circumstance that i would wish to see. so what do the other parties make of it? the conservatives�*

rivals say it's time for a general election. cor, blimey, another opponent for you to face. what do you make of it? well, it is another opponent, and, you know, we're burning through prime ministers, we're burning through chancellors, we're burning through home secretaries. and that gives it an element of soap opera, but it isn't just a soap opera and this is, you know, for many people who are facing higher prices, higher mortgages, this is real damage that's being inflicted on them. i really don't think another revolving door of chaos, another experiment at the top of the tory party, is the way out of this. what needs to happen now? on a uk level there must be a general election, . it is a democratic necessity. the idea the tories can unite | behind a prime minister now, any prime minister, let alone one that is in the public- interest is for the birds. the tories have shown they are incapable of providing the leadership, they are not fit to govern our country and we don't need another

conservative prime minister. they need to go, we need another general election and conservative mps have got to do that patriotic duty and vote for that. how did all of this happen? the era of liz truss is far too short to even deserve that word. this was her arriving as prime minister last month. the chancellor! - thank you, thank you. in short, nearly her entire programme for government imploded on contact with reality. mr speaker, we're at the beginning of a new era, and as we contemplate... shouting. that's right, a new era. "mini budget, maxi disaster," as her colleagues called this privately. the markets tanked. so did her poll ratings. and her mps lost faith almost instantly. the other night i asked her... will you lead the conservatives at the next general election? i will lead the conservatives into the next general election.

definitely? well, look, yeah... and even yesterday she said... i am a fighter, not a quitter. now it turns out she's done with fighting, and she's quit. so who will take over? you mightjust remember this guy. hasta la vista, baby. hasta la vista — "see you later". might we again? some conservatives would love it, others hate it. last time's runner—up, rishi sunak, is a possibility, as are cabinet ministers penny mourdant and kemi badenoch, and the woman who resigned as home secretary yesterday, having a pop at liz truss in the process, suella braverman. mr hunt, are you looking forward to number ten? i the answer is no, the new chancellor has ruled himself out.

at teatime, we found out more from the conservative party about how the contest will work. nominations are now open, will close at 2pm on monday. candidates will be expected to have at least 100 colleagues nominating them. but if the party should put forward two candidates there will be a binding online vote for conservative party members to choose the next leader. all stages of the election will be concluded by friday 28th of october. who might find themselves moving in here a week tomorrow? after what has happened to liz truss, you might imagine it could give some second thoughts. poisoned chalice it might be, but prized it still is, and tonight the race is under way. chris mason, bbc news, at westminster.

around the world, leaders have been giving their reaction to news of liz truss�*s resignation. in the us, president biden thanked her for her partnership on the war in ukraine and said the us and uk would continue to cooperate closely. in france, president macron said it was important for britain to "find stability" as soon as possible. our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley has more details on the global reaction. we're following some breaking news out of the united kingdom. after less than two months on thejob... her resignation made headlines around the world, capturing the international bewilderment at the chaos in the uk. this from italy, no stranger itself to short governments. and a german journalist found herself having to repeat the expletives used by one mp last night. "i'm bleep furious and i don't bleep care any more." - she continues in german. in brussels, eu leaders holding a summit to discuss the world's energy crisis were, for a time, sidetracked by the extraordinary

political drama here. translation: listen, i won't get involved i in the political life of the uk. i hope, in any case, the uk can again find stability. that's good for us and good for europe. stability is very important and we would like to see the uk system within its capacity, to be in a position to have a successor selected as quickly as possible and that stability will be brought to the situation, given the fairly significant geopolitical issues facing europe. at the weekend, joe biden took the unusual step of making clear he was no fan of liz truss�*s economic policies. i disagree with the policy, but that's up to great britain to make thatjudgment, not me. today, he had warmer words for her. look, she was a good partner on russia and ukraine, and the british are going to solve their problems, but she was a good partner. but diplomats who spent their careers trying

to build up britain abroad, such as this former ambassador to the us, are looking on at the political turmoil of the past few weeks with horror. our reputation built up over decades seems to me to have been sacrificed, to have been ruined, almost overnight. it's a really sad moment to see this happening. i would never have expected it. and it feels almost surreal to see events unfold in this way. ijust hope that we can get some stable and competent and effective government back and rebuild our repetition, but it's going to take quite a long time. today, predictably, russian television mocked liz truss. the foreign ministry said britain had never known such a disgrace as prime minister. but britain's allies are fervently hoping now for a period of political calm with the myriad problems facing the world, not least the threat that russia poses. caroline hawley, bbc news.

well, for more on the international reaction, i'm joined by matthew barzun, who's in louisville, kentucky. he is the former us ambassador to the uk. he served during the obama administration and is also the author of a book on leadership. thank you forjoining us. i understand you were the ambassador when david cameron was the prime minister, and the whole brexit drama started with his decision to call the referendum, so you have seen uk political drama in your time. what is your reaction to this latest twist? i what is your reaction to this latest twist?— what is your reaction to this latest twist? i did, and thank ou for latest twist? i did, and thank you for having _ latest twist? i did, and thank you for having me _ latest twist? i did, and thank you for having me on. - latest twist? i did, and thank you for having me on. when | latest twist? i did, and thank| you for having me on. when i was over there, david cameron was over there, david cameron was there, and there was the transfer of premiership to theresa may, so i got to have two prime ministers in my time. a lot of the segment earlier on your programme focused on the who of it all, who might be the replacement, and what i have

been thinking about today, and i think all of us outside the united kingdom, but friends of it, is not so much the who but the how. i can only speak as an american, but so often when it comes to fellow democracies, they are different, and in the case of britain, americans often find themselves, when we think about political traditions, saying, it seems strange to us as americans, but you know what, it's strange to us as americans, but you know what, its old and it works for them. but this is not like that. how the british system and the tory party, and it's true of the labour party as well, chooses prime ministers, seems strange to my british friends. it is not old, it's brand—new, this new way was done in 1998, and it is demonstrably not working. so i think there is real opportunity. what is it, 80,000 of the tory memberships who are

paid contributors? no transparency, no demographic information about who they are, the same is true of labour about how they would pick theirs if they were in power. this is all new, and it seems to me as an outsider, it is not very democratic. we have peculiarities in our system too, so i'm not doing that in the spirit of finger—pointing, but there is an opportunity for both major political parties to revisit the how they pick their leaders, just as we in the united states are having debates about our caucuses and primaries and how they work. so do you think it has somewhat damaged the uk reputation in the us, notjust among politicians and government officials, but among the american public? i officials, but among the american public? i don't, i don't. american public? i don't, i don't- i— american public? i don't, i don't. ithink— american public? i don't, i don't. i think there - american public? i don't, i don't. i think there is - american public? i don't, i don't. i think there is a - don't. i think there is a certain level of concern and fascination, a swirl of emotions when a prime minister

lasts 45 days. but i think, as you suggest, the strength of the relationship between the united states and the united kingdom is way beyond who occupies number ten and 1600 pennsylvania ave, it is much broader and deeper than that. that is where the stability of that relationship comes from. so i have high confidence that the british people will pick a new leader, and i have a hope, i don't know if i have high confidence, but i have a hope that both parties will re—evaluate how they pick leaders, so you don't have 80,000 people with no transparency picking the next leader, who can, as we saw, use the word mandate, but that's pretty strange to say i have a mandate to do something from 80,000, which is 0.2% of the population of that country. you wrote about —

population of that country. you wrote about leadership, what in your view where the failings of liz truss, and i guess more importantly, what qualities should the next prime minister have? ., ., . . , have? rather than criticise, and i don't _ have? rather than criticise, and i don't know _ have? rather than criticise, and i don't know her, - have? rather than criticise, and i don't know her, and i | and i don't know her, and i don't want tojudge and i don't know her, and i don't want to judge her from afar, but a wonderful leadership example that the whole world has been able to see over that same amount of time, that she was in office, and that was the leadership example of her majesty the queen. as we read and saw and watched all of those tributes to her 70 year reign, the word that came up over and over again was steadfast. what i think�*s important, what i'm thinking about today, as the uk goes through this transition is stead fast is not the same as being fixed in one place. and what i think one of the queen'smany wonderful leadership attributes was she understood that, let's say public opinion is here, and the constitutional monarchy is

here, if you stay the same, public opinion moves on, and you look very out of date. at the other extreme, if you get too far out front, you seem out of touch. so the key to be instead fast is to always being open to subtly changing and evolving, and she did that in her leadership, king charles will do that in his leadership, and i think whoever is the head of government next could learn from her example on how... we are running _ from her example on how... we are running out of time, matthew, former us ambassador to the uk, thank you so much forjoining us.— forjoining us. thanks for havin: forjoining us. thanks for having me- _ you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. the 0scar winning actor kevin spacey says he's "deeply grateful" after a new yorkjury clears him of making unwanted sexual advances on a 11t—year—old. a historic moment that

many of his victims have waited forfor decades. the former dictator in the dock older, slimmer and, as he sat down, obedient enough. dawn, and as the sun breaks through the piercing chill of night on the plane, it lights up a biblicalfamine — now, in the 20th century. the depressing conclusion — in argentina today, it is actually cheaper to paper your walls with money. we've had controversies - in the past with great britain, but as good friends, _ we have always come to a good and lasting solution. concorde bows out in style after almost three decades in service. an aircraft that has enthralled its many admirers for so long taxis home one last time.

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko 0i. 0ur headlines. after weeks of chaos, liz truss has resigned, becoming the shortest—serving prime minister in british history. the conservative party is now racing to find a successor, with a new prime minister due to move into downing street by the end of next week. the chinese communist party congress has gone ahead in beijing this week, despite areas of the city being under a covid lockdown. organisers have kept delegates well away from beijing's residents, after cases quadrupled in recent weeks. stephen mcdonell reports. thousands of delegates down at the great hall of the people are possibly not aware that the city, which is hosting the communist party congress, has started to implement

localised lockdown. now i say they are possibly not aware because most delegates are in isolation to stop them from being infected. at the moment, in beijing though, it is at the housing estate, housing compound type level, where there are lockdowns being imposed. if you are a contact with someone who has been infected or a contact of a contact, you have to stay home. if you've been to a part of the city deemed to be high risk, your health code will change colour and it will also order you to stay home. earlier this week, china's leader xijinping said there would be no swerving from the zero—covid approach. despite the fact that this is having a huge impact on the economy. we don't really know the latest figures in terms of that impact, because gdp figures which were supposed to come out this week, have been delayed. presumably because it would be more bad economic news. during the congress.

but lockdown like this that we are seeing in beijing that's happening also in shanghai. in inner mongolia, in xinjiang, whole cities are locked down. in fact, xinjiang, the whole region, is kind of lockeddown. you can't leave there at the moment. without special permission because of coronavirus outbreaks. then there are cities like hangzhou, xi'an, elsewhere with partial lockdowns. in xi'an, the tourist industry is being absolutely hammered by these covid amelioration efforts, we have spoken to people there who are barely hanging on in terms of keeping their businesses afloat. but nevertheless, at the communist party congress they are preparing to usher in a historic third term in powerfor xijinping. on sunday, he will reveal his new leadership team, and there is no indication at all from the chinese

government that has an idea of how or when it might provide an off ramp for the coronavirus crisis and with winter closing in, every indication is the situation will probably get much worse. the american actor kevin spacey has defeated a sexual abuse claim against him. jurors found that actor anthony rapp did not prove his claim that the oscar winner made an unwanted sexual advance on him when he was aged 1a. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes has the latest. this was a case of two people telling very different stories. the jury decided, telling very different stories. thejury decided, in telling very different stories. the jury decided, in less than 90 minutes, it was a swift decision for them, in fact described by kevin spacey�*s lawyers as swift and decisive. just to recap the allegations made by anthony rapp, who is also an actor, he was 1a at the time. he says when he was invited to a party at kevin

spacey�*s apartment, that's where he alleged this sexual assault happened. he was just beginning his broadway career at that stage. kevin spacey also appearing in a play at that time on broadway. kevin spacey says it didn't happen. when these allegations were first released, first made by anthony rapp, kevin spacey actually released a statement on twitter in which he apologised, and said that it must have been a drunken mistake, essentially, if it had happened. he has later said that he regrets that apology, an apology, he said, for something that didn't happen. and clearly thejury something that didn't happen. and clearly the jury believed his side of the story.- his side of the story. kevin sace his side of the story. kevin spacey does _ his side of the story. kevin spacey does face - his side of the story. kevin spacey does face other - his side of the story. kevin - spacey does face other charges and allegations, doesn't he? can you talk us through it? yes, he faces a completely

separate trial, due to go ahead in london next year in relation to five charges related to sex offences. we should stress that this is indeed a completely separate case. this is a trial that will go ahead under the british legal system. this was a civil trial in the united states. this trial was essentially all about money, anthony rapp was claiming some $40 million in damages. that's the decision of the jury had to make, whether indeed they believed his story. if they had believed his story. if they had believed it, whether he should receive some of those damages. he won't be receiving anything. we didn't get much reaction from anthony rapp, people in the courtroom said there was not much of an expression on his face. kevin spacey in a much happier mood. he was hugging some of his lawyers and smiling, and has since said that he is deeply thankful for the jury's decision.

finally, there's been a lot of reaction to the resignation of liz truss as british prime minister. when a political commentatorjoked that ms truss had "roughly the shelf—life of a lettuce", british newspaper the daily star responded by testing the theory on a live web—cam feed. the paper shares the headline "lettuce rejoice" alongside a picture of the vegetable with a blonde wig. that lettuce has become an internet sensation around the world, with thousands of people tuning into the live feed. in singapore people have been talking about it. people amused that the british media has been making a lot of fun of it, calling at the peak of british humour. stay with us. britain will have a new prime minister by the end of next week after the conservative party announced the details of a contest to choose a leader

following liz truss's resignation. thank you for watching. thursday was a stormy day, lentils or thunder moving north. unsettled picture continues for the next few days, low pressure itself to the south—west. throwing the weather fronts around that low, driving in plenty of frequent showers. but the wind direction from the south, still relatively mild, and mile to friday morning, plenty of showers on the south—west, some of them heavy, possibly even thundery first thing in the morning. they will drift out of cornwall into wales and towards the midlands as we go through the midlands as we go through the morning rush hour. eventually moving steadily north, fewer showers into the far north of scotland, but

nowhere will escape those showers as we go through the afternoon. at least they will rattle through at quite a pace because of the strong southerly wind, the strongest gusts close to the centre of the load during the afternoon, 50 mph not out of question into the south—west. but always coming from the south, a mild sauce, so in between with the sunshine coming through, temperatures are likely to peak in the high teens, pretty good for this time of year. early saturday morning, the centre of the low will move up into northern ireland, north—west england and south—west scotland, where the frequent sharp showers will be. we may see some mist and fog behind, as the winds become a little lighter, with this little lighter, with this little ridge of high pressure building for the start of the weekend. however, it won't be long before another low start to move in for sunday. saturday certainly the better day through the weekend. showers

into northern ireland and much of central and southern scotland, clearer skies behind, some sunshine coming through, lighter winds, so it will feel pleasant in the sunshine with highs again 18 or 19 degrees. moving out on saturday into sunday, the next low pushing in from the south—west, the isobars once again squeezing together, the wind strengthening, throwing the weather fronts and showers across the country. 0nce weather fronts and showers across the country. once again, some sharp thundery downpours on sunday, and that story will continue as we head into monday.