live from washington, this is bbc news. welcome to viewers on pbs in america. the fbi is slammed for its handling of allegations of collusion between donald trump's 2016 campaign, and russia. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky makes a surprise trip to the uk, as he prepares for upcoming battles with russia. and, investigations underway into a fire that's killed six people at a hostel in new zealand. hello, i'm sumi somaksanda. lets start here in washington,

with a report released today that has sharply criticised the fbi's investigation into donald trump's 2016 campaign ties to russia. special counseljohn durham found that the bureau should not have launched a probe into the campaign's alleged ties with russia. in the report, he said the agency's inquiry had lacked "analytical rigour" and concluded that the fbi had not possessed "actual evidence" of collusion between trump's campaign and russia before launching an also accused the fbi of repeated instances of quote "confirmation bias". the fbi responded to durham's report, saying'fbi leadership already implemented dozens of corrective actions, which have now been in place for some time. had those reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented.�* former president trump responded to the report with a series of posts on his social media platform truth social. in one, he said, quote, special counsel john durham concludes the fbi never should have launched the trump—russia probe! in other words, the american

public was scammed. joining us now to discuss the durham report is david m shapiro, a former fbi special agent and a legal advisor. do agent and a legal advisor. you make of this report': well, do you make of this report? well, it is certainly altogether something that is worth a good read and i think it offers what does it make makes me consider that remedies, to use language that he put in do basically he is

urging investigators and is an easy but as a former investigator and former prosecutor, i i don't mean it as a sharp all i don't mean because not all the report says the bureau failed to uphold its "important not all mission of strict fidelity to the law in connection with certain events and points specifically to former fbi leadership including james comey. if there was no real evidence of collusion between trump's campaign and russia, why was this full investigation launched?

ican to, iam not i am not sure that. he does not advise any significant changes. a preliminary investigation is just that, it is a fairly superficial in scope and depth. it is a matter of establishing or trying to establish probable

cause but it is not there yet. it is something closer to reasonable suspicion, so that is something that goes beyond confirmation bias, if you will, but there is no strict standard for identifying what this qualitative language means. we can talk about reasonable suspicion but what does it really mean?— really mean? darren did recommend _ really mean? darren did recommend that - really mean? darren did recommend that an - really mean? darren did i recommend that an official should be placed to challenge steps in a political place? —— durham. i steps in a political place? -- durham-— steps in a political place? -- durham. . ., , , durham. i agree in theory but i am not sure — durham. i agree in theory but i am not sure it _ durham. i agree in theory but i am not sure it would _ durham. i agree in theory but i am not sure it would work - durham. i agree in theory but i am not sure it would work in i am not sure it would work in practice. public order phones have been using that, the concurring partner review and it would be analogous to that. i think the institutional pressures as such, that this challenger would have to be

very highly placed in the organisation to have the gumption, the power, the credibility to actually start something that has a certain amount of momentum so, again, a great idea in theory. i doubt it would work in practice. fire it would work in practice. are ou it would work in practice. are you concerned _ it would work in practice. are you concerned about the fbi? credibility after the release of this report? h0 credibility after the release of this report?— credibility after the release of this reort? ., ., ., of this report? no more so than the credibility _ of this report? no more so than the credibility of— of this report? no more so than the credibility of any _ the credibility of any intelligence or prosecutorial, investigative agency. remember, these agencies operate with a great deal of secrecy, a lack of transparency, so we cannot use the proverbial phrase, we cannot verify, we have to trust. so it is nothing institutionally deficient about the bureau or the department of justice, it isjust the bureau or the department of justice, it is just people that do not have their actions

adequately exposed to the oversight of others are attempted to push the envelope, if you will. attempted to push the envelope, if ou will. . ~ attempted to push the envelope, if ou will. ., ~ , ., attempted to push the envelope, if ou will. ., ~ i. attempted to push the envelope, if ou will. ., ~ . if you will. thank you so much forjoining _ if you will. thank you so much forjoining us— if you will. thank you so much forjoining us on _ if you will. thank you so much forjoining us on bbc- if you will. thank you so much forjoining us on bbc news. i forjoining us on bbc news. thank you for having me, good morning and good night. laughter. we have news coming out of the ukrainian capital of kyiv. in there last couple of hours, we've received reports of a large number of explosions. air raid sirens have sounded across the country. video footage on circulating on social media which have not been verified by the bbc show air defence systems shooting down missiles. government messages have warned people to keep away from windows as debris from intercepted missiles is falling from the sky. the mayor of kyiv, vitali klitschko, says some of the debris has fallen on the city's zoo. reuters, citing local officials, reported that the attack was "complex with drones, cruise and likely ballistic missiles launched from different directions"— and that �*the vast majority of targets in kyiv airspace where detected and destroyed'.

that comes after on monday, ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky made a surprise visit to the united kingdom, to secure fresh promises of military aid to fight russia's invasion. uk prime minister rishi sunak welcomed the ukrainian leader at chequers, the prime minister's country house. they held bilateral talks lasting around two hours. president zelesnky said they discussed western nations providing kyiv with fighter jets, with the aim of creating what he called a "jets coalition". prime minister sunak promised to send hundreds of air—defence missiles and long—range attack drones, but stopped short of sending jets. here's what they said: it's been really good for us to have the time to talk together in private about the support that the uk is giving and how we can make sure that that support is notjust there we can make sure that that support is not just there for today but into the future as well to ensure that ukraine and its people triumphant notjust on the battlefield militarily but also stand up for those

values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law that we all hold very dear, we've had some very good conversations and it is great to have you here. today we talked about the jets, very important topic for us as we can't _ very important topic for us as we can't control the sky, you know — we can't control the sky, you know it. _ we can't control the sky, you know it, we are real partners, richey— know it, we are real partners, richey knows all the details, what — richey knows all the details, what went on our battlefield, thank — what went on our battlefield, thank you very much and we want to create — thank you very much and we want to create thisjets thank you very much and we want to create this jets coalition and — to create this jets coalition and i'm _ to create this jets coalition and i'm very positive with we spoke — and i'm very positive with we spoke about it and i see that in the — spoke about it and i see that in the closest time you will hear— in the closest time you will hear some, i think, in the closest time you will hear some, ithink, very important decisions but we have two work— important decisions but we have two work a — important decisions but we have two work a little bit more on it. zelensky�*s stop in the uk marks his fifth european country visited in three days. the bbc�*s hugo bachega has more. the uk was the latest stop in president zelensky�*s tour of european countries. he was in italy, in

germany and in france and he heard that more help is on the way. but there's one thing that ukraine says it needs and western nations have been reluctant to provide fighterjets. president zelensky said he discussed this issue with prime minister rishi sunak and said more work needed to be done. rishi sunak said this wasn't going to be a straightforward decision. it's more than just sending jets. it's about training and logistics. now here in kyiv, the authorities are grateful for the help they have received. but i think there's also some level of frustration with how western countries have responded. there was a long debate before a decision was made about sending battle tanks to ukraine, then a long debate about air defence systems, and now a long debate about fighter jets. ukraine says those delays are costing lives, not only on the front lines, but all across the country. now, the timing of president zelensky�*s visit is very significant. ukraine is preparing a counteroffensive against russian forces. it knows it needs to achieve major gains. it wants to show western countries that all the assistance it has received can result in major victories on the battlefield. president zelensky says his country still doesn't

have everything it needs to launch what is likely to be a crucial phase in the war. i spoke about zelenky�*s trip with lieutenant colonel alexander vindman, former director of european affars for the united states national security council. how important do you think these visits were? these visits are critically important. it's interesting that he feels quite comfortable leaving the country on some tours to raise support, raise aid for ukraine. this is something he was reluctant to do through most of 2022. now he is taking a tour in multiple countries in europe and soliciting and obtaining a large stockpiles of additional capability.

these are long—range missiles that are now in ukraine secure additional air defence capabilities, potentially there is a reporting that france might offer at least to start to train ukraine on their advanced jets, things that fourth generation fighters, things that'll be quite important on the battlefield. this is notjust important but also quite successful. do you think he is satisfied with what he has been promised ? we know he asked the uk again forfighter jets and wants to create a jets coalition but so far the answer has been no. the answer is no but it's interesting that europe in particular, germany was one of the first stops on the tour, then the uk and france, have all pledged significant additional resources . in certain areas, leapfrogging in front of the us in terms of capabilities, these long—range missiles that the us has been

very reluctant to provide thus far and president zelenskyy has been successful in securing them. there may be some light at the end of the tunnel in terms of planes also that promised to train ukrainian forces on planes. it's a month long and not just flying them, maintaining them, that;s a major gain and additional drones the uk has pledged. but i think the biggest thing which is what we haven't really heard about it properly discussions behind the scenes on guarantees, security guarantees for ukraine including some sort of announcement at the forthcoming nato summit in the baltics for ukrainejoining nato. i think they're probably not quite there yet but he's probably making some headway and i think in terms of a lasting peace after this was done, some sort of security guarantee,

the prospect of joining nato has to be on the horizon. do you have any idea what that security guarantee will look like if you are looking at announcement? it does not look like there is any, the reluctance of the west including the united states, frankly, is not going to be surmounted in this particular upcoming summit. we probably are still about a year out from some sort of announcement of this kind, but ultimately we will have to be a pledge for ukraine being able tojoin nato. anything that falls short of that, coalition of the willing, even if it's germany, france, uk that's been part of the discussion so far, that's not going to be sufficient. nato is the only thing that will satisfy the ukrainians and frankly provide lasting stability. we've heard from various analysts that will dependent on how this impending counteroffensive will go. it's not about to possible outcomes because both russia and ukraine have shown no desire for a diplomatic solution to end the war at this point but if ukraine

gave the overhead of the coming weeks, with those conditions bring either party to table? roger negotiate. ukraine is read to roger negotiate. ukraine is ready to negotiate - roger negotiate. ukraine is ready to negotiate but - roger negotiate. ukraine is ready to negotiate but the l ready to negotiate but the russians want it all. what i forecast with regard to this counteroffensive, ukraine will likely be quite successful. it is not sufficiently armed to achieve strategic breakthroughs and break the russian military, forced them to and the wire but it is going to be able to achieve major operational successes, liberating territory and putting enormous pressure on vladimir putin, it is destabilising for russia. i expected was the end of this year, we will start to see much more fulsome negotiations play out but mainly because of

ukraine's success under the battlefield. we are seeing that already unfold. if battlefield. we are seeing that already unfold.— already unfold. if that does not happen _ already unfold. if that does not happen and _ already unfold. if that does not happen and ukraine i already unfold. if that does - not happen and ukraine falters in the coming days and weeks ahead, what does it mean for support in european capitals i think there are three scenarios.— think there are three scenarios. , ., , scenarios. one is the most likely and _ scenarios. one is the most likely and that _ scenarios. one is the most likely and that is _ scenarios. one is the most likely and that is ukraine i scenarios. one is the most l likely and that is ukraine has major success and the other is ukraine has even greater success, and the less likely it is that ukraine achieves little to no success. if that is the case, we have to be introspective about what we were able to provide to ukraine. it is not a lack of fighting prowess and around but i think that is such a remote scenario that it does not really make sense to evaluate that. we should be planning for

the reality that ukraine will be successful.— the reality that ukraine will be successful. something we heard from — be successful. something we heard from the _ be successful. something we heard from the former - be successful. something we i heard from the former president donald trump, he was asked about ukraine and he would not say if he wanted ukraine to win at the well. he said he wanted everyone to stop dying. and i will have done that in 2a hours. what are your thoughts on that? i hours. what are your thoughts on that? . , on that? i mean, he lives in his own _ on that? i mean, he lives in his own world _ on that? i mean, he lives in his own world that - on that? i mean, he lives in his own world that is - on that? i mean, he lives in his own world that is not. his own world that is not connected to reality. there is nothing he could possibly do to and the war in 2a hours. it is and the war in 2a hours. it is a falls aaron, and absurdity to even mention it. even if the us were to pull plug on support on a second donald trump administrator, it would be more dangerous because eastern europe, poland, romania, the baltics would not tolerate

russia to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and we could see nato forces, bilaterally, not as part of a nato operation, probably play a much bigger role in liberating ukrainian territory but it is such an absurd notion. it reason why we are in this war is because ukraine... that trump made ukraine radioactive and vladimir putin so opportunity on the back of the fact he had the president of the united states cheerleading russia as opposed to ukraine. we're in this war of donald trump. we're in this war of donald trum -. ,., , ., we're in this war of donald trum. trump. the don report was released — trump. the don report was released today. _ trump. the don report was released today. does - trump. the don report was released today. does it - released today. does it exonerate donald trump? ——john durham. i exonerate donald trump? -- john durham. ~ , durham. i think it is bureaucratically - durham. i think it is - bureaucratically aborted to indicate that the fbi has

something to do to make sure it conducts the investigation in a highway. of course it is going to be buyers. they will look for things that validate their views but i think there is plenty to suggest that there was a high degree of co—ordination between elements of a trumpet incorporated with russia. . ~' , ., of a trumpet incorporated with russia. ., ,, . ., russia. thank you so much for “oininu russia. thank you so much for joining us _ russia. thank you so much for joining us on _ russia. thank you so much for joining us on bbc— russia. thank you so much for joining us on bbc news. - around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. back where he could have died. two days agojohn peachey was cycling on this road and heard a loud noise. he did not know but part of the tree he was passing was falling on top of him. i passing was falling on top of him. , ., ., , ., passing was falling on top of him. , , ., , passing was falling on top of him. , ,, .,, him. i stood up on my pedals and i him. i stood up on my pedals and i went— him. i stood up on my pedals and i went and _ him. i stood up on my pedals and i went and had _ him. i stood up on my pedals and i went and had that - him. i stood up on my pedals i and i went and had that feeling of, is it going to hit me

because you knew it was a tree and it was big. he because you knew it was a tree and it was big.— and it was big. he was travelling _ and it was big. he was travelling in _ and it was big. he was travelling in this - and it was big. he was i travelling in this direction when the branch came down. two cars collided to avoid the branch. just have a look at the size of what we're talking about, it is a miracle no—one was killed. john helped the injured motorists. john rarely goes out on his bicycle. the father of one likes to keep his near death experience in perspective. i near death experience in perspective-_ near death experience in perspective. near death experience in --ersective. ., _ perspective. i would even say, no, i did _ perspective. i would even say, no. i did not. _ perspective. i would even say, no, i did not, it _ perspective. i would even say, no, i did not, it was _ perspective. i would even say, no, i did not, it was five - perspective. i would even say, no, i did not, it was five feet l no, i did not, it was five feet away, so it was not near death. but i suppose it does not happen that often, a tree falling behind you. you're live with bbc news. we want to bring you a developing story authorities are investigating the cause of a blaze which killed six people in wellington, on the country's north island. emergency services were called to the building just after midnight local time. dozens of people were rescued with some plucked

from the roof. local fire services say about 90 people were thought to have been in the building when the blaze began. one survivor shared his experience: the worry is the people who were sleeping up on the third floor. they had firestop doors and that, but there were quite worried moments for a few of the lads. a few of them got taken away in an ambulance, cause they had smoke inhalation. and we're just praying that there's no—one stuck in their rooms. new zealand's prime minister chris hipkins has promised a thorough review of the disaster. look, there will be able opportunity to have a look at this in coming days and a number of investigations, including the police, the coroner and so on and we need to allow those investigations to allow those investigations to take place and i am sure they will be things that will need to be followed up as a result of those. now to elections in turkey. the country's presidential race is headed for a run—off for the first time ever, as neither president recep tayyip erdogan nor his main challenger kemal kilicdaroglu recieved

nor his main challenger kemal kilicdaroglu received enough votes to win outright. mr erdogan led the first round with 49.51% of the vote. mr kilicdaroglu polled at 4a.88%. the second round will go ahead on may 28th. although it is a clear lead for president erdogan, it isn't quite enough as he didn't secure at least 50%. in another significant election, an opposition leader in thailand who proposed reforms to the military and the monarchy said he's hoping to become the next prime minister. pita limjaroenrat said his move forward party, which won the most votes in sunday's election, wants to form a government with other parties. but he faces opposition to his policies from thailand's senate, which is dominated by the military. some senators have already indicated they'll oppose his premiership. earlier, i spoke with our south east asia correspondentjonathan head. i think there was always an assumption that opposition parties would do well. we've had nine years of the same kind of government. five of them were under military rule and the same man who led the coup then became prime minister again.

there was a kind of weariness, a feeling that the old government wasn't doing very well. what no—one expected was this new, young party, move forward, with a much more radical agenda, to surge ahead of all the others. and that's really on the back of — they've caught a moment here in thailand. lots of young people, who've often been out on the street protesting, want a proper democracy. they want an end to the laws that put people in prison for expressing their views. they want a more dynamic country. but they've managed to persuade a lot of older thais that big changes are needed. it is remarkable. we've mentioned that this party move forward talks about reforming or changing the monarchy. that was something you couldn't even talk about, five years ago in thailand and yet lots of older thais — people who are not particularly political — have thrown their weight behind this young party because they sense that some big changes are needed to move thailand back onto a successful grove. it's a very slow—growing economy, it's ageing. there are a lot of worries about that. the big question now is — can they form a government?

that is a big question now. they've got nearly 60% of the seats in the elected lower house — the 500—seat parliament. they claim that gives them a mandate. in a normal system, it would. but they're up against a powerful conservative establishment which has launched coups in the past, it's used the courts to dissolve parties. that could stop it. and you mentioned the senate — the senate's got 250 members, all appointed by the military government under the coup by the same man who's prime minister right now. of course, they're very opposed to any discussion of the monarchy. they're very opposed to this party. so we expect a stalemate, a lot of difficult negotiations, and some people think that this young party is just too radical for the conservative establishment, that somehow they will find a way to stop it going into government despite the tremendous mandate it appears to have got from the voters. just very quickly — do we have a sense, then, how much of a say the military will have in this new government? the military and a lot

of its allies always have a big say. that's what these young politicians want to change. they say that there should be an end to military involvement, there should be accountability in the monarchy, but reality is the military is still powerful and it has a lot of backers here who may use other means, including military support, to stop these parties who've done so well in the election from forming a government. jonathan head. before we go, cyclone mocha stop it all through south east asia. , . . stop it all through south east asia. ., ., asia. this area in myanmar has been declared _ asia. this area in myanmar has been declared a _ asia. this area in myanmar has been declared a national - been declared a national disaster. 90% of the port city has been destroyed. the military government says at least three people are dead. in bangladesh, thousands of refugees have been displaced.

it has narrowly avoided a direct hit, cox. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. for the rest of this week, the weather's looking pretty quiet. that's because we've got high pressure dominating the scene. so a lot of dry weather around with some sunshine, too. a few showers around mainly to the north of the uk. and after a bit of a cool start to this week, temperatures will begin to climb slightly by the end of the week and into next weekend. now, the early part of tuesday looks largely dry. clearskies, quite a chilly start to the day. we'll see thicker clouds, more of a breeze, some rainjust getting into the north and west of scotland. temperatures recovering here, nine degrees in stornoway, but a chilly start to tuesday for many areas. now, high pressure sitting almost on top of the uk. we have this weak weather front bringing more clouds and showers to scotland.

and you'll notice that blue tinge on the air mass chart indicating there's still some fairly cool air around for tuesday. so, it's a chilly start. dry, bright, lots of sunshine around. showers from the word go across northwest scotland. these become more widespread across scotland into the afternoon. some showers for northern ireland, a few for northern and eastern england. probably the dry, sunniest weather will be across wales, midlands down into the southwest and here we could make 16 or 17 degrees. but again, for most, it's the low—to—mid teens. that is below par for the time of year. through tuesday night, many of those showers fade away. most places once again will be dry to start a wednesday variable cloud, but widespread clear skies certainly in the north and the west. and again, temperatures taking a bit of a tumble and single digits for most. high pressure, almost slap bang on top of the uk for wednesday. lighter winds. this feature, though, will start to bring more cloud, breeze, outbreaks of rain to the northwest of scotland, but that is about it. plenty of sunshine around, could just see a few isolated showers across the midlands

and eastern england. but many places will stay dry and the temperatures creeping up a little bit. we could be up to 18, maybe 19 degrees in the warmest spots. 0therwise, again, for most it's the mid—teens, particularly towards the north. as we move through thursday, friday, high pressure still holds on. a few weather fronts flirt with the north of the uk and you'll notice we start to import some slightly warmer air from the west, the orange and yellow colours taking over. so apart from a few showers across the north of the uk, thanks to those weather fronts, you can see — because of high pressure — it's mostly dry and it'll be feeling warmer with temperatures hitting the low 20s.

voice—0ver: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. acting as the most precarious of professions and elation today can be followed by rejection tomorrow. the only certainty is uncertainty. it says much and then of the talent and resilience of my guest today jane horrocks that her career