live from washington, this is bbc news. the growing field of hopefuls vying for the republican nomination, with two launches in one week. who will be the biggest challenge to the leader in the polls — former president donald trump? and where do the candidates stand on foreign policy issues, like the war in ukraine? hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. welcome to our show. it's been a headline grabbing week in the increasingly crowded race for the republican

presidential nomination, with two more hopefuls officially launching their bids — the florida governor, ron desantis and senator, tim scott. mr scott has represented south carolina in the chamber since 2013, promising to revive america's "culture of greatness". at a launch event in his hometown of north charleston on monday, mr scott used his personal story as an embodiment of the american dream. this was shortly followed by ron desantis�* long—expected entry into the race and, while he trails donald trump in the polls, he is widely seen as his main rival. but his launch made headlines for other reasons. he chose to announce on a twitter livestream, which was hit by technical glitches. let's listen to how they both announced their candidacy. i am running for president of the united states to lead our great american comeback. look, we know our country is going in the wrong direction. we see it with our eyes, and we feel it in our bones. our southern border has collapsed. drugs are pouring into the country. our cities are being hollowed out by a spike in crime. the federal government

is making it harder for the average family to make ends meet and to attain and maintain a middle lifestyle, and our president, well, he lacks vigor, flounders in the face of our nation's challenges, and he takes his cues from the woke mob. i choose freedom and hope, and opportunity! will you choose it with me? applause. will you join me as messengers of hope? as visionaries? to believe that the strength of our ideas can change our nation again. i will. let's go! meanwhile, other candidates who have previously announced they are vying for the republican nomination include: larry elder, a talk radio host and 2021 california gubernatorial candidate. asa hutchinson, former governor of arkansas. vivek ramaswamy, a tech

entrepreneur and political commentator and corey stapleton, former montana secretary of state as well as former south carolina governor and united nations ambassador nikki haley and of course former president donald trump, who, as we mentioned earlier, leads in the polls. let's take a look at how those candidates are faring with republican voters. this poll released earlier this week by cnn, shows donald trump with a big lead, 53% of conservative voters prefer him as their top choice. governor desantis currently in second place with 26%. then come former south carolina governor nikki haley and current south carolina senator tim scott trailing in the single digits at 6% and 2%. just a note: this poll was conducted before ron desantis and tim scott had officially declared. earlier i spoke to republican strategist and former campaign manager for marco rubio's 2016 presidential campaign — terry sullivan, and also rina shah, a former senior congressional staffer and republican strategist. i asked what rina thought of

where the candidates stand now. right now we are at the point where is very early. we know how far away we are from election day 2024, the general election, but primary season is really upon us. these guys are alljumping in. and notjust guys. we have nikki haley, who was the first official to declare against trumpet. so what we are seeing now is what i call the revenge of the moderates, people who think they are more palatable than donald trump and want to try their hand at this. asa hutchinson was somebody very critical of trump, now you are seeing senator tim scott, who was also critical of trump at times but also looked like he was with him in the senate. one thing that stands out to me about tim scott, much has been made of his announcement and how it was far better than florida governor ron desantis�*, is that tim scott has a challenge. everybody in this gop primary has a challenge of bringing in new voters under the republican banner.

we have heard so much made of this, in the strategist class, about how there is this all—important independent voter investment states to get, that is going to be the key demographic for victory, when it comes to election day 202a. the tim scott brings evangelicals with him, much like former vice president mike pence, who hasn't declared, but is expected to. i don't see a real path to victory for tim scott. sure, his announcement is great and he represents a fresh voice in the party, he is very much a social conservative, but i do think that ron desantis is the guy to beat when it comes out of everybody in the park. terry, do you agree with that assessment, that ron desantis is the guy to beat, with everybody coming out of the pack? inaudible very good position compared to a lot of the rest of the field. but at the same time, look, eight years ago at this point jeb bush was, in the polling, guaranteed to be the next nominee of the republican party.

between today and when we actually had a nominee in the party, the other folks who lead in the national polling with ben carson, scott walker, who actually didn't even make it to iowa, marco rubio, ted cruz. so i think ruling people in or out as candidates, at this point in time, nobody would rule donald trump in as a candidate, and frankly didn't for quite some time until he was the actual nominee _ so i think it is premature to rule anybody in and out, and there is a lot of good candidates for cycle, 2016 has actually turned into much more of a traditional cycle, we've got governors, current governors, former and current senators running. you have a good crop of candidates. we will see. i think it will matter a lot more once they get on the debate stage. a really interesting point, terry. to follow up on ron desantis, what did you make of his announcement on twitter this week, and how

all that played out? well, luckily he is not running for the commander of twitter's it departments in chief, but i think he did a really good job of what we needed to do, reaching out to conservatives, because republicans, if they want to take back the white house, need to reach out to swing state voters. if they are going to be the nominee, they need to reach out to caucus colours into the primary in new hampshire and south carolina, and those people they are going to reach by being on fox news, by being on glenn beck, lots of conservative talk radio, so i think he was really targeting the audience that matters, the audience that is going to vote for him, and twitter is part of that, from the elon musk angle. it was clunky, but he has got such an adversarial relationship with the press, i think it was always going to be picked apart one way or the other. i think that he just got out, hopped in, and is ready to go,

he has set the early stage, which is smart. rina, how do you contrast that with what we have seen from the former president, to have that town hall, cnn, and having another town hall on fox? the cnn town hall actually made trump look quite good. there were two places i thought in particular that he appealed to voters who didn't vote republican in 2020, when they wanted to, perhaps, but they were fed up with trump, they crossed over to vote for biden or they stayed home. the appeal was in two places at the town hall for trump, it was the economy, when he talked about prices on the shelf, and said, remember my administration? i wouldn't do this to you, i would bring prices down. then he talked about abortion. that was not a good answerfor a gop primary voter, but the general election, again a very good answer, in that he pivoted away from talking about a federal ban. so i think if trump gets out there again and shows his vigor and strength, it is good for him, but he comes with a whole lot of problems.

so i say people will take an honest look at desantis, he is 33 years younger than trump. that is a big deal, 44 years of age for ron desantis. i have heard lots made from people saying, could this be a mitt romney and paul ryan situation, like 2012 where desantis ends up trump's running mate? i don't think so. i think the two men really don't like each other anymore. one thing we ought to look at is that trump seems to call names when he is really scared. his super pac has spent lots of money attacking only desantis. at the end of the day you have to look at this for what it is. desantis is in the underdog position. so he has only up to go from here. really interesting points. we are going to come back to you in just a little bit, lots more to talk about, but first, let's take a look at the latest stuff here in washington, dc.

there have been some encouraging signs on the federal debt limit including from the president, let's take a listen. ~ ., ., a listen. with regard to the debt limit _ a listen. with regard to the debt limit we _ a listen. with regard to the debt limit we are _ a listen. with regard to the debt limit we are looking . a listen. with regard to the i debt limit we are looking good and optimistic. i hope we will have some further evidence tonight before inaudible we have a deal but it's very close and i am optimistic. let's turn to the congressmen from the state of florida. a first want to get your take on the debt ceiling negotiations, president biden sounding optimistic there. cbs has been reporting that the details of the shape of an agreement have been coming out and that this deal would raise the debt limit for two years and kept federal spending at the same level of 2023. would you vote for that

agreement?— 2023. would you vote for that agreement? well, i will have to actually see _ agreement? well, i will have to actually see the _ agreement? well, i will have to actually see the legislative - actually see the legislative text and i think it is just worth reminding everyone that house republicans have passed a bill that does raise the debt ceiling and does limit spending, save the taxpayer money and put measures in place to actually grow our economy. we have had a deal on the table for three months, it's a shame that president biden, just now, just a week ago even named negotiators and were at the edge of a crisis so we will see what the actual deal says and then we will make the decision on how we're going to vote but a dead already vote to raise the debt ceiling those other measures in place.- the debt ceiling those other measures in place. right, you voted alongside _ measures in place. right, you voted alongside your - measures in place. right, you i voted alongside your republican colleagues, are you confident that kevin mccarthy can get your republican colleagues on board with any agreement that includes some compromises? he already said that not all republicans or democrats are going to be happy with the end

agreement. going to be happy with the end agreement-— agreement. you already see folks on both _ agreement. you already see folks on both sides - agreement. you already see folks on both sides of- agreement. you already see folks on both sides of the i folks on both sides of the aisle, whether it is work requirements or demands that we go tojust where requirements or demands that we go to just where we were just a year ago, fiscal year 22 levels of spending, not 23, so we will see. this is really being tightly held right now as they try to finalise a deal. i want to see the actual legislative text and again we have seen this before where we have rhetoric, we have discussion but the devil is in the details on what we actually put in the text and put into law and that's what many of us are going to want to see before we make a decision about how we are going to vote. i make a decision about how we are going to vote.— are going to vote. i want to move now _ are going to vote. i want to move now to _ are going to vote. i want to move now to foreign - are going to vote. i want to move now to foreign policy| move now to foreign policy because you do serve on the health services and foreign affairs committee because russia did continue its bombardment of ukraine, we want to show you pictures of a medical clinic and the pro—on fire ——in dnipro. and other

cities including kharkiv and the capital kyiv were also targeted. we are seeing these attacks in the hospital in dnipro but also across the country. with in ukrainian dnipro but also across the country. within ukrainian air defences be really successful in knocking down these metals and drone attacks but how long do you think they can continue to do so?— do you think they can continue to do so? ., , ., to do so? one can only wonder as they had — to do so? one can only wonder as they had patriot _ to do so? one can only wonder as they had patriot systems . to do so? one can only wonder as they had patriot systems a i as they had patriot systems a year ago or even before the war as they were asking for them, i was in kyiv the month before the war started in the biden administration then was saying that stingers were too provocative, harpoon ante ship missiles were too escalatory, it really very much was an appeasement approach and look, we seem to finally get to the right answer in giving the

ukrainians what they need whether they are f—16s or javelins, about a year and thousands of casualties too late. at the end of the day, this is now going to be how do we sustain this, who pays for it and i do think you are going to see calls from myself and others, really asking europe to step up. the united states has provided double the amount of military assistance, despite our economy being about the same as the eu, and frankly that's unacceptable. when we have seven out of 30 nato countries meeting there are 2% obligation. fortunately the united kingdom and united states are two of those but only seven out of 30 with a major land were on their doorstep. major land were on their doorste -. ., , , ., , doorstep. congressman, if they could 'ust doorstep. congressman, if they could justjump _ doorstep. congressman, if they could justjump in _ doorstep. congressman, if they could justjump in there, - doorstep. congressman, if they could justjump in there, are i could justjump in there, are you saying that the us might not be able to sustain then its

current military support? that europe is going to have to step up europe is going to have to step up in place of the us? i europe is going to have to step up in place of the us?- up in place of the us? i think euroe up in place of the us? i think europe at— up in place of the us? i think europe at a _ up in place of the us? i think europe at a minimum - up in place of the us? i think europe at a minimum is - up in place of the us? i think| europe at a minimum is going up in place of the us? i think. europe at a minimum is going to need to step up as a true partner, a dollarfor euro need to step up as a true partner, a dollar for euro type of approach or you are going to see other demands that when it comes to reconstruction and bearing the brunt of that cost, if our european partners, and look, friends and allies can also have tough conversations and hold each other accountable to our promises, remember, the 2% promise was made nearly ten years ago by every nato country and only seven of 30 have lived up and only seven of 30 have lived up to it, so there needs to be some real burden sharing, particularly as us back in the united states are having these tough conversations about our own out—of—control debt and government spending. own out-of-control debt and government spending. crosstalk. a fair question _ government spending. crosstalk. a fair question to _ government spending. crosstalk. a fair question to ask _ government spending. crosstalk. a fair question to ask about - a fair question to ask about allies, at least notjust us in terms of what we are providing.

i want to ask about what we've been discussing until now, the race for the republican nomination and you have endorsed the former president donald trump. it was asked about ukraine in the cnn town hall session and he said he would end the conflict in 2a hours. do you think that's possible?— hours. do you think that's possible? well, i think the president _ possible? well, i think the president would _ possible? well, i think the president would drive - possible? well, i think the president would drive hardj president would drive hard towards some type of negotiated settlement. i would advise him that a settlement right now, at least, for putin is only a pause. we need to push hard to help zelensky actually win but he's also, his very, i think rightly concerned what victory looks like, who is going to pay for this over the long term, is there a true threshold with which putin would use a tactical nuke and what does that or other weapons of mass destruction? these are concerns

that we should all be asking and i don't think our strategy can be, as it is currently articulated, as long as it takes. i mean, that'sjust kind of an open—ended, i think, pastoral and endless war so i think these are right and correct questions in terms of what a successful like —— what does success look like and how long are we going to bear the costs? ., ~' , ., long are we going to bear the costs? ., ,, , ., ., , ., costs? thank you for sharing our costs? thank you for sharing your thoughts _ costs? thank you for sharing your thoughts with _ costs? thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. - costs? thank you for sharing | your thoughts with us. thank ou. i'd your thoughts with us. thank you- i'd like _ your thoughts with us. thank you. i'd like to _ your thoughts with us. thank you. i'd like to return - your thoughts with us. thank you. i'd like to return to - your thoughts with us. thank you. i'd like to return to ourl you. i'd like to return to our anel, you. i'd like to return to our panel. still— you. i'd like to return to our panel, still with _ you. i'd like to return to our panel, still with us. - you. i'd like to return to our panel, still with us. rena i you. i'd like to return to our. panel, still with us. rena shah and terry sullivan. let's get your take on what we discussed their with the congressman which is foreign policy and we know there have been some diverging lines between republican candidate, including the former president on support for ukraine. how big a royalty think this will play? it’s think this will play? it's already _ think this will play? it's already playing - think this will play? it�*s already playing somewhat of a role that we will see it get

bigger because of this line of questioning from republicans in the white house, when are you going to be stronger against putin? when you going to get courage to do that is what republicans are to biden. but more importantly the question that all republicans love to talk about daily, why are we slow walking our support for ukraine and giving the military the equipment they need, talking about f—16 fighter the equipment they need, talking about f—16fighterjets in particular, these are tremendous questions and the spending, the money, the blank check that is always talked about in washington, republicans truly see the biden administration is issuing a blank cheque to ukraine. i'm a pro—democracy photo, which means it is important to me and i understand what is at stake when we talk about the russian invasion into ukraine and why it is important for us to have ukraine's back and fight for sovereignty alongside it but i think in the minds of your group microphone every day

republican voters especially in the republican —— rural voters is that millions a day is being sent overseas. what about us at home? and you hear a lot of file right republicans do that line of questioning and i think the drumbeat is going to get not to steady a heavier. they need to communicate - not to steady a heavier. they need to communicate it - not to steady a heavier. they l need to communicate it better. interesting. terry, think of the war in ukraine is a territorial dispute and not a vital national security interest for the us, we have mentioned what the former president said in the cnn town hall but nikki haley and tems got coming down differently on that so where do you see the ukraine war factoring into this race? i ukraine war factoring into this race? ~ �* , , , ukraine war factoring into this race? ~ �*, ,, race? i think it's less about where they _ race? i think it's less about where they are _ race? i think it's less about where they are at - race? i think it's less about where they are at on - race? i think it's less about where they are at on the i race? i think it's less about i where they are at on the issue and more _ where they are at on the issue and more how they look at is a leader~ — and more how they look at is a leader. they look like a strong leader— leader. they look like a strong leader regardless of the actual or their— leader regardless of the actual or their position on that issue. _ or their position on that issue, that's going to matter a lot more _ issue, that's going to matter a lot more. foreign policy, ends up lot more. foreign policy, ends up spending what most presidents spend, the majority of their— presidents spend, the majority of their time on. but it's what

voters — of their time on. but it's what voters care _ of their time on. but it's what voters care the least about when — voters care the least about when they go to the ballot box, especially in a primary. sol think— especially in a primary. sol think it _ especially in a primary. sol think it is _ especially in a primary. sol think it is not a huge vote mover— think it is not a huge vote mover for these candidates. 0ther— mover for these candidates. other than the leadership characteristics that go with it and if— characteristics that go with it and if you look strong on the issue — and if you look strong on the issue and _ and if you look strong on the issue and you have command of it, trump— issue and you have command of it, trump looks like he wants to capitulate on it. sol it, trump looks like he wants to capitulate on it. so i think that— to capitulate on it. so i think that could _ to capitulate on it. so i think that could be a weakness for hint — that could be a weakness for hint it's_ that could be a weakness for him. it's been a weakness that he looks— him. it's been a weakness that he looks like he is a little bit subservient to putin in the past — bit subservient to putin in the past so— bit subservient to putin in the past so i_ bit subservient to putin in the past. so i think this is a dangerous spot for him politically speaking, simply because he looks weak when talking — because he looks weak when talking about roshai because to your point of the cnn town hall. — your point of the cnn town hall. he _ your point of the cnn town hall, he quickly went in and said — hall, he quickly went in and said he _ hall, he quickly went in and said he would bring it to an end — said he would bring it to an end in— said he would bring it to an end in24— said he would bring it to an end in 24 hours —— russia. you know. — end in 24 hours —— russia. you know. i'm _ end in 24 hours —— russia. you know, i'm assuming that's by trying — know, i'm assuming that's by trying to— know, i'm assuming that's by trying to force some sort of settlement that putin would be amicable with.— amicable with. following up on that, governor _ amicable with. following up on that, governor descent - amicable with. following up on that, governor descent is, i amicable with. following up on that, governor descent is, do | that, governor descent is, do you think republican voters trust him on politt —— foreign

policy? trust him on politt -- foreign oli ? �* , ., ., trust him on politt -- foreign oli ? �*, ., ., policy? he's governor, he has not had to _ policy? he's governor, he has not had to deal— policy? he's governor, he has not had to deal with - policy? he's governor, he has not had to deal with it - policy? he's governor, he hasj not had to deal with it before. ithink— not had to deal with it before. i think he _ not had to deal with it before. i think he gave a bungled answer— i think he gave a bungled answer on a sheet to fox news atone _ answer on a sheet to fox news at one point in time about calling _ at one point in time about calling it _ at one point in time about calling it a territorial dispute and it was part of a longer— dispute and it was part of a longer answer but he needs to show— longer answer but he needs to show to— longer answer but he needs to show to voters where he is out on the — show to voters where he is out on the issues and can he lead on the issues and can he lead on it— on the issues and can he lead on it and _ on the issues and can he lead on it and he has, it's a bit of a on it and he has, it's a bit of o chris— on it and he has, it's a bit of o chris -- _ on it and he has, it's a bit of a chris —— crash course for him, — a chris —— crash course for him. being _ a chris —— crash course for him, being a governor is that of a — him, being a governor is that of a senator or if former president. i of a senator or if former president-— of a senator or if former resident. . , ,., , , president. i hear terry popping oint president. i hear terry popping point about _ president. i hear terry popping point about trump _ president. i hear terry popping point about trump seeming i president. i hear terry popping | point about trump seeming like he is weak on putin and on russia and perhaps there are some ties there but what i'm hearing from republican voters is essentially that putin waited until trump was out of office to invade ukraine. you hearfrom office to invade ukraine. you hear from these traditional republican voters that they felt safe under trump. they felt safe under trump. they felt the trump was keeping our enemies on theirfeet. felt the trump was keeping our enemies on their feet. that is the one thing i heard in 2016 and here it to this day from people that support trump.

what's true is the major function of the republican party is waning in its and it's gotten much smaller as a function —— maga. we got the empirical evidence this last midterms that show they are not the demographic that have the power, it is the after trumpers, the people that voted for him in 2016 and may be pinched than those in denver again in 2020 or didn't. these are people looking for someone you and they're willing to take the risk on a state executive like dissenters who looked strong during the covid shutdowns. he really was seen to lead florida. i think the issues on the ballot in 2024, whether the primary or general bilby kitchen table, economy, looking strong in the economy, looking strong in the economy, looking like they are standing up looking like they are standing up for the american business owner and also in addition to those kitchen table issues i do think abortion will be on the ballot and i think it is tricky. ballot and i think it is tric . . v , tricky. that's my next question. _ tricky. that's my next question. sure! i tricky. that's my nextl question. sure! again, tricky. that's my next i question. sure! again, there are very big _ question. sure! again, there are very big differences i are very big differences between these candidates and where they stand on abortion. if you ask me today, can trump

when a general election, i would say absolutely not. he does not come out entirely and always say i'm the most conservative and i will be the most pro— life in my second term. but what you get from ron desantis is the opposite of trump. you get a governor who signed a six—week ban in the dark of night, he didn't want any coverage of that. so dissenters is walking this very conservative walk and also let's not forget what he has donein let's not forget what he has done in education and in diversity studies in florida. he is taking a very hard right turn that he has always been more right of trump, right, but when we come to abortion, the republican party needs to wise up republican party needs to wise up to the fact that the average american woman who is pushing a stroller in the suburbs does not like and doesn'tjibe with today's republican party entirely. she is somebody who is likely enter abortion for herself but pro—choice for other women. herself but pro-choice for other women.— herself but pro-choice for other women. , , ., . ~' other women. terry, your take on this. other women. terry, your take on this- do _ other women. terry, your take on this. do you _ other women. terry, your take on this. do you agree? - on this. do you agree? inaudible the two elections here — inaudible the two elections here play, republican nomination and then the general election— nomination and then the general election and i agree with her

point — election and i agree with her point on _ election and i agree with her point on both of those but i think— point on both of those but i think in— point on both of those but i think in order to be the nominee, you have to win the nomination and republican primary— nomination and republican primary voters are overwhelmingly pro—life and strongly pro—life and so, dissenters is much stronger on that issue _ dissenters is much stronger on that issue when it comes to your— that issue when it comes to your republican primary voters and is — your republican primary voters and is given further benefit him — and is given further benefit him in— and is given further benefit him in iowa, south carolina, in getting — him in iowa, south carolina, in getting the nomination —— desantis. trumpers been all over the _ desantis. trumpers been all over the issue for years and recently— over the issue for years and recently as the cnn town hall refused — recently as the cnn town hall refused to take a position one way or— refused to take a position one way or the _ refused to take a position one way or the other and i think it will hurt — way or the other and i think it will hurt him in the primaries. we can— will hurt him in the primaries. we can worry about the general but at _ we can worry about the general but at this— we can worry about the general but at this moment, it's all about— but at this moment, it's all about who gets the nomination first _ about who gets the nomination first. ~ ., , ., ., first. we only have a little time left _ first. we only have a little time left so _ first. we only have a little time left so in _ first. we only have a little time left so in 30 - first. we only have a little time left so in 30 seconds each, if i can ask you to be fast, terry, which of these candidates right now in the race do you expect to see on a ticket with donald trump? hikki ticket with donald trump? nikki haley seems — ticket with donald trump? nikki haley seems to _ ticket with donald trump? nikki haley seems to be _ ticket with donald trump? nikki haley seems to be campaigning very hard — haley seems to be campaigning very hard to be his running mate _

very hard to be his running mate. she seems to be attacking dissenters — mate. she seems to be attacking dissenters whenever she goes so ithink— dissenters whenever she goes so i think she — dissenters whenever she goes so i think she is auditioning for the job— i think she is auditioning for the job -- _ i think she is auditioning for the job —— desantis. i think she is auditioning for thejob —— desantis. she has not— thejob —— desantis. she has not attacked him and is only attacked _ not attacked him and is only attacked the other candidates in the — attacked the other candidates in the race. do attacked the other candidates in the race-— attacked the other candidates in the race. do you agree? ifi must take _ in the race. do you agree? ifi must take this _ in the race. do you agree? ifi must take this moment i in the race. do you agree? ifi must take this moment is i in the race. do you agree? if i| must take this moment is that it will be all about the money. he runs out of money first out of the field of candidates aside from trump? i think that'll determine the running mate, who is looking strong on fundraising. desantis raised something a little over 8 million after announcing nikki haley, i believe, if i'm not wrong, closed with the first quarter with something like 4 million. so i could be wrong and check me but it's about the money at the end of the day and these are fast—moving figures and it's a fast—moving primary already. that was republican strategist and former campaign manager for marco rubio's 2016 presidential campaign terry sullivan, and rina shah, a former senior congressional staffer and republican strategist, speaking to me earlier. thank you for watching bbc news. we're following that

story about developments in the debt negotiations, president biden indicating we could have some sort of answer on whether there is a deal in the next hour or so and there is a deal in the next hour orso and we there is a deal in the next hour or so and we will watch those developments and bring them to you at the top of the next hour. thank you for watching. hello. friday was another fine and dry day for the vast majority with high pressure dominating our weather picture. there was lots of sunshine around. just a little bit of this, though, with a cloud popping up for a time — like here in chorley, lancashire. it was across the other side of the hills that we had the day's highest temperature. bainbridge in north yorkshire, popping up to 23 degrees celsius friday afternoon — that's seven degrees above the may average. so, pleasant in the sun. and you can see on the satellite picture just how sunny it was. just a little bit of cloud across northern england, a bit for northern ireland and a bit for northern scotla nd but looking out in the atlantic, we've got a weather front that's set to bring some much thicker cloud in over the next few hours. so, clouding over across

north—western areas of the uk. an odd spit of rain by dawn. otherwise, it's dry with clear skies and temperatures about six to eight degrees celsius. if you're heading outside first thing in the morning saturday morning, yes, you might need a layer or two — it will be a little on the cool side. saturday's forecast, then. high pressure staying put for most of us but this week, weather front is working into that area of high pressure and so, for scotland, we see the cloud thicken. a little bit of light, patchy rain, followed by sunshine and showers in the afternoon. it will turn cooler — temperatures about 11 to 13 across the far north of scotland. for northern ireland, england and wales, plenty of dry weather and sunshine and it's going to feel warm — high teens to low 20s widely but peaking at around 23 across the spine of the country, through parts of northern england, the midlands and central southern england. southern and eastern scotland should be pleasant enough as well. still holding on to a bit of sunshine here. 0k, on sunday, high pressure is still with us but there's probably going to be a little bit more in the way of cloud developing for a time. i think sunny spells, though,

coming through that. temperatures just easing down for scotland, northern ireland, northern england so, mid—to—high teens here. the warmest weather towards the south—west, where we could see around 23 degrees again. but wherever the may sunshine comes out, i think it's going to feel 0k. and it's a similar picture, really, for bank holiday monday itself. a bit more of a wind blowing for east anglia and south—east england. that could make it feel a little on the cool side first thing in the morning. but once we've got that sunshine coming through again, it should feel 0k. and temperatures are going to start to rise in scotland. 21 in glasgow could be one of the warmest places in the country but turning a bit cooler down the eastern side of england. beyond that, deeper into next week, it's sunny and it's set to get warmer. for some, temperatures could reach the mid 20s. bye for now.

own out—of—control debt and government spending. this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour straight after this programme. this week, how robots are helping the british army stay safe in hostile environments.

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