this is because ben wallace points out that there 00:08:26,1000 --> 00:08:27,419 have been, in the lastaq that appellant repeatedly attacked by forces, iranian forces, and that this is actually to undermine neighbouring sovereign nations. it's interesting because obviously borisjohnson is going to fight back and have important decisions to make. and the foreign secretary will be going come in the coming days, to paris, to berlin and then to washington to come interesting you hadn't noticed before that it says it's a long planned visit. we are heading in the last few moments that he will meet the foreign secretary, he will meet us secretary of state mike pompeo on thursday. and then going to canada. to pick up on the point in the sunday times the telegraph talks about the vulnerability as see, but there's also vulnerability for british troops that are stationed there on land. we have 400 troops who are training iraqi forces at the invitation of the iraqi government, obviously but they are going to be vulnerable to any counterattack that iranian backed forces might launch. so you can unde

i think it is bold of ben wallace to say this.he was caught on camera, not knowing that he was from, of course, we are doing this to stop brexit, he said! he is someone this to stop brexit, he said! he is someone who can be quite outspoken, but people in the us, when they want to preserve the special relationship, there may be a dwindling number of them, they might ta ke dwindling number of them, they might take comfort from this, saying, we need the support of allies, trump talking about how we don't need nato, but we need the support of people around the world for the optics, that word you used earlier. there is speculation as to whether ben wallace will remain in post, however. this could taste in his demise, who knows? or maybe he feels free to set! the sunday telegraph, the national trust to take on the terraced homes of real people, some are beyond the reach of real people! this is nice, they have an interview with tim parker, the chairman of the national trust, who is marking the 125th anniversary of the national trust. he

extraordinary, this story by ben wallace that america won't be the world's policeman any more.. is ita can be read in all kinds of ways. is it a bid for more money for defence in the budget on the 11th of march? it could be that. it's also a way of saying that nobody knows what president donald trump spa strategy is in the middle east or anywhere else. at the same time when trump is increasing the number of troops in the middle east, there is 14,000 more than there were in may last year. with an incoherent strategy, ben wallace '5 concluding we can't rely on them because trump is soma curial, give me more money for decent defences. is quite a list of what he wants, he says we are very dependent on american cover, intelligence, surveillance, assets, we need to diversify. a big pitch for more money. a story that would have led the paper in any other week but this. let's end on the front page of the independent. my question to finish off, willjess phillips have the support of momentum, because that matters at this stage. jess phillips is an mp in the birmingham area, very funny, o

that was ben wallace and thenjeremy corbyn stood up wallace and thenjeremy corbyn stood up to questiontermined to keepin because they are so determined to keep in with president trump. this assassination puts british troops and civilians, as well as the people of the region, in danger. jeremy corbyn there. there are still points of order in the chamber and we will keep an eye out for the eu withdrawal bill which is scheduled to ta ke withdrawal bill which is scheduled to take place later. wi—fi—enabled litter boxes for cats and a rotating tv specifically designed for use by the tiktok generation — that‘s just some of the new technology on display at the world‘s biggest consumer tech showcase in las vegas. it‘s a chance for aspiring start—ups and established brands to show off their latest gadgets. 0ur reporter zoe kleinmann has been to find out what‘s creating a buzz. it looks like pork and it‘s supposed to taste like it too, but this is a new meat—free alternative. the impossible sausage is by the same company who gave us fake burgers last year. it might be veganuary in the uk, but po

all eyes on the defence secretary, ben wallace, this afternoon.iting to hear what the responses from the british government. this was not boris johnson, the prime minister, doing all of this. it was the defence secretary. interestingly, he stayed clear about talking about the legality of what the americans did. there was no outright condemnation of age, and in fact, there was no outright condemnation of age, and infact, ben there was no outright condemnation of age, and in fact, ben wallace was saying there was a case of self—defense, he talked about the fa ct self—defense, he talked about the fact that there had been several attacks on targets in iraq over the months, and say that actually america had shown restraint up until now. but the really clear message from the uk government is that they really wa nt from the uk government is that they really want to try and calm the situation down, and of course, remember the british were not told in advance by the americans that this was going to happen, even though there are british troops in iraq. this

the foreign secretary has not said anything, the only person was ben wallace the defence secretary.was very neutral. the phrasing of it, it was talking about how safe it is to go there. and yet the americans are critical, mike pompeo critical about the response of the british government. in fact he was also critical of france and of president macron. he said the europeans have not been as helpful as they wish they could be. which is fascinating. all ben wallace the defence secretary has said is that america is entitled to defend itself if it is entitled to defend itself if it is under attack. that's a sort of conditional statement. the word that keeps on coming back his strategy. americans have been pulling out of syria, abandons the kurds overnight, you know, which had all kinds of very quick sudden consequences, and took everybody and possibly the turks and they were fully formed and along with that. what is the strategy here? surely then it would make sense, so he told one of his favourite senators while playing golf on monday afternoon that this attack was coming. also disquiet

the defence secretary ben wallace. it was announced that the budget will take place on the 11th of march. the chancellor of the exchequer, sajid javid, told the bbc that there would be an "infrastructure revolution" and billions of pounds would be invested across the country. coincidentally, mrjavid was also up before mps answering questions. labour focused on productivity and reports over the christmas break that borisjohnson‘s controversial aide, dominic cummings, had called for a different sort of person to apply forjobs in whitehall. the prime minister's special adviser now wants a civil service perhaps modelled on the cabinet, comprised of weirdos and misfits with odd skills. so as a member... as a member of that cabinet, what weird explanation does the chancellor have as to why according to the office of national statistics, productivity is following at its fastest annual pace for five years? we have just had an unprecedented decade of growth. it is the first decade of uninterrupted growth... only the third time

ben wallace said today has government has been working with france and germany to make sure the agreementnot fall by the wayside. president trump withdrew the u.s. from the accord. iran said it will no longer bay -- obey limits on uranium enrichment. endingesumed today and ongoing transit strikes. following discussions, edvard philippe dish -- struck a determine tone. union

i'd be interested to know what you're made of ben wallace's tone in his statement to the house of commons there was no huge criticism of america but there was also no robust defence either, what did you think?” there was also no robust defence either, what did you think? i think that's a very neat summary of where mr wallace was and where the british government has been over the last couple of days. reemphasizing that they were falling back on again and again the escalation, this desire to see a return to the promisee and a removal of the potential for the conflict or violence associated with what happened at the tail end of last week. just a couple of details from what mr wallace said, the defence secretary in the house of commons saying that it was important that some operational personnel or moved out of baghdad and that would be happening. as i say reemphasizing this desire for the escalation. interestingly here, the focus of the response we heard from jeremy corbyn the labour leader responding for the opposition rather than the shadow defence secretary. making the point that borisjoh

that message to other leaders and we here in parliament we expect also from the defence secretary ben wallaceund in iraq the uk are certainly notjust a spectator ground in iraq the uk are certainly not just a spectator in all of this, but in trying to balance that awkward triangle of an unpredictable us president, allies in europe, then partners and allies in the middle east as well, this is a very difficult balancing act for the british government. not bystanders but not decision—makers either. laura kuenssberg from westminster, thanks very much. now, australia's prime minister scott morrison has promised over £1 billion in aid to help his country recover from the continuing bushfire crisis. fires have so far destroyed an area roughly the size of ireland, with several smaller fires in the states of new south wales and neighbouring victoria threatening to merge to create mega—fires. mr morrison has been heavily criticised for his response to the disaster. last week he had to cut short a visit to the town of cobargo, after angry locals heckled him. my colleague clive myrie is there tonight. he

here, the defence secretary, ben wallace, has said the royal navy will be accompanying ships through strait of hormuz, a vital route for global oil supplies off iran's south coast. our middle east correspondent, quentin sommerville, reports. they came in their thousands to honour qassem soleimani and they called him a hero. to many more in iraq and beyond, he was the region's principal villain. familiar chants rang out — death to america, death to israel. he served his iranian masters well. its regime has cast him as a proud shia martyr. in death, he's been elevated to the rank of lieutenant general. in iran, there were more anti—western protests. president rouhani visited his family and again warned of harsh revenge for the assassination of the general. he said, the americans are not aware of the big mistake they made. they will face the consequences of their crime, not only today, but also in the coming years. president donald trump gave the assassination order. he's facing re—election. he was planning a very major attack and we got him. but already, doubts are being cast over the

interesting, a sunday times interview with ben wallace, the british defence secretary, he made very clearm donald trump downwards, the national security adviser and his counterpart have all warned him in no uncertain terms that if britain does go ahead with huawei, the us will take moves to shut britain out from aspects of intelligence sharing which is key to the partnership. they need a decision. it has dragged on and on. the provisional decision by theresa may was in april last year and it triggered the sacking of the defence secretary, gavin williamson, who was accused of breathing details of it. as lucy says, there have been lots of hintsjust how as lucy says, there have been lots of hints just how angry the americans would be if we were to go with huawei. but when donald trump was here last year he didn't seem very concerned at all on that occasion. i know donald trump swings this way and that and we should not put too much store in that, but maybe that means we are about finally to get a decision this month, nine months after the provisional decision. let's go back to the guardian.

here, the defence secretary, ben wallace, has said the royal navy will be accompanying ships throughs off iran's south coast. jarret blanc was the state department coordinator for the implementation of the iran nuclear deal at the us department of state under president 0bama. he's now a senior fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace. it's very difficult to see how things de—escalate. one of both sides need to stop making escalatory decisions. at every moment over the last couple of years, both sides have chosen high risk strategy, that is certainly the case against soleimani. so either the iranians need to step back or the us needs to absorb the retaliation without taking the next step. and when you were within the state department, how much of a concern was qasem soleimani? i think that a mistake is being made here in the personalisation of him. 0bviously, he was an important, influential and effective operator within iran's regional policy and so to that extent there was concern about him. but the revolutionary guard corp — these are institutions that can survive w

the defence secretary ben wallace and the chief of the defence staff will also be there.assador to iran has denied taking part in protests in tehran following his arrest last night. in a tweet rob maccaire said he was detained for three hours after attending a vigil to pay his respects to the four british nationals who were killed in the ukrainian passenger plane that was shot down by the iranian military on wednesday. the foreign secretary dominic raab has said iran was in breach of international law and called on tehran to descalate tensions in the region. simonjones reports. protests in tehran against the government. for three days, iran had denied it shot down a ukrainian passenger plane. then, in an extraordinary turnaround, the military finally admitted it had made a disastrous mistake. britain's ambassador to tehran had joined what started as a vigil for the dead in the iranian capital. he left when it turned into a demonstration. but rob macaire was arrested as he stopped at a barbershop for a haircut. he was accused of helping to organise the protests. under the

we have seen both dominic raab and ben wallace, the foreign secretary and defence secretary, underlinede strike and self defence. that is based on the pentagon and the cia saying there was intelligence showing that soleimani was planning imminent attacks on americans, so the uk is backing washington on legal right to do it, but we have held back so far from going any further. there is a massive weariness in westminster around the idea of britain being dragged into a kinetic conflict is all the emphasis so far has been stressing the need for de—escalation by all sides and urging iran to pursue a diplomatic route forward and not seek revenge. lucy fisher, defence editor for the times newspaper, thank you very much. these are the live pictures to us coming from mashhad in iran as mourners have been gathering for general soleimani he was killed in the us air strike. we understand the iranian cabinet has declared monday a public holiday within the tehran province as tehran prepares to hold a state organised funeral ceremony for qasem soleimani. the government invites all people to take part

the defence secretary ben wallace and the chief of the defence staff will also be there.k for that meeting with the senior royals in sandringham. the six candidates in the labour leadership havejust over 2a hours to gain the backing they need to get to the next stage of the contest. sir keir starmer, rebecca long—bailey and lisa nandy have the required number of nominations — leaving emily thornberry and clive lewis lobbying to get the backing of at least 22 of their fellow labourmps and meps. registered supporters — who are not full party members — will have 48 hours from 14th to the 16th of january to secure a vote by paying £25. the ballot will be open from 21st february to the 2nd of april, with the results announced two days later on the 11th april. 0ur political correspondent tony bonsignore gave us this update. rebecca long—bailey, lisa nandy, jess phillips and sir keir starmer, who is way out ahead with 68 nominations at the moment. there are two struggling at the moment which is emily thornbury — she's got 10 — and clive lewis who's only got four nominations. emi

we have got ben wallace, who gave a statement yesterday.eagues in brussels over the next few days. dominic rob is going to america as well. we could play an important diplomatic role here in advancing the conversation forward as to where we go, but also helping de—escalate tensions in the immediate future. thank you very much. our assistant political editor norman smith is at westminster. what has been the reaction?|j what has been the reaction? i think eve ryo ne what has been the reaction? i think everyone is waiting to hear from the prime minister because i think many people have spoken in the wake of the assassination of general soleimani, and of course the iranian retaliation overnight. the one person we have not heard from publicly is boris johnson. person we have not heard from publicly is borisjohnson. his team say that that is because he has decided to delegate responsibility for addressing mps and making public state m e nts for addressing mps and making public statements to the defence secretary, ben wallace, because he is after

we have seen both dominic raab and ben wallace, the foreign secretary and defence secretary, underlinesue the strike in self defence. that is based on the pentagon and the cia saying there was intelligence showing that soleimani was planning imminent attacks on americans, so the uk is backing washington on the legal right to do it, but we have held back so far from going any further. there is a huge wariness in westminster around the idea of britain being dragged into a kinetic conflict so all the emphasis so far has been stressing the need for de—escalation by all sides and urging iran to pursue a diplomatic route forward and not seek revenge. a senior figure in the review of the hs2 high speed rail project, says it could end up costing £108 billion pounds — almost double the original estimate. lord berkeley, who's a long—standing critic of the project, says its costs are out of control. hs2 limited says it's determined to deliver a railway that's value for money. a little earlier lord berkeley told us why he thinks the hs2 project has gone so over budget. i think it's 107 now, and it

him at all, not even yesterday when we had that statement in the comments by defence secretary ben wallaceom mrjohnson and i think inevitably he will be asked about the british position. i wouldn't imagine he would have much further to say beyond what we already know, namely there has been already know, namely there has been a bolstering of british defensive positions in the middle east, two royal navy ships being sent to the straits of hormuz, and british forces being pulled back into a defensive posture, but from theresa may or david cameron, invariably, when there were moments of national crisis, certainly when british military lives were at risk they would almost routinely themselves come to the commons and update mps and makea come to the commons and update mps and make a statement. borisjohnson has chosen not to do that. and those around him say that is part of a different approach in which he will delegate, if you like, ministers with direct responsibilities to account to parliament, and that is why we saw yesterday the defence secretary rather than the prime minister making that st

but the people weren't given access to today's ceremony in portsmouth, and the defence secretary, ben wallacehere is now a campaign to get compensation for people who were affected by the previous ban on lgbt people in the military. that is an important way for the mod to signal that they have to really, really change. they have to put their money where their mouth is. now 69 years old, joe served as a radio operator for 18 years, taking part in the liberation of the falkland islands in 1982. he says he had to hide his bisexuality during his career. well, i was living a double life. it wasn't all that difficult, but i had to be careful what i said, what i did, where i went. the decision to force him out had a massive impact on his life. i decided to call it a day, and i went to the taymor bridge to commit suicide. luckily for me, a friend phoned me just as i was about to jump off. the military‘s ban on lgbt people was lifted 20 years ago, but one campaign group says far more needs to be done for veterans like joe. there is a huge amount to do to repair a catastrophic breakdown in the military

the british defence minister ben wallace announced the decision as nato said it is already moving someonnel out of iraq, as are the canadians. the uncertainty over foreign troop deployments in the region reflects growing anxiety among us allies in the wake of the killing of iranian commander qassem soleimani. the funeral of mr soleimani was delayed a few hours after at least 32 people were killed in a stampede in the huge crowd of mourners. -- 50 —— 50 people. although the general had his critics in iran — millions have turned out across the country to express their anger at the killing. the bbc‘s middle east editorjeremy bowen has the latest from the region. another enormous crowd turned out in kerman, qasem soleimani's hometown for his burial. the last stage of iran's long goodbye. millions have been on the streets to mourn, pray and shout their anger as his coffin has been taken round the country. but the passion of the people of kerman for a local hero was too much, they pressed forward, leading to the tragedy and many more deaths. this was an accident, but iranians will add the bl

british defence secretary ben wallace says the prospect of america retreating from the world stage gives the prospect of the us withdrawing from conflicts around the world the uk needs to be able to operate fully without its assistance. writing in the sunday times yesterday the defence secretary said, "the assumptions of 2010 that we were always going to be part of a us coalition is reallyjust not where we are going to be". in the runup to an expected defence review — he warns: "we are very dependent on american air cover and american intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets. we need to diversify our assets". joining us now to discuss the future of the uk and us's strategic partnership are former us defence secretary william cohen, who served under bill clinton, and liam fox — conservative mp who among other cabinet roles in theresa may and david cameron's government served as defence secretary. and later chris is the international trade secretary. welcome to both gentlemen, and can i start with you doctor fox, the defence secretary she points to a series of recent events, th

ben wallace the general election —— nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe.nerable on his record as foreign secretary. it is grown—up government. he doesn't need to do celebrity and rundown downing street waving and cheering with everybody. he got the job he wanted and he wants to deliver. this is about getting good staff in place to advise the government properly. you will see movement about how there will see movement about how there will be possible reshuffles this spring and how that might pan out. it is about grown—up government and getting on with the job. people want to change, they were desperate it. we had three years of nothing going on and they want to get on with it. they do but there will be a couple of factors. firstly, will he remain true to his word? in the election campaign we heard that they won't the party of austerity and we are turning on the taps with spending. last week there was a story on the front page of the times that they are saying to departments to look for cuts. that sounds like austerity. that wasn't talked about in the electi