katya adler in madrid, thank _ them feel safer.raine and how international leaders are responding to the conflict on bbc news online — that's bbc.co.uk/news — and by using the bbc news app. sirjohn major has been giving evidence to an inquiry into the infected blood scandal during 19705 and 1980s. people with haemophilia or those who needed transfusions were given blood products as part of their treatment. but some of the blood was contaminated — and more than 33,000 people were infected with hepatitis c or hiv. to date, more than 3,000 people have died. there were gasps at the inquiry is the former prime minister described the former prime minister described the victims are suffering from incredibly bad luck. our health editor hugh pym has this report. barry has always said, he's always felt like he was on death row but without committing any crime. i just want a sincere apology from somebody. deborah reflects on how barry's life has been blighted. because of his treatment for haemophilia, he was infected with hepatitis c. he“s ne

katya adler, bbc news, madrid. who served as the us ambassador to nato. thank you forjoining us on the programme. in addition, nato is also looking at what is going on in the pacific and has its eyes on the growing influence in china. how is this going to change the strategy is the organisation moves forward? there is a lot of news coming out of the summit on exactly those questions. first off, nato is recognising that russia is a serious threat to nato countries still, and that nato has not done enough to prepare itself to defend its allies if needed and to deter such aggression. so adding more forces, getting up to 300,000, making sure they are deployed for their forward, bringing in these new members, finland and sweden — all of them will reinforce nato because my capabilities. in addition, nato is looking longer—range on the road —— nato's capabilities. spyware, nato's capabilities. spywa re, anything like the fact that several nations were invited this year as an indicator that there is a desire on nato's part

katya adler, bbc news, madrid. nato expert michael 0'hanlon who's a senior fellow and director of research in foreign policy at the brookings institution. thank you forjoining us. how significant is this? was it inevitable that in the current climate, turkey would drop objections to finland and swedenjoining nato? sweden “oining nato? most eo - le swedenjoining nato? most eo - le i swedenjoining nato? most peeple i knew _ swedenjoining nato? most people i knew thought - swedenjoining nato? i’j�*if?3ii people i knew thought turkey was bargaining first something and it did. turkey feels strongly about threats around its own borders, and understandably so. it has had a lot of internal dissent and conflict from various sources and, more importantly, it has had a million refugees from syria arrive in its territory in the last decade. turkey saw an opportunity here to use this moment, where all of nato otherwise wanted to bring in sweden and finland and turkey realised it had some leverage, and it was going to insist tha

katya adler, bbc news, madrid.anlon who is a senior fellow and director of research in foreign policy at the brookings institution. earlier i asked him if he thought it was inevitable that turkey would drop its objections. turkey feels strongly about threats around its own borders, and understandably so. it has had a lot of internal dissent and conflict from various sources and, more importantly, it has had 4 million refugees from syria arrive in its territory in the last decade. turkey saw an opportunity here to use this moment, where all of nato otherwise wanted to bring in sweden and finland and turkey realised it had some leverage, and it was going to insist that the president of the united states engage and deliver some results. it appears that between the president and the nato secretary general, turkey has been consulted and its concerns are been addressed in regard to potential kurdish separatists/terrorists. some of us think they are more separatists but turkey sees them as terrorists and it has been clear

our europe editor katya adler reports from madrid.ons, but sweden and finland are now well on their way to becoming nato members after they signed an agreement with turkey to counter threats to each other�*s security. applause front tonight to send a clear message to vladimir putin. welcoming finland and sweden into the alliance will make them safer, nato stronger, and the mid—atlantic area more secure. this is vital as we face the biggest security crisis in decades. ukraine, of course, is on everyone's minds here. but so is the wider security threat from russia. nato is ramping up its rapid reaction forces, from 40,000 to 300,000... ..like these french paratroopers preparing to support nato countries close to russia, now feeling very exposed. we can't defend ourselves alone. we will never be alone strong. so we have to have, like, friends and allies. finland and sweden agree. just look at finland's long border with russia. hello. thank you so much for taking the time. moscow's aggression has shocked them. we realised that we have to

our europe editor katya adler reports from madrid.embers after they signed an agreement with turkey to counter threats to each other�*s security. nato hoped to present this united front tonight to send a clear message to vladimir putin. welcoming finland and sweden into the alliance will make them safer, nato stronger, and the mid—atlantic area more secure. this is vital as we face the biggest security crisis in decades. ukraine, of course, is on everyone's minds here. but so is the wider security threat from russia. nato is ramping up its rapid reaction forces, from 40,000 to 300,000. like these french paratroopers preparing to support nato countries close to russia, now feeling very exposed. we can't defend ourselves alone. we will never be alone strong. so we have to have, like, friends and allies. finland and sweden agree. just look at finland's long border with russia. hello. thank you so much for taking the time. moscow's aggression has shocked them. we realised that we have to make a change. - well, it appeared that russia is r

katya adler, bbc news, madrid. still to come on the programme... match in a year. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge firework display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly that was cloned in laboratory using a cell from another sheep. for the first time in 20 years, russian and american spacecraft have docked in orbit at the start of a new era of cooperation in space. cheering. challenger powered past. the bishop rock lighthouse at almost 50 knots, shattering a record that had _ stood for 34 years. there was no hiding the sheer elation ofj richard branson and his crew. this is newsday on the bbc. from singapore, i'm monica miller. 0ur headlines... a former white house aide tells a committee that president trump wanted tojoin a committee that president trump wanted to join the capito

katya adler, bbc news, madrid.atrick sanders, has warned that president putin's invasion of ukraine represents the greatest threat to european peace and democracy in decades. the defence secretary ben wallace has urged the prime minister to increase spending on the uk's armed forces. chris mason has been travelling with the prime minister and you spoke to him about this on the plane. he and you spoke to him about this on the lane. ., ., .,, the plane. he said nato was the indisputable _ the plane. he said nato was the indisputable guarantor- the plane. he said nato was the indisputable guarantor of - the plane. he said nato was the i indisputable guarantor of european security, that it had never been more vital but this debate rages around defence spending with the head of the armed forces and the defence secretary suggesting it needs to rise, the defence secretary saying over the last few generations it has been allowed to travel on the head of the armed forces comparing it with the build—up to the second world wa

katya adler, our europe editor.tions, news and analysis on bbc news online, that's bbc.co.uk/news, and by using the bbc news app. judges at the appeal court have ruled that the first flight to rwanda taking migrants who've arrived illegally in britain can take off tomorrow after a last ditch legal bid to block it. thejudges supported the judges supported a previous decision by the high court that it was in the public interest for the government to carry out its policies. it is reported there will be eight asylum seekers are not first flight. here's our home editor, mark easton dozens more asylum—seekers arrived on the kent coast today, 37 men who the government says should potentially face removal to rwanda because they've travelled from france, a safe country. and this is the boeing 767 chartered by the home office to take the first group of asylum—seekers on a one—way ticket to rwanda tomorrow night. the plane can take around 200 passengers, but a maximum ofjust 8 asylum—seekers will be aboard, and three of those

katya adler, bbc news, madrid.tlined her plans for a second referendum on independence from the rest of the uk. she told the scottish parliament that a bill would set out how a vote could be held in october next year. 0ur scotland editorjames cook reports from edinburgh. chanting: yes, yes, yes! no, no, no! scotland 2014, when politics came alive. how dare they say that this country is not capable of running its own affairs? this is everyone's flag, everyone's country, everyone's culture, and everyone's streets. this is the vision we've got for your country. i but should we do this all over again? how does the nation feel about the idea of a second referendum? yeah, i think if there's a public call for it then we should definitely have one and just see what the public thinks. i don't think it's the best idea. yes, go for it, - yeah, another one. oh, my god, again? presiding officer... well, yes, if nicola sturgeon has her way. now is the time for independence. the plan is to ask voters, should scotland be an indepe

the eu says such changes would be illegal. 0ur europe editor, katya adler, is here to explain more.n northern ireland unilaterally is unacceptable. why? well, it says the text known as the protocol is the result of years of negotiation between the eu and uk — a compromise solution intended to protect the peace process in northern ireland, uk internal trade, and the eu's single market after brexit. as a warning, the eu announced today it's launching legal proceedings against the government for already not respecting parts of the protocol, it said. if successful, this could result in a fine for the uk. the eu has also threatened possible future tariffs on uk goods, or even suspending the brexit trade deal altogether. with the cost of living crisis and the war in ukraine, there's little appetite for a trade war in brussels. still, this was the eu's chief negotiator today. let there be no doubt. there is no legal, no political justification whatsoever for unilaterally changing an international agreement. so let's call a spade a spade — this is illegal. illegal? absolutely not, says the

the bbc's katya adler has been in talks for weeks but sweden and finland are now on track to join nato after the two countries signed a counter-threat deal with turkey each other's security, but the focus here is of course ukraine as well as the wider security threat from russia. nato is increasing its rapid response forces from 40,000 to 300,000, among them are these french paratroopers who are preparing to support nato countries bordering russia and especially acutely now they feel a potential threat we cannot defend ourselves we can never be strong alone we must have friends and allies and sweden agrees with this just look at finland's long border with russia moscow's aggression against finland shocked change. we understood that the necessary changes are emerging. russia is ready to try to invade a neighboring sovereign country. does this worry you, because president putin directly warned you not to join nato, because otherwise there will be consequences. yes, but we are not afraid . not at all. according to him, the alliance and ukraine's support will only prolong kyiv's agony. her

the plan is due to be approved at a summit in madrid this week. 0ur europe editor katya adler is thereis. , , ., , ., just explain how significant this is. very if you listen to nato's secretary _ is. very if you listen to nato's secretary general. _ is. very if you listen to nato's secretary general. he - is. very if you listen to nato's secretary general. he says i is. very if you listen to nato's. secretary general. he says this is. very if you listen to nato's - secretary general. he says this is the biggest overhaul since the end of the cold war and it doesn't really come as a surprise because russia's invasion of ukraine, the ambition, the aggression it is showing has upended any security assumptions held here in europe. when it comes to those rapid reaction forces of nato that you mentioned, this is about nato members closest to russia, so the baltic countries, and poland, and nato applicants finland and sweden who feel really exposed. they are demanding a boosting of nato's eastern flank. that means for other nato members like the uk and france pledging warships and warplanes a

he said he "sincerely commended eu leaders" he went on to say that he was... 0ur europe editor, katya adlerraine. president zelensky has been pushing for this moment he calls historic for a very long time, because it allows them to turn around to rush and say, love, we are ukraine, we belong in europe, we belong in the west, not in your russian sphere of influence. so he wanted the symbolism tonight. tomorrow, of course, he will be reminding the west that he also really needs that military and economic aid. from russia's perspective, it's actually hardening it stands on ukraine joining the eu, and why? welcome it says brussels is taking a much more active role these days and defence. as for the eu itself, well, leaders and there were really sincere in wanting to show solidarity tonight with war—torn ukraine. at the same time, questions are being asked as to whether they can afford to take on new members. and already got 27, so dramatically different, the often can't find agreement on difficult issues like migration or russia's sanctions, so add more voices to the mix, ukraine, moldova or co

here's bbc news europe editor, katya adler.llective defence . and deterrence since the cold war. and it doesn't really come as a surprise. | i mean, russia's invasion . of ukraine, the aggression, the ambition that it's showing hasj kind of upended all of the security assumptions here in europe since the cold war. - but when we talk about these rapid reaction forces, - these aren't troops that are thought to be sent to ukraine. _ it is actually nato members that are closest to russia — _ the baltic countries and poland — and also nato applicants — - finland and sweden — - that are feeling most exposed, and what they're looking - for is a real boosting of what's known as nato's eastern flank. and that will involve | countries like the uk and france having warships, warplanes and troops - at the ready if necessary. nato is going to be calling on all of its members - to increase defence spending, i but it's thought voters will accept this if the promises and pledges they're hearing here in madrid l and in bavaria actually serve to

here's our europe editor katya adler.t to overreact to the government's proposed legislation. i'm in, it's not law yet. but he didn't want to under react either. it is seen here is extremely serious that the government seeks to have powers to override large parts of the protocol that it co—wrote and signed off with the eu. so as a warning, the eu this week is looking to restart legal proceedings against the uk for not implementing checks on certain goods it says it should do under the protocol. but, the same time, we have from the eu's chief negotiator in the commission who said he is about to unveil a whole load of new proposals to iron out those practical problems in northern ireland that have been provoked by the protocol. come back to the negotiating table, he says, to the eu. when you look at customs, lands, and things like that, it's two things like that, it's two things really are not that far apart, it'sjust things really are not that far apart, it's just the things really are not that far apart, it'sjust the mood

our europe editor katya adler reports from madrid.s taken weeks of negotiations, but sweden and finland are now well on their way to becoming nato members after they signed an agreement with turkey to counter threats to each other�*s security. applause ukraine of courses on everyone's minds here. but so is the wider security from russia. nato is ramping up its rapid reaction forces from 40,000 to 300,000. these french paratroopers preparing to support nato countries close to russia, now feeling very exposed. russia, now feeling very “posed-— russia, now feeling very exosed. ~ �* exposed. we can't defend ourselves _ exposed. we can't defend ourselves alone. - exposed. we can't defend ourselves alone. we - exposed. we can't defend ourselves alone. we will. exposed. we can't defend - ourselves alone. we will never be alone. strong. we have to have friends and allies. finland and sweden agree. just look at finland's long border with russia.— look at finland's long border with russia. ., ~ , ., . with russia. thank you so much for takinu w

here's our europe editor, katya adler. want to overreact to the government's proposed legislation. i mean, it's not law yet. but it didn't want to under react either. it is seen here as extremely serious that the government seeks to have powers to override large parts of the protocol that it co—wrote and signed off with the eu. so as a warning, the eu this week is looking to restart legal proceedings against the uk for not implementing checks on certain goods it says it should do under the protocol. but, the same time, we have from the eu's chief negotiator in the commission who said he is about to unveil a whole load of new proposals to iron out those practical problems in northern ireland that have been provoked by the protocol. come back to the negotiating table, he says, to the eu. and, in fact, when you look at issues like customs, lanes, and things like that, you know, the two sides really are not that far apart, it'sjust the mood music right now is dreadful. it certainly is. and we will unpack that further in our bu

we can speak to katya adler in brussels. so this has just happened, what is the reaction there?re?— the reaction there? we heard the prime minister _ the reaction there? we heard the prime minister this _ the reaction there? we heard the prime minister this morning - prime minister this morning described the proposed changes to the northern ireland protocol is trivial, but that is definitely not how the eu sees it. a few moments ago, we heard from the eu chief negotiator and he made a reminder that at the time the protocol text was the best compromise solution the eu and uk negotiators could come up with to safeguard peace and stability on the island of ireland after brexit. he said there was no place here for unilateral action. he said the eu had lots of proposals as to how to deal with the practical problems that had been arising from the protocol, for northern ireland businesses and individuals. he said the commission would be coming forward with publishing new ideas in the coming days. but if the uk continued with this unilateral level, he said the eu would be looking now to

changing arrangements on trade, tax and governance written into the 2019 deal. 0ur europe editor katya adlerit agreement on northern ireland was designed by uk and eu negotiators to do three things. one, protect the peace process in northern ireland. two, protect internal uk trade and also, three, to protect the eu's single market after brexit. so it said it had all of those plans in mind, designed and signed off together in law. and if there are problems with the workings of that agreement, known as the protocol, and the eu admits there are problems with it, thenit admits there are problems with it, then it says solutions should be found together. today brussels said that the uk going it alone to change the agreement is illegal. so yes, it has launched the legal proceedings. they will take a long time and could result in fines for the uk. but the eu has also threatened possible trade barriers to uk goods further down the line if it thinks it is necessary. there is no appetite for a trade war. actually, both sides say they would rather negotiate their way to a settlement. but the government

here's bbc news' europe editor, katya adler.ggest overhaul of collective defence and deterrence since the cold war. and it doesn't really come as a surprise. i mean, russia's invasion of ukraine, the aggression, the ambition that it's showing has kind of upended all of the security assumptions here in europe since the cold war. but when we talk about these rapid reaction forces, these aren't troops that are thought to be sent to ukraine. it is actually nato members that are closest to russia — the baltic countries and poland — and also nato applicants — finland and sweden — that are feeling most exposed, and what they're looking for is a real boosting of what's known as nato's eastern flank. and that will involve countries like the uk and france having warships, warplanes and troops at the ready if necessary. nato is going to be calling on all of its members to increase defence spending, but it's thought voters will accept this if the promises and pledges they're hearing here in madrid and in bavaria actually serve to make them

back a country in the middle of the war as well, one. —— katya adlerves at the last general election. people in each area will have until 10pm to cast their vote — with the results expected in the early hours of tomorrow morning. the us supreme court has ruled that americans have the fundamental right to carry guns in public. it's a landmark decision that will prevent states from restricting people carrying weapons. the ruling comes as the country has faced a recent surge in gun crime which has led to public protests. parents are being urged to ensure their children's polio vaccines are up to date after the virus was found circulating in london during tests on sewage. public health officials say the virus detected has the potential to spread but the current risk level is low. polio is a viral disease that affects the spinal cord, causing muscle weakness and paralysis. but the risk is only to those who are not fully vaccinated, especially children. there used to be thousands of polio cases a year here until vaccination was introduced in the mid—�*50s, a

our europe editor katya adler says the insistence by borisjohnson that his plans to override parts of are small is simply not believed in brussels. that's definitely not how the eu sees it. just a few moments ago, we heard from the eu's chief negotiator, and he made a reminder that, at the time, the protocol text was the best compromise solution that eu and uk negotiators could come up with to safeguard peace and stability on the island of ireland after brexit. he said there was no place here for unilateral action. he said the eu had lots of proposals as to how to deal with the kind of practical problems that have been arising from the protocol for northern ireland businesses and individuals. he said the commission would be coming forward with publishing new ideas in the coming days, but if the uk continued with this unilateral level, he said the eu would be looking now to restart legal proceedings for infringements it believes the uk has already carried out under the protocol like not carrying out certain checks. as regards the proposals today, brussels has to wait and see if it beco