in 2015 after lib dems had spent five years in coalition with the conservatives, lord ashdown returnedrty's general election campaign. and we are saying the conservatives are the largest party. famously, disputing the exit poll prediction of a dire result. if this exit poll is right, andrew, i will publicly eat my hat on your programme. this is a hat! you are so predictable, aren't you? i knew you'd do that. i wanted to get a bigger one! paddy ashdown‘s energy sometimes exhausted his colleagues and he was mocked his action man image, reinforced by a clipped military tones and narrowed eyes staring towards the horizon. but he inspired respect for his constant ideas and enthusiasm, and his efforts to build the liberal democrats into a force in national politics. paddy ashdown, lord ashdown who has died at the age of 77. a little earlier, liberal democrat leader sir vince cable gave his reaction from his west london constituency and told me the great achievement of lord ashdown was his leadership of the new party — the liberal democrats — from the merger between the liberal party and the

he was involved in the forefront of politics with the lib dems and into bosnia right up the lib demsd of mine was a diplomat in sarajevo when he was a diplomat in sarajevo when he was the leader of the mission there and he said he was extraordinary little by saying this last night, that he volunteered to go to the front line. bob stuart said that as well. he said even generals don't go to the front line but he was so brave and dynamic that he did think that less that politicians would be scared of. the mail on sunday saying they don't make them like paddy anymore, which is reflecting what you are saying. it is a shame he never really held a ministerial office. that's not a politician, very able and intelligent. incredibly able. and we knew the huge success he had by the lib dems in the 1997 election, taking them from near extinction to a growing political force in the from near extinction to a growing politicalforce in the uk, the mail on sunday said. he was round the tables, discussing a possible coalition with tony blair back then. it isa coalition with tony blair back then. it is

the lib dems field.figure and the lib dems field. but he's been a major figure and some of your reports talked about his greatest legacy possibly being over bosnia. as your correspond was talking about, he's remained very interested in that, and was still concerned right until his death, u nfortu nately, right until his death, unfortunately, about the fragility of the settlement that was achieved and the progress made. when people have remembered him and paid tribute, they talked about him as being a politician of a different era, someone embodying certain qualities of honesty and integrity. absolutely, i interviewed him years ago. he was the education spokesman for the lib dems at the time. he came across as a very principled man, came across as a very principled marl, very came across as a very principled man, very charismatic. he talked a lot about education, he felt passionately that we should spend more. he linked it back, he was on the dole himself twice. most people don't know that he was unemploy

he led the lib dems for more than a decade — from 1988 until 1999 — and is credited with making the partyficant third force in british politics. vicky young has taken a look back at his life. this is how most people will remember paddy ashdown — the action man, the party leader with the least affection for westminster. long before he fired his first political salvos, he was a military man. a marine, he saw active service in borneo and malaya, as documented at the time. after a period as a diplomat, and some time on the dole, paddy ashdown got involved with the liberals, elected mp for yeovil in 1983. later, in 1988, after the painful merger with the sdp that formed the liberal democrats, he became leader. i say to the millions out there who are concerned about poverty and about unemployment, come and join us. the party was at rock bottom in the polls, and financially crippled. paddy ashdown built it up again, but at some cost to his home life. he admitted an affair with his former secretary, tricia howard. what paddy said stands. he's made a statement already, and i was perfectly well awa

he led the lib dems for more than a decade, from 1988 until 1999, and is credited with making the partyficant third force in british politics. vicky young has taken a look back at his life. this is how most people will remember paddy ashdown — the action man, the party leader with the least affection for westminster. long before he fired his first political salvos, he was a military man. a marine, he saw active service in borneo and malaya. after a period as a diplomat, and some time on the dole, paddy ashdown got involved with the liberals, elected mp for yeovil in 1983. later, in 1988, after the painful merger with the sdp that formed the liberal democrats, he became leader. i say to the millions out there who are concerned about poverty and about unemployment, come and join us. the party was at rock bottom in the polls, and financially crippled. paddy ashdown built it up again, but at some cost to his home life. he admitted an affair with his former secretary, tricia howard. what paddy said stands. he's made a statement already, and i was perfectly well aware of what he was going to

according to ashdown, the plan to bring the lib dems into government foundered on opposition from seniorblem of electoral reform. charles kennedy is duly elected the leader... paddy ashdown resigned the leadership in 1999, handing the baton onto charles kennedy, and retiring from the house of commons two years later. he spent time in bosnia, at some personal risk, at the height of the war there. and in 2002, became the high representative in bosnia and herzegovina. myjob is to create, to help to create, the structures of a modern european democratic state, and then to repatriate the powers that the international community has held here back to the bosnians. but he wasn't done with westminster politics. in 2015, after the lib dems had spent five years in coalition with the conservatives, lord ashdown returned to chair the party's general election campaign... and we are saying the conservatives are the largest party. ..famously disputing the exit poll's prediction of a dire result. if this exit poll is right, andrew, i will publicly eat my hat on your programme. this is a hat. andrew, you

a former royal marine, lord ashdown led the lib dems to their best election result in 70 years in 1997ier, the us senate ended talks to resolve an impasse over the budget without agreement.

a former royal marine, lord ashdown led the lib dems to their best election result in 70 years in 1997he us senate ended talks to resolve an impasse over the budget without agreement. democrats are refusing to give in to president trump's demands for $5 billion to build a border wall with mexico.

i'll read you what the lib dem spokesperson says. that —— sadness that we announce the news that paddy ashdown has passed away following a short illness. he will be desperately missed as a dear friend and colleague and remembered as someone friend and colleague and remembered as someone who made a contribution to furthering the cause of liberalism, and it ends with saying their thoughts are with his family and all theirfriends their thoughts are with his family and all their friends at this difficult time and they ask that their privacy is respected. you heard vince cable speaking on bbc news the short time ago, reflecting with his thoughts as saying that this was sad and had come as something of a surprise. we knew paddy ashdown was ill, he was diagnosed with bladder cancer weeks ago but it seems he had taken a turn for the worse and deteriorating quite rapidly. he spoke about his illness when he was diagnosed, saying that as for the timing and his rock masses, he said we'll have to see what happens, i've faced many battles in my li

in 2015 after lib dems had spent five years in coalition with the conservatives, lord ashdown returnedn. and we are saying the conservatives are the largest party. famously, disputing the exit poll prediction of a dire result. if this exit poll is right, andrew, i will publicly eat my hat on your programme. this is a hat! you are so predictable, aren't you? i knew you'd do that. i wanted to get a bigger one! paddy ashdown‘s energy sometimes his colleagues and he was mocked his action man image, reinforced by a clipped military tones and narrowed eyes staring towards the horizon. but he inspired respect for his constant ideas and enthusiasm, and his efforts to build the liberal democrats into a force in national politics. lord paddy ashdown who has died at the age of 77. many former prime ministers have paid tribute to him. tony blair said ministers have paid tribute to him. tony blairsaid in ministers have paid tribute to him. tony blair said in a statement, i am deeply saddened and shocked... anotherformer prime another former prime ministerjohn major paid his respects by saying, in g

i support the snp and lib dems here.careful about the timing. we need to take some action. we as a nation should now advise europe that we are going tojoin wto rules now advise europe that we are going to join wto rules and start now advise europe that we are going tojoin wto rules and start on now advise europe that we are going to join wto rules and start on march 30. that would be no deal effectively living with their tariffs? no deal. but you run a business. what would that do to your business? at the present moment the stock market is plunging, the pound is plunging, the 250 is plunging. there will be problems but we will ove rco m e there will be problems but we will overcome them. what business do you run? we make bus and coach driver seats. what we are hearing from forecast after forecast, the bulk of the research out there suggests that this is just the the research out there suggests that this isjust the beginning in the contraction of the economy. whilst this deal would be bad, no deal would be £100 billion le

a former royal marine, lord ashdown led the lib dems to their best election result in 70 years in 1997ver team has arrived in yemen to monitor a ceasefire in the port city of hudaydah. the retired dutch general, patrick cammaert, —— dutch general, patrick cammaert, arrived in the country just hours after the mission was unanimously approved by the united nations‘ security council. caroline rigby has more. for the first time in years, a glimmer of hope for peace in yemen. the un team deployed to oversee it arrived on saturday. headed by retired dutch general patrick cammaert, the group of observers are tasked with helping to implement and monitor hudaydah‘s ceasefire, a fragile truce which came into force on tuesday following talks in sweden between delegations from the yemeni government and houthi rebels, a precursor to more significant negotiations scheduled for the new year. translation: today we met general patrick, the head of the committee. we welcomed him and informed him of the president's instructions to cooperate for the success of this mission. he will meet with the other par

vince cable, the lib dem leader, the lib dems have always backed this idea of a people‘s vote, a secondat scenario. and really a message to the prime minister, two other mps to indeed, jeremy corbyn, calling for this second referendum on whether the people are still happy with the deal that is on offer from theresa may. we know she is hoping to come back with some reassurances, whether that alters the substance of the deal, we don‘t know. although it seems unlikely. eu leaders have repeatedly said there is no room for any renegotiation, so we wait for more from bat. the prime minister due in berlin to meet angela merkel any time now. before we went to the news conference we work in the middle of answering questions with georgina wright, an independent brexit analyst and anand. we had almost got to the end of those questions. just one more for you to answer from timothy in derby. the pm said the backstop is only one option, the transition period could be extended. why can‘t the transition period be extended indefinitely until the trade deal is done? that was a big concern on all sides, t

members of the labour party, the conservative party and the green party, and while the snp and the lib demsl campaign for a second referendum, until the labour party does it won't become a core tenet of the political conversation, you'd have to say, even with a million signatures on this position, so in the grand scheme of things it is not a large chance. if it were to happen, you would have to say that markets would react fairly positively to that, because hopefully it would negate the chance ofa hopefully it would negate the chance of a no—deal brexit in the very short term. now, we are talking about two big stories in the markets, they were really moving markets, they were really moving markets, they were really moving markets, the gulf news saying qatar's 0pec exit is a political move and i imagine many would say thatis move and i imagine many would say that is the case when they decided this time yesterday they are going, and then we've got bloomberg looking at trump's advises struggling to explain to deal with president xi jinping. give us your take on these market moving stories. tha

seems to be quite a few cross parties, some people in labour, some people in the tories and the lib demsand you saw on the andrew marsh show, a big political programme here. liam fox saying that if we don't get anywhere that may be the last option. one of the options is that people are much more informed now perhaps than they were prior to the referendum in terms of what it means, what it is like, the impact. they are much more fed up than they we re they are much more fed up than they were then. you have to be careful how do you want to word the referendum? do how do you want to word the referendum ? do you how do you want to word the referendum? do you want to stay in 01’ referendum? do you want to stay in or out the want to say this deal or out or in? had you get a majority? i doubt very much, when you look at the posters, it may be marginally better towards staying in, but i don't know. —— how do you get a majority? the margins are too narrow to be too decisive. thank you for 110w. to be too decisive. thank you for now. cornelia is back a little later in the programme as we look thro

lib dem tom brake and conservative simon hoare. still to come.ls with special educational needs as a ‘national scandal.‘ we wa nt we want to hear from you on that. and from 3d printed bionic arms to an mot for the bacteria in your gut — we find out about the innovations which could transform your life in 2019. 0fsted says it's a national "scandal" that thousands of children in england are missing out on key support for diagnosed special educational needs. in a new report chief inspector of england's schools, amanda spielman said 2,060 children with official education, health and care plans are receiving no support at all. the 0fsted report also highlights concerns about special needs pupils being moved off the school roll illegally, claiming that too many children ‘have been failed by the education system. the chief inspector of schools amanada spielman spoke to me earlier about what they found... these are children who have typically had a very long wait even to get a very diagnosis, autism at the minute can be two years to get a diagnosis and a

a former royal marine, lord ashdown led the lib dems to their best election result in 70 years in 1997. a partial us government shutdown is now set to last until at least thursday. earlier, the us senate ended talks to resolve an impasse over the budget without agreement. democrats are refusing to give in to president trump's demands for $5 billion to build a border wall with mexico. let's look at the main story here in the uk and the death of ex—liberal democrat leader paddy ashdown at the age of 77. well, tributes have been pouring in for lord ashdown from across the political spectrum. former liberal democrat leader tim farron wrote on twitter: home secretary sajid javid wrote: labour leaderjeremy corbyn said: now on bbc news — one of the highlights of 2018 from our documentary series our world. with sweden's reputation as a model society under scrutiny, gabriel gatehouse visited the country on the eve of september's election to find out why. music sweden. for decades, people have been coming here to try to learn the secrets of this country's multiple success stories. in openness an

paddy ashdown led the party for more than a decade until 1999 and is credited with making the lib dems in politics. theresa may said the former royal marine had dedicated his life to public service. 0ur political correspondent jessica parker has more. the military man turned diplomat and politician. paddy ashdown cut an impressive figure, and a popular one. his success in building up the liberal democrats after its painful merger in the late ‘80s means he leaves an undoubted legacy. the action man, unafraid to push political boundaries. come and join us. he never had the slightest sign of cowardice. he faced each situation calmly and in the light of the facts and so on, and with a determination to have the best possible outcome. that courage, and a passion forforeign affairs, could cause some concern amongst colleagues. he took a great interest in the balkans, even when he was leader, and i used to try quite a lot of the time to persuade him not to go, because he exposed himself to risks, for example, going into sarajevo, running the gauntlet of snipers and shelling and things of that

the lib dem leader with a reminder for mp5, especially perhaps labour ones, that there's more than onerid of a prime minister. now, one of the reasons why theresa may's brexit deal is so unpopular with mps is the so—called backstop. an insurance policy to avoid checks on the irish border that would see the uk following some eu rules if there is no trade deal after brexit. you won't be surprised to learn that the issue surfaced during northern ireland questions. last week, the secretary of state was telling everybody that this was the best deal, the only deal. the prime minister now says that that isn't the case, she needs changes. so what does she say to that? mr speaker, as i've said already, this is the best deal. this is the best way for the united kingdom to leave the european union as i hold in an orderly way. but the prime minister has recognised the concern. she has listened to the concerns that the other right honourable gentleman and his colleagues and many others in this house have around the backstop. and she is looking to asuage those concerns. the secretary of state can't

tony blair described the man credited with making the lib dems a significant third force in politicss "a political visionary". theresa may said he'd served his country with distinction. at least 62 people have died and nearly 600 more have been injured after a tsunami hit the coast of indonesia. it's thought to have been caused by an undersea landslide following eruptions from the krakatoa volcano. the tsunami hit the coast on the sunda strait, which separates the islands of java and sumatra. the country's disaster management agency says hundreds of buildings were damaged and at least 20 people are still missing. a man and woman are still being held in connection with multiple drone sightings that brought gatwick airport to a standstill. police searched a house in the nearby town of crawley yesterday. the disruption lasted for three days, as tens of thousands of passengers had their flights cancelled or delayed. universal credit is leaving too many claimants with children facing a stark choice between turning down jobs or getting into debt, mps have warned. the work and pensions sele

a former royal marine, lord ashdown led the lib dems to their best election result in 70 years in 1997. now it's time for the latest in technology and gadgets — with a festive flavour. it's our clickmas special. this week, it's a festive feast of fun with music, magic and. . . meditation. yes, it's clickmas! it's the 2018 clickmas special, the gang is all here. hello! welcome, welcome. spence, i've got your first christmas present and what a corker it is. this is the world's first flexible phone. look at that! you can have it on this way or around here and itjust flips, it knows which way you are holding it and it's built on android. this is a brand—new operating system on top of it called water and it's built by a small chinese form called royale, you might not have heard of it. it is the first phone they're released. there you go. the idea is you have a tablet you can use or you can fold it into a phone. you can work as on a tablet or fold it back to a phone. when can we get this? it's a good question. if you're in china, in the shops from 2019 to start off. 0nline, obviously. just o

the former lib dem peer resigned last week after the committee found that he harrased a woman. but it was voted by 101—78 to reject the disciplinary committee's conclusions. peers reflected on the lessons from this case. the moral is that it is impossible for members of this house to be impartial when we are judging one of our own. we should agree on what we think are fair procedures. and, as dame laura cox has said, we should then make the process entirely independent. i feel very sad about this whole business and sad for the complainant, i'm sad that the commissioner has had a tough time, i'm sad for lord lester and his wife and his family, and i want us to make a pledge to behave better as men and women who try to remake our world. we want an equal society and you came and we will only achieve that when there is mutual respect between men and women. i'm not saying and i have never said that the house should believe lord lester rather than ms sanghera. i do not know who is telling the truth about this matter and i am not naive. i recognise that otherwise respectable men do ve

a former royal marine, lord ashdown led the lib dems to their best election result in 70 years in 1997partial us government shutdown is now set to last until at least thursday. earlier, the us senate ended talks to resolve an impasse over the budget without agreement. democrats are refusing to give in to president trump's demands for $5 billion to build a border wall with mexico. now on bbc news, it's time for dateline london, where our panel take a look back at the big global stories of the past 12 months. hello. welcome to dateline. for the last two programmes of the year, we're in a seasonally reflective mood. next weekend, we'll look forward to what 2019 may bring. today, though, a reminder of the things we've loved and loathed about 2018. if there's a theme, it's leadership and why it's been lacking. with me to discuss the year almost gone, the usjournalist stephanie bakerfrom bloomberg news, suzanne lynch — washington correspondent for the irish times, marc roche, belgian—born british resident writing for france's le point, and the uk political commentator steve richards. thank y

we‘ve heard from the former conservative minister, a current leaders shadow spokesman start, the lib demuld hold another referendum, to reason me says as long as she‘s prime minister it isn‘t going to happen. but the whole of this campaign is that if the deal is rejected in that a vote on tuesday, they can force the government‘s hand, table motions in parliament that will then tell the government to go back to the people and ask the question again. it‘s not com pletely and ask the question again. it‘s not completely clear whether they have the support in parliament for that yet, but there are certainly several hundred people here who think it should happen. scientists and delegates at a un climate conference in poland have expressed alarm, after it failed to incorporate a key scientific text, which outlines how to limit the effects of climate change. the ipcc report — on the impact of a 1.5—degree celsius temperature rise — was released in october. but now the us, russia, saudi arabia and kuwait have all objected to the conference welcoming it. our environment correspondent, matt mcgrath

they have a common interest in wanting this advice published, the dup and labour, and also the lib demsill write a joint letter to the speaker. theoretically, the speaker, as senior ministers are worried about, could see that the government is in co nte m pt of could see that the government is in contempt of parliament by not publishing this full advice. i guess thatis publishing this full advice. i guess that is what will be pushed for if it does not get published. that is what will be pushed for if it does not get publishedlj that is what will be pushed for if it does not get published. i do not mean to be boring but it is complicated. we have been here before. we had this around the war in iraq. publish legal advice and the government always says, no, the rule is you do not publish legal advice, it stays behind closed doors. hence, we baby in contempt of parliament would be not? that is a tricky call. in the end, it might be obscure but it does not help theresa may in her campaign to get more mps to vote for her deal and at the moment everyone says the maths is stacked against her, w

a former royal marine, lord ashdown led the lib dems to their best election result in 70 years in 1997. now on bbc news, westminster in review. hello and welcome to westminster in review, as we take a look back at an extraordinary and tumultuous four months. on this programme — brexit divisions deepen and theresa may faces a vote of no confidence in her leadership. the number of votes cast in favour of having confidence in theresa may was 200, and against was 117. mps react furiously when the prime minister presents her brexit deal. it is the political equivalent of being asked to jump out of a plane without knowing if your parachute is there and attached. and that's not all. the government comes under fire over its new benefits system. the chancellor unveils his budget. and mps are forced to take a long, hard look at themselves after a damning report on harassment and bullying. the report is clear that there needs to be a complete change in leadership at the most senior level, including you, mr speaker. it has been a long, fractious and unpredictable few months here at westminster — a

that may be a reason to vote, it's a judgment that jeremy corbyn along with labour and lib dems willte a deal which is significantly different or better to the one that the prime minister has engineered herself? what is the prospect of that? my view is that there is no deal that can get through this parliament and that is because every combination of the deal has problems, problems on free movement, problems on frictionless trade, problems on northern ireland on the border and for all of those reasons, everything in the last referendum hasn't panned out and theresa may's red lights haven't worked and because of that, my view is give it back to the people —— red lines. give it back to the people, whether they want her deal, no deal or to remain within europe. what is the path towards that? how do you get to that point? is that a majority in parliament for that? not today surely. i think things are moving, i think the odds of people's votes have gone up considerably over the last few days because of the chaos. i suspect now also because we are now going to be into next year, january, b

they are seriously considering voting with labour, the snp and the lib dems in a vote of no—confidence the eurosceptics, which they have gone mad about this morning. what are your thoughts about a vote of no—confidence in the government? it is the nuclear option. it would be very extreme if that were to happen. it is unlikely, but the fact that the tories are seriously talking about it tells you the level of anger and frustration, because they didn't get their way, did not oust theresa may and she is still in office and still going to brussels to try to save her deal. you would start to see the government trying to make moves to stop that happening. one thing people have suggested she should think about doing is a light reshuffle. for example, how much to move for the comments he made was not she is running out of people to move, isn't she? they would like to see this idea that she is listening. it would be hard to say that eve ryo ne it would be hard to say that everyone who voted in that is a brexit extremist. the numbers were higher than they expected. it remains unpredictable. than

earlier the lib dem leader sir vince cable told us that the government‘s brexit bill was doomed to fail. the amount of money that councils have spent on care for people aged 65 and over in england, scotland and wales, has fallen since 2010. figures analysed by the bbc show that in england it has plummeted by almost a quarter. scotland and wales have largely protected their budgets. the government says the figures don‘t take into account money the nhs puts into the system. ian hudspeth from the local government association says councils in england need a care plan that offers a ‘sustainable way forward‘. in some cases, i think some councils are at tipping point. we do need a sustainable way forward and we are waiting for the government‘s green paper on social care. and of course, social care is intertwined with healthcare and you can‘t separate the two. health team means we can prevent people from getting into hospital, using expensive nhs resources, so we need to understand what the government is going to say in the green paper. sir david attenborough will make a speech at the united na

joining us now are two mps from different parties, but who both support the idea of a public vote — lib demit is not my job to choose the leader of the conservative party. the position we are in is where we were two days ago. nothing is really changed. we have had this high drama, she has survived, but we can, and we are back with the problem that the governed has a proposal it can't get through parliament and we have to try to break that gridlock —— government. that is why some of us are appealing to the leader of the opposition, who has a responsibility in this chaotic situation, to come off the fence and support the idea of going back to the country. one of the phrases we heard from theresa may when she came out from number 10, she said "politicians from all sides should come together". it is not the first time she has said that. maybe it has more meaning now. are you in a position to talk to theresa may... there is a strong mood that we need to act in the national interest, not pull in different directions. the problem is there are very clearly defined but opposing viewpoints. the movem

the lib dems got there are knuckles rapped... worked closely with number ten. he went there last week but you will be underused to centres of crisis and would imagine. what is it like? when i first walked through that door there was a sense of, oh my god, iam a that door there was a sense of, oh my god, i am a number ten. you get those learning moments every time you go through a crisis. there will be the team is really involved in it, but remember, there are 250 people in number ten, that facade conceals a laugh a lot. if you are not part of that initial action, we are watching what the journalists are watching what the journalists are doing thinking, oh, that is interesting, or you might be walking around the building thinking, where are we, how are things? that might bea are we, how are things? that might be a slight sigh of relief that christmas and cancelled, how will they be preparing because possibly they be preparing because possibly the week after, they will be pretty hectic. one of the upside is about what has happened

the lib dems and the snp want to pretend this is never happened. it is the conservative party... of the day, the only way to get an orderly way of leaving the eu is through a deal such as the one the prime minister have negotiated.” can't see how you could not define this as the most humiliating moment any british prime minister in modern political history. she has spent two years trying to sell this deal to the nation, as now on the big vote, she has pulled it. just on norway, two key articles in the eea agreement gave in emergency brake and an emergency negotiation. but it's time to get to facts and some reality. this is a treaty —based right. you are also out of the european court of justice, right. you are also out of the european court ofjustice, we have got rules shipping through the options through the ecj... the reality is we have got to find a deal that commands the majority across both parties in the house of commons. there has always been a majority in the commons for a soft brexit. unfortunately the premise that has a tin ear on these things. are we closer to a no dea