he was appearing at a lords committee alongside former nato secretary—general and a former eu foreignef. lord haig said being part of the eu had been very important to the uk. brexit will be damaging to our ability to work with other eu countries, obviously on foreign affairs and influence they overall. —— their outlook the uk's participation in the euforeign affairs helps to keep the whole western alliance together, and we have at a time of the danger of fragmentation of the western world. we can see that for many reasons and in many ways. as the forthcoming summit in germany is demonstrating. and so uk participation in influencing the foreign affairs of the other eu nations is a crucial aspect of averting such a fragmentation. how then will brexit affect our relationship with the remaining eu countries with regard to the formulation and exercising foreign policy? the most fundamental issue is that in the process of working up the way in which policy is developed and determining what europe's policy will be, we want to be in the room to either influence it in one way or another, and

david davis, being taken to task by a lords committee.n obvious and gaping hole in the general election campaign last month. there was little discussion about the economy and the state of the public finances. well, a conservative mp thought it was a subject worthy of debate and led a discussion in the alternative chamber of westminster hall. he attacked labour's public spending plans. if they had carried on spending at the rate they were when they left office, there would be an extra £1 trillion added to the public debt by the end of this parliament. and we saw their manifesto at the last general election wasjust spend, spend, spend other people's money with no credible plan to pay for it. and that way, i suggest, ms ryan, is not the route that our country should follow. and the fact that so few of them are here to defend their plans, i suspect, tells us everything we need to know. he turned to the spending demands facing ministers. there are many pressures on public spending. there is public sector pay, funding for our national health se

and a house of lords committee worries about the impact of a trade deal with america.here in united kingdom so british farmers can be undercut. if that happens then we could potentially see family farms going out of business, the whole countryside changing. at the moment, the welfare of british animals is largely governed by european regulations. ministers keep saying they won't water those down, but along with welfare come other questions about the future of safety standards in food. for example, the way american chickens are processed is very different to here. the use of food grain antimicrobial rinses... in particular the way the carcasses are rinsed in chlorine. this is now a kind of political football in the debate about how we leave the eu. so what are the facts about chickens and chlorine? well, in europe, the approach to food hygiene is called farm to fork, keeping chickens as clean as possible through every stage. by contrast, in america, farmers are allowed a lower standard of hygiene while the chickens are alive because when they are killed they are immerse

that's according to a house of lords committee who say the government must insist on similar standardse bottom on welfare. duncan kennedy reports. it is one of britain's's premier showcases for agriculture. 100,000 people admiring 2000 animals. it's all part of an industry were animal welfare is paramount. but farmers like mike smales are worried about what might happen after brexit. he says if we start importing food from countries with lower standards, it may be cheaper but animal welfare could suffer. how cheap can food get? you have to ask that question. this downward spiral in expecting food to keep getting cheaper and cheaper, i think it's a bit naive. the government said today that farmers shouldn't worry about animal welfare after brexit, because britain will keep what it calls our gold standard policies. any future arrangements covering trade in animals, or trading anything, for that matter, will be subject to the uk parliament. but some people say they don'tjust have concerns about animal welfare after brexit, campaign groups say they are also worried about food safety levels

house of lords i think the committee's mandate was to look at where the operations of we had worked we've come to the conclusion obvious that you know we need to carry on saving lives but do we need to use the vessels that we're currently using they're expensive have they deterred the smugglers know maybe there are more appropriate vessels that can be used i don't coordinate a better coordinated response the migrant crisis has not decreased but what's happened of course is that was with intervened through operations of fear with very sophisticated naval vessels these smugglers have decided to transfer their people the traffic people into less safe vessels and so they're taking them in these dignities and then take them thirty kilometers away from libyan shores and then just leave them there and of course that's extremely dangerous. the report also stained smuggling networks can only be effectively for to the situation in libya is stabilized but considering three rival governments are currently competing for power there that's all but impossible. we need to look at the problem at source we

that's the warning from a house of lords committee.he government to insist on similar standards in any free trade agreements to avoid what it calls a race to the bottom on welfare. the president of the united states says the special relationship between the uk and the us is going to get even better. donald trump described talks between american officials and the international trade secretary, liam fox, as the start of a new chapter of stronger ties. a row has broken out over rail investment after the government said it would work with the mayor of london to progress plans for crossrail 2. it comes after recent announcements cancelling rail electrification schemes in wales and the north of england. we're joined from westminster by our political correspondent chris mason. tell us about the background of this, what does it mean? it all boils down to a row about where money goes in terms of railway investment. for those who stand up for the north of england are being let down in terms of comparison to london. there was a proposed new londo

in the mediterranean and decrease deaths at sea has failed according to a new report house of lords committee in the u.k. has concluded the operation launched in twenty fifteen failed to achieve its objective and should not be scrapped it also found that irregular migration has increased the number of deaths during attempted crossings while smugglers have adopted their methods we talked to one of those behind the report baroness sunday virga he was the chair of the e.u. external affairs subcommittee. i think the committee's mandate was to look at whether operations if we had worked we've come to the conclusion obvious that you know we need to carry on saving lives but do we need to use the vessels that we're currently using they're expensive have they deterred smugglers know maybe there are more appropriate vessels that can be used and coordinate better coordinated response the migrant crisis has not decreased but what's happened of course is that was with intervened through operation severe with very sophisticated naval vessels smugglers have decided to transfer their people the trafficked p

a house of lords committee is urging the government to insist on similar standards in any free tradet it calls a race to the bottom on welfare. 0ur correspondent duncan kennedy is in brockenhurst in the new forest. good afternoon, jane, from the new forest show where they are expecting something like 100,000 people over the next three days, many coming to see beautiful livestock like this. but today's report makes clear, farmers worried about what is going to happen with brexit. some say animal standards might fall, as consumers seek out cheaper imports. it's day one of the new forest show and just time for a last—minute bovine competition. meanwhile, some may need a hair cut more than others. world class quality of the livestock to be seen here is undisputed. farmers like mike say after brexit, that quality might fall if britain is opened up to food imports from around the world. the downward spiral to get food cheaper is there. something has to give toe make animal welfare cheaper? hopefully not in this country. today's report by the lord's says after brexit, the british public may

a suggestion laughed off by the brexit secretary when he appeared in front of a lords committee.gn secretary here to explain his views, i'm not going to comment on other ministers. but you will see two levels of knowledge when you go to our continental partners. you will see a level of knowledge in brussels in which frankly, i think they take a lot, they read a lot of british newspapers, you are quite right, and they take them, if anything, too seriously. it was a humorous exchange between jean—claude juncker and myself when i saw him. but more importantly in the context of 27, actually very little of what happens here percolates across. theresa may has ordered a uk wide inquiry into the use of contaminated blood products in the nhs starting in the 1970s. 2,400 people have died, many of them were haemophiliacs who contracted hepatitis c and aids—related illnesses. the labour mp who's campaigned foran inquiry said the victims needed answers. they deserve to be told what went wrong, why it went wrong, and who is responsible for what happened. the story of the injustice they have su

that‘s according to a house of lords committee who say the government must insist on similar standardsttom on welfare. duncan kennedy reports. it is one of britain‘s‘s premier showcases for agriculture. 100,000 people admiring 2000 animals. it‘s all part of an industry were animal welfare is paramount. but farmers like mike smales i worried about what might happen after brexit. he says if we start importing food from countries with lower standards, it may be cheaper but animal welfare could suffer. how cheap canned food get? you had to ask that question. this downward spiral in expecting food to keep getting cheaper and cheaper, i think it‘s a worry. food to keep getting cheaper and cheaper, i think it's a worry. the government said today that farmers shouldn‘t worry about animal welfare after brexit, because britain will keep what it calls our gold standard policies. any future arrangements covering trade in animals, or trading anything, for that matter, will be subject to the uk parliament. but some people say they don‘tjust parliament. but some people say they don‘t just have concer

in the mediterranean and decrease deaths at sea has failed according to a new report house of lords committee in the u.k. . he has concluded the operation launched in twenty fifteen failed to achieve its objective and should now be scrapped it also found that irregular migration has increased as have the number of deaths during attempted crossings while smugglers have adapted their methods we talked to one of those behind the report on a sunday burma he was the chair of the e.u. external affairs subcommittee i think the committee's mandate was to look at whether operations if he had worked we've come to the conclusion obvious that you know we need to carry on saving lives but do we need to use the vessels that we're currently using they're expensive have they deterred the smugglers or no maybe there are more appropriate vessels that can be used and coordinate better coordinated response the migrant crisis has not decreased but what's happened of course is that was with intervened through operation severe with very sophisticated naval vessels these smugglers have decided to transfer their peop

last year, a lords committee pointed out the challenges posed by brexit, stating that fish know nothing the longer term, which will obviously need to be based on clear scientific evidence, there has to be some alignment and cooperation with neighbouring countries. fish stocks can‘t be managed unilaterally and fish shoals can sometimes move for hundreds of miles and indeed, our own fishermen sometimes fish up towards the north of russia and right down to southern portugal. so this can‘t be resolved by unilateral declaration. there has to be discussion, detailed discussion which, as we know from the very good report, the brexit fisheries report produced by your lords‘s house, is so incredibly complicated a set of agreements. so i hope you will take the message back to the secretary of state that there is no point in making just a unilateral declaration on this. there has to be really thoughtful, detailed discussions on the future. my lords, there's a lot i agree with the noble baroness, which is that we do need to base our decisions on science. we have a responsibility under international

eight british 0verseas territories have sent representatives to give evidence to a lords committee investigatingexit. roger edwards, a member of the legislative assembly of the falkland islands, told peers about the potential political impact. with the uk a full member of the european union and a signatory to the treaty of rome, all the rest of europe is obliged to recognise and accept that the uk 0ts are a part of the uk. once the uk is no longer a member state, nor a signatory to the treaty of rome, the same obligations do not apply and we may well lose the support of the rest of europe, and may well see spain and possibly other members of europe giving greater support to argentina over its mistaken and illegal claim to the falkland islands. there are concerns, too, in pitcairns — the uk's smallest overseas territory. we would, ideally, likely be in a position where we are no worse off than we would have been had we stayed in the eu. we have a very small trade in honey. we have one of the purest honeys in the world, europe is one of our biggest markets. and what will be the impact, it has to b

that's the warning from a house of lords committee.to insist on similar standards in any free trade agreements to avoid what it calls a "race to the bottom" on welfare. england's top hospital inspector has said the nhs is going to need more money to meet the increasing demands of a growing population — but it can also improve care without extra funds. professor sir mike richards, from the care quality commission, said that while he had seen poor standards in hisjob, he had also seen hospitals get better by making more effective use of the funds they have. what we need to do is make sure people are cared for in the right place for them, that may mean we need more beds in the care sector, we need to work together to look at that so people who do not need to be in an expensive hospital bed are in a less expensive but good place for a less expensive but good place for a dent in a care home when that is appropriate for their needs. there is no doubt that more money will be neededin is no doubt that more money will be needed in the health se

a house of lords committee is urging the government to insist on similar standards in any free tradeit's day one of the new forest show and just time for a last—minute bovine brush—up ahead of the competition. but while some may need a haircut more than others, the world class quality of the livestock to be seen here is undisputed. but farmers like mike smales say after brexit, that quality might fall if britain is opened up to food imports from around the world. this downward spiral in expecting food to keep getting cheaper and cheaper is a bit naive. something has to give and it will be animal welfare? it will be but hopefully not in this country. today's report by the lord's says after brexit, the british public may have to choose between the quality and the price of their food. what is your priority, higher welfare for animals or cheaper food? combination of both. welfare of animals. combination of both. why can't they do both? that's a tricky one. not at all. why not? animalwelfare, definitely. the government today dismissed the farmers' fears, saying... but animal welfare group

that's according to a house of lords committee who say the government must insist on similar standardsof britain's's premier showcases for agriculture. 100,000 people admiring 2000 animals. it's all part of an industry were animal welfare is paramount. but farmers like mike smales are worried about what might happen after brexit. he says if we start importing food from countries with lower standards, it may be cheaper but animal welfare could suffer. how cheap can food get? you have to ask that question. this downward spiral in expecting food to keep getting cheaper and cheaper, i think it's a worry. the government said today that farmers shouldn't worry about animal welfare after brexit, because britain will keep what it calls our gold standard policies. any future arrangements covering trade in animals, or trading anything, for that matter, will be subject to the uk parliament. but some people say they don'tjust have concerns about animal welfare after brexit, campaign groups say they are also worried about food safety levels in some countries. food that could be exported to britain.

reportf lords committee legally said they didn't have to pay anything. politics will rule the day.to pay something. where does that figure and up? francine: do we know what kind of deal the u.k. government actually wants on trade with the eu? >> they won a free trade agreement and that's about it. there is a lot of talk of no tariffs in place. that is one tiny element. if we're going to and passporting which allows banks in the u.k. to access clients without having to set up, are we going to continue to have that? they have talked about having a regulatory organization. i think the big thing people are looking at, what happens on transitions. francine: we just got inflation data. growth will get out of line. what does that mean for brexit negotiations? do people look at this and say seems to goation nowhere at the moment, can we play tougher with europe? byi think it will be used certain politicians to say we don't need to plan. i do think it's going to have an impact on the negotiations. the parameters there are already set in francine: i don't know if it's leaks, does really weak

tank conference in brussels belgium and provided parliamentary evidence to the uk house of lords select committeeon the arctic. prior to joining us at the batter center he worked at a nonprofit in washington dc as a policy analyst as well as on the advisory board of a company as both a research associate and associate director. join me in welcoming daniel coaches. [applause] >> thank you john and good morning everybody on this beautiful wednesday in washington. we are honored to be joined by mark moyar whose book "oppose any foe: the rise of america's special operations forces" was described by national review as an invaluable and highly readable overview of special operations forces history, not just for those who are newly joining its ranks but also for anyone who seeks to know more about these glamorous and little understood forces.our author mark moyar is director for the center of military and diplomatic history in washington dc. he has served as professor at the us marine corps university and a senior fellow at the joint special operations university. he is advised the senior leadership of

transatlantic in belgium and provided parliamentary evidence to the united kingdom house of lord select committee on the arctic. prior to joining us here at heritage and thatcher center he ed at a nonprofit in washington, d.c. as analyst as well as on advisory board company as beth a research associate and a associate director. please join me in welcoming danielle coaches. danielle. [applause] >> thank you john and good morning everybody on this beautiful here in washington. we're honored today to be joined by mark moyer who's book oppose any foe the rises of america special operations forces was described by national review as invaluable and highly readable overview of special operation forces history not just those for those qhor newly joining its ranks but also for anyone who seeks to know more about these glamorous and little understood forces. our author mark is director of the center for military and diplomating history here in washington, d.c. he's served as professor at u.s. marine corps. university and senior fellow of the joint spernl special operation university and senior leadership o

that's the warning from a house of lords committee.t on similar standards in any free trade agreements to avoid what it calls a race to the bottom on welfare. a young man with autism has been played around £45, 000 a young man with autism has been played around £45,000 in damages by a private hospital and the police after the way they treated him. he was pinned to the floor and to his bed for ii was pinned to the floor and to his bed for 11 hours by nine members of staff at a private hospital in birmingham. he was sometimes so heavily medicated that he could hardly speak or stand. a local authority investigation found there had been serious and multiple failings in his care. justin bieber says he is cancelling the rest of his world tour "due to unforeseen circumstances". he's been touring for the past 18 months, playing more than 150 shows. the final 15 performances were scheduled to be in north america and asia. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 9.30. thank you very much. we will bring you the sport in just a moment. i

the government has recently asked the committee for standards in public life to interrogate this issue, and to make recommendations about how it can be tackled. lorde a mood surrounding a normal operation of parliamentary democracy, which is not the normal british mood. everybody says that is different balance but the interesting thing is across westminster and no one is saying this doesn't require investigation. a bbc investigation has found evidence that suggests a widely—prescribed antidepressant may have played a role in one of america's worst mass shootings. two uk—based psychiatrists have told the panorama programme that the 2012 attack, at a screening of the batman movie in colorado, may not have happened ifjames holmes hadn't been taking the drug sertraline. manufacturer pfizer says a causal link between sertraline and homicidal behaviour has not been established. shelleyjofre reports. did you have any doubt that you would end up killing someone? no, it's something i had to do. we need a rescue... james holmes talking in prison after the so—called batman killing. five years ago he fired into a packed cinema, killing 12 and injuring dozens

the government has recently asked the committee for standards in public life to interrogate this issue, and to make recommendations about how it can be tackled. lordrrounding a normal operation of parliamentary democracy, which is not the normal british mood. that's the problem. there are different interpretations, or what the balance is, or who is suffering the most, and so on, but the really interesting thing is across the parties in westminster, nobody is actually saying this is an imaginary, got up thing. it's slightly reminds me, i'm old enough to remember the period before the troubles began, and actually the tone of some of those things is actually quite similar, eerily significant to some of the things that we've been talking about in the press in recent weeks. so you've said that we might be approaching a tipping point in public life. yeah... can you say a bit about what you meant by that? well, i mean, when i talk about a tipping point, i mean that it becomes commonplace, and we accept that this, i hope, temporary spike upwards in recent times of abuse and intimidatory rhetoric and practice towards people seeking public office, that we c

because of the abuse and intimidation of mps, according to the chairman of the committee on standards in public life. lordbbc radio 4's the westminster hour that new laws may be necessary to protect politicians. emma vardy reports. during an hour—long debate last week, mps described how they faced physical intimidation and threats during the general election campaign from supporters of rival parties. we are talking about mindless abuse. labour's diane abbott said she had a torrent of racist and sexist abuse, including death threats. the conservative simon hart said colleagues were targeted by people intent on driving them out of politics altogether. in an interview for tonight's westminster hour on radio 4, lord bew says today's heightened levels of abuse, particularly via the internet, may turn people off from standing for parliament or in local elections. it is particularly difficult to see what can be done about social media. we cannot afford to lose people of quality in our political life. we may be approaching a tipping point. this is a dangerous moment. we do not want to slide down a path, which was

because of the abuse and intimidation of mps, according to the chairman of the committee on standards in public life. lord4's the westminster hour that new laws may be necessary to protect politicians. emma vardy reports. during an hour—long debate last week, mps described how they faced physical intimidation and threats during the general election campaign from supporters of rival parties. we are talking about mindless abuse. labour's diane abbott said she had a torrent of racist and sexist abuse, including death threats. the conservative simon hart said colleagues were targeted by people intent on driving them out of politics altogether. in an interview for tonight's westminster hour on radio 4, lord bew says today's heightened levels of abuse, particularly via the internet, may turn people off from standing for parliament or in local elections. it is particularly difficult to see what can be done about social media. we cannot afford to lose people of quality in our political life. we may be approaching a tipping point. this is a dangerous moment. we do not want to slide down a path, which was the case

lord. just not yet. [laughter] wonderfulas a democratic committee woman. had a wonderful passage where she was sizing up the candidates in 1960. the democratic primary. she compared them to various barnyard animals. she said that lyndon johnson was a rooster and hubert humphrey was a duckling. she may have said simonton was an owl. john f. kennedy is a cardinal. i thought that was a wonderful touch, that flash of red that really catapulted him into the center of american politics in -- and american history. we have some microphones. we would like to invite all of you to whoever would like to come up and affect russian of our two authors. -- ask a question of our two authors. please come forward and i would ask that you do ask a question. you have seen how tempting it is for us to go on and on. we would love to talk longer with you but this gives people a chance to ask questions. if you could keep a brief that would be great. we will take the first. go ahead. >> you mentioned in your talk that kennedy deviated somewhat from the mainstream of the democratic

ally i understand that you know through my committee with the drug enforcement administration i made a lot of enemies through the capture of major drug lords in latin america but you know i refused who live in fear that that is just not in my genetic makeup. but you have spent twenty years undercover alongside drug dealers cold blooded murderers under the constant threat of being exposed one wrong move and that's it you're next to death why did you put yourself on the frontline like that what was it that drove you well actually i looked at my work with them that the day as a total adventure at the same time i wanted to do something for my country and for other countries around the world in trying to stem this horrific issue of the illegal drugs and as you well know you know you legal drugs have really caused a major problem in many countries work currently have been a major problem here in the united states with opioids you know to include heroin so as a public servant i wanted to do something that would be beneficial to my country now if you have sat that if any of the drug dealers felt you were nervous you could be kilt negotiating with

lord. you did opposition research is when you were running the democratic national campaign committee. standard operating procedure? >> absolutely not. >> someone saying they are a russian lawyer for the russian government. >> it's not standard operating practice for republicans or democrats who have any sense of responsibility. i chaired the congressional committee. my job was to beat republican candidates for congress. their job was to beat my candidates. we would have candidate sessions and tell people that if you're going to do opposition research, hire an opposition research firm. there are companies that do that. they are trained researchers. they use publicly sourced materials and they do reports. if you have any concerns at all respect to the provenance of some materials or the source, you turn it over to the authorities immediately. we would say this at our candidate training sessions, we would say it one on one, we would do it in conference calls and i know my republican counterparts did the same. when president trump says this is standard operating practice, maybe for him an

later today, i will meet a delegation from the house of lords to answer questions the delegation will be led by the european union select committeeis at the request. i will also meetjeremy corbyn and the first minister of scotland, nicholas dodging, and also the first minister for wales, carwynjones. dodging, and also the first minister for wales, carwyn jones. i dodging, and also the first minister forwales, carwynjones. iwill only negotiate with the united kingdom government. we can switch to your questions. adam fleming, bbc. you said you wanted clarity from the united kingdom government. is it a problem that they have not been certain about the position and does reveal much about their attitude to the process? the sooner we receive clarification on the british positions on the topics we have not heard from them, the better. i am ready. topics we have not heard from them, the better. iam ready. our team is ready. if tomorrow or in the coming days before the second round starts, we receive these qualifications, we will work on it and look at it in detail. a very prepared and to work on this very quickly mate andy and over the w

you can hear more on the abuse suffered by mps when lord bew, chairman of the committee on standardsre is jay with a look at this morning's weather. good morning. it is brightening up from the north through the day to day, so that is where the best of the sunny spells will be. but it is something of a north—south split with the weather today, because the further south you happen to be, we do have some thick cloud around producing a little bit of rain across parts of wales in the north—west midlands as well. it is also quite warm start to the day, 19 oi’ also quite warm start to the day, 19 or 20 degrees already but pretty grey in the south and west. further north is where the best of the sunny spells will be through the morning and into the afternoon. one or two showers in scotland, and quite pretty into the north as well. as you head further south, sunshine developing across much of northern england. we run into that cloud further south and there is some rain to be had in parts of wales, the north—west midlands, a little bit of drizzle towards the south—west where the cloud is quite