24/04/2016 BBC Weekend News

President Obama has told BBC News it could take up to ten years

for Britain to negotiate any trade deal with the United States if it

The President flew out of the UK this morning,

ending what's expected to be the final visit to Britain

of his presidency, as he headed for Germany.

On Friday, Mr Obama infuriated Leave campaigners when he said the UK

would be "at the back of the queue" for trade deals should

Speaking exclusively to the BBC's Huw Edwards before he left,

the President also said Britain risked having less global influence.

Mr President, thank you very much for talking to us. It's wonderful to

be here. I think it is fair to say that your visit, even more than

usual has created a bit of a stir. People say we have a special

relationship and that special relationship could involve going to

the back of the queue. How does that work? Actually the special

relationship is not contingent on any particular issue. There are

emotional and cultural and commercial and strategic bonds

between our two countries that are unmatched by any two countries

around the world. As a practical matter, what we are doing with

respect to trade is negotiating with big blocks of countries, because

negotiating trade deals are a heavy lift. They are challenging, they are

difficult. It is the phrase isn't it, back of the queue, which has I

suppose offended some people and alarmed or scared some people. Was

that the intention in No, as I said it was simply a response I think to

the argument I've heard from others who are proposing to leave the EU,

that somehow America would be able to do things more quickly with the

UK than if they were in the European Union. I was simply indicating that

that wouldn't be the case in this narrow issue of trade. The UK would

not be able to negotiate something with the United States faster than

the EU. We wouldn't abandon our efforts to negotiate trade deal with

our largest trading partner, the European market. But rather it could

be five years from now, ten years from now before we were able to get

something done. So maybe not right at the back of the queue, towards

the back of the queue, is that right? I think the broader point is

that if you're interested in trade, we are on the cusp of getting a

trade deal done with the European Union. If if I am a business person

or a worker in Britain and I'm looking at the fact that I already

have access seamlessly with a massive market, one of the

wealthiest market in the world, that accounts for 44% of my exports, the

idea that I'm going to be in a better position to export and trade

by being outside of that market and not being in the room setting the

rules and standards by which trade takes place I think is erroneous.

You've been very clear, the special relationship, you just said it, is

much more than trade. Of course. It is much more than that. Exactly.

We've been focusing on lots of things, including intelligence

sharing, given the very real threat from terrorist groups around the

world. Right. Is it possible to say today if there were an exit from the

EU, those elements of the special relationship wouldn't be affected?

What is your sense of that They wouldn't be affected in the sense

that our services work closely together. Our military works closely

together. Our ability to do things together will not be changed. What

we do believe is that the United Kingdom will have less influence in

Europe and as a consequence less influence globally. Since we rely

heavily on the UK as a partner globally, on a whole range of

issues, we would like to have more influence. President Obama.

The leading contender for the Democratic nomination to be

the next US President, Hillary Clinton, has echoed

She said she valued a strong United Kingdom in a strong EU.

A spokesman for the Vote Leave campaign said Mrs Clinton's comments

were "hollow" because she wasn't standing on a ticket of handing

control over America's borders, economy and trade policy

Meanwhile the Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, who is campaigning

for Britain to leave the EU, rejected Mr Obama's comments.

I think the American President is coming up with the same rubbish

that David Cameron is coming up with - basically, the line

is Britain isn't good enough, Britain isn't capable

of negotiating its own deals in the world.

Well, little countries like Switzerland have more free

And if Australia, with a tiny population in relative terms,

can from start to finish conclude a deal with America in 10 months,

The Home Secretary, Theresa May, has admitted that the free movement

of workers within the European Union makes it harder to curb immigration.

But in her first major intervention in the Brexit battle,

she insisted the task was not impossible.

The Vote Leave campaign said it was clear the Home Secretary had

"given up" on the Government's promise to control immigration.

The BBC has been told that the struggling high

street retailer, BHS, could file for administration

11,000 jobs would be under threat if the company were to collapse.

Our business correspondent, Joe Lynam, is here.

What more do we know about this, Joe?

Last month Bhs secured a deal with landlords that cut the rents they

would have to pay. But that was part of a much wider mix of financial

solutions for the company. Now we've learned this weekend that a

financing deal worth ?60 million is not going as well as they had hoped.

In parallel, Bhs is this talks with Sports Direct to take over part or

all of the business, but we understand that any buyer would not

want to take on part or all of the half a billion pound pension

deficit. You can see the issue there. All the while you've got

11,000 staff at Bhs. They were very worried about their jobs. 164

stores. I've been told they will be paid in pull on Friday for the month

of April. But it is a worrying time and it looks as if administration

beckons. Joe, thank you. The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt,

has rejected a plan to try to avert the junior doctors' strike this

Tuesday and Wednesday. The proposal from the Royal College

of Surgeons, Labour and other opposition parties, is that

new contracts should be tried out first at a limited

number of hospitals, rather than imposed

on all of the profession. Police have begun a murder

investigation into the deaths of two men who were found

in a garden in Hull. The bodies of Daniel

Hatfield, who was 52, and 49-year-old Matthew Higgins,

were found on Friday. Two women and one man

have been arrested. The County Councils Network,

which represents 37 largely Conservative local authorities,

says there's a serious risk that the Government's plans

to compel all schools in England to become academies won't raise

standards, and could prove But Ministers say the changes

will result in a more responsive and dynamic system,

with fairer funding. Family and friends of the pop star,

Prince, have held a private memorial service at his home in Minneapolis,

where he was found dead on Thursday. His publicist said

he had been cremated. where Kenyan athletes won both

the men's and women's races. Eliud Kipchoge secured victory

in the men's with a course record time of two hours,

three minutes and five seconds - His compatriot, Jemima Sumgong,

won the women's, despite falling Our sports correspondent

Joe Wilson reports. The London Marathon

is a great expression of mass achievement at a time of deep

doubt in athletics. Kenya's Government has finally met

anti-doping standards, hoping to be allowed to compete

at the Olympics. There was nothing to doubt

the integrity of their runners here. Eliud Kipchoge and Stanley Biwott

pushed each other until Kipchoge So smooth, he wondered if he should

have broken the world record. Jemima Sumgong, another Kenyan,

showed extraordinary resilience to get to her feet and win the race,

matching any feat of David Weir, in white sleeves,

was trying again to win a record Marcel Hug of Switzerland

broke the tape. If the Marathon demonstrates that

distance is no barrier, on the International Space Station,

strapped to a treadmill, Tim Peake was doing the 26 miles

to finish exactly where he started. You can see more on all of today's

stories on the BBC News Channel. The next news on BBC One is

at 6.30pm.