:00:00. > :00:08.At least 58 people have been gassed to death and 300 are in hospital
:00:09. > :00:12.in one of the worst autrocities of the Syrian War.
:00:13. > :00:14.The White House calls it a "reprehensible" act
:00:15. > :00:22.but also blames the weakness of the Obama administration.
:00:23. > :00:24.The attack happened in a rebel-held town.
:00:25. > :00:26.Reports suggest military jets also fired rockets at clinics where
:00:27. > :00:34.The UN Security Council has called an emergency meeting.
:00:35. > :00:36.What we understood, it was a chemical attack
:00:37. > :00:42.The Syrian and Russian governments deny any involvement in what's
:00:43. > :00:49.A top member of President Obama's team comes under fire, accused
:00:50. > :00:55.The claims, she says, are absolutely false.
:00:56. > :01:03.Republicans say they are ready to "go nuclear" if that's what it
:01:04. > :01:06.takes to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
:01:07. > :01:07.Also today, re-forging an old alliance...
:01:08. > :01:10.As Brexit negotiations begin, the UK government travels to India
:01:11. > :01:16.to begin the early work on a future trade deal.
:01:17. > :01:23.What Melania Trump's first official portrait tells us
:01:24. > :01:37.I'm Katty Kay in Washington, Christian Fraser is in London.
:01:38. > :01:39.The pictures are appalling, the pattern all too familiar,
:01:40. > :01:40.and the international response predictable.
:01:41. > :01:43.Civilians in a rebel-held area of Syria have been
:01:44. > :01:47.It has happened before, with red lines crossed -
:01:48. > :01:53.Today, in the seventh year of the Syrian civil war,
:01:54. > :01:56.it seems President Assad's regime can do what it wants.
:01:57. > :01:59.So far, at least 58 people are known to have died in this latest attack.
:02:00. > :02:07.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the air
:02:08. > :02:09.strikes in Khan Sheikhoun, in the north west of the country,
:02:10. > :02:12.came early in the morning while many were still sleeping.
:02:13. > :02:15.Our correspondent James Robbins has the report.
:02:16. > :02:17.He is alive but he is struggling to breathe.
:02:18. > :02:19.Around him, other children are already on oxygen,
:02:20. > :02:27.Other pictures, too graphic to broadcast, show fire crews
:02:28. > :02:30.in the streets of Khan Sheikhoun spraying adults and children
:02:31. > :02:36.where they fell, many of them clearly among the dead.
:02:37. > :02:38.TRANSLATION: I lost my son, my children,
:02:39. > :02:49.TRANSLATION: All are wounded, some are dead, there
:02:50. > :02:53.We couldn't enter Khan Sheikhoun city because of
:02:54. > :03:03.Then, as a Syrian activist was filming in one hospital treating
:03:04. > :03:10.This whole rebel-held area in north-west Syria,
:03:11. > :03:12.a last opposition stronghold, has been under heavy bombardment
:03:13. > :03:20.There is a history of chemical attacks in Syria's six
:03:21. > :03:28.President Assad's government had known stocks and was widely accused
:03:29. > :03:33.That appeared to cross a red line which had been drawn
:03:34. > :03:36.by President Obama but Britain and the US pulled back
:03:37. > :03:39.Instead, the Assad regime, under pressure, agreed
:03:40. > :03:43.to surrender its known stocks by the middle of 2014.
:03:44. > :03:46.But later, a UN commission found evidence of chemical weapons
:03:47. > :03:54.being used in attacks in Idlib, both in 2014 and 2015.
:03:55. > :03:58.Government supporters are blaming today's poisoning on the rebels,
:03:59. > :04:01.accusing them of storing gas in a factory which exploded
:04:02. > :04:05.But the UN's Syria envoy, while cautious, did not appear
:04:06. > :04:10.What we have understood, it was a chemical attack
:04:11. > :04:17.We have been and we will be stimulating all those
:04:18. > :04:22.who have the capacity of finding out technically what happened.
:04:23. > :04:24.Efforts are already being made to gather forensic evidence
:04:25. > :04:28.in the hospitals where today's victims are being treated
:04:29. > :04:31.but it seems clear a war crime has been committed.
:04:32. > :04:34.The use of chemical weapons is completely banned
:04:35. > :04:36.under international law, a law which appears to have been
:04:37. > :04:47.Our Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen is fresh back from Mosul in Iraq.
:04:48. > :04:56.He has also spent a lot of time in Syria.
:04:57. > :05:04.I suppose when a red line has been crossed it can be crossed again and
:05:05. > :05:09.again. Just, 2013, similar scenes in terms of the video that came out of
:05:10. > :05:13.Damascus. It was a chemical attack and President Obama said that there
:05:14. > :05:21.was a red line, use chemical weapons and you will feel my rough. It
:05:22. > :05:24.didn't happen. America actually blinked. We don't know whether
:05:25. > :05:30.President Trump has red lines about this. We don't do what they will do
:05:31. > :05:37.if they do anything if it is from that division was behind it. The
:05:38. > :05:41.Russian and Syrian Government are denying involvement in this attack.
:05:42. > :05:49.You know the country well. Is that what it possible? It depends if the
:05:50. > :05:56.reports are true. That it came from an air bombing attack. The last
:05:57. > :06:01.couple of days, that town has been hit heavily by regime and by Russian
:06:02. > :06:07.jets. If it did come from an error attack, did someone else have
:06:08. > :06:13.crafted the ever? At the moment, there be no reports of that. This is
:06:14. > :06:21.also in social evidence this point. The fact is that the regime, the
:06:22. > :06:27.world consensus is that this has be done before. What is in it for
:06:28. > :06:32.President Assad? Maybe he wants to deliver a blow to the rebels in
:06:33. > :06:38.Idlib. If he has got away with it once, perhaps because he can get
:06:39. > :06:45.away with it again. It was said that the future of Syria is a decision
:06:46. > :06:50.for the Syria people. Yesterday, the Egyptian president, criticised for
:06:51. > :06:54.its human rights abuses, welcomed as a friend. Does this sort of attitude
:06:55. > :07:02.towards autocrats in Middle East open the door to this paper? I think
:07:03. > :07:09.it probably does. Burke until the Arab uprisings of 2011 it was
:07:10. > :07:14.commonplace for the west to have its favourite dictators who they could
:07:15. > :07:19.call. They liked the idea of having just one address. One person you
:07:20. > :07:23.could call to sort things out. Many people argue that one of the great
:07:24. > :07:27.problems the Middle East has and why we see so much violence is that the
:07:28. > :07:34.reign of these dictators from the 1950s onwards destroyed any chance
:07:35. > :07:39.of civil society and political action and the growth of parties and
:07:40. > :07:45.different countries, so when there was pressure for a change, it was
:07:46. > :07:50.expressed violently. Thanks for those dots. There has been
:07:51. > :07:52.confirmation of the attack. The White House Press Secretary
:07:53. > :07:54.Sean Spicer has been This chemical attack in Syria
:07:55. > :07:57.against innocent people, including women and children,
:07:58. > :07:59.is reprehensible and cannot be This heinous actions by the Bashar
:08:00. > :08:08.al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration's
:08:09. > :08:15.weakness and irresolution - period. So, what should, and more
:08:16. > :08:17.importantly what will, Former Deputy Secretary of State
:08:18. > :08:20.PJ Crowley is with us. He is the author of Red Line,
:08:21. > :08:33.a critique of US foreign President Obama, he worked for, when
:08:34. > :08:40.you at the State Department said the red line and then didn't cross it.
:08:41. > :08:44.When you talk to the members of the Obama administration about the
:08:45. > :08:49.record on Syria, they will say that they got the chemical weapons out
:08:50. > :08:55.and that did their job. It looks that that is not true. I think the
:08:56. > :09:02.Obama administration did mismanage the red line in 2013. Why do they
:09:03. > :09:12.got all of the non-stocks on whether Syria has been resupplied is a
:09:13. > :09:15.question to be answered. The Trump White House can say that the
:09:16. > :09:18.situation in Syria went from bad to worse during the banner
:09:19. > :09:24.administration. It doesn't mean that it is confronting better policy
:09:25. > :09:30.options into that and 70 in Thanet Obama into dust and 13. In fact, it
:09:31. > :09:36.confronts the same political restraints. Donald Trump was elected
:09:37. > :09:41.to fix America, not Syria. Do you think there will be any substantive
:09:42. > :09:46.difference between Donald Trump's policies towards Syria and Barack
:09:47. > :09:49.Obama's? The Trump administration is largely following the banner
:09:50. > :09:55.administration policy. It defines its interest in Syria in terms of
:09:56. > :10:02.Islamic State. -- following the Obama administration. Islamic State
:10:03. > :10:08.will be defeated at some point, sooner rather than later hopefully.
:10:09. > :10:15.The Trump magician has actually done itself a disservice. The dilemma for
:10:16. > :10:22.the Trump administration is that you cannot reduce the level of political
:10:23. > :10:28.extremism until you have a solution to Syria. And we don't at the
:10:29. > :10:34.present time. It's Kristina Mladenovic Theresa May has said that
:10:35. > :10:43.need an investigation in Syria. What are the chances of ever bringing
:10:44. > :10:47.some of the book from it. The Russian and Syria governments are
:10:48. > :10:54.doing in 2017 precisely what they did in 2013, to my involvement and
:10:55. > :10:59.saying that it was the rebels. -- denying involvement. In 2013 the
:11:00. > :11:05.resolver DA UN investigation team there that was able to at least
:11:06. > :11:09.validate that a chemical weapons attack it did occur. In the US, that
:11:10. > :11:15.intelligence is linked that the specific Syria units that dealt with
:11:16. > :11:22.chemical weapons. It is optimal for us to have another investigation to
:11:23. > :11:33.be able to identify whether it was an air attack or an indirect result
:11:34. > :11:40.on and marketing attack on a facility with chemical gas. Do you
:11:41. > :11:47.think that President Assad is sitting in the back this -- in
:11:48. > :11:51.Damascus listening to the United Nations and looking at the Trump
:11:52. > :11:58.administration thinking, the world is not going to intervene, all bets
:11:59. > :12:08.are off and taken to retire once. -- and I can do what I want? Syria,
:12:09. > :12:16.Iran and Russia have calculated that the policies come with risk. We must
:12:17. > :12:19.focus on the sad reality in Syria that the regime backed by Russia are
:12:20. > :12:25.going to do what they can and use whichever tool at their disposal to
:12:26. > :12:33.defeat the Syria opposition. Thank you for joining us. Senator John
:12:34. > :12:36.McCain was quick out of the blocks on this.
:12:37. > :12:42.He called for a different policy. He wants to support the free civilian
:12:43. > :12:46.army with more arms. He was simply condemn it generally the abuses much
:12:47. > :12:56.more loudly. I wondered when I was listening to that. Does Donald
:12:57. > :13:01.Trump's based went to focus on -- base, who clearly want to focus on
:13:02. > :13:05.smashing IIS, to the look at this and shift public opinion? It would
:13:06. > :13:11.be nice to think so. But we've been here before with previous chemical
:13:12. > :13:18.attacks, previous images of children in distress in Syria and there is a
:13:19. > :13:23.day or two of public outrage and John McCain 's songs at the
:13:24. > :13:31.forefront. He is the Republican hawk on capital Hill anti-sets out with
:13:32. > :13:39.indignation. -- and he set out. Maybe there will be a different
:13:40. > :13:48.outcome now and this will lead to something. I suspect that what we
:13:49. > :13:51.have heard about the President Assad regime feeling it has some immunity
:13:52. > :13:58.is the realistic situation. These images will horrify Donald Trump's
:13:59. > :14:08.base for the next 24 hours and then we will move on. That is the sadness
:14:09. > :14:13.of this war. The has-been much reaction. Nothing so far on the
:14:14. > :14:18.twitter feed of Donald Trump. Today, he has been diverting attention from
:14:19. > :14:22.the Russia investigation. Ms Rice has been accused
:14:23. > :14:28.of "unmasking" members of Donald Trump's transition team
:14:29. > :14:31.that were named in confidential The name of any US citizen
:14:32. > :14:34.incidentally caught up in surveillance of foreign officials
:14:35. > :14:36.is usually redacted - In certain cases, intelligence
:14:37. > :14:39.agencies can request the person's But Mr Trump's team says the Obama
:14:40. > :14:57.administration wanted to unmask high when to put it in context. In
:14:58. > :15:05.December, Susan Rice is sitting there when Obama gets rid of some
:15:06. > :15:11.diplomats. She is getting intelligence on how the Russians are
:15:12. > :15:17.responding. Up pops some American names that is incidentally
:15:18. > :15:22.collected. It seems to me that she surely has to ask, it is her job, to
:15:23. > :15:29.ask these Americans are good talking to the Russians. If that is how it
:15:30. > :15:34.happened. We are to be incredibly careful there is no evidence that
:15:35. > :15:40.the Trump administration was colluding with the Russian
:15:41. > :15:47.Government to affect the vote. We cannot speculate too much. Was Susan
:15:48. > :15:52.Rice asking for these names to be unmasked for intelligence reasons,
:15:53. > :15:58.legitimate as you're suggesting, or for political reasons? Because she
:15:59. > :16:05.wanted political information about the Trump transmission team. That
:16:06. > :16:08.would not look very good. I think they were and lots more questions
:16:09. > :16:15.about this and it puts the onus on the Obama team to answer questions
:16:16. > :16:19.for once and not Russia. That is probably -- frequent about Russia.
:16:20. > :16:22.On Friday the US Senate will vote on whether or not to confirm
:16:23. > :16:27.Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.
:16:28. > :16:28.They got to decide whether or not voting through.
:16:29. > :16:31.The Democrats have enough votes to stage a filibuster, potentially
:16:32. > :16:45.The photo of the judicial branch goes
:16:46. > :16:47.Jane O'Brien explains why this vote matters.
:16:48. > :16:50.He's got mad with the media, riled by Russia and been given
:16:51. > :16:53.But it's the federal courts that have really made
:16:54. > :17:02.Just a short time ago attacking the legal system...
:17:03. > :17:04.We're going to fight this terrible ruling.
:17:05. > :17:08.And now he has the chance to shake them up.
:17:09. > :17:10.It's conceivable that President Trump could replace one third
:17:11. > :17:19.The Republican-controlled Senate was loathe to confirm
:17:20. > :17:22.President Obama's nominees, therefore you got a big backlog
:17:23. > :17:24.and there are over 100 vacancies on the court.
:17:25. > :17:28.So he has greater potential to impact our federal judiciary
:17:29. > :17:35.While all eyes are on Mr Trump's for the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch,
:17:36. > :17:37.the President's power to appoint judges will ripple through
:17:38. > :17:43.When you think of the American judicial system, think
:17:44. > :17:51.Only a handful of cases get to the Supreme Court.
:17:52. > :17:57.Then you have the intermediate courts and then the big
:17:58. > :17:59.base of that pyramid, they are the Federal District Court.
:18:00. > :18:01.That's the face of justice in America.
:18:02. > :18:15.Interaction with the American people and the judiciary,
:18:16. > :18:18.That's why they're all so incredibly important.
:18:19. > :18:21.Federal courts rule on a whole range of issues including guns
:18:22. > :18:25.They also have the power to thwart the best laid plans
:18:26. > :18:28.The federal courts actually have the last word on whether something
:18:29. > :18:32.Giving President Trump the power to appoint these judges,
:18:33. > :18:37.Let's speak now to our resident commentator, former advisor
:18:38. > :18:39.to President George W Bush, and Republican political
:18:40. > :18:51.talk to me about the political strategy of this because Neil
:18:52. > :18:55.Gorsuch is going to be a Supreme Court judge. We are the Democrats
:18:56. > :18:58.deciding to fight this as much as they are when it could be causing
:18:59. > :19:05.them problems in one election campaign? It's simple. The Democrats
:19:06. > :19:07.feel that they have to the base. They have to play to play to those
:19:08. > :19:16.that but that Hillary Clinton will be the next president. They are
:19:17. > :19:23.really disappointed by the fact that the justice that President Obama had
:19:24. > :19:26.pointed out to get a hearing. This is payback time. It is about to miss
:19:27. > :19:33.jetting to the base that they are fighting and that they will stop
:19:34. > :19:37.Donald Trump anywhere possible. This is really all about politics and not
:19:38. > :19:46.about how good of a judge Neil Gorsuch might be? Yes, some people
:19:47. > :19:50.say he's qualified. He might be qualified but they might not like
:19:51. > :19:53.his positions. Some of these Democrats might disapprove of what
:19:54. > :20:02.you would do with America. This is about ideology. Of course it is very
:20:03. > :20:09.conservative. He is an original list, wants to hold to the original
:20:10. > :20:19.wording of the Constitution. But Democrats say that they should have
:20:20. > :20:22.a modern take on the constitution. I'm looking from afar. I'm going to
:20:23. > :20:28.win a tour resumes. I've read something the other day that Thomas
:20:29. > :20:31.Jefferson told George Washington, how do you explain the relationship
:20:32. > :20:37.between the house and the Senate? He said that the house is the teacup
:20:38. > :20:43.and the Senate is about cooling down BT. Nichols done the infighting in
:20:44. > :20:48.the house but now it sounds like they are just as partisan as the
:20:49. > :20:53.house. It is true. What you have seen in the last 12 years or so is
:20:54. > :20:58.that the Senate used to be the delivered body. They called
:20:59. > :21:03.themselves the upper chamber. In the last 10-12 years they have become as
:21:04. > :21:09.partisan and angry and divisive as the House of Representatives. What
:21:10. > :21:18.you have seen here with this supreme court nominee and the fight where
:21:19. > :21:23.the Democratic leader is leading the fight for the filibuster. It's all
:21:24. > :21:27.about politics. I wonder what it does to the institution. Are we now
:21:28. > :21:32.going to have the advice and consent for the Senate now changed to
:21:33. > :21:37.whichever the ruling majority of 51 members of the United States Senate
:21:38. > :21:45.says? That's not how we do things. You can always trust a bridge to get
:21:46. > :21:49.it back to the! OK, let's go to 50,000 future and put this in
:21:50. > :21:56.context. It's kind of insight Deulofeu. Lots of internal politics.
:21:57. > :22:02.How critical is the decision that the Senate will make Neil Gorsuch?
:22:03. > :22:08.It is historic. Never in our history have we had a filibuster on a united
:22:09. > :22:14.state Supreme Court justice. For the first time, we got from a 50 fold
:22:15. > :22:26.threshold to go to a 51 foot threshold. This suggests that there
:22:27. > :22:26.will be a partisan part. I am very concerned about this new
:22:27. > :22:28.development. The Seychelles markets itself
:22:29. > :22:31.as a remote paradise where business and pleasure can be carried out away
:22:32. > :22:33.from prying eyes. It's now been alleged the chain
:22:34. > :22:37.of islands was used for a secret meeting in January to foster
:22:38. > :22:39.back-channel communication between Russia and then
:22:40. > :22:43.President-elect Donald Trump. A report in the Washington Post
:22:44. > :22:45.quotes anonymous officials from the US, Europe and the Middle
:22:46. > :22:48.East. They say the meeting took place
:22:49. > :22:51.about a week before Trump's inauguration and was set up
:22:52. > :22:54.by the United Arab Emirates. Erik Prince is the founder of US
:22:55. > :23:13.security firm Blackwater. We don't do who he met but only that
:23:14. > :23:14.the person is said to be close to the Russian President Vladimir
:23:15. > :23:16.Putin. The White House press
:23:17. > :23:18.secretary Sean Spicer says, "We are not aware of any meetings
:23:19. > :23:20.and Erik Prince had no A spokesman for Erik Prince told
:23:21. > :23:24.the Post, "Erik had no role The meeting had nothing to do
:23:25. > :23:33.with President Trump." He is the problem, they do have
:23:34. > :23:38.deniability. He had no formal role in the transition but very few
:23:39. > :23:45.people have the formal role. Erik Prince did advise President Trump
:23:46. > :23:51.elect and gave quarter of $1 million to the campaign and was close to the
:23:52. > :23:59.Trump transition team. I think that makes them part of the... And his
:24:00. > :24:05.sister is Betty gave us. She is. That makes him call staff. We were
:24:06. > :24:10.talking earlier about Susan Rice. That was in a way, a good news
:24:11. > :24:13.moment. If you are looking at this story, this is the kind of stories
:24:14. > :24:18.that the Trump transition team does not want coming out because it makes
:24:19. > :24:22.it look like something nefarious is going on. I was with a bunch of
:24:23. > :24:27.senators and people from the intelligence committee last night in
:24:28. > :24:32.Washington and the material is increasingly, this Russia stuff has
:24:33. > :24:36.to be investigated. Maybe there is actually something there in the idea
:24:37. > :24:49.of collusion. I should surely this, Christian. The Pennsylvania senator
:24:50. > :24:53.having a bit of fun with this idea. I'm sure you go to the Seychelles
:24:54. > :25:01.often for your business meetings. It comes as nothing new to you. It's a
:25:02. > :25:05.good gift that. It is a sit up and take notice kind of story. The
:25:06. > :25:08.Democrats make the point that isn't in suspicion is that everybody
:25:09. > :25:12.seemed to the meeting Russians and then they take it back to when they
:25:13. > :25:16.were joining the Obama Administration. They said, we were
:25:17. > :25:22.reading any Russians at all. Yet these meetings suddenly appear. --
:25:23. > :25:31.they said, we were not meeting any Russians. You are a sceptic? Yes.
:25:32. > :25:33.You're watching 100 Days from BBC News.
:25:34. > :25:36.Still to come for viewers on the BBC News Channel and BBC World News,
:25:37. > :25:40.It can't officially start trade negotiations, but the UK is already
:25:41. > :25:42.courting other countries, and India is in its sights.
:25:43. > :25:46.And it's the official Melania Trump White House portrait.
:25:47. > :25:50.But it's been released to a somewhat mixed reaction.
:25:51. > :26:12.That's still to come on 100 Days, from BBC News.
:26:13. > :26:19.Things are settling down nicely with the few days. We will get rid of the
:26:20. > :26:26.high pressure. That will bring some fine and settled weather. Question
:26:27. > :26:33.marks about cloud amounts. Underneath the week weather front,
:26:34. > :26:37.skies were pretty grey. Got a great deal of rain. Some are cross-legged
:26:38. > :26:44.and the south-east. A good bit of sunshine. Club for Northern Ireland
:26:45. > :26:50.and Scotland. Sharon was in the north of Scotland. It will be really
:26:51. > :26:54.windy as well. The showers will be rattling through on the wind.
:26:55. > :27:04.Increasing cloud coming from the north. In the south-west and morals
:27:05. > :27:12.-- and rural sports, clear skies. Windy into the morning in Scotland.
:27:13. > :27:20.Still some showers coming through. In Northern Ireland, the odd light
:27:21. > :27:24.showers. Most places dry, particularly to the east. The
:27:25. > :27:30.Pennines might see something a bit brighter any money. A lovely bright
:27:31. > :27:36.start in the south. Some chill to the. Some sunshine towards the
:27:37. > :27:41.south-west. Clarke demands slowly increasing. Cloud drifting from the
:27:42. > :27:46.north. Some styles of sunshine in the eastern side of Scotland. In
:27:47. > :27:55.spite of cloud, most places dry and fine in the afternoon. Good evening
:27:56. > :28:01.-- through the evening, some rain. Most places, however, will be dry.
:28:02. > :28:13.50 and Friday, pretty similar days. Might be a bit cold and some styles
:28:14. > :28:17.of sunshine. The weather system will flip towards the continent through
:28:18. > :28:24.the weekend. Then we will have some fairly warm air. Temperatures
:28:25. > :28:26.getting back up particularly across England and Wales in the high teens,
:28:27. > :30:04.low 20s. At least 58 people have been gassed
:30:05. > :30:11.to death and 300 are in hospital in one of the worst
:30:12. > :30:30.atrocities of the Syrian War. The White House has called it
:30:31. > :30:37.reprehensible. These heinous actions are a consequence of the past
:30:38. > :30:43.administration's weakness. Scotland's First Minister is about
:30:44. > :30:44.to mount a strong defence for immigration, trade, and her
:30:45. > :30:53.country's place in the world. The Brexit negotiations began last
:30:54. > :30:56.week, and already the UK Government is looking to the future,
:30:57. > :30:59.this week they are in India, The two countries already
:31:00. > :31:04.have deep trade links. In 2014 the value
:31:05. > :31:07.of all goods and services sold between India and the UK was around
:31:08. > :31:10.24 billion dollars. The relationship works
:31:11. > :31:11.in India's favour. They export a lot more goods
:31:12. > :31:15.to the UK than the other way around. than one trillion dollars
:31:16. > :31:23.for infrastructure projects over the next decade
:31:24. > :31:26.and the UK wants a piece Officially the UK can't
:31:27. > :31:29.agree trade deals until it leaves the EU,
:31:30. > :31:32.but Chancellor Philip Hammond is making it clear that he already
:31:33. > :31:46.sees India as an India's economy is opening and
:31:47. > :31:51.growing in a way that would have seemed unimaginable just a few years
:31:52. > :31:57.ago and the UK has made the historic decision to leave the European Union
:31:58. > :32:03.and to re-forged its historic links and ties with partners, allies and
:32:04. > :32:09.friends around the world. Great Britain and India have a huge amount
:32:10. > :32:10.in common. We already have very significant trade and investment
:32:11. > :32:12.relationships. I'm joined in the studio
:32:13. > :32:16.by the former head of the Department of UK Trade and Industry,
:32:17. > :32:27.Sir Andrew Cahn. You were saying earlier that it has
:32:28. > :32:31.taken the European Union years to try to get a trade deal with India
:32:32. > :32:36.and they failed, and some on the Brexit side in Britain would say
:32:37. > :32:40.that is precisely the point. It is so difficult when you have so many
:32:41. > :32:46.countries to agree a trade deal, we will be much more nimble. The
:32:47. > :32:50.European Union has managed to negotiate 54 trade deals, and they
:32:51. > :33:00.are tough negotiators, but it is true it has taken nine years to fail
:33:01. > :33:06.to reach an agreement. I suspect Britain can reach an agreement with
:33:07. > :33:10.India. There is an opportunity for Britain to do a useful trade deal.
:33:11. > :33:18.Do we come cap in hand because we bring quite a bit of the table? We
:33:19. > :33:23.need trade deals at the moment because we are leaving the European
:33:24. > :33:28.Union. The whole world knows that we are leaving the trade bloc, the
:33:29. > :33:33.single market, which takes 45% of our exports at the moment. Clearly
:33:34. > :33:38.whatever happens, it won't be as good as the status quo so we will
:33:39. > :33:43.lose some access to that market, so we need access to other markets.
:33:44. > :33:50.That's why you have Theresa May in Saudi Arabia as we speak. Lynn Fox,
:33:51. > :33:59.the trade Secretary, is in Malaysia -- Liam Fox. Ministers are spreading
:34:00. > :34:03.out across the world, trying to find places to do their deals to replace
:34:04. > :34:09.the lost trade opportunities in the European Union single market.
:34:10. > :34:14.Obviously in trade negotiations there was always a quid for the
:34:15. > :34:18.pro-quote. One of the things Indians would like is more access to UK
:34:19. > :34:24.visas for their skilled workers, is that something the UK will have to
:34:25. > :34:29.give India if it wants some kind of trade deal? Absolutely, what the
:34:30. > :34:33.Indians want is not just access for their skilled workers, also they are
:34:34. > :34:37.very conscious that people of Indian ethnic origin are the largest
:34:38. > :34:48.non-British-born group in this country. They want to bring in their
:34:49. > :34:52.dependents, so they also want easy of visas to get. At the moment it is
:34:53. > :34:56.quite an expensive process and they are saying why can't we have ready
:34:57. > :35:04.access to visas, ready access to get into the UK? That is quite difficult
:35:05. > :35:08.for a government who has omitted itself to reducing immigration by a
:35:09. > :35:12.huge amount, and who knows that one of the reasons for the vote to leave
:35:13. > :35:18.the EU was a feeling we didn't have control of our borders. I'm an
:35:19. > :35:27.optimist, I will save down the road we seal a deal with India, how long
:35:28. > :35:32.does it take from that point on to -- for the riches to start flowing?
:35:33. > :35:35.That's a good point, people are speaking as if you do the deal and
:35:36. > :35:42.the following day the goods start flowing, but that's not how it is at
:35:43. > :35:47.all. I like to think of it as a door which is half open already. In 1947
:35:48. > :35:54.when they were independent, a third of all Indian trade was with the UK,
:35:55. > :35:59.but nevertheless we do have trade, the door is a little bit open, a
:36:00. > :36:05.trade deal would open it quite a long way further. It would give our
:36:06. > :36:11.accountants, lawyers, finance people, ranks it gives those people
:36:12. > :36:16.more access to the market but of course they don't get there
:36:17. > :36:22.immediately. Companies need to decide, the Indian market is
:36:23. > :36:26.available, we will open an office there. They need help to do that.
:36:27. > :36:30.Theresa May has set up the Department for International Trade
:36:31. > :36:36.to do just that, and it is expanding, but there is a huge task
:36:37. > :36:40.involved in helping British business go through those doors which are
:36:41. > :36:45.open for trade agreements. There's going to be lots more on this, I
:36:46. > :36:52.hope you will come back and talk to us. Very happy to do so, thank you.
:36:53. > :37:02.In less than half an hour, Scotland's First Minister,
:37:03. > :37:05.will give a speech at Stanford University.
:37:06. > :37:07.The topic? Scotland's place in the world.
:37:08. > :37:10.Earlier today Ms Sturgeon signed a joint agreement with the governor
:37:11. > :37:12.of California agreeing to work together on climate change.
:37:13. > :37:18.James, we have just been talking about the British government going
:37:19. > :37:25.to India, so they are going east and the Scottish Government is going
:37:26. > :37:27.west! Yes, this is Stanford University in Northern California,
:37:28. > :37:32.where Nicola Sturgeon is expected to speak very soon and I think she's
:37:33. > :37:38.trying to do a couple of things on this visit. Firstly she insists it
:37:39. > :37:42.is about trade and investment and forging and indeed nurturing links
:37:43. > :37:46.between Scottish companies and the Scottish Government, and American
:37:47. > :37:52.firms here, and in that regard yesterday she met the chief
:37:53. > :37:54.executive of Apple and discussed pioneering medical research with
:37:55. > :38:01.him, and also met executives from the company Tesla, and discussed
:38:02. > :38:04.with them the idea of using batteries to store renewable energy
:38:05. > :38:10.which would be useful to Scotland, which has quite a lot of renewable
:38:11. > :38:14.energy, particularly in offshore wind farms. But there is a second
:38:15. > :38:18.aim here as well, perhaps not as over but it is pretty clear, and
:38:19. > :38:26.that is that Nicola Sturgeon hopes to show that Scotland is and can be
:38:27. > :38:31.a player on the world stage. What we are trying to do in Scotland, and
:38:32. > :38:39.it's why I'm coming to meet companies like Apple, we are trying
:38:40. > :38:43.to not only lead the world in doing the right thing but also get the
:38:44. > :38:47.economic advantage of that in terms of investment for Scotland as well.
:38:48. > :38:51.How do you respond to the accusations made in Scotland by the
:38:52. > :38:56.Conservatives who say you are grandstanding abroad and talking too
:38:57. > :39:00.much about independence? This trip is fundamentally about business
:39:01. > :39:03.links and trade, and that is all the more important now in light of
:39:04. > :39:08.Brexit that Scotland sells the message about what an attractive
:39:09. > :39:14.place we are to do business. Nicola Sturgeon is expected in her speech
:39:15. > :39:18.to mount a staunch defence of globalisation, saying that
:39:19. > :39:23.immigration and free trade are necessary and that people, to defend
:39:24. > :39:27.and further them, need to understand they have caused disillusionment and
:39:28. > :39:31.unhappiness. Her argument will basically be that those people need
:39:32. > :39:35.to be looked after. In essence I think she is saying that from her
:39:36. > :39:39.point of view the rise of Donald Trump in the United States and
:39:40. > :39:51.Brexit in Europe are symptoms rather than solutions to a problem. I'm
:39:52. > :39:52.just not sure the people of California are that focused on the
:39:53. > :40:01.Scottish economy at the moment. The 11 candidates in the French
:40:02. > :40:04.presidential election will take part in a televised debate,
:40:05. > :40:06.due to start in The campaign is now into its final
:40:07. > :40:10.stages ahead of the first Let's go live now to Paris and our
:40:11. > :40:17.correspondent Hugh Schofield. I'm always a bit wary of these
:40:18. > :40:21.things where this 11 candidates on the stage. Do we get very much from
:40:22. > :40:25.them? I think there's a real danger of this collapsing into farce
:40:26. > :40:31.because we have 11 candidates. If you remember those debates in which
:40:32. > :40:37.the five front runners took part that was the successful event but
:40:38. > :40:40.there was a cry from the minority candidates who said with some
:40:41. > :40:43.legitimacy that they were being cut out of this democratic process and
:40:44. > :40:49.they demanded to debate in which they can take heart, but the problem
:40:50. > :40:52.is there are 11 people who reached this threshold of getting 500
:40:53. > :40:56.signatures of the great and good around the country, so for this
:40:57. > :41:01.debate we will have three and a half hours in which they get quarter of
:41:02. > :41:15.an hour to speak, and among those speaking will be people
:41:16. > :41:32.like Emanuel Curtis Luck, likely to be the next president. I don't think
:41:33. > :41:39.it will be -- Emanuel Macron. Have we ever shown our viewers the
:41:40. > :41:42.promotion photo for One Hundred Days? I thought that was a pretty
:41:43. > :41:52.good photograph until I saw the photograph of the first lady,
:41:53. > :41:58.Melania Trump. We need her agent to do work on our photograph, what do
:41:59. > :42:03.you think? It is very 1930s clamorous, and with an awful lot of
:42:04. > :42:11.airbrushing. Why don't we have this on our programme? We could have the
:42:12. > :42:16.programme entirely in soft focus. She also looks remarkably young. You
:42:17. > :42:22.said earlier when we were practising this that you can't believe... How
:42:23. > :42:28.many years younger than you is she? OK, we are not talking about that. I
:42:29. > :42:33.told you earlier we are not talking about it! Seriously, the first lady,
:42:34. > :42:40.here she is. Absolutely gorgeous photo but the speculation is on,
:42:41. > :42:45.will she ever move into the White House? Because she seems much more
:42:46. > :42:51.happy in New York City. She says at least not until the end of her
:42:52. > :42:58.child's school year. That's all from One Hundred Days, if you would like
:42:59. > :42:59.to get in touch you can do so using