:00:00. > :00:08.Theresa May signs the letter, starting Britain's journey out
:00:09. > :00:14.The letter will be delivered tomorrow, marking the biggest change
:00:15. > :00:15.in Britain's relationship with its European neighbours
:00:16. > :00:22.Earlier today, the Prime Minister was talking about the opportunities
:00:23. > :00:27.of Brexit, as she prepared to start the process.
:00:28. > :00:30.As we do so, I am determined that we should also seize this historic
:00:31. > :00:34.opportunity to get out into the world and to shape an even
:00:35. > :00:41.And with Brexit very much in mind, the Scottish Parliament votes
:00:42. > :00:46.to hold a second referendum on independence.
:00:47. > :00:49.I hope the United Kingdom Government will respect the view of Parliament.
:00:50. > :00:54.This is simply about giving people in Scotland a choice.
:00:55. > :00:56.We'll have the latest from Holyrood and from Westminster,
:00:57. > :00:58.on the eve of the start of the Brexit process.
:00:59. > :01:07.A Royal Marine convicted of shooting dead a wounded Taliban fighter
:01:08. > :01:11.will be freed within weeks, after his sentenced is reduced.
:01:12. > :01:16.In western Mosul, deepening concerns for civilians, as the offensive
:01:17. > :01:19.against IS militants makes slow progress.
:01:20. > :01:24.This fight is every bit as hard and slow
:01:25. > :01:34.And - why America's coal industry could soon be growing again,
:01:35. > :01:38.as President Trump sweeps aside green energy targets.
:01:39. > :01:41.And coming up in Sportsday BBC News, Andy Murray will miss
:01:42. > :01:45.Great Britain's Davis Cup quarterfinal against France next
:01:46. > :01:47.month as he recovers from an elbow injury.
:01:48. > :02:15.The Prime Minister has signed the letter to be sent tomorrow
:02:16. > :02:18.to the European Council activating Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon -
:02:19. > :02:23.the formal start of the process of leaving the European Union.
:02:24. > :02:26.That process is meant to take up to two years.
:02:27. > :02:28.Theresa May said today that she was determined to use
:02:29. > :02:31.Brexit as an opportunity to build a 'global Britain', with new trade
:02:32. > :02:36.Our political editor Laura Kuenssberg is in
:02:37. > :02:46.She has the latest. In the last few moments number ten
:02:47. > :02:51.has released images of Theresa May putting her name to the letter that
:02:52. > :02:55.will formally begin this process. She will go down as the Tory
:02:56. > :03:00.occupant of the building behind me who pushed the button on the process
:03:01. > :03:05.of extricating ourselves from the institution the European Union, with
:03:06. > :03:09.which Britain has had such a complex and sometimes tortured relationship
:03:10. > :03:14.with for more than four decades. That institution that has infuriated
:03:15. > :03:18.and inspired this, divided public and political opinion and ultimately
:03:19. > :03:22.been rejected by the decision of the British people. But in the coming
:03:23. > :03:25.years it will not just be her counterparts around the European
:03:26. > :03:29.Union table that she has to negotiate with this, it of course
:03:30. > :03:34.will be with these sentiments, the hopes and fears of voters hear that
:03:35. > :03:38.she has to deal. That's one of the reasons why in the last few days
:03:39. > :03:41.she's been in different parts of the country, yesterday in Scotland and
:03:42. > :03:46.today in Birmingham, because as this process gets under way, she's well
:03:47. > :03:50.aware of how her political fortunes will be decided this by whether she
:03:51. > :03:53.succeeds or fails. The promise of this trigger was made many months
:03:54. > :03:55.ago, but now the moment itself is almost here.
:03:56. > :03:57.Nine months of careful assembly, plenty of preparation,
:03:58. > :04:06.The decisions that have been taken will affect
:04:07. > :04:12.all our lives and livelihoods, and her political future.
:04:13. > :04:14.Banging the drum for trade with the Gulf,
:04:15. > :04:15.the Prime Minister wants to reach out.
:04:16. > :04:18.Tomorrow we begin the negotiations to secure a new deep and special
:04:19. > :04:26.As we do so, I am determined that we should also sees this
:04:27. > :04:32.historic opportunity to get out into the world.
:04:33. > :04:36.But there's a job at home to do, too.
:04:37. > :04:39.Here in Birmingham, voters favoured leaving the EU but were split
:04:40. > :04:44.Never mind for now, negotiating with more than two
:04:45. > :04:50.dozen other countries, the referendum divided opinion here,
:04:51. > :04:53.not just between north and south, or town and country,
:04:54. > :04:56.or even constituency and constituency, but sometimes
:04:57. > :05:03.In this part of Birmingham on this side of the road,
:05:04. > :05:06.the Harborne council ward, where nearly 70% of people voted
:05:07. > :05:10.to remain, but on the other side of the road, the Quinton ward,
:05:11. > :05:13.where there was a very clear verdict the other way round.
:05:14. > :05:18.In the next two years, Theresa May must try to seal her deal
:05:19. > :05:22.with voters everywhere who wanted very different things.
:05:23. > :05:25.Others, like Mike Wheeler, a businessman, have even changed
:05:26. > :05:31.Ministers want to keep people on side, but we brought Mike
:05:32. > :05:35.and a group of businesses together to ask how.
:05:36. > :05:42.Since the referendum, what we've seen is not what we expected,
:05:43. > :05:45.which was a massive crash of the economy and high levels
:05:46. > :05:52.Our sales have increased locally, our exports sales have
:05:53. > :05:54.increased and our employment levels have increased.
:05:55. > :05:56.So we haven't seen what we expected, so that gives me
:05:57. > :06:00.We should finish the year much better than I thought
:06:01. > :06:03.However, do I think uncertainty has gone away?
:06:04. > :06:07.I think it's here to stay and any false move by anyone
:06:08. > :06:09.in the Government, really, could bring that back,
:06:10. > :06:17.We can all do this, we can all do it together and we're
:06:18. > :06:21.I am bothered by short-term damage that can be done now,
:06:22. > :06:23.and which will be very hard for the Government to
:06:24. > :06:28.I'm optimistic about the future from what I've seen and it's fair
:06:29. > :06:29.to say that our members are cautiously optimistic
:06:30. > :06:35.We're seeing lots of our members continue to invest, continue to take
:06:36. > :06:38.advantage of the low pound, the exchange rates, etc.
:06:39. > :06:41.So for exporters it's been a real boon.
:06:42. > :06:43.Yet, even from the looks on their faces, these prominent
:06:44. > :06:50.I worry that she will be pushed into a corner a little bit
:06:51. > :06:52.by the hard Brexiteers, who will be reluctant
:06:53. > :06:59.With the Prime Minister almost ready to start a long
:07:00. > :07:01.and complicated process, the final product
:07:02. > :07:08.But, however she fares, the shape of the country is being recast.
:07:09. > :07:14.Laura Kuenssberg, BBC News, Birmingham.
:07:15. > :07:17.The people of Scotland have the right to choose between Brexit
:07:18. > :07:20.That was the First Minister's message,
:07:21. > :07:22.as the Scottish Parliament formally requested a second
:07:23. > :07:27.Nicola Sturgeon warned that it would be "democratically
:07:28. > :07:31.indefensible" for Westminster to stand in the way.
:07:32. > :07:39.Our Scotland editor Sarah Smith is in Edinburgh tonight.
:07:40. > :07:45.The stage is now set for a constitutional stand off between the
:07:46. > :07:49.First Minister here in Edinburgh and the Prime Minister in London. What's
:07:50. > :07:52.already a tense and rather confrontational relationship will
:07:53. > :07:55.only get worse when Theresa May tells Nicola Sturgeon there can't be
:07:56. > :07:56.another referendum possibly for several years to come.
:07:57. > :08:02.Jubilant excitement as supporters heard the Scottish Parliament had
:08:03. > :08:12.Tears of joy today, but disappointment will follow.
:08:13. > :08:14.They're shouting, yes, the Prime Minister
:08:15. > :08:16.will soon tell them, no, there will not be a vote.
:08:17. > :08:19.Earlier, the debate - suspended after last
:08:20. > :08:22.week's terror attack in Westminster - resumed.
:08:23. > :08:26.Scotland's future should be in Scotland's hands.
:08:27. > :08:29.That is what this debate is about, the future of our country,
:08:30. > :08:32.how we best harness our potential as a country and overcome
:08:33. > :08:42.Is she going to spend the next two years and 100% of her time
:08:43. > :08:45.campaigning for Scotland to leave the UK, at the expense of governing
:08:46. > :08:48.or will she roll up her sleeves from today and seek to secure more
:08:49. > :08:50.powers for this parliament when they're returned
:08:51. > :08:53.Independence debates always excite passion and confrontation.
:08:54. > :08:57.We are sick of it and most people in Scotland have had enough too,
:08:58. > :08:59.because this Parliament needs to and must focus on the priorities
:09:00. > :09:03.of the people of this country and it is not the time to be
:09:04. > :09:06.sidetracked by yet more unnecessary division.
:09:07. > :09:09.So I won't take any lessons from the First Minister
:09:10. > :09:10.because actually - sit down - precisely
:09:11. > :09:14.I think I've answered the First Minister's question.
:09:15. > :09:17.The result was never really in doubt, as the Greens
:09:18. > :09:21.The motion as amended is, therefore, agreed.
:09:22. > :09:26.The First Minister can now formally ask Theresa May
:09:27. > :09:33.I hope the United Kingdom Government will respect the view of Parliament.
:09:34. > :09:37.This is simply about giving people in Scotland a choice.
:09:38. > :09:41.We agree that now is not the right time for that choice,
:09:42. > :09:44.but that choice should be available to people in Scotland when the terms
:09:45. > :09:50.So I'll look forward to discussions in the weeks ahead.
:09:51. > :09:53.Nicola Sturgeon knows that Theresa May is going to refuse
:09:54. > :09:55.to allow another Scottish referendum, so why bother
:09:56. > :10:02.Well, the Tories say it's all part of a well-rehearsed game
:10:03. > :10:06.from the SNP, where they put forward proposals to Westminster they know
:10:07. > :10:08.will be rejected, and then react with righteous indignation
:10:09. > :10:14.Rejecting Holyrood's request for a referendum is a risk,
:10:15. > :10:18.but that's exactly what the UK Government will do.
:10:19. > :10:20.The Prime Minister's made her position very clear,
:10:21. > :10:24.now is not the time for another referendum.
:10:25. > :10:27.Nothing has been said in the Scottish Parliament
:10:28. > :10:30.which takes away from the fact that a referendum during the Brexit
:10:31. > :10:34.process would be unfair on the people of Scotland.
:10:35. > :10:37.The danger for the UK Government is that saying no
:10:38. > :10:43.could backfire and stir up support for independence, but they firmly
:10:44. > :10:45.believe most Scottish voters don't want another referendum
:10:46. > :10:58.Nicola Sturgeon said that she wants to discuss the timing of another
:10:59. > :11:01.referendum but you can't negotiate with someone who won't speak to you.
:11:02. > :11:06.So what happens now? The Scottish Government will try and paint the
:11:07. > :11:09.Prime Minister as in trenchant, trying to stir up this resentment
:11:10. > :11:12.among Scottish voters but number ten know that is a risk and that is why
:11:13. > :11:16.they are very carefully not saying no to another vote, not saying never
:11:17. > :11:21.this, but a very firmly saying now is not the time.
:11:22. > :11:23.Sarah, once again, thank you. Sarah Smith with the latest at Holyrood.
:11:24. > :11:27.Back to Laura in Downing Street in a moment, but first to our Europe
:11:28. > :11:40.The letter to be delivered tomorrow, to be hand-delivered tomorrow, the
:11:41. > :11:45.response in Brussels will be what? Look, this is a huge moment for the
:11:46. > :11:50.EU. Up until now this is a union that is only ever been growing, with
:11:51. > :11:54.European countries east north, south, east and west knocking the
:11:55. > :11:57.door and asking to be let in. Now one of its most influential
:11:58. > :12:02.members is banging at that door demanding to be let out. This is a
:12:03. > :12:05.huge blow this, but mix without regret at seeing Britain go is a
:12:06. > :12:10.growing sense of determination here that any new deal has to be in the
:12:11. > :12:15.EU's interests. So as soon as the UK's letter arrives here tomorrow,
:12:16. > :12:18.the EU will roll up its metaphorical sleeves. Yes, it says it wants to
:12:19. > :12:22.keep a close and friendly relationship with the UK, it says it
:12:23. > :12:26.doesn't want to punish Britain, but these will be complex and tough
:12:27. > :12:31.negotiations. Any Eurocrat I speak to believe that the government's aim
:12:32. > :12:35.to get this divorce deal plus a brand-new trade deal within the two
:12:36. > :12:40.years allowed by Article 50 is simply unrealistic, they say. Of
:12:41. > :12:44.course, the European Commission will be the lead negotiator for the EU's
:12:45. > :12:50.side but any big EU decisions will be taken by the European capitals,
:12:51. > :12:53.the other remaining 27 states. Big countries, Germany and France have
:12:54. > :12:58.elections in the next months and that means no significant Brexit
:12:59. > :13:00.steps will probably be taken before the autumn, and the clock starts
:13:01. > :13:07.ticking tomorrow. Indeed. Thank you. To Downing Street. The clock will
:13:08. > :13:11.start ticking and I wonder what is your sense of the mindset within
:13:12. > :13:18.government now, as we approach this very, very big moment?
:13:19. > :13:22.I think very, very determined but also in all truth apprehensive, not
:13:23. > :13:26.surprisingly, really. I think it's worth reflecting, given we've been
:13:27. > :13:29.inside this partnership for more than four decades, it is quite
:13:30. > :13:34.remarkable that even not that long ago in the big picture, Miss Street,
:13:35. > :13:39.even the idea of a referendum taking place was not taken that seriously,
:13:40. > :13:44.alone if the idea of the country would vote to leave. But Theresa
:13:45. > :13:48.May, who started out a remainder now finds herself in this position and
:13:49. > :13:52.tomorrow she will promise fiercely, to use her word, to try and get a
:13:53. > :13:57.deal that will be in the best interests of every single person in
:13:58. > :14:01.the country. That's quite a tall order, not least because in recent
:14:02. > :14:05.months the divisions have been profound and the pitfalls of the
:14:06. > :14:10.next two years, the pitfalls, even the ones that we know about, are
:14:11. > :14:12.many, complicated and very difficult to deal with. Laura, we will talk
:14:13. > :14:17.again, I'm sure. A Royal Marine who shot
:14:18. > :14:21.dead a wounded Taliban fighter in Afghanistan,
:14:22. > :14:23.has been given a 7-year jail sentence but is expected
:14:24. > :14:27.to be freed within weeks. Alexander Blackman has
:14:28. > :14:30.already spent half that time in prison,
:14:31. > :14:31.after being originally That conviction was
:14:32. > :14:34.quashed on appeal, and replaced with manslaughter
:14:35. > :14:36.earlier this month. Our correspondent
:14:37. > :14:41.Duncan Kennedy reports. It was the news fellow Marines had
:14:42. > :14:47.been waiting four years to hear. And, moments later, their euphoria
:14:48. > :14:51.was shared in the reaction We are overjoyed at the judge's
:14:52. > :15:01.decision to significantly reduce our sentence, such
:15:02. > :15:04.that he can be released imminently. This is the moment we've
:15:05. > :15:07.all been fighting hard for. It's hard to believe that this
:15:08. > :15:12.day is finally here. As a Marine Sergeant,
:15:13. > :15:17.Alexander Blackman had been a decisive, accomplished leader
:15:18. > :15:19.of troops, someone who'd killed 30 But on this tour of Afghanistan,
:15:20. > :15:26.in 2011, he and his men went through what was called
:15:27. > :15:30.a tour from hell. They were provoked and violently
:15:31. > :15:36.targeted incessantly by the Taliban. In this field, they found an injured
:15:37. > :15:39.Taliban insurgent, Sergeant Blackman Anybody want to do first
:15:40. > :15:47.aid on this idiot? He then pointed his
:15:48. > :15:49.gun at the insurgent. In 2013, Sergeant Blackman
:15:50. > :15:58.was found guilty of murder, a decision that angered thousands
:15:59. > :16:05.of military colleagues. But earlier this month,
:16:06. > :16:07.that conviction was reduced to manslaughter because new evidence
:16:08. > :16:10.showed the mental strains on him had So today his sentence
:16:11. > :16:17.was reduced to seven years, meaning he can be freed from this
:16:18. > :16:23.prison in Wiltshire some time And while his supporters
:16:24. > :16:27.are delighted, the judges did stress that Alexander Blackman did break
:16:28. > :16:28.the Geneva Convention and that his actions could be used
:16:29. > :16:32.as propaganda by insurgents to show that British values are no
:16:33. > :16:45.different to anybody else's. Claire Blackman is now just a few
:16:46. > :16:48.days away from being reunited with her husband,
:16:49. > :16:49.but although she and their supporters see this as a day
:16:50. > :16:52.of justice, the message from the judges is clear -
:16:53. > :16:55.killing in war must always be Duncan Kennedy, BBC
:16:56. > :17:00.News, in Wiltshire. The principal US commander leading
:17:01. > :17:04.the fight against so-called Islamic State in Iraq said today
:17:05. > :17:06.that coalition forces were "probably" involved
:17:07. > :17:08.in the deaths of civilians during recent bombings
:17:09. > :17:12.in the city of Mosul. General Stephen Townsend said
:17:13. > :17:14.an investigation was under way and suggested that IS might also
:17:15. > :17:17.be to blame. Our Middle East editor,
:17:18. > :17:19.Jeremy Bowen, reports now from the frontline with the Iraqi
:17:20. > :17:34.army, in western Mosul, Once their identities were checked,
:17:35. > :17:40.they were allowed to move away from the war zone. It was first light and
:17:41. > :17:50.the children were hungry, tired and bewildered. They'd been waiting to
:17:51. > :17:58.be processed since they crossed from IS-controlled Mosul around 11.00pm
:17:59. > :18:08.last night. Everyone was exhausted. This woman wanted to escape with her
:18:09. > :18:12.husband and four children. TRANSLATION: It was hell. They are
:18:13. > :18:22.war criminals. They are not Muslims and don't connect them to Islam. But
:18:23. > :18:28.she said the shelling and air strikes were not justifiably. They'd
:18:29. > :18:32.spent their last day at home burying neighbours, family and friend they'd
:18:33. > :18:38.dug from the rubble. In thes last 24-hours, 2,000 people have used
:18:39. > :18:45.this road alone to escape IS, nearly 250,000 have fled in the last five
:18:46. > :18:54.weeks. At least they got out, others are kept as human shields. Mosul has
:18:55. > :18:59.been broken by war, to smash the ambition of Islamic State. We drove
:19:00. > :19:10.through streets taken back from IS in the last few days. The jihadis
:19:11. > :19:19.seized Mosul in 2014 posing aing as the leaders of Sunni Muslims. They
:19:20. > :19:28.imposed a nightmare. This man was 50 meters from an IS sniper. It was a
:19:29. > :19:33.street battle. We advanced in teams from house to house. The area is
:19:34. > :19:39.very aggressive, using snipers and car bombs. Fighting in a built up
:19:40. > :19:45.area is the toughest job a soldier can do. Casualties are inevitable.
:19:46. > :19:52.Mosul is a big city which makes it worse.
:19:53. > :20:01.Both sides are moving along passages knocked through walls because open
:20:02. > :20:09.ground is dangerous. Through homes whose owners left in a hurry.
:20:10. > :20:11.Dresses still hung in a cupboard. The command centre was in the living
:20:12. > :20:26.room. TRANSLATION: The fighting has become
:20:27. > :20:37.room to room, not house to house. They are surrounded. Either they
:20:38. > :20:45.fight or surrender. They are not surrendering. It's close quarter
:20:46. > :20:51.combat. He had two hand grenades ready. Could heavy air strikes help
:20:52. > :20:54.them? Is they're politically difficult, especially now the
:20:55. > :21:01.Americans say their coalition probably killed at least 150
:21:02. > :21:13.civilians. This fight is every bit as hard and slow and difficult as
:21:14. > :21:21.was predicted. GUNFIRE. But these soldiers seem capable and are
:21:22. > :21:29.pushing forward, they're determined. Their enemies are around 20 meters
:21:30. > :21:35.away. TRANSLATION: They are mainly French
:21:36. > :21:39.and Saudis. When we kill them we find their identity cards. Now
:21:40. > :21:46.civilians, when they can, queue for handouts. On this street they said
:21:47. > :21:51.it's better than when jihadists came here to build their caliphate, to
:21:52. > :22:00.start a war, to supersede Islamic countries. And Iraqis absorb more
:22:01. > :22:04.pain. That was the latest in a series of special reports on the
:22:05. > :22:09.fierce fighting in western Mosul and indeed the plight of so many
:22:10. > :22:13.civilians there with our Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen.
:22:14. > :22:16.A brief look at some of the day's other news stories:
:22:17. > :22:18.The wife of the Westminster attacker, Khalid Masood,
:22:19. > :22:20.has said she is "saddened and shocked" by her
:22:21. > :22:23.In a statement through police, Rohey Hydara expressed her
:22:24. > :22:26.condolences to the families of the dead and wished a "speedy
:22:27. > :22:40.Unions have criticised as "derisory" a 1% pay increase
:22:41. > :22:43.The Government accepted the recommendations
:22:44. > :22:47.But Unison said seven years of pay freezes and caps were demoralising
:22:48. > :22:50.Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, has agreed to pay a fine
:22:51. > :22:52.of ?129 million plus costs following a two year investigation
:22:53. > :22:56.by the Serious Fraud Office into false accounting.
:22:57. > :22:58.The agreement, if approved by a Crown Court, will mean
:22:59. > :23:00.Tesco avoids prosecution for inflating its profits
:23:01. > :23:12.The Crown Prosecution Service is reviewing its options in the case
:23:13. > :23:15.of a man who walked free from court after admitting hitting his wife
:23:16. > :23:18.Mustafa Bashir was given a suspended sentence by a judge
:23:19. > :23:22.The judge has been criticised by campaigners for questioning
:23:23. > :23:28.the vulnerability of Bashir's victim as our correspondent,
:23:29. > :23:33.Mustafa Bashir claimed he was a promising cricketer on the verge
:23:34. > :23:41.In fact, he was an abusive husband who hit his wife with a bat
:23:42. > :23:47.He was given an 18-month suspended sentence.
:23:48. > :23:49.Judge Richard Mansell QC said he wasn't convinced that the victim
:23:50. > :23:51.was particularly vulnerable and that she was plainly
:23:52. > :23:53.an intelligent woman who managed to hold down a job
:23:54. > :23:55.as a receptionist, had friends and went to university.
:23:56. > :24:00.Those remarks and the sentence have attracted strong criticism.
:24:01. > :24:02.We've got to now see if this can be reviewed.
:24:03. > :24:05.I'm writing to the Attorney General, to the Justice Secretary.
:24:06. > :24:08.In a case like this, when the sentence, but the comments,
:24:09. > :24:11.are so wide of what society expects, the judge really has to question
:24:12. > :24:17.himself about what kind of retraining he needs.
:24:18. > :24:22.I've spoken to Mustafa Bashir's ex-wife - at her request,
:24:23. > :24:25.the BBC isn't naming her - she told me that she's disappointed
:24:26. > :24:29.with the judge's comments about her vulnerability,
:24:30. > :24:32.and that she feels she's a strong and confident woman
:24:33. > :24:36.Bashir told the court he'd lose a professional contract with
:24:37. > :24:39.Leicestershire County Cricket Club if he was jailed, the club denies
:24:40. > :24:45.The judge had taken his career into consideration
:24:46. > :24:47.as well as following guidelines which cover the victim's
:24:48. > :24:53.It's difficult for judges when seeking to determine
:24:54. > :24:58.whether a particular victim is more vulnerable than other victims
:24:59. > :25:00.and I think that's where perhaps the guidelines could do better.
:25:01. > :25:04.This situation, sadly, isn't particularly unusual.
:25:05. > :25:07.The Crown Prosecution Service is considering its options.
:25:08. > :25:10.Mustafa Bashir could yet find himself back before the court
:25:11. > :25:22.President Trump has signed a new executive order reversing
:25:23. > :25:30.many of Barack Obama's efforts to limit global warming.
:25:31. > :25:31.The order is meant to boost employment
:25:32. > :25:35.lifting a moratorium on the development
:25:36. > :25:38.President Trump has in the past called global warming a "hoax"
:25:39. > :25:40.and has repeatedly promised to help the struggling US coal industry.
:25:41. > :25:42.As our North America editor, Jon Sopel, reports.
:25:43. > :25:45.The coal industry was beginning to look like an endangered species
:25:46. > :25:51.in the US under Barack Obama, but if President Trump has his way,
:25:52. > :26:12.coal will soon be king again, and today he signed a raft
:26:13. > :26:14.of measures reversing the policies of his predecessor.
:26:15. > :26:22.My administration is putting an end to the war on coal.
:26:23. > :26:24.We're going to have clean coal, really clean coal.
:26:25. > :26:26.With today's executive action, I am taking historic steps to lift
:26:27. > :26:28.the restrictions on American energy, to reverse government
:26:29. > :26:30.intrusion and to cancel job killing regulations.
:26:31. > :26:33.The new measures will undo the clean power plan rules aimed
:26:34. > :26:40.It will lift a moratorium on the sale of new coal leases
:26:41. > :26:42.on Federal land and scrap a limit on greenhouse emissions for
:26:43. > :26:46.No-one can accuse the President of not being true to his word.
:26:47. > :26:49.So Obama's talking about all of this with the global warm -
:26:50. > :26:55.We are going to put our coal miners back to work.
:26:56. > :26:57.This is Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, a town that voted overwhelmingly
:26:58. > :27:00.for Donald Trump last November, in part down to his pledge
:27:01. > :27:02.to overturn Obama era policies on energy.
:27:03. > :27:06.The colliery here shut down a year ago.
:27:07. > :27:07.Today, there's growing confidence their industry
:27:08. > :27:15.As of right now, mining is picking back up.
:27:16. > :27:18.I do believe that mining is going to pick up and everybody's
:27:19. > :27:24.Around this area, mining is picking back up.
:27:25. > :27:38.But environmental campaigners are aghast and wonder where it
:27:39. > :27:40.But environmental campaigners are aghast and wonder where it leaves
:27:41. > :27:42.the Paris Climate Change Agreement that President
:27:43. > :27:44.Obama committed the US to in December 2015.
:27:45. > :27:46.73% of Americans believe that climate change is real
:27:47. > :27:48.and that the government should act and lead on it.
:27:49. > :27:52.If Mr Trump does not honour the Paris deal,
:27:53. > :27:59.he will join a very small club that includes Syria, Nicaragua
:28:00. > :28:05.But the President wants to remove regulations that get in the way
:28:06. > :28:09.In essence, the President wants oil men to be able to drill
:28:10. > :28:16.But the reason so many pits shut down wasn't
:28:17. > :28:18.because of regulation it was because they had become
:28:19. > :28:20.uneconomic as consumers moved to cheaper, cleaner forms of fuel
:28:21. > :28:24.and it's hard to see how the signing of an executive order changes that.
:28:25. > :28:27.Tributes have been paid to the South African
:28:28. > :28:29.campaigner against apartheid, Ahmed Kathrada, who has
:28:30. > :28:32.He was a friend and close associate of Nelson Mandela
:28:33. > :28:35.and was imprisoned with him, spending more than a quarter
:28:36. > :28:47.President Jacob Zuma has said he will be given a state funeral.
:28:48. > :28:50.So tonight, in Downing Street, a letter has been signed
:28:51. > :28:52.by Theresa May and tomorrow it will be delivered by
:28:53. > :28:54.hand to the president of the European Council,
:28:55. > :28:57.a letter that will lead to the most far-reaching changes in Britain's
:28:58. > :29:00.relationship with its European neighbours in nearly half a century.
:29:01. > :29:03.The circumstances in which we joined the common market, as it was called,
:29:04. > :29:05.back in 1973, are barely recognisable today and the Brexit
:29:06. > :29:09.process raises questions, not just about Britain's future,
:29:10. > :29:12.but also about the future of the European Union.
:29:13. > :29:21.For the founding six, the European project was not just
:29:22. > :29:27.about trade or even prosperity, it was an act of national
:29:28. > :29:30.redemption for they had suffered not just war,
:29:31. > :29:32.but dictatorship, crushing military defeat and foreign occupation.
:29:33. > :29:39.It had not seen foreign flags flying above its citadels.
:29:40. > :29:41.It did not need a new Europe on which to rebuild
:29:42. > :29:49.For the British, it was too early - five years after the end
:29:50. > :29:54.of the Second World War - it was too early to conceive,
:29:55. > :29:56.to accept this project of giving equality of power
:29:57. > :30:07.Is Europe stronger with Britain a member?
:30:08. > :30:16.And when it did, in 1973, it joined for trade and not much more.
:30:17. > :30:19.For now the Empire, on whose trade British
:30:20. > :30:23.prosperity had depended for centuries, was gone.
:30:24. > :30:27.Mrs Thatcher, now thought of as the most eurosceptic
:30:28. > :30:30.of Prime Ministers, took Britain deeper into Europe than any other
:30:31. > :30:35.leader when she signed the Single European Act in 1986.
:30:36. > :30:40.That created a single market - free, borderless trade
:30:41. > :30:41.across the continent, Thatcherism on a European
:30:42. > :30:48.But in the optimism of the age, the fall of the Berlin Wall
:30:49. > :30:51.and the reunification of Germany, Europe was tricked by a misplaced
:30:52. > :30:56.certainty in which the seeds of today's crisis were sown.
:30:57. > :30:59.First, expansion to the east lifted half a continent out of communism,
:31:00. > :31:03.but free movement created the sense of migration out of control
:31:04. > :31:05.and it was this, more than anything, that tipped British sentiment
:31:06. > :31:10.Second, the decision to press ahead with the single currency.
:31:11. > :31:14.At the time, sceptics warned that only five or six nations really met
:31:15. > :31:19.the strict membership criteria but, eventually, 15 were admitted.
:31:20. > :31:25.So when the financial crisis crashed into Europe,
:31:26. > :31:29.many in the south saw stagnation and despair.
:31:30. > :31:32.Youth unemployment created a generation shut out of Europe's
:31:33. > :31:38.It's little surprise that there's a rise in desire to go back
:31:39. > :31:43.to the perceived certainties of national sovereignty.
:31:44. > :31:45.The disintegration of Europe is already happening.
:31:46. > :31:52.It's very hard to see Europe returning to those
:31:53. > :31:59.You know - peace, democracy, social cohesion and prosperity,
:32:00. > :32:03.but you need to find a way for these things to work in practice.
:32:04. > :32:08.If it doesn't, we simply have to reflect what's going on.
:32:09. > :32:11.Many on the continent have said it often and this evening it's
:32:12. > :32:15.never been clearer - Britain is different.
:32:16. > :32:18.Always the reluctant European, Britain returns now
:32:19. > :32:21.to its old detachment from a European orbit
:32:22. > :32:27.and turns its face again to an older preference for the wide open seas.
:32:28. > :32:41.Tonight, Marine Le Pen tells us that Brexit will be difficult.
:32:42. > :32:54.She thinks the EU will make divorce negotiations as painful as possible.
:32:55. > :32:55.Here, on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.