28/03/2017 BBC News at Ten

Theresa May signs the letter, starting Britain's journey out

The letter will be delivered tomorrow, marking the biggest change

in Britain's relationship with its European neighbours

Earlier today, the Prime Minister was talking about the opportunities

of Brexit, as she prepared to start the process.

As we do so, I am determined that we should also seize this historic

opportunity to get out into the world and to shape an even

And with Brexit very much in mind, the Scottish Parliament votes

to hold a second referendum on independence.

I hope the United Kingdom Government will respect the view of Parliament.

This is simply about giving people in Scotland a choice.

We'll have the latest from Holyrood and from Westminster,

on the eve of the start of the Brexit process.

A Royal Marine convicted of shooting dead a wounded Taliban fighter

will be freed within weeks, after his sentenced is reduced.

In western Mosul, deepening concerns for civilians, as the offensive

against IS militants makes slow progress.

This fight is every bit as hard and slow

And - why America's coal industry could soon be growing again,

as President Trump sweeps aside green energy targets.

And coming up in Sportsday BBC News, Andy Murray will miss

Great Britain's Davis Cup quarterfinal against France next

month as he recovers from an elbow injury.

The Prime Minister has signed the letter to be sent tomorrow

to the European Council activating Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon -

the formal start of the process of leaving the European Union.

That process is meant to take up to two years.

Theresa May said today that she was determined to use

Brexit as an opportunity to build a 'global Britain', with new trade

Our political editor Laura Kuenssberg is in

She has the latest. In the last few moments number ten

has released images of Theresa May putting her name to the letter that

will formally begin this process. She will go down as the Tory

occupant of the building behind me who pushed the button on the process

of extricating ourselves from the institution the European Union, with

which Britain has had such a complex and sometimes tortured relationship

with for more than four decades. That institution that has infuriated

and inspired this, divided public and political opinion and ultimately

been rejected by the decision of the British people. But in the coming

years it will not just be her counterparts around the European

Union table that she has to negotiate with this, it of course

will be with these sentiments, the hopes and fears of voters hear that

she has to deal. That's one of the reasons why in the last few days

she's been in different parts of the country, yesterday in Scotland and

today in Birmingham, because as this process gets under way, she's well

aware of how her political fortunes will be decided this by whether she

succeeds or fails. The promise of this trigger was made many months

ago, but now the moment itself is almost here.

Nine months of careful assembly, plenty of preparation,

The decisions that have been taken will affect

all our lives and livelihoods, and her political future.

Banging the drum for trade with the Gulf,

the Prime Minister wants to reach out.

Tomorrow we begin the negotiations to secure a new deep and special

As we do so, I am determined that we should also sees this

historic opportunity to get out into the world.

But there's a job at home to do, too.

Here in Birmingham, voters favoured leaving the EU but were split

Never mind for now, negotiating with more than two

dozen other countries, the referendum divided opinion here,

not just between north and south, or town and country,

or even constituency and constituency, but sometimes

In this part of Birmingham on this side of the road,

the Harborne council ward, where nearly 70% of people voted

to remain, but on the other side of the road, the Quinton ward,

where there was a very clear verdict the other way round.

In the next two years, Theresa May must try to seal her deal

with voters everywhere who wanted very different things.

Others, like Mike Wheeler, a businessman, have even changed

Ministers want to keep people on side, but we brought Mike

and a group of businesses together to ask how.

Since the referendum, what we've seen is not what we expected,

which was a massive crash of the economy and high levels

Our sales have increased locally, our exports sales have

increased and our employment levels have increased.

So we haven't seen what we expected, so that gives me

We should finish the year much better than I thought

However, do I think uncertainty has gone away?

I think it's here to stay and any false move by anyone

in the Government, really, could bring that back,

We can all do this, we can all do it together and we're

I am bothered by short-term damage that can be done now,

and which will be very hard for the Government to

I'm optimistic about the future from what I've seen and it's fair

to say that our members are cautiously optimistic

We're seeing lots of our members continue to invest, continue to take

advantage of the low pound, the exchange rates, etc.

So for exporters it's been a real boon.

Yet, even from the looks on their faces, these prominent

I worry that she will be pushed into a corner a little bit

by the hard Brexiteers, who will be reluctant

With the Prime Minister almost ready to start a long

and complicated process, the final product

But, however she fares, the shape of the country is being recast.

Laura Kuenssberg, BBC News, Birmingham.

The people of Scotland have the right to choose between Brexit

That was the First Minister's message,

as the Scottish Parliament formally requested a second

Nicola Sturgeon warned that it would be "democratically

indefensible" for Westminster to stand in the way.

Our Scotland editor Sarah Smith is in Edinburgh tonight.

The stage is now set for a constitutional stand off between the

First Minister here in Edinburgh and the Prime Minister in London. What's

already a tense and rather confrontational relationship will

only get worse when Theresa May tells Nicola Sturgeon there can't be

another referendum possibly for several years to come.

Jubilant excitement as supporters heard the Scottish Parliament had

Tears of joy today, but disappointment will follow.

They're shouting, yes, the Prime Minister

will soon tell them, no, there will not be a vote.

Earlier, the debate - suspended after last

week's terror attack in Westminster - resumed.

Scotland's future should be in Scotland's hands.

That is what this debate is about, the future of our country,

how we best harness our potential as a country and overcome

Is she going to spend the next two years and 100% of her time

campaigning for Scotland to leave the UK, at the expense of governing

or will she roll up her sleeves from today and seek to secure more

powers for this parliament when they're returned

Independence debates always excite passion and confrontation.

We are sick of it and most people in Scotland have had enough too,

because this Parliament needs to and must focus on the priorities

of the people of this country and it is not the time to be

sidetracked by yet more unnecessary division.

So I won't take any lessons from the First Minister

because actually - sit down - precisely

I think I've answered the First Minister's question.

The result was never really in doubt, as the Greens

The motion as amended is, therefore, agreed.

The First Minister can now formally ask Theresa May

I hope the United Kingdom Government will respect the view of Parliament.

This is simply about giving people in Scotland a choice.

We agree that now is not the right time for that choice,

but that choice should be available to people in Scotland when the terms

So I'll look forward to discussions in the weeks ahead.

Nicola Sturgeon knows that Theresa May is going to refuse

to allow another Scottish referendum, so why bother

Well, the Tories say it's all part of a well-rehearsed game

from the SNP, where they put forward proposals to Westminster they know

will be rejected, and then react with righteous indignation

Rejecting Holyrood's request for a referendum is a risk,

but that's exactly what the UK Government will do.

The Prime Minister's made her position very clear,

now is not the time for another referendum.

Nothing has been said in the Scottish Parliament

which takes away from the fact that a referendum during the Brexit

process would be unfair on the people of Scotland.

The danger for the UK Government is that saying no

could backfire and stir up support for independence, but they firmly

believe most Scottish voters don't want another referendum

Nicola Sturgeon said that she wants to discuss the timing of another

referendum but you can't negotiate with someone who won't speak to you.

So what happens now? The Scottish Government will try and paint the

Prime Minister as in trenchant, trying to stir up this resentment

among Scottish voters but number ten know that is a risk and that is why

they are very carefully not saying no to another vote, not saying never

this, but a very firmly saying now is not the time.

Sarah, once again, thank you. Sarah Smith with the latest at Holyrood.

Back to Laura in Downing Street in a moment, but first to our Europe

The letter to be delivered tomorrow, to be hand-delivered tomorrow, the

response in Brussels will be what? Look, this is a huge moment for the

EU. Up until now this is a union that is only ever been growing, with

European countries east north, south, east and west knocking the

door and asking to be let in. Now one of its most influential

members is banging at that door demanding to be let out. This is a

huge blow this, but mix without regret at seeing Britain go is a

growing sense of determination here that any new deal has to be in the

EU's interests. So as soon as the UK's letter arrives here tomorrow,

the EU will roll up its metaphorical sleeves. Yes, it says it wants to

keep a close and friendly relationship with the UK, it says it

doesn't want to punish Britain, but these will be complex and tough

negotiations. Any Eurocrat I speak to believe that the government's aim

to get this divorce deal plus a brand-new trade deal within the two

years allowed by Article 50 is simply unrealistic, they say. Of

course, the European Commission will be the lead negotiator for the EU's

side but any big EU decisions will be taken by the European capitals,

the other remaining 27 states. Big countries, Germany and France have

elections in the next months and that means no significant Brexit

steps will probably be taken before the autumn, and the clock starts

ticking tomorrow. Indeed. Thank you. To Downing Street. The clock will

start ticking and I wonder what is your sense of the mindset within

government now, as we approach this very, very big moment?

I think very, very determined but also in all truth apprehensive, not

surprisingly, really. I think it's worth reflecting, given we've been

inside this partnership for more than four decades, it is quite

remarkable that even not that long ago in the big picture, Miss Street,

even the idea of a referendum taking place was not taken that seriously,

alone if the idea of the country would vote to leave. But Theresa

May, who started out a remainder now finds herself in this position and

tomorrow she will promise fiercely, to use her word, to try and get a

deal that will be in the best interests of every single person in

the country. That's quite a tall order, not least because in recent

months the divisions have been profound and the pitfalls of the

next two years, the pitfalls, even the ones that we know about, are

many, complicated and very difficult to deal with. Laura, we will talk

again, I'm sure. A Royal Marine who shot

dead a wounded Taliban fighter in Afghanistan,

has been given a 7-year jail sentence but is expected

to be freed within weeks. Alexander Blackman has

already spent half that time in prison,

after being originally That conviction was

quashed on appeal, and replaced with manslaughter

earlier this month. Our correspondent

Duncan Kennedy reports. It was the news fellow Marines had

been waiting four years to hear. And, moments later, their euphoria

was shared in the reaction We are overjoyed at the judge's

decision to significantly reduce our sentence, such

that he can be released imminently. This is the moment we've

all been fighting hard for. It's hard to believe that this

day is finally here. As a Marine Sergeant,

Alexander Blackman had been a decisive, accomplished leader

of troops, someone who'd killed 30 But on this tour of Afghanistan,

in 2011, he and his men went through what was called

a tour from hell. They were provoked and violently

targeted incessantly by the Taliban. In this field, they found an injured

Taliban insurgent, Sergeant Blackman Anybody want to do first

aid on this idiot? He then pointed his

gun at the insurgent. In 2013, Sergeant Blackman

was found guilty of murder, a decision that angered thousands

of military colleagues. But earlier this month,

that conviction was reduced to manslaughter because new evidence

showed the mental strains on him had So today his sentence

was reduced to seven years, meaning he can be freed from this

prison in Wiltshire some time And while his supporters

are delighted, the judges did stress that Alexander Blackman did break

the Geneva Convention and that his actions could be used

as propaganda by insurgents to show that British values are no

different to anybody else's. Claire Blackman is now just a few

days away from being reunited with her husband,

but although she and their supporters see this as a day

of justice, the message from the judges is clear -

killing in war must always be Duncan Kennedy, BBC

News, in Wiltshire. The principal US commander leading

the fight against so-called Islamic State in Iraq said today

that coalition forces were "probably" involved

in the deaths of civilians during recent bombings

in the city of Mosul. General Stephen Townsend said

an investigation was under way and suggested that IS might also

be to blame. Our Middle East editor,

Jeremy Bowen, reports now from the frontline with the Iraqi

army, in western Mosul, Once their identities were checked,

they were allowed to move away from the war zone. It was first light and

the children were hungry, tired and bewildered. They'd been waiting to

be processed since they crossed from IS-controlled Mosul around 11.00pm

last night. Everyone was exhausted. This woman wanted to escape with her

husband and four children. TRANSLATION: It was hell. They are

war criminals. They are not Muslims and don't connect them to Islam. But

she said the shelling and air strikes were not justifiably. They'd

spent their last day at home burying neighbours, family and friend they'd

dug from the rubble. In thes last 24-hours, 2,000 people have used

this road alone to escape IS, nearly 250,000 have fled in the last five

weeks. At least they got out, others are kept as human shields. Mosul has

been broken by war, to smash the ambition of Islamic State. We drove

through streets taken back from IS in the last few days. The jihadis

seized Mosul in 2014 posing aing as the leaders of Sunni Muslims. They

imposed a nightmare. This man was 50 meters from an IS sniper. It was a

street battle. We advanced in teams from house to house. The area is

very aggressive, using snipers and car bombs. Fighting in a built up

area is the toughest job a soldier can do. Casualties are inevitable.

Mosul is a big city which makes it worse.

Both sides are moving along passages knocked through walls because open

ground is dangerous. Through homes whose owners left in a hurry.

Dresses still hung in a cupboard. The command centre was in the living

room. TRANSLATION: The fighting has become

room to room, not house to house. They are surrounded. Either they

fight or surrender. They are not surrendering. It's close quarter

combat. He had two hand grenades ready. Could heavy air strikes help

them? Is they're politically difficult, especially now the

Americans say their coalition probably killed at least 150

civilians. This fight is every bit as hard and slow and difficult as

was predicted. GUNFIRE. But these soldiers seem capable and are

pushing forward, they're determined. Their enemies are around 20 meters

away. TRANSLATION: They are mainly French

and Saudis. When we kill them we find their identity cards. Now

civilians, when they can, queue for handouts. On this street they said

it's better than when jihadists came here to build their caliphate, to

start a war, to supersede Islamic countries. And Iraqis absorb more

pain. That was the latest in a series of special reports on the

fierce fighting in western Mosul and indeed the plight of so many

civilians there with our Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen.

A brief look at some of the day's other news stories:

The wife of the Westminster attacker, Khalid Masood,

has said she is "saddened and shocked" by her

In a statement through police, Rohey Hydara expressed her

condolences to the families of the dead and wished a "speedy

Unions have criticised as "derisory" a 1% pay increase

The Government accepted the recommendations

But Unison said seven years of pay freezes and caps were demoralising

Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, has agreed to pay a fine

of ?129 million plus costs following a two year investigation

by the Serious Fraud Office into false accounting.

The agreement, if approved by a Crown Court, will mean

Tesco avoids prosecution for inflating its profits

The Crown Prosecution Service is reviewing its options in the case

of a man who walked free from court after admitting hitting his wife

Mustafa Bashir was given a suspended sentence by a judge

The judge has been criticised by campaigners for questioning

the vulnerability of Bashir's victim as our correspondent,

Mustafa Bashir claimed he was a promising cricketer on the verge

In fact, he was an abusive husband who hit his wife with a bat

He was given an 18-month suspended sentence.

Judge Richard Mansell QC said he wasn't convinced that the victim

was particularly vulnerable and that she was plainly

an intelligent woman who managed to hold down a job

as a receptionist, had friends and went to university.

Those remarks and the sentence have attracted strong criticism.

We've got to now see if this can be reviewed.

I'm writing to the Attorney General, to the Justice Secretary.

In a case like this, when the sentence, but the comments,

are so wide of what society expects, the judge really has to question

himself about what kind of retraining he needs.

I've spoken to Mustafa Bashir's ex-wife - at her request,

the BBC isn't naming her - she told me that she's disappointed

with the judge's comments about her vulnerability,

and that she feels she's a strong and confident woman

Bashir told the court he'd lose a professional contract with

Leicestershire County Cricket Club if he was jailed, the club denies

The judge had taken his career into consideration

as well as following guidelines which cover the victim's

It's difficult for judges when seeking to determine

whether a particular victim is more vulnerable than other victims

and I think that's where perhaps the guidelines could do better.

This situation, sadly, isn't particularly unusual.

The Crown Prosecution Service is considering its options.

Mustafa Bashir could yet find himself back before the court

President Trump has signed a new executive order reversing

many of Barack Obama's efforts to limit global warming.

The order is meant to boost employment

lifting a moratorium on the development

President Trump has in the past called global warming a "hoax"

and has repeatedly promised to help the struggling US coal industry.

As our North America editor, Jon Sopel, reports.

The coal industry was beginning to look like an endangered species

in the US under Barack Obama, but if President Trump has his way,

coal will soon be king again, and today he signed a raft

of measures reversing the policies of his predecessor.

My administration is putting an end to the war on coal.

We're going to have clean coal, really clean coal.

With today's executive action, I am taking historic steps to lift

the restrictions on American energy, to reverse government

intrusion and to cancel job killing regulations.

The new measures will undo the clean power plan rules aimed

It will lift a moratorium on the sale of new coal leases

on Federal land and scrap a limit on greenhouse emissions for

No-one can accuse the President of not being true to his word.

So Obama's talking about all of this with the global warm -

We are going to put our coal miners back to work.

This is Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, a town that voted overwhelmingly

for Donald Trump last November, in part down to his pledge

to overturn Obama era policies on energy.

The colliery here shut down a year ago.

Today, there's growing confidence their industry

As of right now, mining is picking back up.

I do believe that mining is going to pick up and everybody's

Around this area, mining is picking back up.

But environmental campaigners are aghast and wonder where it

But environmental campaigners are aghast and wonder where it leaves

the Paris Climate Change Agreement that President

Obama committed the US to in December 2015.

73% of Americans believe that climate change is real

and that the government should act and lead on it.

If Mr Trump does not honour the Paris deal,

he will join a very small club that includes Syria, Nicaragua

But the President wants to remove regulations that get in the way

In essence, the President wants oil men to be able to drill

But the reason so many pits shut down wasn't

because of regulation it was because they had become

uneconomic as consumers moved to cheaper, cleaner forms of fuel

and it's hard to see how the signing of an executive order changes that.

Tributes have been paid to the South African

campaigner against apartheid, Ahmed Kathrada, who has

He was a friend and close associate of Nelson Mandela

and was imprisoned with him, spending more than a quarter

President Jacob Zuma has said he will be given a state funeral.

So tonight, in Downing Street, a letter has been signed

by Theresa May and tomorrow it will be delivered by

hand to the president of the European Council,

a letter that will lead to the most far-reaching changes in Britain's

relationship with its European neighbours in nearly half a century.

The circumstances in which we joined the common market, as it was called,

back in 1973, are barely recognisable today and the Brexit

process raises questions, not just about Britain's future,

but also about the future of the European Union.

For the founding six, the European project was not just

about trade or even prosperity, it was an act of national

redemption for they had suffered not just war,

but dictatorship, crushing military defeat and foreign occupation.

It had not seen foreign flags flying above its citadels.

It did not need a new Europe on which to rebuild

For the British, it was too early - five years after the end

of the Second World War - it was too early to conceive,

to accept this project of giving equality of power

Is Europe stronger with Britain a member?

And when it did, in 1973, it joined for trade and not much more.

For now the Empire, on whose trade British

prosperity had depended for centuries, was gone.

Mrs Thatcher, now thought of as the most eurosceptic

of Prime Ministers, took Britain deeper into Europe than any other

leader when she signed the Single European Act in 1986.

That created a single market - free, borderless trade

across the continent, Thatcherism on a European

But in the optimism of the age, the fall of the Berlin Wall

and the reunification of Germany, Europe was tricked by a misplaced

certainty in which the seeds of today's crisis were sown.

First, expansion to the east lifted half a continent out of communism,

but free movement created the sense of migration out of control

and it was this, more than anything, that tipped British sentiment

Second, the decision to press ahead with the single currency.

At the time, sceptics warned that only five or six nations really met

the strict membership criteria but, eventually, 15 were admitted.

So when the financial crisis crashed into Europe,

many in the south saw stagnation and despair.

Youth unemployment created a generation shut out of Europe's

It's little surprise that there's a rise in desire to go back

to the perceived certainties of national sovereignty.

The disintegration of Europe is already happening.

It's very hard to see Europe returning to those

You know - peace, democracy, social cohesion and prosperity,

but you need to find a way for these things to work in practice.

If it doesn't, we simply have to reflect what's going on.

Many on the continent have said it often and this evening it's

never been clearer - Britain is different.

Always the reluctant European, Britain returns now

to its old detachment from a European orbit

and turns its face again to an older preference for the wide open seas.

Tonight, Marine Le Pen tells us that Brexit will be difficult.

She thinks the EU will make divorce negotiations as painful as possible.

Here, on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.