03/05/2017 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at Ten, the Prime Minister launches her election campaign

with an outspoken attack on European politicians and officials.

Speaking in Downing Street after the rising Brexit

tensions of recent days, Theresa May accuses Brussels of not

Threats against Britain have been issued by European

All of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect

the result of the general election that will take place

The Prime Minister had visited the Queen to mark

the dissolution of Parliament, as political opponents accused

Mrs May of poisoning the political atmosphere for partisan reasons.

Let's calm down, be serious, be sensible and approach these very,

very important negotiations with the seriousness

It is a cold and calculated choice by Theresa May to try

and make our neighbours in Europe into our enemies, just so she can

And from Brussels another warning that the Brexit process will be

a steep and rocky path for both sides.

A student has been found guilty of planting a home-made bomb

Accusations of lying as the two candidates seeking the French

presidency debate ahead of Sunday's final round.

The director of the FBI defends his decision

to re-open the investigation into Hillary Clinton, weeks before

And the most prestigious award in the world of British art boasts

a rather more mature short list this year.

Coming up in Sportsday later in the hour on BBC News,

Juventus score what could prove to be some very decisive away goals

in their Champions League semifinal against Monaco.

The Prime Minister has opened her election campaign

an outspoken attack on European politicians and officials,

accusing them of trying to influence the outcome

Mrs May also claimed they were working against

Her comments follow days of rising tension with Brussels.

Opposition parties have accused the Prime Minister of poisoning

the atmosphere and of conducting herself in a way that's unworthy

Our political editor Laura Kuenssberg has more details.

What was on her mind, with that raise the eyebrows?

Not just the formalities at the palace of revving up

for an election - which she, remember, was not obliged to call.

But Theresa May seems determined to play the Brexit

Setting her face against Brussels, she wants you to believe

Whoever wins on the 8th of June will face one overriding task,

to get the best possible deal for this United Kingdom from Brexit.

And, in the last few days, we have seen just how tough these

Britain's negotiating position in Europe has been misrepresented

The European Commission's negotiating stance has hardened.

Threats against Britain have been issued by European

All of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect

the result of the general election which will take place

Yes, she did just accuse some in the EU of interfering in our election.

The events of the last few days have shown that whatever our wishes

and however reasonable the positions of Europe's other leaders,

there are some in Brussels who do not want these talks

to succeed, who do not want Britain to prosper.

This Brexit negotiation is central to everything.

If we do not get the negotiation right, if we let the bureaucrats

of Brussels rule over us, we will lose the chance

to build a fairer society, with real opportunity for all.

The last few days have seen the intensity of the jousting of

But, using all the trappings of Downing Street, Theresa May has

just upped the ante even further, even accusing some in Brussels

of trying to make trouble in the general election.

Just who could she have had in her sights?

The chief negotiator at the EU Commission?

Days after a tense Downing Street dinner, amongst suggestions the UK

would have to pay 100 billion euros as we leave EU.

Some have created the illusion that Brexit would have no material

impact on our lives, or that negotiations could be

More cryptically, less diplomatically, he said...

"Just like when hill walking, you have to learn the rules,

The Government didn't start the day with a subtle message.

The Tories, eager to make disputed claims about Labour's plans for tax.

Forget that, every question was about the possible

And rather than ramp up the row, those two had tried to tone it down.

Could I ask you both not simply to hide behind the fact

In this election, don't voters deserve to know how much

of their taxpayer's cash they may be asked to stump up?

Is that figure closer to zero, or 100 billion?

They want a good outcome from this negotiation.

They want the best possible outcome from the negotiation.

We do that in the negotiating room, not by negotiating

I'm not remotely surprised that people are manoeuvring for opening

That approach long gone by the afternoon - above all else,

And Brexit creates opportunities and problems for every party.

I voted leave, I'm proud to have voted leave.

I don't think Theresa May can expect to be taken seriously.

It is a cold and calculated choice by Theresa May

to try to make our neighbours in Europe into our enemies, just

It is a political decision by her, and it's not worthy

Theresa May has some formidable foes.

I think what we've seen today is her trying to make the EU

But she's playing a dangerous game here.

By poisoning the atmosphere of these negotiations,

she risks getting a bad deal, or no deal.

Her rivals wonder if she really means it.

I don't think anyone in Brussels really believes that Theresa May

is prepared to walk without signing a comprehensive deal.

This doesn't seem to have a strong scent...

But it's Labour that is vulnerable in a big way.

Theresa May is after their traditional support.

We will negotiate a Brexit that works for all,

We won't threaten Europe on the way into Brexit and, above all,

in this election campaign, we'll put forward a proposal

and a plan for Britain which is about dealing

Behind the gates, Theresa May was never going to be the kind

But even in the heat of an election campaign,

In a moment we'll speak to our Europe editor

Katya Adler in Brussels, but first let's go to

Westminster and our political editor Laura Kuenssberg.

Let's talk about the tone and the language deployed by Theresa May

today, and the thinking behind it. Well, it's not so long ago that the

Prime Minister repeated again and again there would be no running

commentary over Brexit, and even yesterday she was still sort of

trying to stand by the idea that somehow this spat was just idle

Brussels gossip. This afternoon, blasting out from one of the most

powerful microphones in the country, in front of the shiny black door at

the start of the election campaign, quite an extraordinary attack on her

opponents in the Brexit negotiations. The reasons for that,

I think, pretty clear. First of all, historically, British Prime Minister

at Prime Minister have enjoyed politically pointing the finger at

unnamed forces in Brussels across the Channel. The context here is

different. The Tories are, I think, genuinely quite cross behind the

scenes about how the last few days have unfolded, with the aggressive,

unnamed briefings. Of course, this is an election time. We are at a

crucial moment, not just in terms of the general election but local

elections right across the country, where ballot boxes will open

tomorrow morning. The Tories sense an opportunity here. Remember,

nearly 4 million voters chose Ukip at the last general election. They

think they can scoop up handfuls of those votes and also picked off

Labour voters, traditional Labour voters, many of whom chose out in

the referendum. A lot of this is about positioning and opportunity in

a general election. I think it is fair to say, in politics, by being

strong and talking tough, you can win friends and influence. But go

too far, sound excessive, bandy about strong accusations that cannot

be taken back, there is also a risk you could get left out in the cold.

Let's go straight to Brussels and put some of those points to Katya.

First, thoughts on what kind of impact this contribution by Theresa

May could have on Brexit talks? Well, there was Brexit talks have

not yet started, they are not going to start for several weeks. In a

way, it does not impact immediately, there are no big talks or decisions

that need to be made tomorrow. But we can see already how nasty things

can get, extremely quickly. There were no real sense of outrage in

Brussels at the comments, at a EU leadership level, they are being

seen as comments by a Prime Minister in an election campaign. They don't

expect her to talk down a wall with Brussels if she thinks she can score

political points like that. But the atmosphere is souring. What is your

sense of what is really at stake? Are we talking about a different

culture in terms of politics, the way people do business, or something

more fundamental? I think you are seeing a huge clash of political

cultures. On the one hand, there is the cut and thrust of Westminster

politics, where you live and die by the verbal sword, where you take

your opponent by the scruff of the neck and can destroy them. In

mainland Europe, it is a pretty for an idea. There is lots of coalition

building, it is about consensual politics. When it comes to

relations, the mood music is important. At the moment, EU backs

up. You can see how it has changed so fast, almost a year ago, there

was dismay here, people were upset and there was a period of denial.

Then there was a lot of talk about trying to keep the UK ever so close.

Tonight, it is more about the UK, already a third party, at arms

length, a difficult customer. But they will deal with that difficult

customer. Angela Merkel, many years as a politician, she knows that a EU

and UK deal is important for both sides. Do business, they will. As I

say, the mood is bad and we can expect trouble again ahead. Thanks

again. Katya Adler and Laura, thanks to you in Westminster.

Labour has said it will suspend the planned closure of some hospital

services in England if it wins power next month and begin an immediate

review of the proposals, which would see some Accident

Emergency departments and maternity units being downgraded or closed.

But the Conservatives claim the NHS modernisation programme has been

Our health editor, Hugh Pym, has more details.

Protests against NHS closures are nothing new,

but in some communities, like Huddersfield, concerns

This protest last autumn was in reaction to plans to remove

Campaigners say people will suffer because of longer journey times.

Patients are going to be dispersed all around the north

Those will involve longer trips and the longer the trip,

the more danger there is inherent in the situation.

Labour's John Ashworth, at a meeting of activists

from Huddersfield and around West Yorkshire, said

he wanted to halt closures, specifically by stalling NHS reform

Let's just have a moratorium on them and let's just step back

When we review them, let's involve clinicians, but let's

Let's involve the public because so far they have been cut

out of the decisions, and we don't think that's fair.

The NHS reform documents are known as sustainability and transformation

plans and have been published in 44 areas across England.

Some involve hospital bed cuts and service reductions,

with funds reinvested in community care.

The south-west London plan involves the possible reduction of five

Local campaigners say this one, St Helier, faces closure.

But the plan's authors say that resources will be shifted into local

area teams involving GPs, social care staff and nurses,

providing care closer to people's homes.

For the Conservatives, Jeremy Hunt said, in a written statement,

that Labour's plan was "nonsensical" as the party had previously backed

the reforms which were, he claimed, supported by leading doctors.

The Liberal Democrats said the real issue was lack of investment.

Fundamentally, if there's not enough money in the system,

however you rejig those services, you're never going to be able

to provide the quality of care that is needed.

That's why as a party, the Liberal Democrats,

we are calling for significant investment to be made in the NHS.

NHS leaders believe that the plans, getting more people treated

away from hospitals, are essential in response

to rising patient demand and stretched resources.

Whoever's in Government can expect more intense political

A 20-year-old student has been found guilty of planting a home-made bomb

Damon Smith, who has Asperger's syndrome,

was caught on CCTV last October leaving a bag filled

with explosives in one of the carriage.

The train was evacuated minutes before he had set

Our home affairs correspondent, June Kelly, has the story.

Alone on a London Underground platform, Damon Smith is caught

on CCTV priming his device to explode on the Tube.

It's inside a rucksack and he's timed it to go

Surrounded by passengers, he feigns interest in his book.

Further down the line he gets off, but he's abandoned the rucksack

in the carriage and left the device, packed with ball-bearings,

The rucksack was eventually spotted, North Greenwich

Although parts of the bomb were viable, it failed to explode.

If it had detonated, it certainly would have endangered life.

Without a doubt, it would have caused mass casualties and certainly

would have caused substantial damage to the Underground system.

He had an unhealthy interest in firearms and violence,

particularly in mass shootings in America, and although he was in

possession of some Isis material, we cannot prove his motivation

This was Damon Smith in a police interview.

He has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism.

When I was on the Tube, I realised it was going to Stratford.

And I thought, it'd be a good time to leave my bag for a prank.

A former friend witnessed his developing interest

He was showing me videos of Isis grabbing a knife and cutting off

He was, like, "Don't this look sort of fun", and all that.

I was like, "No, it doesn't, it look as bit wrong, actually."

Hello, everyone, I'm going to shoot my gun.

He had posted this on the internet, this pistol fired blank rounds.

He also showed off his knife and he posed on Facebook

Damon Smith used an Al-Qaeda bomb-making manual to help him

construct his device, but he denied he held

He will be sentenced later this month.

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

Police in Dorset have arrested four people in connection with the murder

He was shot during a burglary at his home in the early

Sainsbury's says that profits have fallen by more

as it warns of a challenging trading market and unpredictability in the

The supermarket says it's trying to avoid passing on the increases

Facebook is taking on another 3,000 staff to monitor inappropriate

The company has been criticised for failing to act quickly enough

to remove violent broadcasts on its live streaming service,

including some images of murders and suicides.

It is ten years to the day since three-year-old

Madeleine McCann went missing from a holiday apartment in the

Her disappearance sparked a massive police search

and worldwide attention, but a decade later,

despite extensive global inquiries, the investigation remains open.

Ten years, ten years after everything changed for them.

Tonight, Gerry and Kate McCann attended their church,

in Leicestershire, to remember their first child, Madeleine.

It's a family of four instead of five and it should

1,000 miles away another service tonight, in the Portuguese resort

of Praia da Luz where the toddler disappeared during a family holiday.

It's unbelievable that there's been nothing.

This comes into my mind every day, every single day.

Jenny Murat is still haunted by what happened, she only lives

a few yards from the block where Madeleine and her

Back then she set up a stall, appealing for information,

but it was something she saw herself that's now reported

to be a significant part of this investigation.

She remembers driving past the McCann's apartment on the night

Madeleine vanished and seeing a young woman acting

I noticed her there and she kind of looked as if she was

But I do remember she was wearing a plum coloured top.

Jenny Morut says she informed the police at the time,

but this is the first time she's talked about it publicly.

She also told me she saw a brown car that night,

speeding towards the McCann's apartment, going the wrong way

One of the small cars, like the rental cars you have.

The normal every day, sort of, rental cars.

I saw the driver, I was beside the driver.

Both of us looked at each other and he had a very

Ten years of publicity have produced ten years of theories,

It's had a huge impact on my personality and the way I was...

Jenny Morut's son, Robert, was the first person

to be made an arguido, or named suspect, in the case.

A decade on, his name may have been cleared,

I'd like to know the truth, not theories.

I just want to know why that was the case.

It didn't only lead to me being destroyed, it led to my whole

family being destroyed and affected by those allegations.

You're adamant, you were not there that night?

This resort is now synonymous with what happened to Madeleine

and many here are fed up with all the attention.

Ten years and, like the McCann family, this community

At exactly this time ten years ago the McCann's were outside their

apartment, screaming in the street, frantically searching for help.

Since that night, really, we don't know much more. We don't know,

despite everything that's been written and said, all the money

spent on investigations. That's pras the most extraordinary part of this

whole story, we don't know how Madeleine left here, who she was

with. The only thing we know for certain is that she's still missing.

Huw. Jon Kay there with the latest from Praia da Luz.

The two candidates hoping to be President of France

are going head-to-head in the final television debate of the election.

The latest polls suggest the centrist Emmanuel Macron is well

ahead of his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen, but his lead has

Both are competing to win over large numbers of apprently undecided

and reluctant voters ahead of the final round on Sunday.

Our correspondent, James Reynolds, has been watching the exchanges.

Emmanuel Macron, the frontrunner, won't want to slip up.

He's standing as a pro-EU, pro-immigration centrist and he's

protecting a clear lead in the polls.

Marine Le Pen, from the from the Front National,

I asked her what she wanted from the debate?

TRANSLATION: What do I expect from the debate?

Some clarification from Mr Macron, he's still being very vague.

And tonight, on French TV, the two candidates faced one another

TRANSLATION: Mr Macron is the candidate of savage

globalisation, uberisation, economic uncertainty,

social brutality, of every man for himself.

TRANSLATION: You have shown you're not the candidate

The question is - do the people want your defeatist attitude?

You say globalisation is too hard for us, so is Europe.

Let's shut our borders, leave the euro because

"I treat the French like adults," Mr Macron told his opponent.

TRANSLATION: The safety of our people, the fight

against terror and Islamist extremism, you don't want to take

Against terrorism, we have to close our borders straightaway,

immediately, and that's what I'll do the moment I take power.

TRANSLATION: Closing borders achieves nothing.

There are many countries outside the Schengen area that have been hit

as hard as this by terrorist attacks, and since 2015

we have put back border controls to fight terrorism.

In this debate, the French people have heard two

Two and a bit hours in they are still talking. Emmanuel Macron

accuses his opponent of playing games with people's anger. She

accuses him of making a mess of the country. Tough words from both, but

no surprises. That may end up helping the frontrunner. There are

now just two full days of campaigning left before Sunday's run

off vote. Huw. James Reynolds, our correspondent there.

The director of the FBI, James Comey, says he has no

regrets about his decision to re-open his investigation

into Hillary Clinton's emails just before the presidential

Mr Comey said be felt "mildly nauseous" at the thought

that he might have influenced the result, but insisted he would

He was giving evidence to a Senate committee,

and our North America editor, Jon Sopel, was watching.

History is likely to judge that this law enforcement officer played

a decisive role in determining the outcome of the 2016

Just days before polling, James Comey revealed the FBI had

reopened its inquiry into Hillary Clinton's emails from

Speak would be really bad, there's an election in 11 days.

Concealing, in my view, would be catastrophic,

not just to the FBI, but well beyond.

And honestly, as between really bad and catastrophic,

I said to my team - we've got to walk into

So how does he feel now about the impact his

It makes me mildly nauseous to think that we might have had some

But, honestly, it wouldn't change the decision.

What's not in doubt is that his letter, 11 days

before America voted, convulsed the campaign.

Its significance can't be over-stated.

This was Donald Trump, the day the news broke.

The investigation is the biggest political scandal since Watergate

and it's everybody's hope that justice, at last, can be delivered.

And Hillary Clinton has now made clear she believes that James Comey

I was on the way to winning until a combination of Jim Comey's

letter, on October 28th, and Russian WikiLeaks raised doubts

in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me,

But Donald Trump, on Twitter, attacked Hillary Clinton

and seemingly has a swipe at James Comey, too.

The question is - why did the FBI make public the email investigation

and not the parallel inquiry into the Trump campaign's

The answer seems to be that Congress had been told the email

investigation was complete and therefore reopening it needed

It's an explanation that baffles many Democrats.

The general election is five weeks away, but tomorrow voters will be

taking part in local and mayoral elections in England,

It's a major exercise in local democracy with councils

supplying essential services to millions of people.

Our political correspondent, Vicki Young, is here to explain

the range of contests taking place tomorrow.

It's very rare for local elections to be held in the middle

of a general election campaign and all the parties will be

hoping for signs that they're making progress.

Almost 5,000 seats are up for grabs, but none in Northern Ireland.

In Scotland, these elections involve all 32 councils

Back then the SNP won the most seats, but Labour wasn't far behind.

A key battleground this time will be Glasgow City Council,

where Labour's held overall control since 1980.

In Wales, all 22 councils are being elected.

Labour performed strongly five years ago and it's

defending almost 600 seats, far more than any other party.

Plaid Cymru and the Tories are hoping for gains and Ukip

could build on its good showing in the Welsh Assembly elections.

In England, there are 34 elections, most of them for County Councils,

and this is a traditional area of strength for the Conservatives,

who have twice as many seats as Labour.

The Liberal Democrats are hoping to claw back some of the ground

they've lost over the past few years and Labour's strength will be

tested in the councils they control in Derbyshire,

So with a general election next month, how much should we read

It will give an indication of whether the Conservatives are a long

way ahead in the opinion polls, whether they are advancing in

Scotland. Are Labour really in trouble across the length and

breadth of Great Britain? We shouldn't assume that what happens

on Thursday will necessarily be replicated exactly in the general

election ballot boxes. Six areas of England

will elect new Metro Mayors - Greater Manchester, Liverpool,

the West Midlands, Tees Valley, the West of England

and Cambridge and Peterborough. They'll mostly be responsible

for economic development. Doncaster and North Tyneside

are also voting for Local elections won't necessarily

tell us much about how people might vote in a national contest,

but as the results come in on Friday, party leaders

will seize on anything that suggests they have momentum

heading into the general Thank you very much, again. Looking

forward to the local elections tomorrow.

It's the most prominent arts prize in Britain and for years it's been

the preserve of young British artists.

But this year, for the first time since 1991, the Turner Prize has

scrapped the age limit and two artists over 50 have made

Our arts correspondent, David Sillito, has been

It's been a strange day for Lubaina Himid.

She's painted for more than 35 years and today, at the age of 62,

Her paintings bring black lives and faces to often very

white art galleries, and this is perhaps her signature

work, 100 life-size portraits made when...

Did you think that national recognition

Well, I hadn't thought about the Turner Prize,

in terms, I don't know, nominations or shortlisting

Born in Zanzibar, she's lived and taught here, in Preston,

And she's not alone, the other nominees,

Hurvin Anderson, Andrea Buttner and Rosalind Nashashibi

This jury and the Turner Prize has perhaps looked back at certain

artists that were unfairly overlooked and decided to open it up

to those that maybe deserve a second chance or that flourish

And it's certainly been a year of flourishing for Lubaina

I'm making a space where other black audiences can feel at home,

where they can look at these cutouts and think - "Oh, that looks a bit

like my auntie" or "Oh, that's kind of got the demeanour

It's like being home, it's like being in amongst people you know.

It's that making a space in an art gallery where you're not

Newsnight is coming up on BBC Two, here's Evan.

Ramping up the rhetoric, tension with the neighbours.

Britain is in danger of finding the rest of Europe

We'll be getting perspectives from the UK and the EU,

asking who is provoking whom and how we're going to negotiate