:00:09. > :00:14.Labour's election manifesto is formally approved
:00:15. > :00:16.by the party leadership and will be published within days.
:00:17. > :00:19.After a four-hour meeting, Jeremy Corbyn said the programme had
:00:20. > :00:22.been unanimously agreed, carefully costed and would be "very popular".
:00:23. > :00:24.The likely offer to voters includes nationalising
:00:25. > :00:27.the entire rail network and abolishing university
:00:28. > :00:32.An offer that will transform the lives of many people
:00:33. > :00:34.in our society and ensure that we have a Government
:00:35. > :00:38.in Britain, on June 8th, that will work for the many,
:00:39. > :00:46.But earlier Mr Corbyn had failed to attend
:00:47. > :00:49.Labour's big poster launch, amid confusion over a leaked version
:00:50. > :00:54.We'll be looking at some of Labour's policies in more detail and we'll be
:00:55. > :01:05.Also tonight: A squeeze on consumer spending in prospect,
:01:06. > :01:07.and the Bank of England downgrades its forecast
:01:08. > :01:12.Official figures suggest waiting times for some NHS services
:01:13. > :01:14.in England are the worst in five years.
:01:15. > :01:16.He's a showboat, he's a grandstander.
:01:17. > :01:18.President Trump lays into his former FBI director and says he always
:01:19. > :01:23.And Manchester United keep their Champions' League dream alive,
:01:24. > :01:36.Andy Murray is knocked out of the Madrid Open in the last 16 by Borna
:01:37. > :01:39.Coric, so he's failed to reach the quarter-finals in two of his last
:01:40. > :02:02.Labour's election manifesto has been formally approved
:02:03. > :02:05.by the party leadership and will be published next week.
:02:06. > :02:07.Jeremy Corbyn said the policies would be fully costed
:02:08. > :02:11.and would prove to be "very popular" with voters.
:02:12. > :02:15.Some of the main parts of the manifesto had already
:02:16. > :02:18.found their way into the public domain, after a version of
:02:19. > :02:23.It included proposals to re-nationalise the railways
:02:24. > :02:25.and to scrap university tuition fees in England.
:02:26. > :02:31.Our political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, has more
:02:32. > :02:36.They wondered what exactly was going on, and you might too.
:02:37. > :02:40.This was meant to be the grand unveiling of a Labour poster,
:02:41. > :02:42.albeit on a waste ground in south London.
:02:43. > :02:45.But the party leader was nowhere to be seen.
:02:46. > :02:52.Jeremy Corbyn should have been selling the slogan.
:02:53. > :02:58.But after the astonishing leak of a draft of Labour's
:02:59. > :03:05.We were told he had other things to do.
:03:06. > :03:08.Mr Lavery, Mr Gwynne, where's Mr Corbyn?
:03:09. > :03:15.He was meant to be here, but things happened and Mr Corbyn is...
:03:16. > :03:20.Do you know who leaked your manifesto, Mr McDonnell?
:03:21. > :03:26.Mr Corbyn's closest ally was promising great things.
:03:27. > :03:28.This is an extremely modern, progressive set of proposals.
:03:29. > :03:30.It is looking to the long term future and most people
:03:31. > :03:32.are extremely excited at what they have seen.
:03:33. > :03:34.The 45-page draft we have seen spells out plans
:03:35. > :03:39.to nationalise the railways, Royal Mail and parts
:03:40. > :03:43.of the energy industry, to abolish tuition fees in England,
:03:44. > :03:45.to restore some welfare benefits and scrap the bedroom tax
:03:46. > :03:49.and to provide ?8 billion for social care.
:03:50. > :03:52.There are allegations that your staff leaked the manifesto...
:03:53. > :03:55.In a frenzy over who told the world...
:03:56. > :03:57.REPORTER: Are you responsible for the leak?
:03:58. > :04:07.Labour shadow ministers, officials and union bigwigs were due
:04:08. > :04:12.We are here today to decide the final version and I'm sure it
:04:13. > :04:13.will be an exciting programe that will attract as many voters
:04:14. > :04:19.I am absolutely certain that ordinary Labour voters want
:04:20. > :04:22.an increase in the minimum wage, the abolition of zero hour
:04:23. > :04:24.contracts, agency workers dealt with, investment...
:04:25. > :04:33.Eventually, the leader sped in to "dot the i's
:04:34. > :04:37.Inside, Labour's top brass discussed tax rises
:04:38. > :04:42.for the very wealthiest and big business, a ban
:04:43. > :04:43.on fracking, ending arms sales to Saudi Arabia,
:04:44. > :04:50.And, after four hours, it was eventually agreed,
:04:51. > :04:53.a plan described as the biggest intervention in the state
:04:54. > :05:05."I'm naturally to the centre," he says.
:05:06. > :05:07.But for how Labour will pay for his grand plans,
:05:08. > :05:12.We have just concluded our joint meeting of the Shadow Cabinet
:05:13. > :05:14.and the National Executive, and we have discussed our manifesto
:05:15. > :05:22.Our manifesto will be an offer, and we believe the policies
:05:23. > :05:25.in it are very popular, an offer that will transform the
:05:26. > :05:30.The details will be set out to you, including the costings of all
:05:31. > :05:41.But the national manifesto, this seeming chaos, for some
:05:42. > :05:44.of his candidates makes not much difference.
:05:45. > :05:52.The Tories are 20 points ahead in the polls.
:05:53. > :05:53.It is the Tory manifesto people need to be focussing on and seeing
:05:54. > :05:59.We Labour MPs are trying to save as many good
:06:00. > :06:01.Labour MPs as possible so we have a semblance
:06:02. > :06:08.Manifesto timing slip-ups aside, this is less radical
:06:09. > :06:11.than Jeremy Corbyn and his core supporters might have wished.
:06:12. > :06:16.The task now to persuade voters of its merits.
:06:17. > :06:19.Ultimately, what matters is not the clamour over the leak,
:06:20. > :06:20.but what YOU make of what Labour has to offer.
:06:21. > :06:26.Jeremy Corbyn's hope is that the more people
:06:27. > :06:29.understand him, the more they will like.
:06:30. > :06:31.His internal rivals in the Labour Party fear
:06:32. > :06:33.the opposite is true, and it's already been
:06:34. > :06:38.Laura Kuenssberg, BBC News, Westminster.
:06:39. > :06:41.One of the policies that Labour believes will appeal to a broad
:06:42. > :06:42.section of the public is the plan to renationalise
:06:43. > :06:47.In the draft manifesto document, the party talks of making
:06:48. > :06:49.a publicly-owned rail system "the backbone" of its
:06:50. > :06:55.It would be a gradual process of taking over commercial
:06:56. > :07:00.Labour is also proposing to freeze rail fares.
:07:01. > :07:02.Our transport correspondent, Richard Westcott, has been looking
:07:03. > :07:06.at Labour's rail plan and how it might work.
:07:07. > :07:12.Britain's railways are bitty and complex.
:07:13. > :07:14.Most of the tracks, signals and stations
:07:15. > :07:19.It's effectively a nationalised company, spending public money.
:07:20. > :07:21.The trains are run by a mixture of private companies
:07:22. > :07:24.and foreign state railways, including France, Germany,
:07:25. > :07:31.At the moment, different companies can bid to run different rail
:07:32. > :07:33.services for a limited number of years, it's called a franchise.
:07:34. > :07:36.What Labour seems to be suggesting is that, as each of those
:07:37. > :07:39.franchises runs out, rather than having a new bidding
:07:40. > :07:44.process, the Government will take over those services instead.
:07:45. > :07:52.The first one, South West Trains, comes up for renewal in August.
:07:53. > :07:57.Overall, 11 franchises, including famous names
:07:58. > :07:59.like Great Western Railways, could be taken into public ownership
:08:00. > :08:05.But some contracts don't finish until well into the 2020s
:08:06. > :08:08.and the Caledonian Sleeper service won't be renewed until 2030.
:08:09. > :08:16.Opinion polls suggest nationalisation is popular.
:08:17. > :08:20.I'm for nationalisation becuase I think it'll make it cheaper
:08:21. > :08:27.I think it's been proven in the past that nationalised rail services
:08:28. > :08:30.don't meet the standards of customer expectations and they've had safety
:08:31. > :08:40.The old publicly-owned British Rail had a mixed reputation,
:08:41. > :08:43.so why do campaigners think nationalising the trains
:08:44. > :08:48.We'd be able to reduce fares and improve services.
:08:49. > :08:50.We could add carriages, we could reopen lines.
:08:51. > :08:55.In 2009, East Coast Services were taken over by the Government
:08:56. > :08:59.for a few years because a private company made a mess
:09:00. > :09:06.Labour's often hailed it as proof that nationalising a line can
:09:07. > :09:08.improve the service, but the former boss of that
:09:09. > :09:14.It was a success, yes, but I would say that was despite
:09:15. > :09:17.being in the public sector rather than because of it.
:09:18. > :09:22.It was quite hard to do it, but we ran it as if it was
:09:23. > :09:27.We returned over ?1 billion in profit to the Treasury
:09:28. > :09:31.during the time that we were running it, but the new franchisee that
:09:32. > :09:34.replaced us has promised far more money over a longer period of time,
:09:35. > :09:37.with new trains to introduce new services.
:09:38. > :09:39.A slow take over of passenger services is the cheapest option
:09:40. > :09:43.But if Labour wants to buy back the privately-owned trains,
:09:44. > :09:52.One of the other major elements of Labour's draft manifesto
:09:53. > :09:54.is education and the pledge to abolish university
:09:55. > :10:00.They were first introduced by the Labour government
:10:01. > :10:03.in 1998 but in 2012, under the Conservative-Lib Dem
:10:04. > :10:06.coalition, they were increased to ?9,000 a year.
:10:07. > :10:08.Our education editor, Branwen Jeffreys, reports
:10:09. > :10:11.on the likely impact of scrapping tuition fees and how much
:10:12. > :10:18.Universities like Nottingham Trent are part of a revolution.
:10:19. > :10:21.Tuition fees have paid for many more places,
:10:22. > :10:24.but it's students who face 30 years of paying back loans,
:10:25. > :10:29.so do they welcome the idea of scrapping fees?
:10:30. > :10:33.I think it'd be a good thing, but how are they going to pay for it?
:10:34. > :10:36.Getting rid of them doesn't really make a difference.
:10:37. > :10:38.It's more the living costs that would probably sway people
:10:39. > :10:46.Well I think, obviously, that's brilliant if they actually do
:10:47. > :10:48.it for everyone who's going into education.
:10:49. > :10:50.But obviously for me, I'm going to graduate
:10:51. > :10:54.A quarter of students here are from England's poorest
:10:55. > :10:57.families, managing on less than ?15,000 a year.
:10:58. > :10:59.So does it matter who pays for their courses?
:11:00. > :11:02.From a university point of view, we want enough money to provide
:11:03. > :11:05.Whether that comes from Government grants or student loans is a matter
:11:06. > :11:10.I think it's great that this debate is now part of
:11:11. > :11:15.Each time tuition fees go up, applications initially drop,
:11:16. > :11:21.but in the long term it hasn't put young people off.
:11:22. > :11:27.In 2007, when fees were ?3,000, 305,000 students accepted a place.
:11:28. > :11:33.By 2016, when fees were ?9,000, 394,000 signed up.
:11:34. > :11:36.It would cost around ?7.5 billion to replace loans
:11:37. > :11:43.The reason it isn't more is taxpayers are still
:11:44. > :11:50.The majority of students will never fully repay their loans.
:11:51. > :11:55.Tuition fee increases have provoked protest.
:11:56. > :11:59.The outrage overflowed when they tripled under the Coalition.
:12:00. > :12:01.Tuition fees have become a symbol of fairness between the generations.
:12:02. > :12:05.Students look at older people and see they got a free
:12:06. > :12:08.university education, cheaper housing, better pensions.
:12:09. > :12:13.They ask why they're not getting the same deal.
:12:14. > :12:16.Scotland is the only part of the UK with no tuition fees.
:12:17. > :12:19.The number of university places is limited.
:12:20. > :12:22.Wealthier students are more likely to get places,
:12:23. > :12:28.Food for thought in the tuition fee debate.
:12:29. > :12:36.Labour says its programme is "modern and progressive",
:12:37. > :12:39.not a return to the past, as some critics have alleged
:12:40. > :12:42.and that voters will respond positively in the coming weeks
:12:43. > :12:47.Our deputy political editor, John Pienaar, has been to York,
:12:48. > :12:49.a Labour seat being targeted by the Conservatives,
:12:50. > :12:55.to see what voters are saying there.
:12:56. > :13:00.True believers, spreading the word of socialism,
:13:01. > :13:02.in places like York, with it's 7,000 Labour majority, the
:13:03. > :13:13.So much of Labour's programme - divisive - could cause potential
:13:14. > :13:18.Labour, they don't want to put a clear limit on
:13:19. > :13:26.Are you happy with that, or are you unhappy?
:13:27. > :13:32.They are just coming to use the NHS for free.
:13:33. > :13:34.They get housing funding for free, benefits for
:13:35. > :13:41.I agree with that but if they are coming over to
:13:42. > :13:43.get and job and pay their way, that's fine.
:13:44. > :13:45.And for so many it's about the economy, isn't it always,
:13:46. > :13:47.more taxes if you can easily afford it, or would that
:13:48. > :13:53.Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party are
:13:54. > :13:55.saying get more tax out of people who earn the most, what due think?
:13:56. > :14:00.I think if you go to university, do a Masters, work hard, you should
:14:01. > :14:04.If you've got more money, why not pay a bit more
:14:05. > :14:09.Because you have done essential things to earn that.
:14:10. > :14:13.If I was earning that much, I'd want to
:14:14. > :14:18.Like, I don't need that much money in my life.
:14:19. > :14:20.As for returning more power to the unions...
:14:21. > :14:24.I remember going to work and literally working in candle
:14:25. > :14:30.light, to go home just in time for everything to go there as well.
:14:31. > :14:32.Do you think this will be a step down
:14:33. > :14:36.I think it will because again you are going back to the few
:14:37. > :14:43.We love our railways, when they're running
:14:44. > :14:49.Why not renationalise Royal Mail too.
:14:50. > :14:51.Well, maybe going back to a state-owned rail service
:14:52. > :14:54.is rather sentimental, even an eccentric idea?
:14:55. > :14:56.Well, the state did a reasonable job in the past but
:14:57. > :14:58.previously the private corporations have done perhaps an even better
:14:59. > :15:02.I think the guys who are more motivated to do the job should be
:15:03. > :15:08.Why do you think a lot of people are happy with the
:15:09. > :15:19.But in a pick-and-mix of Labour policies,
:15:20. > :15:24.The investment hasn't gone in over the years, so if the private
:15:25. > :15:26.sector can't do it then it's left to the public sector.
:15:27. > :15:28.I for one, I'd be fine with that, no problem.
:15:29. > :15:37.If this election was a shopping trip,
:15:38. > :15:39.there's a lot of Labour policy people seem to fancy.
:15:40. > :15:41.Nationalise the railways, tax the rich but the
:15:42. > :15:43.hardest currency on approximately day is public trust and Jeremy
:15:44. > :15:46.Corbyn needs to do better in that marketplace than he's done in the
:15:47. > :15:49.past, if Labour ideas are to count for much on June 8th.
:15:50. > :15:51.John Pienaar is back at Westminster tonight.
:15:52. > :15:56.We have heard Mr Corbyn say this has been carefully costed. Set out in
:15:57. > :15:58.the manifesto. What do you make of the political challenges? You have
:15:59. > :16:01.always seen, idea by idea, there is a lot in this plan which is
:16:02. > :16:02.potentially popular, which are people and corporations pay more in
:16:03. > :16:05.tax. Hard-pressed schools and hospitals getting more money getting
:16:06. > :16:08.more money after seven long years of austerity. Never imagine these ideas
:16:09. > :16:11.are there simply because they may be vote catchers. Jeremy Corbyn
:16:12. > :16:19.believes deeply that society is unfair. That markets have failed
:16:20. > :16:24.that the deck has been stacked by and for the house and they have not.
:16:25. > :16:27.His belief is socialism which is unshakeable and he will carry on
:16:28. > :16:33.believing whatever happens in this election. The challenge is to
:16:34. > :16:35.convince the unconvince these plans are practicable and affordable.
:16:36. > :16:40.There is still more we want to see in that. How much will higher
:16:41. > :16:46.earners have it pay in tax. What about wealth and property tax. ?
:16:47. > :16:50.What more is there to learn about that? There are deeper plans, could
:16:51. > :16:53.this plan shake sterling, share prices, interest rates and
:16:54. > :16:57.ultimately livelihoods and jobs? In the end, Huw, it comes to faith,
:16:58. > :17:02.which Jeremy Corbyn has in abundance and in public trust, which as of now
:17:03. > :17:08.he pleasant lilacs and needs to build up, if this whole plan is to
:17:09. > :17:14.become a radical plan for Government and in the simply end up as a sort
:17:15. > :17:16.of curiosity left over as a failed political experiment on June 8th.
:17:17. > :17:20.Thank you very much. A reminder, you can keep up to date
:17:21. > :17:21.with all the developments throughout the campaign and live
:17:22. > :17:24.events on the BBC news And if you're on the move
:17:25. > :17:29.you can follow the election The Bank of England has warned
:17:30. > :17:40.of a squeeze on household incomes this year, as the cost of living
:17:41. > :17:42.rises faster than wages. The Bank's governor, Mark Carney,
:17:43. > :17:45.said he expected only moderate Looking further ahead,
:17:46. > :17:59.he said better prospects depended on the Government securing
:18:00. > :18:01.a "smooth" exit from Our economics editor, Kamal Ahmed,
:18:02. > :18:08.is here with more details. Today's report actually can be
:18:09. > :18:12.summed up in about seven words. Global growth is looking better,
:18:13. > :18:17.and the Bank says its working on the asumption that EU deal
:18:18. > :18:19.will work out. But, the governor started with
:18:20. > :18:22.a warning about where we are now. Well, this is going to be a more
:18:23. > :18:25.challenging time for British households over the course
:18:26. > :18:28.of this year. Real income growth, to use our
:18:29. > :18:30.terminology, will be negative. To use theirs, wages
:18:31. > :18:33.won't keep up with prices. Consumers are split
:18:34. > :18:36.between the worried and those that No matter what you go in to buy
:18:37. > :18:41.nowadays, even in the shops or even for the animals,
:18:42. > :18:44.no matter what, everything I do think it's going to get worse
:18:45. > :18:51.when Brexit hits hard. So, I would say, I'm not
:18:52. > :18:55.really looking forward We're seeing stability in the UK
:18:56. > :19:03.and that's a positive thing. I think the economy is actually
:19:04. > :19:09.on the turn, on the way up. I think you've got no
:19:10. > :19:11.choice but to, kind of, look where your money is going,
:19:12. > :19:14.in terms of, like, Holiday prices, obviously,
:19:15. > :19:18.going up as well. It's those rising prices
:19:19. > :19:20.the Bank is focussing on, saying it expected inflation to rise
:19:21. > :19:24.to 2.8% by the end of the year. That is in sharp contrast
:19:25. > :19:28.with the rise in earnings, Over the next two years more
:19:29. > :19:34.positive news, with a growth upgrade The Bank also insists wage
:19:35. > :19:40.growth will bounce back. Governor, you've spoken about this
:19:41. > :19:43.sharp squeeze on living standards this year,
:19:44. > :19:50.why are you so confident that that will come to an end and that wage
:19:51. > :19:51.growth will hit 3.75%, We're conditioning on a smooth
:19:52. > :19:57.process, smooth Brexit process, and to the extent
:19:58. > :19:59.to which uncertainty over that process is temporarily weighing
:20:00. > :20:11.on wages, that should dissipate. If the economy does strengthen,
:20:12. > :20:17.the Bank said rates might go up more But, as Mr Carney made clear,
:20:18. > :20:31.that all depends on achieving that Huw. Kamal, thanks very much again.
:20:32. > :20:35.Kamal Ahmed there, our economics Editor.
:20:36. > :20:37.Hospital waiting times in England are at the worst
:20:38. > :20:39.level for five years, according to a study
:20:40. > :20:42.The Health Foundation, a charity which conducts specialist
:20:43. > :20:49.research into health policy, said key targets were being missed,
:20:50. > :20:52.and there were longer waits for Accident Emergency,
:20:53. > :20:53.cancer treatment and routine operations.
:20:54. > :20:55.Our health editor, Hugh Pym, has been examining the findings.
:20:56. > :20:57.Jim has prostate cancer, he faced long delays
:20:58. > :21:03.between seeing his GP, going for tests and then
:21:04. > :21:10.He's one of a growing number of patients in England facing long
:21:11. > :21:16.It affected my personal life, my work life because you're waiting
:21:17. > :21:18.around and it becomes more and more clear that you've got
:21:19. > :21:22.So I went for so long without any treatment at all.
:21:23. > :21:34.At least 85% of patients should start cancer treatment within 62
:21:35. > :21:36.days of being referred, but that target hasn't been met
:21:37. > :21:40.In a civilised country, the NHS has to do better
:21:41. > :21:43.People shouldn't be waiting more than 62 days for treatment,
:21:44. > :21:47.According to the Health Foundation think-tank, waiting times for key
:21:48. > :21:49.services in England were the worst in five years.
:21:50. > :21:52.26,000 patients had to wait longer than the two month target
:21:53. > :21:58.That compares with 14,300 in 2011-12.
:21:59. > :22:01.The number waiting more than the four-hour target
:22:02. > :22:06.for being treated or assessed in A was 2.5 million, a sharp increase
:22:07. > :22:10.on the 725,000 with long waits five years before.
:22:11. > :22:13.Against a backdrop of rising patient numbers and stretched resources,
:22:14. > :22:16.it's getting harder for the NHS in England to hit its key
:22:17. > :22:19.performance targets, which are supposed to provide
:22:20. > :22:22.reassurance of high quality care for patients.
:22:23. > :22:24.More and more people are needing to use the NHS.
:22:25. > :22:26.That's not new and it's not unexpected.
:22:27. > :22:29.As a population we're getting older, there are more of us and our health
:22:30. > :22:37.But demand on the NHS has historically risen by around
:22:38. > :22:39.4% per year whereas, from 2009-10, funding has only risen
:22:40. > :22:47.NHS England said the March figures were better than proceeding months,
:22:48. > :22:49.but over recent years there's been a steady decline.
:22:50. > :22:51.Whoever forms the next Government will have to face up to that.
:22:52. > :22:58.Three women, including a mother and daughter,
:22:59. > :22:59.have appeared in court in London charged with terrorism offences
:23:00. > :23:07.It's believed to be the first alleged all-female
:23:08. > :23:10.One of them was shot during the operation
:23:11. > :23:11.The three were accused of planning a knife attack
:23:12. > :23:17.President Trump appears to have changed his explanation for sacking
:23:18. > :23:21.the head of the FBI, James Comey.
:23:22. > :23:24.The White House had insisted that Mr Trump acted on the advice
:23:25. > :23:34.But in a television interview this evening,
:23:35. > :23:38.intending to sack Mr Comey in any case because the agency
:23:39. > :23:41.Our North America editor, Jon Sopel, is in Washington.
:23:42. > :23:46.R Jon, it's the President's first interview since this cry sirs sis
:23:47. > :23:50.first broke? Yes, it is. The President was in characteristically
:23:51. > :23:53.forthright mood. There will be one day I will say he pulled his
:23:54. > :23:58.punches. He didn't in this interview. He accused James Comey of
:23:59. > :24:03.being a showboat, a grandstander. He had left the FBI in turmoil. What I
:24:04. > :24:07.thought was most interesting was the explanation. On Tuesday night,
:24:08. > :24:12.Wednesday, we were being told the reason he was fired was because the
:24:13. > :24:15.Deputy Attorney General had recommended there needed to be
:24:16. > :24:21.change at the top. In Donald Trump's letter sacking Comey he said, "I
:24:22. > :24:24.have received the tachd letters recommending your dismissal. I've
:24:25. > :24:26.accepted their recommendation. " Listen to what he says in the
:24:27. > :24:29.interview. On Monday you met with the Deputy
:24:30. > :24:31.Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein. What I did is, I was
:24:32. > :24:36.going to fire Comey. It was not - You had
:24:37. > :24:39.made the decision before There's no good time
:24:40. > :24:45.to do it, by the way. Because in your letter you said,
:24:46. > :24:48."I accepted their recommendations." Yeah, well they also - But you had
:24:49. > :24:57.already made the decision? The White House also said that one
:24:58. > :25:02.of the reasons that he was fired was that the rank and file ebbs m of the
:25:03. > :25:07.FBI were unhappy with him as their leader. But that was contradicted
:25:08. > :25:11.today by the Acting Director, who was giving testimony before a Senate
:25:12. > :25:16.committee. The White House have also said today that the other thing that
:25:17. > :25:21.President Trump wanted to do was to see the Russia investigation
:25:22. > :25:23.completed. Yet the President has tweeted this evening that the
:25:24. > :25:29.Russian investigation is making America look like a laughing stock
:25:30. > :25:47.to the Russians. You pays your money and you take your choice, Huw.
:25:48. > :25:53.Indeed, Jon. Jon Sopel there with the latest for us in Washington.
:25:54. > :25:55.Michael Barnier, the man who will lead the Brexit
:25:56. > :25:57.negotiations on behalf of the European Union, has warned
:25:58. > :26:01.that one of the consequences of the UK leaving the EU could be
:26:02. > :26:02.the introduction of customs controls between Northern Ireland
:26:03. > :26:06.Mr Barnier, speaking in Dublin today, said he was aware
:26:07. > :26:09.of the concerns and said he'd work to avoid the creation of what's
:26:10. > :26:12.Our special correspondent, Fergal Keane, has travelled
:26:13. > :26:15.from Belfast to Dublin to hear what people think about the possible
:26:16. > :26:18.As they have every spring, Brexit or no Brexit, the Orangemen
:26:19. > :26:22.No longer do these marches bristle with the menacing energy
:26:23. > :26:27.of the Troubles years, but there is mounting uncertainty.
:26:28. > :26:29.At the same time as the collapse of power-sharing here,
:26:30. > :26:33.nationalist resentment over Brexit has spurred demands
:26:34. > :26:38.for a referendum on Irish unity, leaving unionists uneasy.
:26:39. > :26:42.Do you ever think, at the back of your thoughts, that eventually
:26:43. > :26:48.I think it's always a possibility there but, I have to say, I think
:26:49. > :26:53.I've heard people recently say, who've surprised me,
:26:54. > :26:55.who've said, you know, would I be any worse off?
:26:56. > :27:00.But, hopefully, the unionist community will see through those
:27:01. > :27:02.things and get back to where their first love
:27:03. > :27:04.is, and that remains the Queen and country.
:27:05. > :27:07.The armed conflict has been over for 20 years,
:27:08. > :27:09.the agony brought to an end by a compromise which allowed
:27:10. > :27:11.all sides to feel their aspirations were respected.
:27:12. > :27:21.40 miles south of Belfast, on the border, the debate has
:27:22. > :27:24.And I as a child remember sitting in the back,
:27:25. > :27:26.turning that corner we've just turned, looking down this
:27:27. > :27:34.Damian McGinty is a South Armagh farmer.
:27:35. > :27:40...of maybe about 18 or 20 paratroopers or four or five RUC.
:27:41. > :27:45.This militarised frontier vanished with the Troubles.
:27:46. > :27:48.But any kind of hard border, with customs posts and identity
:27:49. > :27:53.checks, could be economically costly and politically divisive.
:27:54. > :27:55.What happens if you get a hard border here again,
:27:56. > :28:13.Now, if you stick any kind of a hard border along that 300 mile stretch,
:28:14. > :28:16.you're saying to a sizeable chunk of the population, young people
:28:17. > :28:17.here, that this country is being repartitioned.
:28:18. > :28:20.The Republican dead memorialised on a border road heading south.
:28:21. > :28:25.Now nobody I met feared a return to violence,
:28:26. > :28:27.but Irish history is an enduring lesson in unintended consequences,
:28:28. > :28:32.of how political decisions play out in the long run.
:28:33. > :28:37.Dublin has persuaded the EU to guarantee membership
:28:38. > :28:58.A former Cabinet Minister makes the economic case for unity
:28:59. > :29:02.Do you think that in our lifetime, there will be a united Ireland?
:29:03. > :29:07.See, you wouldn't have said that ten years ago, would you?
:29:08. > :29:11.Ten years ago I would have thought that a united Ireland was a very
:29:12. > :29:13.distant possibility, now I think it's a more real
:29:14. > :29:16.possibility and the reason I believe that is that the economic interests
:29:17. > :29:19.of the people of both sides in Northern Ireland and both parts
:29:20. > :29:21.of Ireland are coming together rather than being divided.
:29:22. > :29:23.I think that Brexit underlines the common interest that Irish
:29:24. > :29:25.people have as opposed to the interests of
:29:26. > :29:28.But unity doesn't inspire universal enthusiasm in the South.
:29:29. > :29:31.In my home city of Cork, Na Piarsaigh Hurling Club was named
:29:32. > :29:33.after the rebel martyr, Patrick Pearse.
:29:34. > :29:35.The club's symbol - The Red Hand of Ulster,
:29:36. > :29:37.but minus a thumb - symbolises a divided Ireland.
:29:38. > :29:39.Do people around here really care about a united Ireland?
:29:40. > :29:42.Well, I suppose, some people do, like.
:29:43. > :29:44.But, in this area, the people are more worried with more
:29:45. > :29:46.hand-to-mouth and how they exist day-to-day rather
:29:47. > :29:53.So from day-to-day it doesn't really affect us here, like, you know.
:29:54. > :29:55.For 60 years, Eamon de Valera was the most prominent political...
:29:56. > :29:58.The old story of Britain and Ireland was one of often
:29:59. > :30:01.bitter entanglement, as the graves at Glasnevin Cemetry
:30:02. > :30:04.remind us, but there are more recent memorials here to the sacrifice
:30:05. > :30:08.of Irish Catholics and Protestants in the Great War.
:30:09. > :30:11.Peace has made joint remembrance possible.
:30:12. > :30:17.Some much of Ireland's history is interred in this place,
:30:18. > :30:20.from revolution to reconciliation in our time.
:30:21. > :30:23.Walking through these graves, it's still possible to marvel
:30:24. > :30:28.at the fact that peace has been achieved on this island and that
:30:29. > :30:32.healing between divided communities has begun.
:30:33. > :30:37.It's not that a new armed conflict looms, but that,
:30:38. > :30:39.in an atmosphere of uncertainty, the trust needed for lasting
:30:40. > :30:44.Protecting the gains of peace is the great challenge
:30:45. > :30:54.Fergal Keane, BBC News, on the island of Ireland.
:30:55. > :30:57.Last Saturday, 82 girls were released by the Islamist
:30:58. > :30:59.militant group, Boko Haram, three years after they were
:31:00. > :31:01.kidnapped at gunpoint from their school in
:31:02. > :31:06.But they have yet to be reunited with their families.
:31:07. > :31:08.Another 21 girls, released last October by the militants,
:31:09. > :31:28.Our correspondent, Alistair Leithead, reports now
:31:29. > :31:32.The Chibok girls are now young women and getting used to being freed
:31:33. > :31:36.After being kidnapped by the Islamists, they spent three
:31:37. > :31:38.years in the forest and are now a little overwhelmed
:31:39. > :31:40.by their new surroundings and by all the attention.
:31:41. > :31:43.The Yakubu Nkeke is the families representative, we met him
:31:44. > :31:47.in north-eastern Nigeria, heading back to Chibok.
:31:48. > :31:50.He saw the girls and has the job of identifying all of them.
:31:51. > :31:52.Among the 82 released was his daughter.
:31:53. > :31:59.When I fist saw her, she jumped and grabbed for me.
:32:00. > :32:02.I hold her hands, started dancing around with her.
:32:03. > :32:04.He'll show the families his pictures and prepare for their big reunion.
:32:05. > :32:07.The girls told him life was hard under Boko Haram,
:32:08. > :32:16.There are some of them who had been given in marriage but,
:32:17. > :32:19.according to them, it's not forceful and when you decide to marry
:32:20. > :32:29.What do you think about the Boko Haram fighters
:32:30. > :32:32.Oh, Boko Haram fighters, personally now, I would forgive them.
:32:33. > :32:40.It's not just the 276 Chibok girls and their families
:32:41. > :32:44.Here, in north-eastern Nigeria, thousands of other women and girls
:32:45. > :32:48.Most of those rescued have been left deeply traumatised and there's
:32:49. > :32:51.a real stigma associated with anyone who's lived under Boko Haram.
:32:52. > :32:57.These are the girls rescued last year, they've been kept under
:32:58. > :33:00.the supervision of the security services for more than six months.
:33:01. > :33:02.They seem healthy, some families just want them home,
:33:03. > :33:05.others believe they're better off in the capital.
:33:06. > :33:08.The parents agreed we did not compel anybody that your child
:33:09. > :33:15.It's wrenchingly tough for the families waiting for news.
:33:16. > :33:19.We showed the Samuel family video footage of the released girls.
:33:20. > :33:22.They were looking for their Sarah, hoping to catch a glimpse.
:33:23. > :33:27.Sarah, sadly, is still being held by Boko Haram with more
:33:28. > :33:29.than 100 others but, with so many freed and negotiations
:33:30. > :33:35.still going on, there's new hope they too will soon be released.
:33:36. > :33:42.Alastair Leithead, BBC News, Yola, north-eastern Nigeria.
:33:43. > :33:44.Football, and Manchester United have beaten the Spanish side Celta Vigo
:33:45. > :33:55.to secure a place in the final of the Europa League.
:33:56. > :33:57.The United manager, Jose Mourinho, has called it "the most important
:33:58. > :34:00.game of the club's history" because winning the final
:34:01. > :34:02.will guarantee United a place in the Champions League next season.
:34:03. > :34:04.From Old Trafford, Andy Swiss reports.
:34:05. > :34:07.You could have your photo with a fake trophy at Old Trafford.
:34:08. > :34:09.But there is no substitute for the real thing.
:34:10. > :34:17.Tonight, United have the only silverware they've never lifted
:34:18. > :34:20.The Europa League may be Europe's secondary
:34:21. > :34:21.tournament, but it's become United's top priority.
:34:22. > :34:23.Winning it, their best chance of Champions
:34:24. > :34:27.1-0 up after the first leg, the final seemed to beckon.
:34:28. > :34:30.Sergio Romero forced into an early save.
:34:31. > :34:35.Then Marcus Rashford's vision met Marouane Fellaini's forehead,
:34:36. > :34:41.United in control, the final within touching distance.
:34:42. > :34:47.Just before the break, one nearly arrived.
:34:48. > :34:53.With just five minutes left, Celta Vigo finally struck.
:34:54. > :35:05.A melee resulting in a red card for United's Eric Bailly and Roncaglia.
:35:06. > :35:14.But United clung on by the skin of their teeth
:35:15. > :35:27.Yes. United fans will be breathing a hefty sigh of relief. That was some
:35:28. > :35:35.scare. They are through to the final. They will play Ajax. United
:35:36. > :35:41.have a chance of another trophy and that all-important Champions League
:35:42. > :35:45.qualification. Huw. Andy Swiss with the match report at Old Trafford.
:35:46. > :35:47.Newsnight is on BBC Two. Here's Emily.
:35:48. > :35:49.So how radical is the Labour manifesto?
:35:50. > :35:51.Tonight, a detailed look at the politics, the policy
:35:52. > :35:57.and the reaction to Corbyn's vision for Britain.
:35:58. > :35:58.That's Newsnight with Emily. Here on BBC