01/12/2017 BBC News at Ten

One of the Prime Minister's closest

political allies - Damian Green -

strongly denies fresh allegations

he looked at pornography

on his office computer.

A retired detective,

who says he analysed the computer

in a separate investigation nine

years ago, claims

there were thousands

of pornographic images on it.

In-between browsing pornography,

he was sending e-mails from his

account, his personal account.

I've maintianed all along,

I still maintain, it is the truth,

that I didn't download or look

at pornography on my computer.

But obviously, while

the investigation is going on,

I can't say any more.

We'll be asking what it

could all mean for the

Prime Minister's Deputy?

Also tonight:

The investigation into

alleged Russian meddling -

President Trump's former

National Security Advisor,

Michael Flynn, pleads guilty

to lying to the FBI.

The key to Brexit talks,

as the EU warns Britain trade

negotiations won't start

until Ireland is satisfied

there'll be no hard border.

England!

Gearing up for a summer

of World Cup football -

Maradona hands England a comfortable

draw for Russia 2018.

And hundreds turn out

in Nottingham to see Prince Harry

and Meghan Markle on their first

public engagement together.

And coming up on Sportsday,

on BBC News...

Could the day-night match

in Adelaide provide England's best

chance of winning an Ashes Test?

They start there in just

a few hours' time.

Good evening.

Theresa May's deputy -

Damian Green - is under

renewed pressure tonight,

after claims that he accessed

pornography on his Commons computer.

A retired detective says he found

"thousands" of pornographic images

on a computer in Mr Green's office

nine years ago, and that it was

"ridiculous" to suggest that anyone

else could be responsible.

Mr Green - the First Secretary

of State - has again insisted

that the allegations are false.

Our home affairs correspondent,

Danny Shaw, has this

exclusive report.

He's Theresa May's oldest and most

trusted political ally,

now battling for Cabinet survival

over claims he watched pornography

on his work computer.

Can I just ask you to leave?

The allegations, which he denies,

centre on computers seized in this

police raid over leaked documents

from the Home Office.

Now, a detective involved

in the inquiry has given his account

of what he discovered.

I had an exemplary record.

I had an exemplary record.

Neil Lewis spent 25 years

in the Metropolitan Police before

retiring due to ill health.

He has multiple sclerosis.

In 2008, he was given

the task of examining

Damian Green's work computer.

The shocking thing was that,

as I was viewing, I noticed a lot

of pornography thumbnails,

which indicated web browsing.

But a lot.

There was a lot of them.

How many images did you see on that?

Thousands.

Thousands of pornographic images?

Thumbnail images.

This is the one note that you kept.

Yes.

Neil Lewis still has his notebook

from the time, detailing

what he saw on the computer.

There is a reference to briefing

officers about pornography.

He claims two other detectives

also saw the material.

It was legal and not

extreme, he said.

Similar images were also seen

on a laptop, he claimed.

How can you be sure

that it was Damian Green

who was accessing that pornography?

There's a sort of phrase, "You can't

put fingers on the keyboard".

So I can't say that.

But the computer was

in Mr Green's office,

on his desk, logged in,

his account, his name.

In-between browsing pornography,

he was sending e-mails from his

account, his personal account.

Reading documents,

writing documents.

And it was just impossible.

It was sort of exclusive

and extensive, that it was

ridiculous to suggest that anybody

else could have done it.

Outside his home in Kent

today, Damian Green

protested his innocence.

A Cabinet Office inquiry has been

examining his conduct.

Mr Green...

I've said that I'm not

commenting any further

while the investigation is going on.

I've maintained all along,

I still maintain, it is the truth,

that I didn't download or look

at pornography on my computer.

But obviously, while the

investigation is going on, I can't

say any more at the moment.

One of Mr Green's colleagues

in Parliament rallied

to his defence, saying

the detective's

account didn't add up.

The pattern of behaviour

he describes seems to me entirely

inconsistent with the normal pattern

of behaviour of an MP in Parliament.

We simply do not have hours to sit

in front of our computers

and browse leisure websites,

of whatever variety.

Did you look at pornography at all?

There are now questions about how

apparently confidential information

about Damian Green's computers

was made public.

Scotland Yard is looking into it.

Danny Shaw, BBC News.

Our deputy political

editor, John Pienaar,

Is in Downing Street tonight.

Where

does this go now? This is an

important matter and not just for

Damian Green's future. He has added

nothing to his flat denial of

viewing pornography at work but his

political friends have rallied

round, Tory MPs and the leader of

the DUP party at Westminster

accusing this former officer of

breaching operational

confidentiality. And the Brexit

Secretary David Davis, I have been

told, has warned Theresa May she

should not sack Damian Green on the

word form officers who come his

friends believe, maybe out to do him

down. Why? Because that police raid

as part of a wheat enquiry in 2008

backfired on the police, they were

criticised and the friends of Damian

Green believe this is a kind of

revenge. If it ends in Damian Green

losing his job, the final report,

some of those Conservative MPs and

others will want to know why. And

there are other questions,

suggestions of other acts of

impropriety by Damian Green, what

about those? He says clearly and

consistently throughout the same

thing. Theresa May will have to

reach a judgment on the evidence of

whether she should lose such a close

ally at such a vulnerable time,

vulnerable because of such things as

Brexit. We will have the answer

soon. I am told Theresa May will

have that report and we will have

those answers perhaps by the

beginning of next week.

From Downing

Street, thank you.

One of President Trump's

closest confidants -

his former National Security

Advisor, Michael Flynn -

has pleaded guilty to lying to FBI

agents over alleged Russian

interference in the US elections.

Mr Flynn is the most senior former

official to be charged

in the investigation so far.

But the White House says the guilty

plea doesn't implicate

anyone else except him.

From Washington, here's our

correspondent, Aleem Maqbool.

It has sent political shock

waves through Washington.

General Michael Flynn -

Donald Trump's former

National Security Adviser -

turned himself in to the FBI,

and to a judge admitted

lying about his contacts

with Russian officials.

In court, he was asked if he wished

to plead guilty to making false,

fictitious and fraudulent

statements, to which Michael Flynn

answered simply, "Yes, sir".

"My guilty plea and agreement

to cooperate with the Special

Counsel's Office reflect a decision

I made in the best interests

of my family and of our country,"

he said in a statement.

Well, we now know General Flynn

had conversations with

the Russian Ambassador

about the possibility of lifting

sanctions against Moscow.

But given Barack Obama

was still in the White House,

he was just unauthorised to do that.

But he now says, crucially,

that he was directed to have those

conversations by a senior official

in the transition

team of Donald Trump.

General Mike Flynn!

Retired, United States Army!

APPLAUSE

Michael Flynn developed a close

relationship with Mr Trump

during the election campaign -

at one point, even being talked

of as a potential Vice-President.

A truly great General.

Right here.

Mike, thank you.

At the Republican National

Convention, he famously led

chants for Hillary Clinton

to be imprisoned.

Yes, that's right, lock her up!

It was revealed Michael Flynn had

previously had contacts

with Vladimir Putin,

but he made his costly

mistake late last year,

after President Obama had just

imposed more sanctions on Russia

for interfering in the US election.

On the 29th of December,

Michael Flynn spoke

to the Russian Ambassador

on the phone.

On the 15th of January,

Vice President Mike Pence said that

sanctions were not discussed

by Michael Flynn in those calls.

Only after the 9th of February,

when a newspaper revealed

General Flynn did discuss sanctions

when he wasn't authorised to do

so, did pressure increase

and Michael Flynn lost his job.

Michael Flynn then became one key

focus of the investigation

into Russia's attempts to influence

the 2016 election and potential

collusion with the Trump campaign.

The White House is now

trying to distance itself

from General Flynn's actions

and the lies he told to the FBI,

but there's no question that this

latest development brings the Russia

investigation ever closer

to the President himself.

It is now being reported that the

son-in-law of Donald Trump, Jared

Kushner, was a senior official who

directed some of those

communications between Michael Flynn

and the Russian Ambassador. So we

are a long way from talking about

something that can bring down Donald

Trump but the wagons are circling

all the more about the White House.

Thank you.

Millions of people download

anti-virus software

onto their computers every year

to try to protect themselves

from hackers and cybercrime.

But now the Government is warning

that using Russian software could be

a risk to national security.

One of the most popular

anti-virus products is made

by a Russian company

called Kaspersky.

But the company's boss has told

the BBC there is no evidence

they are involved in spying.

Here's our security

correspondent, Gordon Corera.

Fears of Russian cyber-espionage

have been growing and, tonight,

the Government issues a new warning

about the risks posed by a widely

used Russian company.

Our mission has always been

to protect the big and the small...

Kaspersky Lab provide security

products designed to protect systems

from criminals and hackers.

It's used by consumers,

and also businesses,

and some parts of government.

We keep the secrets

of global significance...

For a system like Kaspersky to work,

this software requires access

to almost all the files on someone's

computer, phone or network,

to scan for viruses.

And the software may also need

to communicate back to the company's

headquarters in Moscow.

The fear is that this

could be used by the Russian

state for espionage

- stealing secrets.

Here at Britain's National

Cyber Security Centre,

they say they've not seen actual

proof of such espionage,

but they believe there

is an increased risk.

And so today, they've told

government departments not to use

Kaspersky for systems

containing sensitive data.

This is specifically about, erm,

entities that may be of interest

to the Russian Government.

And so that, for us,

is about national security

systems in government,

of which there are

a very small number.

And, for example, if you have

a business doing negotiations

that the Russian Government may

be interested in.

Kaspersky Lab has already faced

allegations that it's been used

for espionage in America.

Earlier this week, I spoke

to the company's founder

and Chief Executive at their London

offices about those claims.

My response is that we don't

do anything wrong,

and we will never do that.

It's simply not possible.

And, er, what's in all these

publications, they are just

speculating about some rumours,

opinions, and there is

zero of the hard data.

400 million people use Kaspersky

products around the world.

Barclays actually offers

Kaspersky's award-winning...

In the UK, Barclays has

provided it to customers.

But officials say they're

not telling the general

public to stop using it.

The company denies any wrongdoing,

but today's warning is another sign

of growing fears over the risks

posed by Russia.

Gordon Corera, BBC News.

The European Council President,

Donald Tusk, has warned Theresa May

that the EU will not begin

discussing trade in the Brexit talks

until Ireland is happy

with the UK's offer on the future

of the Irish border.

It comes as the head

of the World Trade Organisation has

told the BBC that the UK faces

a "very bumpy" and "long" road

to secure a trade deal.

Our economics editor,

Kamal Ahmed, reports.

On the banks of Lake Geneva,

the organisation that holds the rule

book for trade around the world

and is helping both sides,

Britain and the EU,

as they tread their way

gingerly towards separation.

The man in charge told me

that a hard, disruptive

Brexit would carry costs.

I don't think this is going to be

an easy negotiation,

to be frank with you.

I think it's going to be very tough

because of the number of elements

and variables involved

in this conversation.

Trade negotiations

are extremely complex.

They are very sensitive politically.

People have talked about what has

been described as a hard Brexit.

Would that be a disaster

for the British and

European Union economies?

Clearly, this is not going to be

a situation where all trade stops.

There is collapse, in terms

of the economy as a whole.

So that, for me, is

the end of the world.

But it's not going to be

a walk in the park.

It's not like nothing happened.

There will be an impact.

The tendency is that prices

will go up, of course.

You have to absorb the costs

of that disruption.

That question of disruption affects

so much in these negotiations.

What about the Irish border and how

to keep it open once Brexit happens?

In Dublin, the EU offered

the Irish Prime Minister

what amounted to a veto.

If the UK offer is unacceptable

for Ireland, it will also be

unacceptable for the EU.

This is why the big key

to the UK's future lies,

in some ways, in Dublin.

Is there any example we can look

to which could solve

this Irish problem?

I can't think of a close

parallel anywhere else.

It's challenging,

I have to tell you.

To the extent that there is no

longer a Customs Union.

It's...

No easy solution comes to the mind.

Here in Geneva, and a warning -

no free trade deal with

the European Union would

be costly for the UK.

Next week, the focus

moves 500 miles north,

to Brussels, where a lunch -

maybe frosty - between Theresa May

and the President of

the European Commission will try

and unravel some of

these difficult issues.

Kamal Ahmed, BBC News, Geneva.

Nearly 200 Nat West are to close

along with 60 RBS branches. 680 jobs

will be lost. RBS, which owns both

banks, says online banking means

fewer customers are using the

branches.

Pope Francis has been meeting some

of the Rohingya Muslim refugees

who've fled to Bangladesh

from Myanmar after a wave

of ethnic violence.

The Pope asked them for forgiveness

- saying the world had been

indifferent to their suffering.

From Bangladesh,

Martin Bashir reports.

On the fifth day of his visit

to South Asia, Pope Francis arrived

in typically unpretentious style

at an interfaith gathering in Dhaka.

In the audience were 16

Rohingya adults and children

who'd fled from Myanmar.

One of them was

12-year-old Shawkat Ara.

Shawkat's entire family lived

in a village in Rakhine state,

when the army arrived in September.

In recalling what happened,

she said, "They shouted,

'You Rohingyas, you Bengalis,'

and then killed everyone.

They killed my aunt, my uncle,

and others in the village.

They killed my whole

family, my four brothers.

My sister and my parents are dead.

I have no one left."

The Pope invited the refugees

onto the stage and blessed

all of them, including Shawkat.

And having not used the word

once during his visit,

he decided to give a name

to the people and their suffering.

"The presence of God today,"

he said, "is also called Rohingya."

A papal visit brought global

attention to the suffering,

and comfort to a child

who has lost everything.

Martin Bashir, BBC News, Bangladesh.

Next summer, 32 countries battle

it out for football's

World Cup in Russia.

Today, England secured a favourable

draw when the groups

were decided in Moscow.

This is how it will all begin for

England in the opening group stage.

They will kick off against Tunisia

on Monday, 18 June.

England will then play

Panama on the 24th, saving

the toughest for last,

playing one of the top seeds

Belgium on the 28th.

Our sports editor Dan Roan reports.

It was the day Russia invited

the great and the good of football

inside its seat of power.

The Kremlin playing host to some

of the legends who have graced

the sport's showpiece event.

A first World Cup in Russia has

become a matter of personal pride

and political importance to Vladimir

Putin.

The president himself

taking the opportunity

to kick off proceedings.

APPLAUSE.

A colourful celebration of Russian

culture providing the now

traditional pre-draw entertainment.

As England's manager

Gareth Southgate prepared

to learn his team's fate,

there were plenty of familiar faces

from which to gain confidence.

World Cup winner Gordon Banks

leading out a stellar cast

list of draw assistants,

before Gary Lineker,

Golden Boot winner in 1986 and more

recently an outspoken critic

of tournament organisers Fifa,

was introduced in his role

as master of ceremonies.

I think I prefer to take a penalty

in the World Cup final

than actually organise this draw,

but I'll do my best.

With the draw finally under way,

it fell to Diego Maradona -

no stranger to breaking England's

hearts - to reveal

they'd be in Group G.

England.

That meant that the top ranked seeds

Belgium lie in wait, a squad packed

with Premier League talent.

The manager giving little away.

As the draw progressed,

the rest of the group emerged, along

perhaps with a sense of relief.

Tunisia, beaten by England

in their opening match

at France '98, and Panama,

playing in their first World Cup.

Both opponents England would have

taken before the draw,

so what did the manager think

of the hand his team had been dealt?

We've been good at writing teams off

and then getting beaten by them,

haven't we, so we've got to make

sure that we're prepared

for all of those games.

It's fantastically exciting now

to be here for the draw

with every other coach.

It's been a great experience and I'm

really looking forward

to getting on with it now.

COMMENTATOR:

England are out

of the European Championship.

England's humiliating defeat

to Iceland in last year's Euros

serves as a warning that no one

should be taken for granted.

However, as they look ahead

to next summer's campaign,

deep down they and their fans know

that today's Russian roulette

could have been far tougher.

There were plenty of dangers lurking

here inside the Kremlin for England.

Footballing powers like Germany,

Brazil and Argentina.

But all were avoided in a favourable

draw and England can now look

forward to next summer

with a degree of confidence.

Their fans, however,

shouldn't get carried away.

Dan Roan, BBC News, Moscow.

Well, any England fans hoping

to follow the team in the opening

stages will have to cover

almost 5000 miles.

Our correspondents Sarah Rainsford

and Steve Rosenberg have been

checking out the cities that

will host England's games.

This is Mother Russia -

determined, defiant,

urging her people rise up

and crush the enemy.

Now Volgograd used to

be called Stalingrad,

and the Battle of Stalingrad,

in which nearly 2 million

people were killed,

still haunts this place.

But today, the focus is on football

and from up here there's a wonderful

view of the stadium they're building

for the World Cup.

And here's a closer look at it.

Now I've already mentioned

how the war still casts

a shadow over the city.

When they started building this

stadium they found 300 unexploded

bombs here and the remains

of two soldiers.

In communist times I wouldn't have

been allowed into Nizhny Novgorod -

this city was closed to foreigners.

Not any more, of course,

and for football fans coming

here there's plenty to see.

This place has even

got its own Kremlin.

They're not quite ready

for kick-off here.

The Nizhny Novgorod football stadium

is still under construction.

The whole thing has been designed

to look a little bit

like the Volga River,

which is just across the way,

and they assure me here that

everything will be ready on time.

And there will be entertainment

off the pitch too.

Here at the Nizhny Novgorod circus

they're putting together a special

series of shows for the World Cup

and for visiting fans.

Russia may not be the favourites

in the football, but they certainly

look like champions in the big top.

In some spots like this, Kaliningrad

looks distinctly European,

but this is Russian territory.

It's a sliver of the former

Soviet Union that's now

surrounded by the EU,

and this is the westernmost

point for the World Cup.

If England fans do have a ticket

to a match here, then the good news

is it's going to be pretty easy

to get to, because Kaliningrad

is just a short drive

across the border from Poland

or from Lithuania and the ground

itself is pretty close

to the city centre.

And it seems there will be a warm

welcome for fans too,

because the mayor here recently

instructed all locals

to be nice to visitors -

and not to hit them.

That was Sarah Rainsford

ending those reports.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have

carried out their first

official public engagement

since they announced they were

getting married earlier this week.

The couple were greeted by crowds

of well-wishers in Nottingham

as they visited a World Aids Day

charity fair and then met local

teachers and children

at a school nearby.

Our royal correspondent

Nicholas Witchell reports.

As an actress, she's been

used to a public stage.

She's accustomed to meeting crowds

and dealing with fans.

Little surprise, then,

that Meghan Markle handled her first

official public appearance

in her new role with

considerable confidence.

Husband-to-be was on hand,

solicitous and supportive.

There was a lot of eye contact

between them and supportive arms

going around each other's backs.

At times they met the crowds

together, but then Meghan

branched off on her own,

stopping and taking

time with people.

While Harry did the same thing

on his side of the street.

Moments later they were reunited,

the cue for more back-rubbing.

This clearly is a team effort

and the new recruit seems a natural.

She will do hundreds

and hundreds of events like this

in the years to come,

but she will remember this one -

her first official encounter

with the British public.

And the verdict on her performance?

I think she's great.

A good addition to the Royal family.

Definitely.

Yeah.

An American.

Go, mixed kids!

Yeah, mixed kids in

the royal family now.

The couple heard about the work

of the Terrence Higgins Trust,

the charity which has worked

for years to help people

suffering from HIV-AIDS.

It's a cause Harry, now with Meghan,

wants to take forward

in tribute to his late mother.

And at a local college,

they heard about the effort to help

young people keep out of trouble.

Serious issues to which Harry,

through a charitable trust,

is devoting serious attention.

But for all that, there was no doubt

who sparkled the most today -

the woman with the diamond.

I saw her ring and the

diamond is massive!

It's absolutely gorgeous.

Just knowing that you're sitting

near Meghan and Prince Harry,

it's jaw-dropping, it's really nice.