02/02/2018 BBC News at Ten

A war of words breaks out,

as President Trump attacks the FBI

and his own Justice Department.

It involves a declassified memo,

which Trump claims shows the FBI

is biased against him.

I think it's a disgrace,

what's happening in our country,

and when you look at that

and you see that and so many other

things what's going on,

a lot of people should be

ashamed of themselves.

The Democrats accuse Trump of trying

to derail the investigation

into alleged collusion with Russia

to rig the presidential election.

Also tonight: The man who drove

into worshippers outside a mosque

is sentenced to life.

The family of the man he murdered

express their grief.

He'll never be forgotten.

He will always stay in our hearts.

His laughter will echo

the walls of our home.

At the end of her visit to China,

the Prime Minister refuses to be

drawn on what trade deal she wants

with the EU, post-Brexit.

Rage boils over in court

from a father of three girls

abused by the doctor

of the American gymnastics team.

And Six Nations hopes are high

in Scotland that this

is their best team ever.

And coming up on Sportsday on BBC

News, Cameron's clay-court classic.

Norrie levels Great Britain's Davis

Cup tie against Spain with a

fantastic five set fightback.

Good evening.

Just days after he called for unity

in his State of the Union address,

President Trump is embroiled

in a bitter war of words with

the FBI and the Justice Department.

It involves a classified memo

which President Trump claims reveals

political bias against him

by the FBI.

They say the memo is selective,

inaccurate, and that the president

is reckless in making it public.

The Democrats are claiming it's

all designed to discredit

the investigation taking place

into alleged collusion between

the Trump campaign and Russia

to sway the 2016 general election.

Our Washington correspondent,

Nick Bryant, tries to

make sense of it all.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Punxsutawney Phil!

It's Groundhog Day in America,

when thousands gathered to watch a

rodent named Punxsutawney Phil make

his annual prediction about how long

the winter will last.

In Washington, too,

a feeling of deja vu with the

day beginning as it often

does, with an attack

from the White House

on

the Russian investigation.

But this has intensified

the big chill

between the president and his senior

law enforcement officials.

The top leadership and

investigators at the

FBI and Justice Department has

politicised the sacred investigative

process in favour of Democrats

and against Republicans.

Something which would

have been unthinkable

just a short time ago.

That's the main accusation

of a secret Republican

memo, which the president authorised

the public release of today, it

alleges an anti-Trump bias among top

law enforcement officials.

I think it's a disgrace

what's happening in

our country.

And when you look at that

and you see that and so many

other things, what's going on,

a lot of people should be ashamed of

themselves.

And much worse than that.

The memo, commissioned

by a Republican

congressman, accuses

the

FBI of using a politically biased

source, while seeking surveillance

warrants against the Trump campaign

adviser, Carter Page.

It alleges the request

to the court relied on a

much disputed Trump dossier compiled

by former British intelligent agent

Christopher Steele, who, it says,

was anti-Trump and funded in part by

the Hillary Clinton campaign.

But is this a partisan

Republicans stand to

discredit the FBI and, by extension,

the investigation of the special

counsel, Robert Mueller,

into possible Russian

collusion with the

Trump campaign?

There's been no public response

from the FBI, but it

fiercely resisted the release

of this memo, having expressed grave

concerns about its accuracy.

It's also been slammed

by senior Democrats.

The fact that the President

of the United States will

blithely disregard

the admonitions of both

his own FBI director

and the

Department of Justice

tells you all you need

to know about what

the

President's priorities are,

and it's not protecting classified

information, it's not respecting

the hard-working men

and women at the FBI,

it's whatever the president

deems to be in his short-term

political interest.

What we've seen today

underscores how the Russian

investigation is increasingly

becoming the subject of a toxic and

vicious fight, not just

between the political

parties in Washington,

but

between branches of the US

government in Washington.

Vladimir Putin must be

rubbing his hands in

delight.

Is the memo a dud, sir, is it a dud?

Donald Trump looked

pretty happy, too.

His supporters will

believe he's struck

a blow for justice.

His critics will argue he's

engineered a political stunt.

How can we work out where the truth

lies in this extraordinary war of

words between Trump, the FBI, and

the Justice Department?

Fiona, the

Democrats are saying this is a very

crude attempt to muddy the waters so

that the White House and Donald

Trump can say that Robert Mueller

and his team are biased and that its

findings and conclusions will be

contestable. It's worth pointing out

that Robert Mueller is a registered

Republican, who served under George

W Bush. When these various

investigations started last year

there was a bipartisan sense of

cooperation and a bipartisan sense

of determination to get to the

bottom of the extent of Russian

meddling. But we are seeing that

bipartisanship fraying and falling

apart. One of the key reasons is the

Republican leadership on Capitol

Hill is far more steadfast now in

its support for Donald Trump. They

got the tax bill passed, they like

what they heard in the state of the

union address earlier this week. The

economy is going great. They are

more confident as the mid-term

elections in November approach,

which will determine the make-up of

Congress and they are deciding we

are going to stick with Donald

Trump. But there are dissenting

voices amongst senior Republicans.

One is Senator John McCain. Our

nation's elected officials including

the president must stop looking at

this investigation through the

warped lens of politics and

manufacturing partisan sideshows.

Nick Bryant in Washington, thank

you.

The man who drove his van

into Muslim worshippers outside

a mosque in north London has been

sentenced to life with a minimum

of 43 years in prison.

Darren Osborne killed Makram Ali,

who was 51, and injured 12 other

people in the attack

in Finsbury Park last June.

Our home affairs correspondent

Daniel Sandford reports

from Woolwich Crown Court.

Everyone back!

Darren Osborne was seized

at the scene of the Finsbury Park

attack, after ploughing his van

into a group of Muslims trying

to kill as many as possible.

Have a seat for us up there, mate.

Convicted of murder and attempted

murder yesterday, his 102 previous

convictions for violence,

dishonesty and drugs offences

were outlined to the court today.

As was the devastation caused

to the family of Makram Ali,

the man he murdered.

Outside court, his daughter,

with his tearful wife by her side,

spoke of the family's love for him.

He will never be forgotten.

He will always stay in our hearts.

His laughter will echo

the walls of our home.

His smile will be reflected

in our eyes and his memory will be

alive in our conversations.

Darren Osborne's absurd defence that

a man called Dave was driving

during the attack was scorned

by the judge.

Addressing him directly,

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said,

an intelligent British jury saw

through your pathetic last-ditch

attempt to deceive them.

She then jailed him for life,

saying the appropriate minimum term

for this terrorist murder is 43

years, which means he can't

be released until he's

at least 90 years old.

The judge drew attention

to how Osborne was rapidly

radicalised over the Internet,

how in a matter of a month he'd

allowed his mind to be poisoned

by those who she said claimed to be

leaders but who were determined

to spread hatred of Muslims.

Today, the judge also chose

to praise the imam who protected

Osborne after the attack.

She said Mohammed Mahmoud had

the strength to do the right

thing under pressure,

to respond to evil with good.

Daniel Sandford, BBC News,

at Woolwich Crown Court.

The Prime Minister is under

increasing pressure to be specific

about what she wants Britain's

future EU trade

relationship to look like.

Theresa May has just spent

three days in China,

and negotiations on Brexit are due

to resume with Brussels on Monday.

Mrs May said the UK should not face

a choice between a free trade deal

with the EU and striking deals

with the rest of the world.

She was speaking in Shanghai to our

political editor, Laura Kuenssberg.

A few last glimpses, then to China,

a final wave goodbye.

The Prime Minister on her way home,

business deals in Britain's pocket,

but she'll return to the next

round of much bigger deal making.

How precisely will

she broker Brexit?

Is she ready to decide?

What's happened here is that we've

seen the businesses that I've

brought with me on this trip signing

deals that mean more jobs

for people back in Britain.

That's good news for Britain.

It's global Britain in action.

But on top of doing business around

the world, your party,

the public, business,

they want to know, do you favour

a really close relationship

with the European Union once we're

out, or a more dramatic break?

What I favour is a deal,

an arrangement for trading

with the European Union,

which is going to be good

for trade between the UK

and the European Union and good

for jobs in Britain.

So there's a fundamental

choice, isn't there?

Your Chancellor has said he believes

the changes might be very modest.

One of your former Brexit ministers,

who is on your side,

has said the government is yet

to make clear choices,

and you're risking ending up

with something that looks

like meaningless waffle.

The point is that that deal,

which many people said

would not be done, was done.

We got what we wanted.

We ensured that we dealt with those

issues in that first phase.

Now we start the negotiations

for the second phase.

Images for the Mays to treasure

perhaps, but there might not be much

serenity when she's at home.

The decision over whether to bind

tightly to the EU after Brexit

or pull further apart is the line

right down the middle of her party.

Her supporters believe

she's the only person

who can hold it together,

but she's agonisingly pulled

by detractors on both sides.

If you're reluctant to explain your

priority, your big choice...

Your big choice for what you want

next, can you stay on?

Because people are asking you again

and again to be clearer

about your priorities.

How long can you stay

on, do you believe?

Let's be very clear about this.

I've set out what my vision is.

I've set out and I've said to people

that at every stage where we can

fill in the detail we will do so,

and that's exactly

what I've been doing.

Do you want to be the Tory leader

at the next general election?

Well, I've been asked this question

on a number of occasions.

I've said very clearly

throughout my political career I've

served my country and I've

served my party.

I'm not a quitter.

I'm in this because there's a job

to be done here and that's

delivering for the British people

and doing that in a way

that ensures the future

prosperity of our country.

Global Britain is a real vision

for the United Kingdom.

I want the British people to see

a government that is delivering

for them around the world,

and that's exactly what we're doing.

Our viewers see day

after they the Tory party

fighting amongst itself.

How do you reassert your authority?

I'm doing what the British people

want, which is delivering on Brexit

but also getting out around

the world, ensuring that we bring

jobs back to Britain.

Companies will be selling more great

British products to China

as result of this trip.

There will be more people in jobs

in the UK as a result of this trip.

That's global Britain in action.

Number Ten hopes it's by seeing

and doing that the Prime Minister

can re-establish control,

but her and the country's

hardest set of decisions

will follow her around the globe.

Laura Kuenssberg,

BBC News, Shanghai.

Hundreds of extra police

are patrolling the French port

of Calais, after fighting

erupted yesterday between

crowds of migrants.

Four Eritreans are in a critical

condition in hospital,

after they were shot during violence

between Afghan and African migrants.

18 people were injured.

Officials say the increase in

violence is due to smuggling gangs.

A 51-year-old man has pleaded not

guilty to the murder of two

schoolgirls in Sussex more than 30

years ago.

The bodies of Nicola Fellows

and Karen Hadaway, both aged nine,

were found in bushes at Wild Park

near Brighton in 1986.

Russell Bishop, who appeared

via video link from prison,

will stand trial in October.

There have been chaotic scenes

at a court in Michigan

during the sentencing of the former

team doctor of the American

gymnastics team, Larry Nassar,

who's been found guilty of sexually

abusing girls in his care.

Nassar was sentenced to up to 175

years in prison last month,

after more than 150 women testified

that he had sexually abused them.

For one father who had

heard his three daughters tell

the court how Nassar had abused

them, it was too much to bear.

Neda Tawfik reports.

That a girl who had

Larry Nassar as her doctor...

Another family stands,

like so many before them, to

confront the disgraced doctor.

All three of the Margraves' children

were sexually assaulted

by Larry Nassar.

At this final sentencing hearing,

two of them, Lauren and

Madison, speak of their grief,

and their parents' guilt.

I see the look in their faces

and I know they want

to be able to do something,

but they can't.

And the guilt they have

will never go away.

And all this is because of you.

To my parents, thank

you for all your love and support

through all of this.

You have done everything

that a parent could ever

do.

I love you.

Randall Margraves then asks

permission, as a distraught

father, to speak.

Go ahead, sir.

You son of a bitch.

We don't want to swear.

I would ask you to, as part

of the sentencing, to grant me five

minutes in a locked

room with this demon.

Would you do that?

That is not how...

No, sir, I can't.

Would you give me one minute?

You know that I can't do

that, that's not how

our legal system...

There have been numerous

powerful moments throughout

Nassar's sentencing

hearing, but this one

father's reaction shows

so

clearly how raw emotions are.

When the court resumes

the judge shows

compassion.

There is no way this court

is going to issue any type of

punishment, given the

circumstances of this case.

And my heart does go out

to you and your family, because

of what you've gone through.

I'm definitely calming down.

I'm definitely calming down.

I'm embarrassed.

I'm not here to upstage my

daughters, I'm here to help them

heal.

Nada Tawfik, BBC News, New York.

Over three-quarters of family carers

looking after severely disabled

adults have no long term support

plans for their relatives,

according to a disability group.

Research by the charity, Sense,

says that 90% of these families have

no confidence in their local

authority to look after their loved

ones if they no can no longer look

after them themselves.

Our Disability news correspondent

Nikki Fox has been speaking to one

mother about her fears

for her disabled daughter.

Are you ready?

Yes.

You're so close to them.

You get scared to think that

you can't look after them anymore

and what will happen if you're

not around anymore.

It is a terrifying thought.

Inge is in her late 60s.

Her daughter Noreen is blind,

quadriplegic and unable to speak.

You are such a good girl.

Will you say hello?

Hi, Noreen, lovely to meet you.

She's 35, and although Noreen has

other family no one can

give her the same level of care

as her mum.

Inge is terrified of a future

when she'll no longer be there.

The fear is that I'm not prepared,

that I haven't got somewhere

for Noreen where I think

she might be happy.

What if they leave her

sitting in the corner?

What if she is ignored?

You know?

If they don't meet her needs enough.

It's a terrible thought.

It really is.

It terrifies me.

Inge is not alone

in feeling like this.

Today's survey by the charity Sense

shows an overwhelming lack of trust

in local authorities

to provide adequate care.

It also says three quarters

of family carers have no long-term

plan in place for their loved ones.

We're calling for greater emphasis

on planning and more

investment in social care,

and I think we owe that to carers,

for their peace of mind

and for the disabled children

and adults that they've

supported all their lives.

Are you ready?

Good-quality care does exist,

but it comes at a cost.

At this specialist centre

in Yorkshire it's not about looking

after someone in the most basic way.

It's about having the right support

to live a happy and fulfilled life.

So it's a cup of tea.

I think it does.

But with pressure on local authority

budgets, can councils afford

to provide quality care like this

for everyone who needs it?

We're currently serving some

168,000 people with very

profound disabilities.

The growth in the number of people

up to 2025 will be another 25%.

That demands more resource.

This one.

The government says carers

are invaluable and it knows

the social care system

is under pressure.

It says it's put in an extra

£2 billion and plans

to reform social care will be

published this summer.

Inge is one of more than a million

family carers over the age of 60.

What matters to her is Noreen's

happiness and at the moment that

means looking after her daughter

for as long as she possibly can.

That is lovely, sweetheart.

Nikki Fox, BBC News.

The Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg

has been involved in a scuffle

in Bristol this evening.

The MP - who's a keen

advocate of Brexit -

confronted protestors who broke

into a speech he was giving

to students at the University

of the West of England.

There are no reports

of any injuries.

The Afghan capital Kabul has seen

three large attacks over

the past fortnight -

with over 120 people killed.

Two were carried out by the Taliban

- one by the Islamic State group.

Despite controlling less

territory than the Taliban,

IS has launched more major attacks

in Kabul than any other militant

group over the past year.

IS is growing in influence

in Afghanistan just as it's

being pushed out of Syria and Iraq.

Secunder Kermani was given exclusive

access to one jailed

IS member in Kabul -

and has this report.

Inside an Afghan prison,

a man who was once willing

to kill in the name

of the Islamic State group.

TRANSLATION:

I took part in fighting

and executing people.

We used to make people

sit on top of bombs.

And blow them up.

Like many IS fighters

in Afghanistan, the detainee we

spoke to was previously

part of the Taliban.

He asked us not to show his face out

of fear of reprisals.

We interviewed him with members

of the security services present.

TRANSLATION:

For the Taliban, if

someone from the government repents,

he should be forgiven.

But IS say he should be killed.

IS preach that they are

the real Muslims, not the

Taliban.

The Islamic State group might only

control small pockets of

territory in the country,

but over the last year

they've carried out

at

least 14 major attacks

here in the capital, Kabul.

That's significantly more

than even the Taliban.

IS have repeatedly

attacked Kabul's Shia

minority.

They killed over 40 people at this

Shia cultural centre in

December.

This man narrowly

escaped with his life.

TRANSLATION:

In the past,

Shias living in the

countryside used to come to Kabul

because it was safer.

Now my relatives tell

me to leave Kabul

because it's become

so dangerous here.

In the past two weeks Kabul has been

repeatedly attacked by both

IS and the Taliban.

The groups have fought

against each other at times.

But officials here claim there is

little difference between the two.

And that in attacking Kabul

they share the same aims.

Their goal and their objective

behind this approach

is to provoke people against

the government and make them rise

against the government.

So then the government

will fall apart.

And then what happens,

then in Afghanistan we

will have chaos.

But this former IS member says

the group is different

from the Taliban,

and its more extreme.

TRANSLATION:

They say they will do

what Taliban can't do and

take over the whole country.

Outside the cultural

centre, attacked by IS,

the shoes of the victims

remain piled in a heap.

Whether it's further

attacks by IS or the

Taliban, this is a city

braced for more bloodshed.

Secunder Kermani, BBC News, Kabul.

It's a polar bear's eye view

as you've never seen before.

Scientists working in the arctic

have released video footage

from high-tech tracking collars

fitted to the bears.

It's part of a study into how hard

the bears have to work

in order to find food.

By collecting all the data together

they've concluded that -

on the diminishing arctic ice -

the bears are struggling to catch

enough prey to give them

the energy they need.

Rugby's Six Nations

tournament is about to begin

with hopes high in Scotland

that they have their

best team in decades.

Defending champions England

are playing in Rome on Sunday.

But it all begins tomorrow

in Cardiff as Wales host Scotland -

a rugby nation hoping

for a renaissance

which defies the odds.

Joe Wilson reports.

The Scottish Borders.

This is working land.

But embedded deep in this

region's history - rugby.

Galashiels - one small Borders town

which has produced 46

Scotland internationals.

They fill the clubhouse walls.

This man is better

known by another pose.

That's Peter Dods.

COMMENTATOR:

Peter Dods,

with this vital conversion kick...

In 1984, Scotland beat everyone.

Five Nations grand slam.

Dods kicked the points.

In the Border culture

we are fighters.

You could put us into a dogfight

and the strongest dog wins.

I think that culture is still there.

I think with Gregor Townsend

being the coach now,

he will bring that culture

into the national team.

Gregor Townsend.

Famous son of Gala, now the coach

of a resurgent Scotland team.

Exciting, attacking, they've

recently beaten Australia twice.

COMMENTATOR:

Huw Jones

trying to make it...

Yet Scotland do this with just two

professional rugby clubs.

How?

This is a good question.

I believe being small

has its advantages.

It has its advantages in that

you can recognise and identify

players quicker that

are maybe standing out.

Small means we can

work together closer.

Well a coach can only

pick players who are fit

and injuries are everywhere.

As Wales completed their

preparations here they can think

of a dozen players they could have

had in their squad,

but they are out injured.

Against Scotland, Wales

will have to be experimental.

Look closely at Ireland and you'll

spot some newer faces

with the old ones.

Good mix, they start in France.

England are defending champions.

They play Italy on Sunday.

Here's a simple question.

Is it possible you

could lose to Italy?

Is that possible?

Well, no.

Because we'll be very

well-prepared and

we'll be physical and will be brutal

and we'll take it to them.

Back in Gala, rugby has

returned to amateur status.

Training under lights

after work for the love of it.

The more this sport changes the more

important that spirit seems.

Joe Wilson, BBC News.

That's it.

Now on BBC One, it's time

for the news where you are.