24/04/2016 BBC Weekend News

strongly attacked President Obama for suggesting that a separate trade

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, he said negotiations

could last a decade, and friends had to be

If the countries that are closest to you, those who you have a special

relationship with, are suggesting to you that you might be better off

staying in this relationship with Europe, it's worth paying attention.

The American President is coming out with the same rubbish

as David Cameron - basically the line is that Britain

could file for administration as early as tomorrow,

Leicester City move a step closer to the Premier League title,

And Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya wins the London Marathon in a course

record time, while compatriot Jemima Sumgong picked herself up

Campaigners who want the UK to leave the European Union have reacted

with anger to comments made by President Obama that it

could take several years for Britain to secure a trade deal with America,

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Mr Obama

said it could be "five, maybe ten years".

But the leader of Ukip, Nigel Farage, dismissed

the President's comments as "utter tosh".

Before flying onto to Germany after his state visit to the UK,

Mr President, thank you very much very much for talking to us.

I think it is better to say that your visit,

even more than usual, has created a stir.

People saying, OK, we have a special relationship, and yet that special

relationship could involve going to the back of a queue - how

Actually, the special relationship is not contingent on any

There are emotional and cultural and commercial and strategic bonds

between our two countries which aren't matched by any two

As a practical matter, what we're doing with respect

to trade is negotiating with big blocs of countries.

Because negotiating trade deals is a heavy lift,

they are challenging, they are difficult.

It is the phrase, isn't it, back of the queue, which has

I suppose offended some people and alarmed others, or scared them -

No, as I said, it wasn't simply a response to think the argument

that I have heard from others who are proposing to leave the EU,

that somehow America would be able to do things

more quickly with the UK than if they were in

And I was simply indicating that that would not be the case in this

The UK would not be able to negotiate something

with the United States faster than the EU.

We wouldn't abandon our efforts to negotiate a trade deal

with our largest trading partner, the European market,

but rather it could be five years from now,

ten years from now, before we were able to actually

So maybe not right at the back of the queue,

maybe towards the back of the queue, is that right?

I think the broader point is that, if you're interested in trade,

we are on the cusp of getting a trade deal done with

If I am a business person or a worker in Britain and I'm

looking at the fact that I already have access,

seamlessly, with a massive market, one of the wealthiest

markets in the world, that accounts for 44% of my exports,

the idea that I'm going to be in a better position to export

and trade by being outside of that market, and not being in the room

setting the rules and standards by which trade takes place,

You've been very clear, the special relationship,

you have just said it, it is much more than trade.

We have been focusing on lots of things, including

intelligence-sharing, given the very real threat

from terrorist groups around the world - is it possible

to say today that if there were an exit from the EU,

those elements of the special relationship wouldn't be affected,

They wouldn't be affected in the sense that our intelligence

teams work extremely closely, our militaries work

Our co-operation is not going to be changed,

our ability to do things together will not be changed.

What we do believe is that the United Kingdom will have

less influence in Europe, and as a consequence,

And since we rely heavily on the UK as a partner globally,

on a whole range of issues, we like you having more influence.

There will be some people watching, they put a much higher

price on the bond with the US than they do on the bond with

the EU. Sure.

And they will say, the president is very clear -

the special relationship is not going to be damaged by any decision

And if that's the case, we should not be concerned about coming out.

That's how they will probably relay the argument - what

I guess, if the countries that are closest to you, that care

about you the most, the countries with whom you cooperate most

frequently, those who you have a special relationship with,

are suggesting to you that you might be better off staying in this

relationship with Europe, that's worth paying attention.

My hope is that this is something that would have some influence

I don't anticipate that anything I have said will change the position

of those who are leading the campaigns in one

direction or another, but for ordinary voters,

I thought it would be relevant to hear what the President

of the United States, who loves the British people

and cares deeply about this relationship, has to say about it.

Mr President, great honour to talk to you.

Well, Leave campaigners have branded Mr Obama "a lame duck President"

with just nine months left in the White House, and someone

who shouldn't have intervened in a British domestic debate.

Our political correspondent Ben Wright is at Westminster.

How is the Leave campaign responding to the suggestion that a new trade

deal with America could take up to a decade? I think they will be pretty

glad that Air Force One has gone, because President Obama has given

them a tough time in the last few days, particularly on the question

of trade. Watching this interview, Roman and Leave supporters, like the

former Defence Secretary Liam Fox, say they noticed a change of tone

with regard to his comments about going to the back of the queue. Vote

Leave dismissed the idea it would take ten years to wrap up any

agreement, pointing out that the US have done them in two years with

other countries. And Ukip video Nigel Farage said that President

Obama was scaremongering. I think the American president

is coming out with the same rubbish that David Cameron is coming up

with - basically, the line is, Britain isn't capable

of negotiating its own deals Well, little countries

like Switzerland have more And if Australia, with

a tiny population in relative terms, can from start

to finish conclude a deal with America in ten months,

we can do even better Nigel Farage also said immigration

and border controls would be very important. Theresa May conceded the

obvious this morning, which is that the free movement of people made it

harder for the UK to curb immigration. That is what this

referendum is all about - all of these issues. We now know

emphatically what the president of the United States thinks. The

question is how that shapes the choice which voters make in two

months' time. BBC News understands the retailer

BHS could file for administration Sports Direct has been in talks

to buy some of its 164 stores, but a major sticking point has

been the huge deficit Here's our business

correspondent Joe Lynam. BHS has not exactly been lighting up

Britain's high street of late. Sharper and more nimble retailers

have stolen a march. Despite getting a number of major rent reductions

from its landlords last month, BHS has struggled to get other loans in

place with which to rejuvenate the brand. So, 13 months after it was

sold by Sir Philip Green for ?1, BHS looks like it could file for

administration as early as tomorrow. Problems at BHS didn't come as a

surprise to these shoppers in Leeds. The problem with BHS, who does it

appeal to? Maybe not to somebody of my age, or even younger ones. It is

stuck in no mans land. We like the trousers in there, that is all we

can say. It is a shame, because you always get really good customer

service in there. BHS opened its first shop in Brixton in 1928. In

the 1980s, it emerged with Mothercare and habitat. In 2000, Sir

Philip Green bought it for ?200 million. But he was not able to turn

the company around and he sold it for ?1 to an unknown consortium in

2015. One year later, the new owners have not been able to secure the

money to reinvent BHS and may be forced to call in the

administrators. Then there is the issue of the pension deficit, the

difference between the money needed by BHS staff in retirement and what

has already been set aside. It currently stands at half ?1 billion.

They would probably be paid by the Government's pension protection

fund. That it raises the issue of how the company was run and whether

they will be able to find a new owner. The retail business in

Britain is tough. It does not respect well-known brands. BHS may

find new owners, but it might just as easily disappear from our high

streets. Murder investigations have begun

into the deaths of two men found The bodies of Daniel Hatfield,

who was 52, and Matthew Higgins, who was 49,

were discovered on Friday. Two women and a man

have been arrested. The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt,

has rejected a plan to try to avert the junior doctors strike due this

Tuesday and Wednesday. The cross-party proposal,

backed by the Royal College of Surgeons, would see new contracts

tested at a limited number of hospitals, rather than being

imposed across the profession. With all the sport, here's

Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes Leicester City's dream of a first

Premier League title moved a step closer today after they thrashed

Swansea City 4-0 today. They're now eight points clear

with three games left. Our correspondent

Andy Swiss reports. It is now or never, he said,

week. Claudio Ranieri's players emerged, without the suspended Jamie

Vardy, who was watching from the stands. Any fears that his team

might struggle without him did not last long. Ashley

might struggle without him did not an early gift, accepted by Riyad

Mahrez. Not a bad start, after ten minutes. And it got better come

thanks to Jamie Vardy's replacement. In a season of fairy tales, it

thanks to Jamie Vardy's replacement. the turn of Argentine Ulloa to ease

any nerves before the break. He then got number three after the break.

That is what euphoria looks like. In the closing minutes, Marc Albrighton

rounded off their perfect afternoon in suitably glorious style.

rounded off their perfect afternoon from the fans. Leicester now eight

points clear and a quite extraordinary title triumph is now

within touching distance. In the early kick-off,

Sunderland held Arsenal to a goalless draw to creep out

of the relegation zone. And there were wins

for Inverness and Hamilton Crystal Palace have

reached their first FA They beat Watford 2-1 at Wembley

to set up a repeat of the 1990 final Watford equalised,

but Connor Wickham scored The London Marathon

was won by Eliud Kipchoge The defending champion just missed

out on a world record. His Kenyan team-mate Jemima Sumgong

won the women's race The London Marathon is a fantastic

Joe Wilson reports. The London Marathon is a fantastic

expression of mass achievement, at a time of deep doubt in athletics.

Kenya's government has finally met anti-dumping standards, hoping to be

allowed to compete at the Olympics. There was nothing to doubt the

integrity of their runners here. Eliud Kipchoge was pushing up the

front, in the end, winning with ease, so smooth, he wondered if he

should have broken the world record. He missed it by some eight seconds.

The women's race was close. Jemima Sumgong another Kenyan, showed

extraordinary resilience to get to her feet after, win the race,

matching any feet of bravery in this event. David Weir, in white sleeves,

was trying again to win his record seventh London Marathon. But it was

taken by Marcel Hug. Dame Kelly Holmes extended herself with

Olympian strides to finish her first marathon in three hours 11 minutes.

For all competitors, the whole point of a marathon is to prove that

distance is no barrier. Well, this year, this race took that to

extremes. On the International Space Station, strapped to a treadmill in

the absence of gravity, Tim Peake ran the gruelling 26 miles 385

yards, and finished where he had started.

While Leicester's football team are still on course for glory,

there was heartbreak for the city's rugby union side.

They missed out on the final of the European Champions Cup,

narrowly beaten by Racing 92 despite a late comeback.

19-16 the final score in Nottingham.

There's more throughout the evening on the BBC News Channel,

and we're back with the late news at Ten.