07/11/2017 Beyond 100 Days

You're watching Beyond 100 Days.

It's been described as the most

important election in America

since Donald Trump won a year ago.

In Virginia they are voting

today for a new governor.

For both parties it's

a referendum on the President.

Democrats need to show they can

translate anti-Trump

sentiment into actual votes -

for Republicans the challenge

is winning without mentioning

the man in the White House.

He's in Asia right now -

weighing in on election day

At

in the US and nuclear ambitions

in North Korea.

Time, he says, to make a deal.

I really believe that it makes sense

for North Korea to come to the table

and to make a deal. Also, new

revelations in the Paradise Papers.

Prince Charles went on to argue for

a rule changes which would benefit

an offshore company in which you had

invested.

Alec Baldwin speaks to the BBC

about his role as Donald Trump.

Why is that impersonation

just so convincing?

You get the left eyebrow up and the

most down as far as you can.

Get in touch with us

using the hashtag.

Hello and welcome.

I'm Katty Kay in Richmond,

Virginia and Christian Fraser

is in London.

Elections are always held in early

November here and one year

after Donald Trump stunned

the world, Americans are back

at the ballot box today.

In Virginia they're choosing

a new governor in the most closely

watched contest in the country

since Trump's victory.

It's a tight contest

between Democrat Ralph Northam

and his Republican Rival Ed

Gillespie.

And even though he's in Asia,

President Trump has weighed

in on this election on Twitter

this morning saying

@EdWGillespie will totally turn

around the high crime and poor

economic performance of VA.

MS-13 and crime will be gone.

Vote today, ASAP!

Big name surrogates have

campaigned for both sides -

even Barack Obama made a rare

appearance to support the Democrat.

And that's because, that happens

here has implications

far beyond this state.

I've been out to see

the final campaign push.

They know what it's like to be

on the front line of political

fights in Richmond.

This small southern town

was the capital of the

Confederacy in the Civil War.

It was the site of

the South's biggest

ironworks.

This is where they

built their weapons.

On Monument Avenue, the South's

iconic leaders still loom over

the city.

Today these massive statues

are part of a new political

battle.

Racial division has been the dark

backdrop to this ugly campaign.

Are you ready to win

on November 7th?

Chances are you've never heard

of this man, Democrat Ralph

Northam.

We're going to win this

election tomorrow.

Or this man,

Republican Ed Gillespie.

But this race is not

really about them but

about the president

and whether Democrats can win

in the age of Donald Trump.

When we caught up with Gillespie

last night, Donald Trump's

name didn't pass his lips, not once.

Think of that.

The Republican candidate

didn't even mention the

Republican president.

But Mr Gillespie has

run TV ads echoing

many of Donald Trump's

issues, tough on illegal

immigration, tough on crime.

The Republican playbook is Trumpism

without Donald Trump.

Here is his problem.

Like most of urban Virginia,

Richmond is basically

liberal.

Full of hipster coffee shops

and even more hipster murals.

This is the changing

face of an increasingly

diverse state.

You'd think these young

people would rush to send

Donald Trump a message, but even

with the Democrats' top warm-up act

alongside him, Ralph Northam

is an anaemic campaigner.

He has flip-flopped

on critical issues like

immigration.

There is a lot of fire

in the Democrat base but you won't

find it in Mr Northam.

Democrats should win

this race and Virginia

but politics looks a bit

like this right now,

it's really, really wild.

Very wild indeed!

And joining me today

here in Richmond is our political

analyst Ron Christie who formerly

served as an advisor

to President George W

Bush.

It is freezing cold here. You worked

in the George W Bush administration

and you have also told me you spent

one year and virginiana. How

important is this race in terms of

national politics?

Huge. The

Democrats have two proves they are

able to when in a southern state.

For Republicans, very critical. They

need to show that, yes, when Donald

Trump in the White House they can

still win with the candidate who has

distanced himself from the president

and has not mentioned his name and

is doing well in the polls so both

parties have a lot at stake.

This

race has been surprisingly nasty.

These two are pretty centrist

candidates but you watch the

television adverts and it is

vicious.

I have not seen in 26 years

I have been looking at virginiana

anything like this. They are taking

a all the stops and accusing each

other of being racist and soft on

crime, you name it. Unfortunately,

attack ads work in the United States

and a lot of people are making up

their minds based not on the issues

but what they have heard about their

opponent.

From Washington to San

Francisco to Richmond Virginia, I am

beginning to think you are a

Democrat, not a Republican!

I am a

capitalist Republican, I am doing

what I can.

Tell me about Ed

Gillespie, you say he is happy to

run on some of the themes that

Donald Trump has picked up on,

claiming sanctuary cities and race,

but he doesn't want to appear

alongside the president.

Is that how

mainstream Republicans are going to

run? I think that is exactly how it

will work. The a lot of

establishment Republicans are

looking at Donald Trump and saying

he doesn't represent us. I am

independent and may be conservative

and a Republican but not a Donald

Trump Republican. That is what you

will see with Ed Gillespie and the

race in New Jersey is also going on,

same thing, they are not talking

about Trump but about the issues.

Stay with us because you will get

you back on the programme. Can I

just complain about the weather

because you seemed to go to places

and this is really nice and sunny.

It is absolutely freezing here today

and the is a valid political point.

Bad weather seems too depressed to

depress turnout among Democrats more

than it does Republicans, so if you

are dead Gillespie looking at this

cloudy day you are probably feeling

a little bit chirpy. You need to

talk to your producers, Paris and

Florence are much better than the

summer. Let's talk about the

Democrats. No love lost. Hillary

Clinton to this by five points last

year. So why is it so tight, what is

going wrong for the Democrats?

This

is a very interesting state, an

interesting city. It is very liberal

in many ways and the state is

changing with the huge number of

immigrants coming in. It is trending

Democrats and faulted for Barack

Obama twice and Hillary Clinton, but

it is also the south. There are the

monuments and the majority support

keeping the monuments. This was the

place of the second biggest slave

market in America. You don't have to

scratch very beach before you get

that old conservative South. There

is that tendency that people still

like Republicans having seen Ed

Gillespie out on the campaign trail

he is a pretty compelling candidate.

He is talking about the economy and

things people want to talk about.

I

will bring in the Mayor, the

youngest Mayor of Richmond ever.

35

years old. 36 now!

Talk to us about

this race because one of the issues

will be and the clamour among

African-Americans. Given how

unpopular Donald Trump is in this

state you would think Democrats

could sweep virginiana?

We are

expecting a sweep tonight and Donald

Trump is a motivating factor for

many, not just African-Americans but

those who live in northern

virginiana and here in the Richmond

region and in the south-east where I

am from. Folks are fired up and this

is their first chance to call it

their concerns.

Let's be honest, you

are Democrat and the Poles have

tightened more than I imagine you're

comfortable with. I still don't

really understand why your candidate

is struggling as much as he has been

doing. Is he not a good candidate is

it harder to run against Donald

Trump than you might think?

I would

say it is a classic virginiana race.

I am the former campaigner for the

governor. I saw times when the

governor was way up in the polls and

towards the end that always closes.

It is classic Virginia politics and

the Democrat never wins by more than

two or 2.5 points. We never expected

a landslide even know Donald Trump

has been very divisive.

Let me put

it to you, you are 36. Maybe you are

the future of the Democratic party.

They need a future, maybe this is

what people wanted in the past,

conventional and fairly established

centrist Democrats. Now, perhaps to

meet Donald Trump, when people want

fired in the belly and authenticity,

you need to field a candidate

further to the left. What do you

think of my hypothesis?

At the end

of the day you can espouse the

values of the Democratic party.

It

is a huge thing.

You have some in

our party who are still centrists

and some who are left of centre. I

consider myself left of centre by

also believe Ralph Nord have been

able to expose those values while in

office. The governor has always been

focused on economic development and

how to create a robust economy. You

do that by being open and welcoming.

Ed Gillespie on the other hand has

throughout the entirety of this

campaign focused on providing

people. Divide and conquer politics.

The sort of stuff we see in

Washington, DC and forks and

Virginia don't want it.

If Ralph

Nord loses the election tonight and

you have a Republican governor, how

much of a blow will that be to

Democrats nationwide?

Democrats are

counting to win this race. We don't

want to feel the same way we felt

after they lost last year. Even

though we won in virginiana, we felt

that throughout the country. It

would definitely injure us but the

Democrats I know are going to get

back up the next day and make sure

that their voices are heard. We saw

that at the beginning of the year

with the rallies around the country.

Folk are frankly sick and tired.

Talk to me about the weather. I came

down yesterday 75 degrees, sunny

day. This traditionally has not been

the kind of weather that helps you?

This is the kind of weather that

helps Republicans.

Very true.

I've

never quite understood why.

It's

cold and raining here in Richmond

and the same way throughout the

Commonwealth. Not just in Richmond,

cold and rainy and South West

Virginia and South Virginia, but I

tell you, Democrats are motivated. I

have to say, Donald Trump as part of

the impetus. I guarantee you tonight

you will see a lot of Democrats show

up in school force and do you know

what, we're going to make Virginia

blue again.

Come back on the

programme again, we'd love to have

you back on. This is the issue

always, about him out for. For the

Democrats, we have seen the rallies

and watch the women's Mark Shand

seemly protests. Does all of the

anger that from and the fire they

are feeling, does it actually

translate into winning. That is what

Virginia Bottomley a test.

Interesting to hear him say this is

a white tent, I just wonder what the

Bernie Sanders supporters will be

saying if Ralph Northern losers.

They may be saying they would be

better with a Liberal candidate. I

think that is exactly what the left

of the Democratic base is watching.

How do you feel they candidate who

has that sense of reaching out to

people's guts and touching hearts

and emotions in a way that frankly

with due respect to the mailer Ralph

Nord has not done, that Hillary

Clinton did not do, and if you are

on the left at the moment you're

watching this very carefully to see

a factually what this race suggests

that it is time for the left run

candidates. That is why it is so

important and it has big

implications.

You can bet President Trump

will be watching events

in Virginia and New Jersey

as he continues his tour of Asia.

Mr Trump is in Seoul

where he enjoyed quite

the ceremonial welcome

from the South Korean president.

Mr Trump said he "hopes to God"

he doesn't have to use military

force against North Korea -

and he's urged the international

community to stop

trading with Pyongyang.

But perhaps most intriguing -

Donald Trump urged North Korea

to "come to the table" to talk

about giving up its nuclear

weapons programme -

as Mark Lowen explains.

Backing the man they say can stop

North Korea's march to war,

supporters of Donald Trump out

in Seoul today defending

his hard-line approach

to the North's weapons tests.

It is a warning to Kim

Jong-un and his regime.

If you do wrong things

you are going to be destroyed.

But across the road, the other side,

fearing Mr Trump's bombastic

talk over North Korea.

Passion and division

accompanying him on this trip.

Threatening North Korea

is not the answer.

We have to get to the table

and talk about it.

These people say that

when Donald Trump fires off

a tweet storm or tirade

against Kim Jong-un on the other

side of the world, it is Seoul

that is made to feel vulnerable.

They have lived with the nuclear

threat from the North for decades

and they say President Trump

is make it worse.

The welcome was traditional,

a reminder of an old alliance now

strained as Donald Trump has

accused his South Korean counterpart

of appeasing North Korea.

It has vowed to continue to develop

a long-range missile

that could hit the US.

The two leaders seem

to present a united front,

President Moon saying he hoped it

would mark a turning

point on North Korea.

From Donald Trump, less fire

and more talk of pressure

on the north to change course.

We have many things happening

that we hope, we hope,

in fact I will go a step further,

we hope to God we will

never have to use.

With that being said,

I really believe that it makes sense

for North Korea to come to the table

and to make a deal.

That more restrained tone didn't

stop the protest is.

Tomorrow they will hear more

from Mr Trump as he addresses

parliament, with tension

at a critical level,

the call for peace becomes louder.

Interesting looking at those

pictures because one of the themes

running through today, was President

Trump saying you will have to buy

some of our weapons to save

yourselves and he was saying today,

start buying reconnaissance

equipment from American contractors.

But for all that tall and today, you

don't sense that it's a real change

of heart from the North Koreans.

There's that existential need with

end Pyongyang to maintain this

nuclear weapons programme because

without it, they think, there would

be regime change.

I remember the day when American

presidents went to Asia to try to

sell cars and now it seems he is

selling something else. It will

stimulate the economy!

The latest revelations

from the Paradise Papers,

this cache of leaked documents

about tax havens show that

Prince Charles' private estate,

the Duchy of Cornwall,

secretly invested in an offshore

company in which a close

friend was a director.

That's perfectly legal but he's been

accused of a conflict of interest

because he went on to campaign

for international rule changes that

would have benefited the firm.

The spokesman says he has never

chosen to speak out on a topic

simpler because of an investment

decision.

For years, Prince Charles has

campaigned on environmental issues.

This week he's in Malaysia,

yesterday he spent time in the

rainforests of Borneo.

But Panorama has discovered

he campaigned on one

issue that he secretly

stood to profit from.

The Paradise Papers show

the Prince of Wales's private

estate, the Duchy

of Cornwall, had $4

million in tax havens

of the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.

This document shows $1 million

in an offshore fund.

Their annual report says the Prince

is actively involved

in running the Duchy.

The governance of

the Duchy of Cornwall

allows the Prince of Wales to have

hands-on involvement so you can

really see it stamped

all over his turf.

We found one deal that centres

on this man in the cap.

The late Hugh van Cutsem.

He was one of the Prince's

oldest friends.

He was a director of sustainable

forestry Management Ltd.

They were registered

in Bermuda and traded in

carbon credits, a market created

by international treaties to tackle

global warming.

Sustainable forestry management Ltd

would have made more money

if international regulations were

changed to include carbon credits

from all forests.

The chronology of events raises

serious questions for

the Prince.

In February 2007, the Duchy buys 50

shares worth $113,500.

At that time, SFM's directors agreed

to keep the Duchy shares

confidential.

Van Cutsem asks for a lobbying

documents to be sent to the Prince's

office.

The prince begins making speeches,

campaigning for changes to two

international agreements

on carbon credits.

In June 2008, he sells his shares

for $325,000, a profit of

more than $200,000.

But we cannot find, nor has

the prince's office been

able to show us, any

speeches Prince Charles made

on this specific issue before

he bought his shares.

He made three major speeches

in the seven months

after he bought them.

I think it is a serious conflict.

There is a conflict of interest

between the investments of the Duchy

of Cornwall and what he is trying

to achieve publicly.

I think it is unfortunate

that somebody of his

importance, of his influence,

becomes involved in such a serious

conflict.

This is the sort of thing

the Prince was saying in his

speeches.

The European carbon trading

scheme excludes carbon

credits for forests

from developing nations.

This has got to be wrong.

Despite the Prince's lobbying,

the regulations surrounding carbon

credits were not changed.

His spokesman said

the Prince of Wales

is free to offer thoughts

and suggestions on a wide range of

topics.

The Prince does not have any direct

involvement in the investment

decisions taken by the Duchy

and he has certainly never chosen

to speak out on a topic simply

because of a

company that it may

have invested in.

I think what happened was wrong.

What I do not think

is that he deliberately acted

in a way which was unacceptable.

I think if he realised

the context in which he had

been asked to do something, he would

have acted in a different way.

There is no suggestion

that any of this is

illegal or tax was avoided

and it is impossible to know why

the share price rose

after Prince Charles's

estate secretly invested

in his friend's company.

But for the second time

in a week the Paradise Papers

raise serious questions about how

royal cash is being managed.

And for more on the Paradise Papers,

just go to our website

or smartphone app -

that's at BBC News, online.

The Trump Presidency has been

particularly kind to one man.

Alec Baldwin.

His acting career took an unlikely

turn when Trump entered the frame

as a presidential candidate.

No-one does the impression

better than Baldwin

and let's face it, he has

plenty of material -

it is the gift which

keeps on giving.

He got an Emmy for his

portrayal of the Donald

on Saturday Night Live,

and now he has a new book

out with the American

novelist Kurt Anderson,

in a further parody,

called You Can't Spell

America Without Me.

Our North America correspondent

Nick Bryant has been talking to him.

The goal was to try to find a very

small menu of tics that

you could stick to and you wouldn't

lose very easily and so you get

the left eyebrow up and you get

the mouth out as far as you can

and get the hands going.

And there are words, too.

China is a big one.

We played with that and almost

made up our own lexicon

with Trump saying, "China."

Trump was always someone

who was digging for a stronger word

in his speech that he would never

find, so he would always fall back

on the same three words.

This new tax plan is a tax I'm very

proud of and the American

people are going to find

this really, really...

A great tax plan.

Still so good every single time. We

haven't even seen Steve Bannon and

that one. Here is my counter the

array. This is great for comedy

writers, etc, but if you happen to

be a drama writer, it is useless

because what is happening in the

White House is so much more dramatic

than anything you could make up.

I

think the scriptwriters of house of

cards said that, but there's a more

serious point, that there are media

outlets and programmes like Saturday

Night Live that are doing very well

and are going through the roof.

New

York Times, all of the cable news

channels, this is being seen in

America after everybody saying what

is the future of journalism and

media. This is a kind of boomtime,

almost a ruinous honours in the

journalism industry, and Donald

Trump knows that whatever he says

about slamming news organisations he

also loves the fact he get so much

more news coverage, the weird

relationship with the press.

This is Beyond 100

Days from the BBC.

Coming up for viewers

on the BBC News Channel

and BBC World News -

I'll have more from Richmond,

Virginia where a key battle

for governor is playing out

and the campaigning

here, is personal.

We'll be looking at the political

adverts from both sides.

And I'll be speaking

to the Mexican tourism minister -

is Donald Trump good for business

south of the border?

We'll be finding out.

A day of contrasting fortunes across

the British Isles and for many it

was one of those, quite wet at times

and when they also. To the west it

eventually improved but it took a

while, had to move this weather

front just a little bit further

towards the East and bright skies

popping up across Scotland Northern

Ireland and down into the south of

England. Through the yesterday

evening and overnight the front

continues towards the east, the rain

tending to weekend. Behind it the

skies began to clear land as a

consequence the temperature dips and

there will be significant frost in

some sports. Here we are first up on

Wednesday. The frontal system on

Tuesday still lacking across the

south-east, the odd spot of rain.

Quite a bit of close around, you

have to come further into the South

West of England dug up into the

North of England, the greater part

of Scotland and Northern Ireland,

before that bright but chilly start

will come back to this new AV up of

wind and cloud and rain in just the

second. A pretty decent sort of day.

Crisp but a lot of sunshine and the

lot of dry weather. If Tuesday put a

dent in your spirits Wednesday

should lift them for the most part,

at least until the cloud and rain

pours across the eastern side of

Scotland and then to Northern

Ireland. It continues its journey

through the course of the evening

overnight and into the first part of

Thursday but you notice as I push is

on into the day on Thursday, not an

awful lot of rain on those weather

fronts. The wind is in the West so

not particularly cold despite the

presence of all that cloud and

little in the way of sunshine. What

about Friday? I am keeping an eye on

this developing area of low

pressure. Friday itself is blustery,

cooler with the north-westerly

breeze and then the wind and rain

skirts its way across the southern

half of England and Wales to leave

us with the weekend that is bright

and breezy what some showers and

feeling cold given the strength of

the north-westerly wind.

If

This is Beyond One Hundred Days,

with me Katty Kay in

with me Katty Kay in

Richmond, Virginia -

Christian Fraser's in London.

Our top and stories.

We're the watching a key vote

for governor in the US

state of Virginia -

a test for the Republicans

a year after Donald Trump

won the presidency.

He's in South Korea, where -

he said - the US is prepared to use

the full range of military might

against North Korea.

Coming up in the next half hour.

He travelled to another country,

then quit his post...

What the resignation

of Lebanon's PM means

for his country's fragile peace?

The British citizen jailed in Iran

- fears the UK foreign secretary

made her plight worse by saying

she was training journalists there.

Let us know your thoughts

by using the hashtag...

'Beyond-One-Hundred-Days'.

Now under normal circumstances

a vote deciding who will be the next

governor of Virginia wouldn't

exactly classify as top news

but such is American

politics at the moment -

everyone is looking for clues

as to where next years mid

terms might be heading.

The President's name

isn't on the ticket -

his impact is certainly being felt.

Yes, Democrats need to prove

they can win in the age

of Trump and the race

today here in Virginia

is their test.

Voters are divided between

Ralph Northam and Ed Gillespie -

you

but they are probably united on one

thing - it will be a relief

when the political ads stop running.

Here is just a small sample

of what the people here have been

bombarded with recently.

They call him Enron Ed

because Washington, DC lobbyist Ed

Gillespie represented

the worst of the worst.

Is this what Donald Trump

and Ed Gillespie mean

by the American dream?

Ralph Northam voted in favour

of sanctuarie cities that let

dangerous and illegal

immigrants back on the street.

Ralph Northam didn't do his job.

#XXX not a nice or friendly. Mad. .

For analysis on today's

hotly contested race I'm

joined by Quentin Kidd.

He's a Professor of

Political Science at

Christopher Newport University.

Everyone wants to know how the polls

are standing we have turned out

percentages to think of right know.

Turnout is about 30%. Four years ago

it was 43%. The line is 43, 40 4%

for a Democrat to have a good night,

below that Gillespie will have a

good night so both parties are

working frantically to get voters to

the polls. It looks like the average

is around 35% with about five hours

left to vote.

A lot of people around

the world would look at an election

like this in America, they would see

Donald Trump, he is at 37% here in

Virginia and they would see of

course Democrats will turn out in

huge numbers to send a message to

the White House, what is the problem

for Democrats, why aren't the

channelling that energy into people

actually voting?

Democrats

themselves are struggling with each

other, the progressive and their

moderate wing cannot come together

to decide on a unified front to put

forward against Donald Trump. Ralph

Northam is the nominee but there was

a very contested primary between him

and another candidate. Some of the

difficulties Democrats have

nationally are mirrored here in

Virginia.

One of the issues Hillary

Clinton had was not getting

African-Americans to turn out. Do

you think it will turn out for Ralph

Northam?

That is the big question.

Democrats feel that having an

African-American votes turn will

help them. Behind us that is a big

concern about African-American

turnout, that could be the added

half percent or percent that Ralph

Northam needs to win today.

Everybody is watching Virginia, lots

of networks are here, are we right

to extrapolate from this release

that this is what it says that the

future of American politics?

I think

so anyway. Ed Gillespie's strategy

was to embrace trump strategy but

not trump himself. If that works, we

will see that all over the country

next year.

A tougher line on

emigration, more hardline?

Exactly.

Everything that trump represents

will embrace his candidates. Which

of these strategies works today will

send signals to the parties for 2018

and the strategies the person who?

Thank you very much for joining me,

a fascinating race and the polls

have been tightening, it will depend

a lot on turnout. We have spoken

about the Democratic challenger, a

few years ago they ran Republican

governors who were moderate and

centrist trying to make the

Republicans figure by being more

inclusive if what Quentin Kidd is

saying is correct, we could see a

total slap in the Republican

strategy for elections, be more

tough on things like immigration, it

is a real change from five years ago

for Republicans.

When it comes to

turnout, I remember last year, swing

states like Florida and Michigan,

they were jumping up and down where

turnout was high in Democratic areas

but the turnout was really good in

rural conservative areas for Donald

Trump as well?

Yes, you often get

that later on in the day. As you

watch the returns coming in, it is

often the rural areas which start

counting later. I saw Democrats this

morning saying great turnout in

Northern Virginia but C high those

more rural areas vote and what the

turnout S. -- but let us see how

those more rural areas. Let us move

on to Lebanon.

Is the fragile peace in Lebanon

in danger of unravelling once again?

This weekend the Prime Minister Saad

Hariri stepped down from his post

while on a visit to Saudi Arabia,

claiming he feared for his life.

He is yet to return.

Lebanese newspapers,

loyal to his opponents Hezbollah,

allege he was placed under house

arrest after arriving in Riyadh -

and was forced to quit.

This matters because in Lebanon

the peace depends on a fragile

alliance between Christians,

Sunnis and Shias.

Each group controlling one

branch of the government.

Without Hariri in the picture, that

delicate balance is compromised.

So what is behind all this?

I have been speaking

to the Middle East expert,

Angus Blair, who is in Cairo.

He is the chief operating officer

for Pharos Holdings -

he began by telling me

about the significance

of Hariri's departure.

It is a wider part of a bigger

change across all of the region

and probably some of the biggest

changes I have seen in 25 years

of covering the region.

Saad Hariri made his

resignation outside of Lebanon

which was highly

unusual the other day.

He had been meeting

the Saudi leadership.

Also today he had gone

to Abu Dhabi and Bahrain to meet

other regional leaders.

It is not usual for a prime minister

to go to another country

to announce his resignation.

Is there any leverage the Saudis

might have over him?

I think we have to put it in context

of Lebanon since 1989

and the agreement which was signed

in Saudi, based

around coexistence.

That original hope over

time has diminished,

particularly since 2006

and the Hezbollah/Israel

war, and particularly

after the assassination

of Saad Hariri's father in 2005.

The equilibrium of Lebanon has

altered tremendously in that time.

It has become much more difficult

to maintain equilibrium because of

interference from outside.

That interference has come

from Teheran and also Riyadh.

The Saudis will be aware

of the difficulty of stitching peace

agreement together all those years

ago, that if you take the Sunni out

of this triumvirate,

the PM, you have a very

difficult process

ahead of you and that

could put a piece at risk?

Absolutely.

Well, the equilibrium at risk.

In Lebanon, as I said,

it is under enormous stress and not

been helped by a massive influx

of Syrian refugees, over 1 million

refugees in Lebanon.

Presumably this is down

to the Crown Prince exercising his

muscles with the tacit approval

of President Trump, the president

wants him to get tough with Iranian

proxies in the region?

I would remove President Trump,

with respect, from this occasion.

-- equation.

No matter what he says

on Twitter, that is his view

and that is for America

to deal with.

It is the approval of other states,

particularly the UAE, Bahrain

and Kuwait but it is definitely

being Saudi led.

You have to remember that America

has tried to provide a balance

between Qatar and Riyadh in the last

month or so following sanctions so I

would suggest that at the moment,

it is being led by Saudi

in particular the Crown Prince,

but with the approval

of other regional leaders.

Angus Blair, thank you very

much for being with us.

Thank you.

People will be remembering the 15

years of civil war in Lebanon and

what it did to Beirut. No one will

want to see that return. It is a

very dangerous time in the Middle

East. Let us move on.

Boris Johnson, the British foreign

secretary, has faced angry calls

for his resignation from opposition

MPs today - after he opened

a Commons statement -

again failing to admit that he made

an error last week when

speaking about a British

woman detained in Iran.

Mr Johnson said, Nazanin Zagari

Ratcliffe, had been training

journalists while in Iran

when she was detained last year.

Her husband says, she was

there on a family visit.

This afternoon, Mr Johnson said

he was sorry if his remarks had

been "misconstrued".

Of course I am sorry if any words

of mine have been so taken out

of context and so misconstrued

as to cause any kind

of anxiety for the family

of Nazanin Zagari Ratcliffe,

of course I am.

Of course I am.

Let's get more on this now

with our Political Correspondent

Eleanor Garnier who's

in Westminster.

Sources close to the Foreign Office

to me today that if a civil servant

drops the ball, they go through a

six-month programme called a

performance improvement programme, I

would do say there are some civil

servants one drink if the Foreign

Secretary should go through the same

programme?

Very interesting to here

and certainly when you are watching

in the House of Commons this

afternoon, Boris Johnson faced a

barrage of criticism over his

remarks. MPs were angry that it had

taken him a week to clarify his

remarks. They were angry that he

then did not come out and give an

unequivocal apology first thing this

morning. There were repeated calls

for him to say sorry. Eventually he

did give an apology of some sort. He

said that he was insistent that his

remarks had in no way damaged or

affected the Iranian case. He said

his Iranian counterpart Howard

reiterated this. But for many people

this is the latest gaffe by Boris

Johnson. Last month he angered the

Libyan government by saying if dead

bodies were removed it could become

a popular place for tourists. He has

faced repeated calls for him to step

down. We had one Conservative MP

today saying he did not understand

the magnitude of his job and the

responsibility who holds. If Theresa

May's position was not so

precarious, all the calls for a bad

-- Boris Johnson to resign or be

sacked would be getting more

traction.

We should have some pity

for the Prime Minister at the moment

because she has that on her plate,

sexual harassment investigation and

also Priti Patel going on holiday to

Israeli -- to Israel visiting their

Israeli prime minister.

Yes, in her

case she has been economical with

the truth about who she visited

during her holiday this year and

also about who and when she told

about those visits and also about

what she divulges had been discussed

in some of those meetings. Priti

Patel, like the Foreign Secretary,

is facing calls to resign and calls

for the Prime Minister to sack her.

If Theresa May's position was not so

fragile, Priti Patel's position

would be in danger. Many are saying

she would have been sacked already

by now. But if you consider what

Theresa May is dealing with right

though, allegations of sleaze, her

deputy facing an investigation for

allegations he denies, Damian Green,

she has already lost her defence

secretary. She does not have a

majority and we must not forget that

is the battle with Brussels on the

Brexit negotiations. If her position

stronger, then both Foreign

Secretary her International

Development Secretary could be in a

far more serious position.

Good to

talk to you, thank you very much. I

do have some pity for the Foreign

Secretary, you often tell me to go

on a performance improvement

programme.

Excuse me, two ways you

should never apologise, I am sorry

but and I am sorry F. How

mealy-mouthed that is, if you say

that to me or your wife, you would

get nowhere. Still to come on the

programme.

This is Beyond One Hundred Days.

They're neighbours,

but could they ever be neighbourly?

The Mexican tourism secretary

talks to us about doing

business with Donald Trump -

who needs more most?

A senior Welsh politician has been

found dead after facing allegations,

from a number of women,

about his personal conduct.

Carl Sargeant took his own life.

A Labour member of the Welsh

Assembly, he was sacked on Friday

from his job as cabinet secretary

for communities and children

and suspended from the party.

Sian Lloyd reports.

Morning all.

Carl Sergeant was a wellknown

figure in Welsh politics.

His role as Cabinet

Secretary for children and

communities was close to his heart

but the married father of two was

sacked from the job on Friday

by Wales's first Minister, Carwyn

Jones, amid allegations of his

personal conduct made by number of

women.

Today Mr Jones said he was shocked

and deeply saddened by the

news of Carl Sargeant's death.

The assembly member

had been suspended

by the Labour party

and an investigation began

but Mr Sargent maintained

he was never told the

exact details of the

allegations against him.

The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn

described his death

as deeply shocking.

All allegations Must be examined

and pursued but also has to

be great pastoral care and support

given to everybody involved.

Police were called to

Carl Sargeant's home

shortly before 11

o'clock this morning.

It is understood the 49-year-old

had taken his own life.

His wife and children

are devastated.

He was the glue that binds us

together they said in a

statement tonight.

At the Welsh assembly,

flags were lowered to

half-mast and there's a feeling

of sadness as well a shock.

All business here at

the National Assembly

has been suspended as

a

mark of respect to Carl Sargeant.

The mood here is sombre as members

reflect on the man they knew and

questions remain about the personal

turmoil that surrounded him.

You're watching Beyond

One Hundred Days...

Donald Trump's views

on international trade have

been pretty consistent.

Free trade must mean fair trade.

Next week in Mexico City,

the US, Mexico and Canada,

will come together for a crunch

round of talks on the North Atlantic

Free Trade Agreement -

it's survival very much

in the balance.

As it stands, NAFTA accounts

for nearly a quarter

of all world trade -

there are millions of jobs at stake.

But the negotiation

is proving difficult

and in Mexico's case -

they are dealing with

an American President,

who has been playing tough.

We are living through

the greatest jobs theft in the

history of the world.

Our jobs are going to Mexico.

Jobs are pouring out of the country.

You see what is going

on with all the companies

leaving our country going

to Mexico and other places.

The wall is going to get

built and the wall is

going to stop drugs and it is going

to stop a lot of people from coming

in that shouldn't be here.

Will take care of it,

we'll take care

of it all, I just

want to let you know.

An end to NAFTA would mean

reverting to WTO rules -

that would certainly hit

Mexico hard.

Over 75 percent of its exports

are shipped to the United States.

So what is Mexico doing to mitigate

that potential loss.

And how are they going to deal

with the American President more

generally - when it comes

to the wall, immigration,

and drug trafficking.

A little earlier I spoke

to Enrique de la Madrid.

He is the Secretary for Tourism.

He is here in London.

President Trump has described Nafta

is the worst trade deal of, do you

think that is a real risk the

negotiation will end?

It has not

been the worst thing ever, has been

very positive for Mexico. Many

American firms are competitive

because of joint production with

Mexico. We see everyday

manufacturing film -- firms, the

amount of people working in the food

sector, the amount of food they sell

to Mexico so it has been a positive

deal for both countries. That is a

risk but were never under

negotiation which is good. It had to

be renewed, it is more than 20 years

old and it is reasonable to renew it

but hopefully we can maintain it.

What is the risk of it collapsing?

The intention of the United States

government, if they do not intend to

negotiate and things are difficult

for us to agree, then it might

happen but it will not be to pull

out of the deal.

The US car industry

was 300,000 jobs since 1994, he said

in the media, in the same period the

Mexican car industry has risen to

half a million.

We have -- the

amount of workers who have been lost

in the automobile industry are not

the amount of workers we have lost

in Mexico. There is a process of

alternation of substituting workers

for machines. The way to keep jobs

is not to create walls but it is to

give training and education for

people to get to the new jobs.

What

about the wall? Does that hang like

a cloud over the negotiation because

he says you will pay for the wall?

Bill and Ben were certain is that we

will not pay for the wall. -- the

only thing we are certain. There are

two walls, the wall already exists.

There is trade benefiting many of

the American people. The appealing

prices for food and furniture, 35

years ago, this was established and

trade helps all of us. We tend to

import what other people are good at

and we export what we're good at.

Trade helps the world. You are here

for the world travel market.

Absolutely, the UK is the third most

important country to Mexico for

trading. Close to half a million

British people go to Mexico. We add

the eighth largest country in terms

of receiving foreigners.

I read

about the natural disasters and the

murder rate, it is the worst in a

generation, 20,000 people killed

this year. You have said this is

undeniable that that is a speck of

violence and tourist areas so why

are people still coming?

Yes,

unfortunately there is an increase

in the crime rate but we also have

to clarify that those have to do

with people and criminal

organisations fighting among

themselves.

Do you think you are

losing the war against drug gangs?

This is a global issue, it cannot

have a local response. It has to be

resolved through dialogue with

Mexico and the US.

What about the

Mexicans who went to the United

States with their parents are

legally, they were minors and they

may be sent back, by Donald Trump

and his administration, what if they

came back?

If they came back, they

would be well received. Imagine

people that have the training and

language and know the American

people, it would be a great asset

for us but a loss for the United

States but we welcome to receive

them.

Thank you very much.

Let's go back to our special

coverage from Richmond, Virginia.

That was fascinating, especially

about the dreamers being welcomed

back to Mexico.

We have spoken about the Democrats,

we had the Democratic mayor on for

Richmond, you're close to Ed

Gillespie, as I'm last night and

thought he ran an impressive

campaign but you think you can pull

of?

I think he can because he has

campaigned hard. Virginia is still a

retail politics State, the likes

seeing you on their doorstep and at

the shopping centre and he has done

a good job of getting his message

out and articulating a tax plan. So

yes, I think the odds were against

Gillespie two weeks ago but now I

think he has a short at pulling this

off.

We were talking about Steve

Bannon today, Ed Gillespie wins, is

that one in the arm for the

established Republicans in

Washington?

Yes, I think it is. It

is important to recognise that Steve

Bannon says he wants to run against

all 12 of the Republicans except Ted

Cruz in the play many. This would be

a nice short in the arm for the

establishment and dampen some of the

Steve Bannon enthusiasm.

Ed

Gillespie has always been an

establishment Republican but what

about the notion that Republicans

are going to run further to the

right, harder on issues like

immigration and crime? Trump is

pulling establishment characters to

the right in the way the Democrats

are being pulled to the left?

It is

an interesting fact. That is a book

out next week which is looking at

George W Bush and his father and

there is a sense that Republicans

are going so far to the right that

the party I became a part of has

left us.

What happened to the

middle?

Heard I am in the middle in

the meantime, you will find younger

Republicans which will bring us back

the centre.

Thank you for joining us

here in Richmond. It has been great

to have you here. We will have all

of those results tomorrow. Ross will

be up till four in the morning to

keep us posted. That'll be good. Get

to get your the -- good to get your

thoughts, both of you. Thank you

very much for watching, goodbye.